Firethorn

May 24, 2012 Ben Babcock rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-library, 2012-read, fantasy, romance, 2012-worst10

I went to the library last week for the first time in too long. I got 14 books, most of them added to my to-read list in 2009. I love that Goodreads lets me never forget which books I want to read, but sometimes I still forget the why. Such is the case here.

Firethorn begins with 28 pages of the protagonist alone in a forest for a year. She eventually eats some berries from the firethorn tree, passes out from hunger, decides when she wakes up that her new name is Firethorn and it’s time to go bac...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Clay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

Sarah Micklem’s ‘Firethorn’ (Bantam Spectra, $14, 383 pages) is a bit of a puzzler.

It is packaged like a fantasy, and begins that way. A young girl in a medieval society runs off to the forest, eats some mysterious berries and is given some minor powers. She returns to her village, and has a fling with a noble, and impulsively follows him off to war.

At this point, I thought Firethorn (for that’s her name) might wind up getting dumped by the nobleman (Sire Galan) and then go off to explore the re...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, low-magic-fantasy, awesome-fantasy-written-by-women, 4-stars-and-a-half, 10-best-books-read-in-2010, favorites

I was initially attracted by this book's gorgeous cover, then turned off by the bookjacket description, which makes this sound like another standard boring fantasy. It's not. The Firethorn books fill in a gaping hole in the "gritty fantasy" subgenre: they tell the story of women and commoners in a medieval-esque society.

As other reviewers have recounted, this book follows the title character, Firethorn, as she leaves her village to follow a passing "cataphract" (knight) to war, serving as his m...more I was initially attracted by this book's gorgeous cover, then turned off by the bookjacket description, which makes this sound like another standard boring fantasy. It's not. The Firethorn books fill in a gaping hole in the "gritty fantasy" subgenre: they tell the story of women and commoners in a medieval-esque society.

As other reviewers have recounted, this book follows the title character, Firethorn, as she leaves her village to follow a passing "cataphract" (knight) to war, serving as his mistress. Most of the book takes place at the army camp, but it's anything but dull, with Firethorn navigating the treacherous currents of power, lust and revenge that sweep the camp. I was hugely impressed with this book: it doesn't shy away from the harsh realities (like many a gritty fantasy, it contains its share of mud, blood and filth), and it shows an interest in the lives of women that is refreshing in this genre. The book is utterly realistic, but that doesn't make it depressing: there's a bit of romance here, for instance, unidealized as it may be.

And Micklem doesn't get enough credit for her worldbuilding. It's been awhile since I've seen such an original and fully realized culture portrayed in fantasy. Apparently the author has studied anthropology, and it shows. This isn't just another attempt at portraying medieval Europe with a different religion; anybody who appreciates great worldbuilding in fantasy should like this book. I'm especially pleased with Micklem's portrayal of this world as it would actually be, rather than in an idealized fashion, and the way she keeps magic to a minimum, on the fringes of society. You won't see any sorcerers wielding lightning bolts in this one. Instead, you'll get an extremely well-written book: I didn't fully appreciate the depth and originality of Micklem's writing until the second time through, but neither genre nor more literary-minded readers should be disappointed.

Firethorn herself is a tad too idealized for my taste, and her saintly behavior toward her enemies became especially annoying (I was pleased to see her become a more morally ambiguous character in the second volume). I found the development of the supporting characters to be good, although as the book is written in first person, we get to know them only as well as Firethorn herself does; there are no revealing monologues here, and little trust or affection between many of the characters. The quality of Micklem's prose is excellent, but while something is always happening, the pace lags a bit at times. I could have used less talk about herbal remedies--unfortunately, one of Firethorn's interests.

This style of writing isn't for everyone--if you prefer the sort of fantasy worlds you'd like to vacation in, or you don't think bodily fluids should ever be mentioned in fiction, Firethorn isn't for you. It hardly needs to be said that there is sex and violence, although neither is gratuitous. Finally, for a first book in a trilogy, Firethorn gives little indication of the overarching conflict of the series; we can presume it has to do with the war, but we see nothing of that here. Yet the open-ended finale makes this a poor standalone novel.

With those caveats, I still highly recommend this book. Micklem is a strong and much-needed new voice in fantasy, and I hope to see many more books from her. (less)

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Sep 02, 2008 Wealhtheow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of gritty medieval fantasy

Shelves: fantasy

I am wildly in love with this book. It is told through the eyes of Firethorn, a foundling mudchild who grows up under the kind but stern tutelage of a Dame of the Blood. Firethorn learns herblore and pride from the Dame, but after her mistress's death she is adrift. Too proud and grief-stricken to serve under the Dame's nephew (who rapes her, btw--this is not a cozy book), she runs away to the Kingswood. She lives there for a year, nearly starving poisoning herself on berries in the meantime. Fi...more

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May 08, 2008 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: REALLY die-hard fantasy fans might like this.

