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Fire in the Sea

by Myke Bartlett (Goodreads Author)

3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 · rating details · 40 ratings · 19 reviews

Sadie is sixteen and bored with life in Perth. It’s summer, and lazing on the beach in the stifling heat with her cousins and Tom is a drag. Then something comes out of the sea.

Dark menacing forms attack an old man, leaving him for dead and Sadie wracking her brains to understand what she saw. Then there’s a mysterious inheritance, a strange young man called Jake and a hor...more

Paperback, 264 pages

Published July 25th 2012 by Text Publishing

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Dec 07, 2012 Scribble Orca rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, teens-above-12, kids-under-12, kept-me-up-all-night, fun, all-time-favourite

Interview with Myke Bartlett: Part 1!

Oh! Just need to catch my breath. WOW. Btw, those are 10 stars, not five.

A book has to work very hard to counteract my ADHD. I know, I should make more of an effort to stop being a serial book-adulterer but that is...like asking me to stop breathing.

I stopped for this book.

What happened that a relatively unknown Melbourne-based Aussie writer of a young adult (it's suitable for upper middle grade, too) fantasy realism novel that's good enough to keep an (old)...more

20 likes · like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jonathan by: Scribble Orca

Shelves: fantasy, children-s-literature, fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, new-ya-books-challenge

Well here it is, review number 200 for the year. In case you didn't realise that means I've reached my goal of reading 200 books for the year. Which equates to... 65,840 pages read across the year. And this is a decent book to reach my target on too. A quality YA novel by a Melbourne writer.

I'd like to take another moment just to say something about Australia and my heritage. Our history has lots of moments that I'm not proud of but at the same time I'm glad that my ancestors were on the fleets...more
Well here it is, review number 200 for the year. In case you didn't realise that means I've reached my goal of reading 200 books for the year. Which equates to... 65,840 pages read across the year. And this is a decent book to reach my target on too. A quality YA novel by a Melbourne writer.

I'd like to take another moment just to say something about Australia and my heritage. Our history has lots of moments that I'm not proud of but at the same time I'm glad that my ancestors were on the fleets and that I ended up growing up here. It's a "sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of rugged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains" to quote Dorothea Mackellar and I love it. The reason I brought this up is because it seems to me that Myke Bartlett clearly loves Australia too in his own way. His fantasy tale is a solid YA novel set in Australia (and it's one of the few contemporary novels focused around Australia that I've really liked) and it reveals our unique linguistic characteristics and culture quite well without seeming too drawn out. It's a naturally written novel with a unique idea and one which will add to the literature we have produced. Curiously we have produced mainly famous poets and short story writers with one or two bestsellers like Matthew Reilly here or there.

I'd love to say a lot about the story of Fire in the Sea unfortunately that would ruin the fun. I will say that there are Greek mythology elements, reincarnation and some fascinating villains. The plot could be passed off as a typical 'fantasy quest' to recover a mystical item in the fashion of The Once and Future King. However this book is more than that. In its own way it subverts those typical quest elements and adds in other ideas such as reincarnation while quite cleverly using the thought of humanity rebelling against the gods.

All in all an excellent novel set in my own country for once that I've enjoyed. Also a great way to introduce mythology and modern day settings! I'd encourage anyone interested in trying something in the YA fantasy subgenre written with an 'Aussie' tone to give this a go. If you like it then we can talk about Banjo Patterson, Henry Lawson and Dorothea Mackellar!

P.S: I personally must add that I found it hilarious the way the book went on about The God Squad-ers in the neighbourhood as being creepy. I personally know some guys from those groups and they're pretty cool. Another example of why you really shouldn't stereotype or judge people. (less)

12 likes · like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Angelya (The Oaken Bookcase) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya, aussie-authors, reviewed

Review originally posted on The Oaken Bookcase on July 30, 2012.

Sadie and her friends are suffering in the heat of a dry Fremantle summer when strange things start to appear out of the sea. Sadie jumps in when an old man is attacked and is unwittingly dragged into an ancient conflict. Now she must help the Guardians recover a powerful artefact before its too late and the wrath of the Gods is provoked.

