There’s a keen sense of nostalgia I get with reading this series and I only first read it a year ago. Kristin Cashore’s Graceling Realm series continues with this immaculate tale, Fire. It truly felt like I was drifting into this read without any reservations or hiccups – within the first few pages, it was like I had returned to a world I was intimately familiar with and the unknowing of what was going on outside of Fire’s immediate surroundings was nothing to be afraid of. Just a warning, there will be light spoilers throughout this review so if you haven’t read Fire or Graceling yet I suggest considering clicking off this review.

Fire differs from Graceling in the sense that its worldbuilding and exposition are not handed to you in the first few pages to justify where the characters are and what they’re doing. It’s something I greatly appreciated given the nature of the political climate and the happenings we see throughout the novel. I also appreciate the fact that this feels like a companion story to Graceling as opposed to a strict continuation of the same tale. I have nothing against the characters in Graceling, anyone who has been my Graceling review will know that, but the break from the intensity of those events while answering some open-ended questions and expanding the landscape is a pleasant reprieve. What has carried through is the tone, the seriousness and maturity of the content and the characterisations and personalities of cruel men which is prevalent throughout history and befitting within this high fantasy world.

We also get an exploration into more topics that aren’t widely ventured in YA fantasy. We have a character who wishes to have children but does not wish to pass on the hardship of her condition. We have a young single father who has a healthy, loving relationship with his child. We have an unrequited relationship where one character repeatedly cannot handle the rejection and boundaries of the other. We have period representation (that’s something I never thought I would say) and we have the dilemma of characters being pregnant in direct opposition to this representation. It all interacts together in a strangely logical way and no part of it feels excessive or unnecessary. Family and love are two strong themes throughout this book and the development of relationships and understanding between characters is something I didn’t think I needed to see but I cannot thank Kristin enough for.

We also have a journey of grief, trauma and acknowledgement that spans the length of this novel. We have multiple characters who are plagued by the actions and decisions of their fathers and their consequences in a time of great uncertainty, war and death. We have the brutality of war, of taking life, of making hard decisions and carrying the lives of thousands on your back. We have the battle between what is wrong and right, the strong and the weak, what characters want and what they must do, and the fight to prove oneself when people are adamant to believe otherwise. It sounds like a lot for a book that has less than 400 pages but it doesn’t feel that way when reading. It feels like a dream, like a well-plotted movie featuring the rawest aspect of human nature and the fight for power and control.

I will say here and now that Fire is an incredible book filled with authentic, real characters and a compelling tale fit for any high fantasy fan. It doesn’t shrink away from dark themes or vulgar actions, so if you’re not ready for that kind of language then I wouldn’t recommend this to you. If you’re okay with that though, I beg of you – read Fire. Read this gem of a novel and feel the emotional intensity of the content for yourselves.