All I could say when I finally got my hands on a copy of Fire was, "Finally!" Then I immediately went home and started reading. I have to admit I was slightly skeptical when I found out it was a prequel to Graceling by Cashore, but there was no way I was not going to give it a try.
Fire takes place about thirty years earlier than Graceling. It’s set across the mountains of the seven kingdoms in a place called the Dells. What is the connection to Graceling? Well not much actually. As far as characters and stories go, it’s all different except for one disturbing young boy with two different color eyes. But I gotta say it really did not matter; there is a connection, a connection in the feel, drama, and storytelling.
In the land of the Dells there are monsters; they have the shape of normal animals except they are perhaps orange, fuchsia, turquoise or some other intensely bright color. Oh, and they have the ability to control the minds of humans. Fire is the 17-year-old human-shaped monster and the last of her kind. A beautiful monster in body, Fire is able to control minds, but has a good soul that knows right from wrong.
I became completely absorbed in this book and quickly stopped caring about the prequel/completely-different-characters thing. If you loved Graceling, please read this; and if you have not read Graceling, please read this anyway. It’s okay... Really... You'll love it. Both Graceling and Fire are young adult/ teen books by Kristin Cashore. ~Mara