Firefight

The Reckoners, Book 2

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brandon Sanderson, the number one New York Times best-selling author of Words of Radiance, co-author of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally best-selling Mistborn Trilogy, presents the second book in the Reckoners series: Firefight, the sequel to the #1 best seller Steelheart. Newcago is free. They told David it was impossible, that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet Steelheart - invincible, immortal, unconquerable - is dead. And he died by David's hand.

Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life simpler. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And no one in Newcago can give him answers.

Babylon Restored, the city formerly known as the borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic Regalia, Babylon Restored is flooded and miserable, but David is sure it's the path that will lead him to what he needs to find. Entering a city oppressed by a High Epic despot is risky, but David's willing to take the gamble. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David's heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic - Firefight. And now he will go on a quest darker and even more dangerous than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.

©2014 Brandon Sanderson (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Like a cherry on top of a Sundae in the North Pole

If you didn’t understand that metaphor than you will love this book. If you did understand it then you HAVE to love this book. I was a marine in Desert Storm and lost my eye sight. I am not saying this so anyone will feel sorry for me but to illustrate how impressive the writing is with Brandon Sanderson. How well he takes me to a place I can visualize and really just transport me to these worlds of wonder and amazement. Never has an author been so consistent with so many titles in being “AWESOME”. I first tried the Rithmatist and I really liked it. So I thought I would give the author a second chance. I listened to Mistborn, then another Mistborn, then another, then the Stormlight archives, then the sequel, then Elantris, then Steel Heart, Mitosis and now FIREFIGHT and after this book.. EVERYTHING else Brandon (we are not really on a first name basis), has written! If you have not listened to Sleelheart DO SO NOW! The sequel picks up with the Reckoners doing their best to deal with the aftermath of the events that took place in Steelheart. Brandon, does a fantastic job of realistically portraying what happens when things change, for good or bad change is hard. Our protagonist, David, has to question his motivation. What happens when you have one goal guiding your life and you achieve it? What makes a hero? Is there a cause for evil in people? Is the cause justifiable? And if so does that make them Evil? Be prepared to have these questions answered. Fear VS LOVE.. That’s where David is at now. I don’t want to give too much away so I am being as vague as possible. This book, I promise you, will keep you guessing right up until the very end. Right when I thought I had everything figured out, BAM!!, another awesome twist. I loved listening the this with my children and then being able to talk about what they would of done if they were David and trust me all of the answers were different. This is a great sequel and it will leave you wanting the third book right away. The narration is incredible. All voices have their own inflection, accent and pitch.(How he does this I don’t know). Please Listen to SteelHeart and then FireFight then thank me for the recommendation! And If I ever get to meet Brandon, I will give him a hug and shake his hand for in his work I have found great Joy.

Good story, bad protaganist

These stories are great, I love the hero genre and I am always looking for books of this type. I love the different take on heroes in this series. The stories keep you reading and the narrator is great. Unfortunately the main character drives me crazy. He is immature, selfish and dumb. Constantly making things worse for the group but then gets out of it by luck. I have never had a character bother me so much but maybe bc characters with these traits are either the dumb sidekick, jealous friend or villain. Was hoping he would grow up more in the 2nd book, didn't happen. The fact that I read the next book in the series should tell you how good of a storyline it is and how well the narrator does. I will probably read the last book to find out what happens, hoping he gets killed off in the beginning!

Sparks! Another Awesome story by Sanderson!

I am not big on listening to YA books; however, I absolutely loved this series! This book has a lot of great elements - mystery, action, villains, super heroes and even love. Tie that in with M. Andrews amazing narrating skills and you're in audio book heaven!

Absolute power corrupts absolutely...right?

What would you do in a world ruled by of insane superpowered people that abuse or execute others without a second thought? Well, in the first book of "The Reckoners" series, "Steelheart", David had decided to do the impossible and eliminate one of the most powerful ones in revenge for the death of his father. Now famous for the deed, he is not too sure about his future. Past events had left doubts in his mind about his role as a reckoner. What are the epics? How does their power seem to corrupt their personalities?  Can they be redeemed after all?

Things get stranger when he suddenly gets a new assignment in the bizarre city that once was Manhattan to kill an epic that seems to want them there. Her actions, however, are contradictory and strange. She had restablished the city but then destroys using other epics. She doesn't attack the Reckoners, but she could have several times over. What is her goal?

"Firefight" is a great sequel to a fun adventure that keeps getting more intriguing. The characters are well rounded and likeable with relatable points of view. Highly recommended to superhero fans, but anyone who likes action adventure with a fun loving main character will like it. A great deal of thought was placed into it by the author and the narrator is prefect for the audiobook

You are like a potato!!