It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to sit down and read a whole book in one day, b...more Review originally posted on The Oaken Bookcase on July 30, 2012.

Sadie and her friends are suffering in the heat of a dry Fremantle summer when strange things start to appear out of the sea. Sadie jumps in when an old man is attacked and is unwittingly dragged into an ancient conflict. Now she must help the Guardians recover a powerful artefact before its too late and the wrath of the Gods is provoked.

It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to sit down and read a whole book in one day, but I did just that with Fire in the Sea. With just the right amount of witty Aussie vernacular interspersed with terrifying confrontations with the enemy, this book had me hooked from start to finish.

After I saw it mentioned that this book was similar to Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising sequence (one of my all-time favourites), I had to get my hands on it. I’d describe it as Over Sea, Under Stone meets Tomorrow, When the War Began - strange happenings in a seaside city, with an Aussie twist and a fair bit more violence.

The characters were what really drew me into the story – the teenagers actually speak to each other like real people do and have (probably) realistic reactions to supernatural events. Also, as a breastfeeding mum I was delighted at the reference to it – not that babies make much of an appearance in fantasy generally speaking, but more boobs please!

There were a couple of parts that didn’t quite make sense to me. One was that I didn’t really get how Sadie was able to get Jake to go along with her plan so easily. I mean, Jake and his team have been doing this for centuries, surely they know what they’re doing by now? Also, what happened to his medallion? Is he mortal now? At the end of the story I was left feeling a little confused as to what had happened to Jake and the rest of the squadron.

I’m not sure if more books are planned to follow on in a series from Fire in the Sea, but the premise of the Gods and their Guardians was very interesting and the whole story flowed very well. I’ll be looking out for Myke Bartlett’s future works no matter what world they’re set in.(less)

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Oct 17, 2012 Shaheen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dac-2012

A fast paced Australian debut, Fire in the Sea is an enjoyable read that I was able to finish quickly, but it left me a little disappointed and I hope there is more coming! Set in Perth and centred around the water, this book deals with Atlantis and the Minotaur – two of my favourite aspects of history and mythology. I’ve actually studied the Atlantis mythology in great detail, but I loved the unique spin Bartlett puts on it.

The protagonist, Sadie, grabbed my attention from the very first page....more A fast paced Australian debut, Fire in the Sea is an enjoyable read that I was able to finish quickly, but it left me a little disappointed and I hope there is more coming! Set in Perth and centred around the water, this book deals with Atlantis and the Minotaur – two of my favourite aspects of history and mythology. I’ve actually studied the Atlantis mythology in great detail, but I loved the unique spin Bartlett puts on it.

The protagonist, Sadie, grabbed my attention from the very first page. There’s something fragile about her – she always seems to be one comment away from breaking down, many years after the death of her parents. Sadie’s grief over the death of her parents permeates all the relationships she has – from her cousins to her best friend Tom. I didn’t like the way Sadie treats him – it’s a negative, abusive relationship where Tom takes all the harsh comments and snark in stride, and never stands up for himself, which I was disappointed in. Though Tom’s strength is entirely different from Sadie’s, I think they are both awesome individuals.

Sadie lives with her grandparents, and both of them are caring people who I loved from the moment I met them. Unlike the situation in many other YA novels, this book doesn’t have any uncaring or neglectful authority figures – everyone around Sadie loves her and only wants what’s best for her.

Fire in the Sea offers a whirlwind adventure with an Australian twist, with plenty of action and mystery thrown in to keep readers engaged. A fresh twist in the usual sea-themed myths, this book focusses on the destruction of a city a long time ago, and the revenge a Priestess wishes to extract on the Guardians who brought it about. Sadie meets Jake, a Guardian and the leader of a Guardian crew, charged with protecting the world from the wrath of the Priestess. I really enjoyed the lead up to the final show down between the two groups, but was disappointed in how it played out in the end.

I felt disconnected from the action and couldn’t really summon up the sympathy I knew I was meant to. A part of this has to do with my view that Sadie was incredibly selfish in wanting Jake to save her friends, her family and her city, risking the fate of the entire world. I understand what she wanted, and why, and I empathise with her. I just feel that Jake made all the sacrifices in their dynamic and in the end Sadie was left pretty much unchanged and unharmed. There are also lots of questions that are brought up in the book but go unanswered – I hope that these are addressed in the sequel.

