Review: Firebrand, Kristen Britain
Kristen Britain’s Firebrand rounds back into proper Green Rider form, and though it’s long in page count, readers will find they’ll fly through the pages.
Long fantasy novels tend to be hit or miss for yours truly. It’s not that I’m afraid of commitment to 800-page tomes, it’s just that they tend to feel like they have padding here or there. Firebrand, by Kristen Britain, clocks in at 816 pages, but it manages to avoid this problem.
This is the sixth book in a series that stars Karigan G’ladheon, once a reluctant member of the king’s messenger service, the Green Riders. Minor spoilers follow: she’s not so reluctant anymore. Like the rest of Sacoridia, she’s embroiled in conflict with Second Empire, descendants of an invasion trying to finish what their ancestors started. Oh, also, she’s got some feelings for her king, who’s married. It’s complicated, as you might expect.
After the fifth book, Mirror Sight, felt somewhat out-of-place, it was pleasant to come back to the Green Rider series as I’d come to know it with Firebrand. However, Britain has also managed to pull the lens back a bit off of Karigan and focus on others once more throughout the story, and it really works. Yours truly gives Firebrand 4/5 stars. Let’s break it down.
The Good
This book ends up being pretty tightly plotted. Little details here and there end up paying off later, with a reader who’s been paying attention probably able to call a few reveals because of the foreshadowing Britain sprinkles in. Between that and the still-fascinating worldbuilding, a reader will likely find themselves in the “just one more chapter” stage of reading. Additionally, you can see the threads of where the story’s probably going in the next novel as well, without really falling back on knowledge of the genre.
Fans of the series will recognize that “Firebrand” doesn’t refer to Karigan, but instead to King Zachary of Sacoridia, also known as her longtime love interest. Indeed, this novel really brings him to the fore. This is not to knock Karigan, who has gone through some interesting changes over the course of the books. However, getting back into Zachary’s head is refreshing nevertheless.
As always, there’re touches of humor in here as well, although it generally feels like a more somber book than previous ones in the series. Then again, that also makes sense, based on what Karigan’s gone through in the past five books. The life of a fantasy heroine is not an easy one to begin with, after all.
The Not-So-Good
Occasionally, the dialogue felt a bit off to my reading ear, particularly between Karigan and Estral in the early parts of the novel. It wasn’t enough to throw me out of the story completely, but it did have me lifting an eyebrow once or twice.
Additionally, the final chapter feels a bit tacked-on. I won’t spoil what it is. We know Britain can weave a side-plot in to these books — we’ve seen it before with earlier novels — so to not do that here seems like an odd choice overall. It’s likely going to lead to the next novel, but it ends up feeling like someone somewhere realized they hadn’t really covered this thing and needed to shore it up. (Behold, no real spoilers.)
The Recommendation
There’s basically no way to start in Firebrand with the Green Rider series. Would you start midway through The Two Towers if it were your first time reading The Lord of the Rings? No, probably not, right? It’s the same thing here.
Next: Review: Perfect for You, Candis Terry
Additionally, someone who’s read and appreciated the previous five novels will find that this one fits right in. This is a pretty great fantasy series. Get in on it.