Firefight by Brandon Sanderson (A Reckoners Novel #2)

9/10

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed ‘Mitosis’ by Brandon Sanderson, the small short story published in advance of the author’s latest entrant into his ‘Reckoners’ series – ‘Firefight’. I was not pleased, if for no other reason than it was a poorly constructed, less-than-it-seems piece to fill in some gaps – literary and financially.

Firefight has just been released, and I have just managed to finish my copy – and let’s be very clear, there are almost no similarities between Mitosis and Firefight.

Brandon Sanderson is a respected and beloved author for a reason, and he proves that again in Firefight. We return to Newcago, and in the wake of the death of Steelheart, things are relatively good – excepting the few Epics who keep rocking up to try and take revenge (as seen in Mitosis, and the opening pages of Firefight). But the story doesn’t stay in Newcago for long, and we soon take the cross-country journey to Babylon Restored, or Babilar.

Babilar, where nothing is as it seems. It’s Epic-ville, but for hippies – you might die, you might live – best just live today and eat the glowing fruit.

Yeah, there’s glowing fruit.

Despite how fast I read Brandon Sanderson novels – especially Reckoners and ‘Mistborn’ novels – there is nothing simple about his writing. The stories are complex, fascinating, and filled to the brim with three-dimensional characters – sometimes, though, those characters get only passing moments to shine, or none at all.