Myke Bartlett is an author to watch – Fire in the Sea is an impressive debut and I’m looking forward to seeing his writing evolve in the future. Fans of Australian literature, especially Australian Fantasy, will enjoy this book a lot, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a fresh, quick YA read.

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .(less)

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Apr 21, 2013 Aniq rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this story, but I didn’t want to read it all night. There was an interesting protagonist in Jake, an angsty teenage girl, who doesn’t always treat her friends well, and a second male lead in Tom. Yep. There is a triangle – but not in the strictly romantic sense as Jake’s intentions are kept cloaked.

There are the Gods versus the old inhabitants of Atlantis –now living under the sea, decaying and covered in verdigris, and wanting to reclaim the Earth.

The best parts:
1. Tight writing
2. Goo...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Mel Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian-authors, read-in-2012, young-adult, fiction

What struck me most about Fire in the Sea was its cinematic quality. I found I could vividly imagine the action as if on a screen; it had the same sense of tension and dramatically visual approach. The action scenes were handled beautifully. I also found myself struck by the economical elegance of certain sentences and descriptions; one that sticks with me is "That bike of hers had never moved so fast." Just a simple sentence, but another author might have written, "Her bike sped down the street...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Mandee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie, aussieya2012, for-review, i-have-a-copy, july2012release, text-publishing, ya-lit, review-on-the-blog, paranormal

Fire in the Sea is the debut novel from Australian author Myke Bartlett and is set in Perth. Sadie Miller is approaching her last year of school but before that a long summer stretches out in front of her. She’s been spending days at the beach with her cousins, twins Heather and Kimberley, and her best friend, Tom, and she’s waiting for something, anything, to happen to shake things up. Then one night she and Tom step in to stop an assault on an old man and Sadie thinks she must be seeing things...more Fire in the Sea is the debut novel from Australian author Myke Bartlett and is set in Perth. Sadie Miller is approaching her last year of school but before that a long summer stretches out in front of her. She’s been spending days at the beach with her cousins, twins Heather and Kimberley, and her best friend, Tom, and she’s waiting for something, anything, to happen to shake things up. Then one night she and Tom step in to stop an assault on an old man and Sadie thinks she must be seeing things because the attackers, strange creature-like men, run off into the sea. The old man, Jacob Freeman, dies and he leaves Sadie his house on the condition that she protects it, and the contents. Not long after that a boy appears at the house claiming to be Jacob Freeman and it’s from that point that Sadie is swept up in a battle for the relic that holds the power to ruin or save the world.

Jacob claims to be an Old One, an eight thousand year old immortal warrior, who takes the body of a human, lives on earth and guards a box in which he trapped a demon. He leads a squadron and most of them also live in Perth. Many, many years ago, the Gods sunk an entire city when a priestess, Lysandra, betrayed the Gods and consorted with a demon to try and get more power. Jacob trapped the demon and he is the only one who can open the box something he will never do. Lysandra and her people, referred to as Drowners, are still living below the sea while her minions and her Minotaur, roam the city, attempting to find and open the box. The Gods have proclaimed that if this ever happens they will destroy her and the entire world.

I read about Fire in the Sea last week and knew that it was a book I had to read as Text Publishing produce some fantastic Aussie YA and lately a lot of them have been contemporary with a fantasy or paranormal element, Fire in the Sea fits this category.

The story opens with a description of the stillness and heat of an Australian summer and from that moment I felt myself in Sadie’s world, alongside her at the beach. She’s so bored that she’s allowed Heather to do a tarot card reading for her and she predicts change. What Sadie isn’t aware of is that there are forces at work in her city that could destroy our world and she’s about to join the battle.

Sadie was easy to like and I could feel her disappointment with her current life. She’s making plans to finish high school and then leave to travel the world and find somewhere else to live. Most of this wanderlust stems from the death of her parents in a car crash six years ago. Since then she hasn’t wanted to talk about it, preferring to keep her pain to herself and I could understand the wall she put up around herself as well as her fear of loss and death. Sadie lives with her grandparents who were both instantly likeable, especially her grandfather, Stan. The first time we meet him, we get a strong image of what he’s like as a person and the banter between him and his granddaughter made me smile.