I picked this book off the shelf at the library because it was next to the space where the book I was looking for should have been. I took it home because I liked the cover. Yes, I judge books by their covers. If a publisher's marketing department can spend all that money trying to put something on the cover to appeal to certain people, who am I to let it go to waste?

The story, in a nutshell, centers around Firethorn, a common woman who goes to war with a soldier as his mistress where she is sub...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Annalisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have been drawn into the world of fiction, and my thoughts overflow with the story. I just finished reading Firethorn by Sarah Micklem. The world was different and yet similar enough that I could imagine visiting and seeing the plants I read about. I was drawn in from the first word and I followed every step not questioning even though the text may have stumble. If I did question it was more for myself and my desire to know more, to be come the character whom I am reading. Firethorn was easy t...more I have been drawn into the world of fiction, and my thoughts overflow with the story. I just finished reading Firethorn by Sarah Micklem. The world was different and yet similar enough that I could imagine visiting and seeing the plants I read about. I was drawn in from the first word and I followed every step not questioning even though the text may have stumble. If I did question it was more for myself and my desire to know more, to be come the character whom I am reading. Firethorn was easy to love even though she was a tough person in the book. I read and read and still I want the book to continue as the end wasn't really an ending. I have the next book and am waiting to pick it up, yet I want the first book to continue. I'm not ready for a second book yet. I have to wait for the story to drift out of my mind and stop pestering me before I start the next book.

Firethorn is light fantasy. It is not the fantasy where you have to try and believe in dragons and time travel, which I have nothing against. I like this kind of fantasy because it is easy to read without questions. Firethorn, the main character in the book, has been given gifts by the god of fire, Ardor, after she survives eating the fruit of the firethorn. When she returns from her time in the Kingswood she finds that the kingdom is going to war. When the troops come through the town she is spotted for her red hair by one of the Blood, descendant of the Gods. He takes her for his lover, but instead of leaving her in the town he takes her with him. Most of the novel takes place in the Marchfield while they are waiting to go to war across the sea. As there is little physical movement and they never get to war in the story, the book could have easily dragged, but it didn't. I did start to feel impatient and wanted them to leave for war but I never was sorry they didn't leave. The more I read the more I got to know the characters and the more I wanted to read the next in the series, Wildfire. I have to say that I was really drawn to the cover of Wildfire and would probably not have read Firethorn if I hadn't realized it was a series. I am not sorry that I did though and would recommend the novel. I do think it will appeal more to females as it is in first person, and Firethorn is not a female character who would easily be liked by male readers.(less)

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Mar 02, 2012 Ainsley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr, fantasy

This is gritty fantasy novel that is mainly about the relationship between Firethorn, the serf and her lover, Sire Galan. The prose in the book is really well done, it grips you right from the start. For the prose alone, I would give it 5 stars, so why didn't I? Well.. the world setting was great, the obsession the main character has with her lover and where that obsession takes her, is very interesting but not a whole lot actually happens in the book. I guess I wanted more about what it meant t...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Krystal rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I picked up this book during a whirlwind shopping trip in B&N – grabbed it because the name sounded interesting, the cover wasn’t horrible, and the reviews I found with a quick search on my phone said it wasn’t too terrible a book. So I bought it. Well, I guess it wasn’t too terrible.

It also wasn’t too exciting. Didn’t really suck me in, didn’t really have me too invested in the characters or the story. All in all, meh. There were bits of the novel’s world that were a little interesting – th...more I picked up this book during a whirlwind shopping trip in B&N – grabbed it because the name sounded interesting, the cover wasn’t horrible, and the reviews I found with a quick search on my phone said it wasn’t too terrible a book. So I bought it. Well, I guess it wasn’t too terrible.

It also wasn’t too exciting. Didn’t really suck me in, didn’t really have me too invested in the characters or the story. All in all, meh. There were bits of the novel’s world that were a little interesting – their gods, their society structure, etc … all sort of glossed over, not really explained in depth, sort of forcing us to assume much, glean what we could from the tidbits that are given. I will say this, I was intrigued by the fact that one of their gods had two avatars – the Sun and the Moon. Common, yes. But in this story, the Sun was the female avatar, and the Moon, the male. Now, most every fantasy novel I’ve read generally associates the Moon with the feminine. Shy, coy, mysterious, etc. And it fits. And I’m used to that. So to hear the Sun described in this world as She, blinding the world with her glittering veils … it was interesting. A little backward in my opinion, but I guess it works.

