Firefight

4.25/5 stars I learned something about myself while reading this book. I love books that deal with that superhero theme, or maybe it's better to call them superpowers in this case. My favorite book, [b:Vicious 13638125 Vicious (Villains, #1) V.E. Schwab https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527839682l/13638125.SX50.jpg 19250870] deals with this kind of thing, and I found myself loving every minute of Firefight.This book. Just wow. It's so action packed, so funny, so unpredictable. [b:Steelheart 17182126 Steelheart (The Reckoners, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357576738l/17182126.SY75.jpg 21366540] was the exact same way. They are everything I ever want in a series, and depending on how the next book is, and if it is just as amazing as the first two, this trilogy might just turn into one of my favorites.

Continuation of a good series. Again as a young adult book this is perfect. Not overly complicated but a quick and fun read in a unique world. Still has surprises and keeps you interested, unlike, in my opinion, other YA books. To me a good series is when I finish a book and need to read the next to find out what happens!

This book was great, I enjoyed it more than the first. It definitely kept me more engaged throughout. I think what makes me the most happy is that Sanderson avoided writing a dud for the middle book. So many authors just use the second book to make way for the finale, so nothing really happens. Plenty happens in the book, and it keeps you on edge. I wasn't surprised with everything that happened, but it is all just so well written. Once again, he makes the fantastical believable. This is how YA should be written.

...as she'd left, I'd glanced at her gun.
This time, when she'd pointed it at me, she'd flicked the safety on. If that wasn't true love, I don't know what was.

We've all been there, right?

In the months since David did the impossible by killing the Epic Steelheart, he and the rest of the Reckoners have continued their war against the Epics – successfully enough, that Newcago is beginning to rule itself (sure, with the puppet government that Steelheart allowed, but it's starting to come into its own). The last few of these have been sent by the Epic that runs Babilar (Babylon Restored = Manhattan), Regalia. So, David, the Prof, and Tia leave the rest of the Newcago crew to keep order, and head to Babilar to see what they can do about Regalia.

Meanwhile, David's trying to convince the Reckoners that Megan wasn't a traitor and murderer, and while an Epic, she deserves a second chance. And not just because he's gaga for her.

It's possible that the city of Babilar is the happiest city in contemporary YA dystopias. It's definitely one of the most upbeat depictions of Manhattan that I've ever read/seen. Which is saying something, considering that it's pretty much flooded (and ruled by an Epic who can control water). But thanks to a religion/philosophy/frame of mind (depending who you ask) – possibly Epic-induced, possibly spontaneous – the people of Babilar are a lot more positive, have a certain joie de vivre, and are a lot less interested in the work of the Reckoners than anyone else we've heard of in this world (and poor Dave is rather befuddled by this). I don't want to get too descriptive of it – Sanderson will do better than I ever could, anyway – so let me leave it with this: I'm not crazy about the water, and I might be persuaded to move to Babilar.

One thing I'd forgotten from Steelheart was Dave's general goofiness and voice. I did remember how bad his metaphors were (particularly, as it was pointed out to him that they aren't even metaphors at all), but I didn't remember how fun Dave was as a character when he wasn't being more driven and vengeful than a teen-aged Bruce Wayne. Maybe Sanderson didn't stress it as much last time out, or given Steelheart's death, he's lightened up. My guess it was a failure of my memory – but I really enjoyed Dave's voice here (think Peter Parker à la Bendis), and would've kept with the book just for it , even if I stopped caring about the rest of the story (little chance of that happening, I should say).

But even with Dave's snappy narration and Babilar's vibe, there's a lot of suspense in Firefight. A lot of deception, treachery, and danger everywhere. In the brightest of moments lurks a real possibility of the world becoming a darker place than it has been since Calamity and the advent of the Epics. Sanderson attempted a real balancing act here, and pretty much pulled it off. Up to, and including a great cliffhanger that makes the wait for the final volume of this series all the worse.

The only other note I can think to say here is that Sanderson has the most creative use of Fortune cookies in fiction here. Inspired. Read it for yourself.

Fun, fast-paced, exciting tale of super-powered dictators and the people resisting them – give Firefight a read if you've already enjoyed Steelheart. But go back and grab Steelheart first if you haven't.