David and the team continue their adventure in fighting epics, traveling to a new city and meeting new members of another reckoner team. David starts trying to figure out the secrets behind the epics and hopefully make Prof into one of the heros. The team goes up against some new powerful epics with Brandon Sanderson twists and turns throughout. Just like Steelheart, I continued to laugh out loud at David's metaphors and antics while staying at the edge of my seat in suspense. Again MacLeod Andrews makes the perfect David with wonderful emotion and voices!! #Funny #Suspenseful #UrbanFantasy #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Fabulous -- A Must Read Sequal

I have waited and waited for the sequel. After loving the first installment, which is a bit of a cliffhanger in some respects, I was looking for an engaging follow-on -- and this one delivered. The Reckoners are back. After killing Steelheart in book one, they focus on a new Epic in good old New York City. Except the city is new called Babylon Restored and I will say is that is involves water but no more.

Sanderson paints another stunning mini-universe in Babylon that is just as impressive as Newcago. We get some new Reconkoners as well in the new high epic to have. MacLead Andrews narrated the last novel and he pulls out another excellent performance in this once as well.

If you are a fan of Divergent, Hunger Games, X-Men, and YA type novels in general , you will love this series. Since this is only book two, I highly suggest you go back and read book one before you read this one or you are going to 1) get too many spoilers for book one early on in this book; 2) miss a ton of back story that is needed to really appreciate this installment; and 3) well, book one is great. What are you waiting for?

Deeper into Calamity

In “Steeheart” we learned that “Calamity” came to earth and somehow changed certain people giving them extra-ordinary powers; they were named “Epics.” The Epics felt superior to “normal” humans and used their new powers to rule and subdue any one standing in their way. Epics are not created equal, however, and there was quickly a hierarchy established with the strongest epics at the top; they were called “High Epics.” High Epics were thought to be invincible and they ruled their own territory with a god-like hand challenging any other epic that tried to challenge them; “Steel heart” was one of those “High Epics.” He ruled “Newcago, where a boy named David lived. As a small boy David’s father was killed by Steelheart and the boy vowed to get his revenge. He studied all of the epics searching for their weaknesses in hopes of destroying them and eventually joined a group called “The Reckoners,” that were also on a mission to eliminate the epics.
At the end of the book we learn that David finally found a way to kill Steelheart and achieve his revenge. He thought life would be easier after the fall of Steelheart but there are still more High Epics out there and the story continues.
Before listening to/reading “Firefight,” I would recommend Sanderson’s short story “Mitosis. It tells a little bit about life after the fall of Steelheart as another Epic tries to fill the void Steelheart left in “Newcago. “Mitosis,” is a great short story and shouldn’t be missed if you’re following the entire “Reckoners,” series.
In “Firefight David and the Reckoners must travel to “Babylon Restored,” the new name of the area that was once called Manhattan, to deal with another High Epic, called, “Regalia.” Sanderson creates some amazing images describing the very startling yet fascinating environment that the Epics have created. In this second installment of the trilogy Sanderson answers some questions that were left hanging from the previous book as we go deeper into Calamity and yet there are still more waiting to be answered in the last book that will be called, “Calamity.”.
There are some interesting new characters introduced in “Firefight,” but some others’ that were left out from the previous book that I liked, but there is always David.
Like most of Sanderson’s books the ending is very satisfying, exciting but still leaving you wantingt more.
The narrator, MacLeod Andrews, gives a good performance.

Exceptional

Brandon Sanderson is an exceptional writer. This book as well as the first in the trilogy are captivating from the first moment. The story and unanswered questions keep the story moving forward, step by step, never becoming slow or boring but Sanderson also allows the story and the characters to grow. He creates tension so effortlessly and pushes into the next part of the story using plot twists that I never see coming, no matter much I think that I have figured it out.

Even better than the first!

What made the experience of listening to Firefight the most enjoyable?

The amazing world building that Sanderson does with his writing.

What other book might you compare Firefight to and why?

The Bone Season, the world building and fantasy aspects are similar. And both are very well written.

What about MacLeod Andrews’s performance did you like?

That he can give the various characters their own voices.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Anti-Hero

More Epic storytelling and bad metaphors.

Firefight pick up shortly after the events of Steelheart/Mitosis and David Charleston returns to unleash more bad metaphors (and similes) upon a post-apocalyptic world still struggling to survive. This time the action moves away from Newcago over to Babilar (Manhattan) where another cell of the Reckoners struggle against the High Epic Regalia.

The good news is this book is more than just another episodic fight against a High Epic. It starts to shed some light on just what Calamity is and why the Epics started to appear after it arrived. Details of Prof's history come to light and David finds himself at odds with his leader on how to best fight the Epic scourge. And as you can probably guess from the name of the book, Firefight returns to make young David question his understanding of Epics and also turn his heart into knots. David's feelings for Firefight cause him to change his understanding of the world and he begins to discover that he is more like his Father than he ever knew.

MacLeod Andrews is once again on top of his game as is Brandon Sanderson so fans of Steelheart can't go wrong with this one.