She spends time with her cousins but it’s clear she only tolerates them as they’re not close and while they’re different from her, they’re obviously great girls with plucky personalities. The character I felt for the most however is Tom. He likes Sadie as more than a friend but she doesn’t feel the same way yet she’s aware of his adoration. Towards the beginning of the book, Tom is trying to work up the courage to tell her and to kiss her but he never quite gets there. Sadie on the other hand is quite abrupt with him and part of me couldn’t understand why he was even friends with her, she got quite stroppy with him as the story went on and Tom just put up with it.

And then there’s Jacob who Sadie feels an instant attraction to but I wouldn’t call it insta-love and it doesn’t over power the story. Her attachment to him seemed to stem from wanting to be protective and it was easy to see why she liked him.

Fire in the Sea combines the element of ancient mythology with an Australian setting in a captivating and thrilling way. Sadie was a strong heroine, ready and willing to do the right thing and often had to remind Jacob that one life is just as worth saving as millions. The secondary characters were just as entertaining and were ready to lend a hand. The book ran along at a decent pace, taking place over a few days, but it never felt rushed and there was plenty of time to take in all of the mythology.

The only thing that stood out negatively to me was a short scene involving a dog getting smacked in the face. On inspecting Mr Freeman’s house, they meet his dog, he acts aggressively towards them, which seems realistic as they are all strangers and he’s probably been alone and unfed for two days. Sadie’s grandfather smacks it in the face and the dog retreats. I didn’t feel this was necessary at all and while I might be reacting more strongly compared to other readers, I felt the need to mention it.

I found the ending to be realistic and I was quite happy with the fact that it wasn’t the predictable ending that so many paranormal YA books end up with. I appreciated the growth in both Sadie and Tom’s characters; the experience had given them both a chance to rethink their lives and changed them for the better.

Fire in the Sea is a fantastic, action-packed adventure, blending the Australian setting of Perth with ancient mythology - definitely a book to check out if you’re a fan of Australian YA or paranormal stories.
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Dec 10, 2012 Ernie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-book

Bartlett is the 2012 winner of the Text Prize for unpublished young adult manuscripts and it’s good to welcome another lively new Australian writer. He begins with that very Australian combination of a hot summer day at a Perth beach where bushfire smoke exaggerates the heat with a sense of foreboding which is quickly supported by something frightening in the water; and it’s not a shark. The action moves swiftly about Sadie, a sixteen year old whose parents have been dead for six years and who l...more Bartlett is the 2012 winner of the Text Prize for unpublished young adult manuscripts and it’s good to welcome another lively new Australian writer. He begins with that very Australian combination of a hot summer day at a Perth beach where bushfire smoke exaggerates the heat with a sense of foreboding which is quickly supported by something frightening in the water; and it’s not a shark. The action moves swiftly about Sadie, a sixteen year old whose parents have been dead for six years and who lives with her grandparents and who was enjoying that last summer holiday with her friends before the final year of school. She defends an old man who is attacked by men who perhaps were wearing demonic masks. Incredibly, his lawyer contacts her at the hospital to inform her that the man Jacob Freeman has died and bequeathed her his beachside unkempt mansion if she agrees to live there as caretaker and protect the house and its contents for 12 months, because the house has ‘unusual’ valuables, including a mysterious box with a ‘relic’. Her grandfather Stan is suspicious and forbids her to stay there. That night Sadie is alarmed by a smelly, giant intruder in her grandparents’ back yard. The intruder has a bodybuilder’s huge frame and appears to be wearing horns. Returning with her friend Tom, to the mansion next day, Sadie is shocked to find a handsome young man there who says that it’s his house and that he is the 8,000 year old reincarnation of Jacob Freeman. Sadie takes some persuading to believe him but when the intruder reappears and gores Tom in a vicious surprise attack, the lawyer is shot dead and Sadie is ‘sung’ irresistibly down to the edge of the pier where Jacob fights off three ‘Drowners’ who rise out of the sea to take her down, Sadie is convinced.
The increasingly popular story line based on characters inhabiting other peoples’ bodies is here supported by the legends of Atlantis, the Minotaur and Pandora’s Box as Sadie and Jacob take up the quest to find the relic in the box to save the world from a fiery destruction. The Minotaur is the Drowners’ slave and furiously dedicated to preventing anyone from saving the relic. The action is swift and exciting with interest heightened by the contrasting realism of a typical Perth summer life. This is an engaging story for year 8 and older students.
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Jul 24, 2012 ALPHAreader rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sadie Miller needs to get out of Perth. This town is too small to hold her, and has too many bad memories that keep a hold of her. Like the memory of her parents’ death, and every one of her sixteen years that should have been shared with them. Instead, Sadie lives with her grandparents and keeps to her close-knit bubble of friends, including her two cousins Heather and Kimberley, and her best friend (who wants to be more), Tom.

