Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

Series: Reckoners (bk 2)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: super powers, abilities, supervillains

Setting: Starts out in Newcago (Chicago) and most of the book is in Babilar, which is what used to be New York City

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: David

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 416 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $18.99

Publisher: Random House: Delacorte Press

Summary/ product description: “From the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of Words of Radiance coauthor of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson presents the second book in the Reckoners series: Firefight, the sequel to the #1 bestseller Steelheart.

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 more simple. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And there's no one in Newcago who can give him the answers he needs.

Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic, Regalia, David is sure Babylon Restored will lead him to what he needs to find. And while entering another city oppressed by a High Epic despot is a gamble, David's willing to risk it. 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 he's willing to go on a quest darker, and more dangerous even, than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.”

My Review:  This is an Epic sequel. I think that about suns it up, even if it’s a pun. Let’s try a metaphor (or simile) that David might use. This book is like cheesecake pieces within limited edition ice-cream when you just bought the very last container of it. You know? It’s a delicious treat and it’s rare. There’s just not enough of it and you want more.

Spoilers for those of you who have not read Steelheart. If you have not read the first book, then you probably should not being reading this.

David fell for Megan who turned out to be Firefight, an Epic that can bend reality with her illusions and reincarnate whenever she dies. Now that she’s disappeared, he’s dealing with getting Newcago going without Steelheart to rule over it since David had killed him. Jon/Prof, the leader of the Reckoners decides that another tyrant must fall: Regalia, the water Epic who rule Babilar, which once was Manhattan.

When David, Prof, and Tia, get to Babilar, a city that has been flooded, they team up with a new group of Reckoners: Mizzy, Val and Exel. Each is unique and has their own quirks. Mizzy is kind of silly at times, and Exel is kind of morbid, and Val is sad about the death of their previous gunman. One of the funniest parts was when Mizzy was supposed to record a plan they were making and just wrote some steps that were funny, like “Put Val on Decaf”.

There is lot og funny dialogue and scenes in the book. David is still using ridiculous metaphors, which are actually similes. He’s obsessed with them as much as he’s obsessed with guns. He’s goofy and quirky and I love him. He reminds me of Percy Jackson from Rick Riordan’s series in so many ways. David is now 19 and act like he’s 14ish at times. He’s nerdy about Epics and guns and stuff and awkward when it comes to romance. I love any scene with dialogue between him and Megan (who reminds me of Annabelle from Percy Jackson). Relationships in which the girl is the tough one and the boy is the goofy one are always funny in books.

This story is full of fun and fantastical sci-fi elements. The plot is easy to follow, yet complex. We find out so many interesting things that we may have been wondering, like certain characters’ pasts. We also get a significantly different setting. Where Newcago was full of fear and steel and technology, Babilar is full of water and warmth and color. Buildings fluoresce with spray paint, plants grown in buildings, and people throw rooftop parties. It’s nothing like David is used to.

Since I don’t want to spoil this whole book, I will say that this book has almost everything you wish would happen. It’s full of superpowers and evil and complex characters. It’s a book that will definitely give you a book hangover. I feel like nothing else will ever be as good as this series has been. Thank goodness there is a 3^rd book: Calamity, coming in Spring 2016. Such a long wait I read Steelheart as an Arc in Sept 2013. I hate waiting.

Recommend this to fans of Marvel and DC comics and movies and TV shows. Books like Illusive, V is For Villain and Shatter Me.

Cover Art Review: Love the embossed cover. It’s also metallic. They changed the cover from the original hardcover of Steelheart, but it has similarities.