Executive Summary: I didn't enjoy this book as much as [b:Steelheart 17182126 Steelheart (Reckoners, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357576738s/17182126.jpg 21366540]. I thought the last third was very good, but the first half or so was slow. 3.5 stars rounded down for the slow start.Full ReviewI'm going to start off by saying I hate David and his metaphors. Though actually they are similes. I honestly don't care. I hate them. They were an eye roller in the first book, and downright obnoxious here. I really hope he reduces how often David uses them in the next book. I'm not a big fan of Young Adult. I think if I was a young adult I wouldn't really care for it either. When I was in high school I read adult fiction. I didn't feel like I needed something with a younger protagonist to cater to me. And I certainly didn't want to have things toned down for me either.I enjoyed Steelheart though. It's far from his best work, but I found it to be a fun story. I don't think this book was nearly as good. Mr. Sanderson cranks out books like no other author in Fantasy, and I think that's starting to show a bit here. Or maybe I just don't love everything he writes anymore.I like the change of scenery here. New York is a big contrast to Chicago. I also like the addition of new characters, and new Epics to confront.The main draw, as usual for a Sanderson novel, is the magic system. Or in this case, whatever it is that caused humans to turn into epics. We get some good development into the mystery of the Calamity and the nature of epics and their weaknesses. Mostly in the last third of the book.I found David annoying for most of the book. And whiny and mopey. You know, a teenager. Or at least the stereotypical teenager.I'm eager to read the next book and have the rest of my questions answered, but I hope that it's the final book. I'd much rather he focus on his Cosmere books instead. Give me Stormlight Archive and Mistborn over this any day.

With Firefight, Sanderson takes his Reckoner's saga in a bit of a different direction. Still with some focus on the Epics and their powers, the real focus is more on the individuals. We meet a new group of Reckoners, but the their is little to really introduce them. Still, the revelations about Epics and the world they inhabit are very interesting. Certainly not as involved a plot as some of his other works, still, Firefight is a lot of fun and well worth reading.

Now that's more like it. Brandon is back in form and maybe because while he is writing a more YA kind of book he is back to world building even if he is re-imagining Manhattan. The descriptions are so well done that you truly wish you could have a glimpse of it in real. The new Epic's are interesting so is the Jet ski. This book is much more humorous and answers plenty of the questions raised since the start. Great read and a years wait for the next one.

Firefight is the second in the Reckoners series - which is a young adult sci fi series. Our family listened to the first....at some point last summer, and so the second has been what E and I have been listening to on our various trips to and from Cedar Falls to get his driving hours.

In Firefight we get to follow our protagonist David/Steelslayer (he's gotten a cool new nickname now) to a new city to learn more about the Epics and what may have created them. But as we learn more things also become more...complicated. There is a lot of fun action in this book, and I have to imagine Sanderson had a really great time dreaming up all the powers of the different Epics. E and I were definitely invested in the story, and the mix of humor and action was perfect for the two of us. Again, it's a YA series so the foreshadowing is a little thick at times, but there were also some twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

Absolutely recommend, and we're looking forward to finishing the trilogy!

The second book of the series, a great continuation of the story. I love [a:Brandon Sanderson 38550 Brandon Sanderson https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1394044556p2/38550.jpg] and the way he weaves his stories. I was sad that the story ended and I look forward to reading the rest of it in 2016.

Wow, untuk sebuah seri yg awalnya ak ragu bakal suka, Mr Sanderson bener2 memikatku. Buku kedua ini David, Prof & Tia mengunjungi kota Babilar yg tadinya New York sblm Calamity. Dan firefight juga ada disini.
Disini terkuak apa sebenarnya kekuatan utama firefight, dan cukup mencengangkan, dia bknlah illusionist kuat spt yg dibahas buku 1, tp dia tetaplah high epic dgn kekuatan reinkarnasinya.
And the plot twists, i tell you, Mr Sanderson gives us readers, 2 more (on my count) on this book. 1 of them, I NEVER SEE THAT COMING, it was like nuclear explotion, both literally and metaphorically speaking.