But just as Sadie starts fiercely wishing for anything to change, ev...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Samantha-Ellen Bound rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fire in the Sea is an exciting mish-mash of ideas – Greek god mythology, adventure quest, time travel, drowned city dystopia, contemporary coming-of-age story. It is exciting to me that an author can make a story like this and set it in a very recognisable Perth. I really admire the scope and imagination of Fire in the Sea, and I think for the most part it all works together in an intriguing and cohesive way.

Would actually give it 3 1/2 stars.

Full review at:

http://bookgrotto.blogspot.com.au/201....more

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Sep 30, 2012 Jen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, teenage, australian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 17, 2012 Paula Weston rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, young-adult

This is a great read. Fast-paced, interesting characters and plenty of action and intrigue. I loved the Perth setting, the dynamic between Sadie and the people she cares about, and the brilliant way Myke Bartlett brings a fresh twist to some creepy ancient mariner myths.

There's a wonderful sense of menace and mystery as this story unfolds, and the last third of Fire in the Sea in particular is an absolute page turner as Sadie races to save her city - and the world.

Very pleased to hear Myke is wr...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Chantal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Think Percy Jackson, but set in Australia and the Gods and Monsters battle has more substance; the characters have more depth and the battle has more meaning...internal and external.
Cleverly written, highly entertaining.
Suited to ages 13+

1 like · like · see review

Nov 23, 2012 Frances Atkinson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyed it a lot. Liked the way Myke Bartlett used Greek mythology and other legends to explore the lives of his contemporary characters. Great blend of reality/fantasy. Would happily read a sequel.

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Mar 06, 2013 Tressa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

There was a lot going on in Fire in the Sea, but I liked it. I thought the story was odd, interesting, and enjoyable.

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Jul 02, 2012 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Cracking YA fantasy with one foot in a realistic suburban Perth. It's quite violent and would be scary for younger readers, but great for 13+ I'd say.

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Jul 16, 2012 Pat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-aussie-ya-reading-challenge, fantasy

Interesting combination of realism and gods, with Atlantis thrown in for good measure. I liked the Perth setting.

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Dec 22, 2012 Craig Robertson rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this novel. I have read several other works of Mr. Bartlett and knew him to be a superior writer. This book easily lived-up to my expectations. Mr. Bartlett creates complex characters without resorting to any off-the-shelf standard players. The story is completely original. It takes little time to become engrossed and genuinely care about the action. Best of all is Mr. Bartlett's ability to weave in the surreal and ephemeral in both the characters and the story as a whole. Stron...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Braiden rated it 5 of 5 stars

Of course this deserved to win the Text Prize in 2011.

A new favourite mythological of mine.

Review to come.

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About Myke Bartlett

Myke's Young Adult novel FIRE IN THE SEA won the 2011 Text Prize and will be published in July 2012.

A trained journalist, Myke writes on politics, movies, pop culture and rock music. His work has been published in THE AGE, DUMBO FEATHER, OVERLAND, TRIPLE J MAGAZINE, METRO, CREAM MAGAZINE and THE BIG ISSUE. (And some other titles that won't fit into that very long sentence.)

He is the culture journa...more

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