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.

Like eating a Hershey bar on Venus

You know. It's really good, but you're done too quickly, and it'll be a long while until you get more.

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.

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?

Wildly uneven, though ultimately pays off

Let me start by saying: I am a huge Sanderson fan, I think I have listened to (and generally liked) almost everything he has written, certainly over 100 hours. I think this book, is in many ways, his weakest. Part of this might be the young adult nature of the story (though I generally like YA SF novels), but I think a lot more has to do with some flabby plotting and rather self-indulgent writing.

While Sanderson's books are always heavily about characters discovering how an elaborately-built fantasy world works, Firefight takes this to a ridiculous extent. Pulled out of the setting of Newcago, we are presented with a flooded New York, where once again David has to figure out a slew of mysteries that look a lot like those in Steelheart: how does the world work? What are the weaknesses of the Epics? What secrets are allies and enemies hiding?

It starts to get a bit tedious, especially as much of the middle of the novel is spent repeatedly pondering these questions and wandering through the (not particularly interesting, once the initial rush has worn out) city. It is compounded by the fact that many questions are unanswered, and some of the ones that are not always particularly satisfying. Finally, the characters (besides David and maybe Firefight) themselves are not very interesting, as most are painted as cyphers in the same way the world is.

These problems cause the book to drag in the middle. The initial visions of Babylon Restored are great, as is the wham-bam terrific final third (where all the pay-off is), but it is undeniably uneven in tone (seriously, the metaphor thing is getting tedious!) and pacing.

The reading is great, and, ultimately, I was riveted at the end of the story, but this is not the place (or the series) for Sanderson newbies. Start with Mistborn, and then come back to this later.

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!

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!

If you loved Steelheart you will love Firefight!

I pre-ordered Firefight months ago, everyday, even though I knew it wasn’t out yet, I still had to check. I was so entranced by the premiss of superheroes having their powers make them evil. I wish it wasn’t such a long wait, but now the wait is over.

Sanderson has created such a unique universe with this series. Full of deep characters that I actually developed feelings for. Not only that but the world that he has created, near future United States that has been transformed by the Epics.

Steelheart took place in Newcago (Chicago) and Firefight is set in Babylon (New YorK). Here the Reckoners have another high epic to destroy. One who controls water in more ways than I thought possible. Along the way we get to know more about the back-story of Prof and other members of the team.

While this was a pretty straight forward story, no real plot twists or turns, except for the ending. I didn’t see it coming. I need the next audiobook so bad.

Sorry I didn’t really summarize the book. I don’t want to give anything away. Let me just say this. If you loved Steelheart you will love Firefight even more!

Sparks! Macloud Andrews shines with this performance. Allowing himself to deliver a full range of unique voices for the plethora of characters. Each one fitting what my minds eye thinks they would sound like.

Andrews is not just a story teller, narrator, or performer here. He is an audiobook technician. And he is on my list of go to narrators. I have several more of his narrations in my to be listened to lineup.

Audiobook purchased for review.

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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.

Entertaining

I love Brandon Sanderson and this is an entertaining story. It, like the first book leaves you wanting to know what will happen next. That said, these books aren't my favorite from him. I like his adult fantasy so much because of the extreme character development of multiple characters and the complex relationships and vivid worlds he creates. This is lacking in all areas, but I think it's because it's supposed to be YA series. I wish he would just keep writing his Way of Kings series and focus on those instead :)