The story itself: A girl named Luck wanders into the woods after her Dame (her sort of “master”) dies. She lives out there, in like a cave or whatever, for about a year. Eats some firethorn berries, they give her visions of the god Ardor, she decides it’s time to return to civilization. (fun side note: firethorn – also called Pyracantha, in the real world – not poisonous or hallucinogenic or anything. Just nasty tasting.) So now Luck, renaming herself Firethorn, is back in her village. During a local festival, a day when the common folk are served by the ruling class, Firethorn couples with a man of the Blood (ruling class) and they both sort of become besotted. Her mainly because … well, I don’t know. He was cute? of the Blood? she had no better options? And him because he sees her as being sent to him by one of the gods for luck, basically a rabbit’s foot that puts out. He’s certain that if he brings her with him when he goes to war (which all the Blood are gathering to do) that he’ll survive. That’s right folks, it’s true love from the start.

The rest of the book takes place in the Marchfield, the plot of land where all the clans of the Blood gather to prepare for the war. And by “prepare for the war,” I mean sit around, play at mock tourneys, and basically just get into the sort of trouble that happens when lots of amped-up men get together and are then told to sit and wait. During all the crap that naturally comes from this sort of situation, the romance between Firethorn and her man, Galan, blooms. Blooms like the mandrake root charm she binds with Galan’s hair and buries under the full moon. Yeah, to bind him to her. Because having the man truly love her, not good enough.

Galan’s character is probably quite accurate for a man of that time and setting, but he doesn’t make for that likable of a love interest. And Firethorn isn’t that great either. These two are definitely bound together, whether by affection, mutual need (for security, ownership, whatever), or by the binding charm Firethorn makes … but there’s not much in the book about any sort of true affection. They both exhibit a bit here and there, but it’s not extremely believable and you can never be entirely certain about the reason for said affection.

The writing was a bit tedious at times; I often found myself quickly skimming through long paragraphs of descriptions that I really didn’t care about. Even inner monologues got long and tiresome, as none of these characters every really evolve. They basically just wax on and on about the same things through the whole book. So yeah, can’t say with all honesty that I read every word of this book. But I don’t think I missed much of importance.

The ending leaves you with a cliffhanger – Galan gives Firethorn a chunk of land and his hunting lodge/castle as her own, sending her away from the war they’re about to embark on, wanting her kept safe. Firethorn is torn between leaving him (*gasp* how could she ever be parted from him? the pain, too much to bear … this is me rolling me eyes) or defying his wishes and following him into war, without his knowledge. The book doesn’t exactly make it clear that she doesn’t make a decision to stay or go, but it definitely doesn’t make it clear that she’s doing one or the other. It’s pretty vague and annoying, actually. Now, this is the first in a trilogy (the second book – Wildfire – is out, but I don’t believe the third is yet) so I understand leaving the readers hanging. But still. The book wraps up with Firethorn worrying over her options, pondering Galan and her binding of him to her, and then it sort of trails off. After reading the synopsis of Wildfire, not sure if I really want to read it. I wanted to before, because I wanted to know if Firethorn was going to war of if she was going to the castle. But the synopsis I read of the second book told me right out that *SPOILER* she follows him to war. Well, alrighty, that’s all I wanted to know.

Now, I don’t really want to read a book about some bedservant and her man in the middle of some war. Something tells me that this author’s writing of the war would just be unbearable. I don’t even really enjoy war stories when the author’s writing is exciting and interesting. I would much rather have read a story about Firethorn, with her greenwoman skills, charms and various minor supernatural gifts from the gods … I’d like to read about her going to this castle, in a land she’s never been, a slightly higher station than before – not quite a kept concubine, but not a “sheath” (for his “sword,” get it … clever), and she’d be all alone. (Possibly with a small staff there at the castle? Would she be now sort of in charge? That would be an interesting situation for her character. A lowborn commoner now faced with ruling over those not much lower than her in station. Interesting dynamics there.) And living nearby would be Galan’s wife (yes, of course he has one) and I’d love to read some interaction between those two. I want to see Firethorn in that world, getting to know herself without Galan, learning about her skills and gifts, growing into a stronger woman. Then Galan can return from war a little humbled and a little wiser from his experiences, and they would both be better people, whole people, and they could have a real romance.

Yes, that’s a story I’d like to read. I know I’m taking my modern ideas of strong women and my love for slightly unrealistic romance/true love/passion and putting it into a medieval setting, where it probably wouldn’t have occurred in real life, but who cares. fan·ta·sy

But unfortunately, the story I want isn’t the story that’s continued in the series. And so, I probably won’t continue reading the series. If I wanted to read a similar tale only much much better – I’d read the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey.(less)

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Oct 26, 2010 Jewel rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book started rather slow and boring, but I stuck to it, and then I couldn't stop reading it.
I'm not saying that I liked it, it was really depressing and Firethorn (the heroine) was really annoying at times.
This book was really realistic in it's description of the setting, a war camp during a historical period that might be medieval, and the 3 page description of Sire Galan (we might think of him as our hero) donning his armor were really interesting, I totally enjoyed them.
But what I HATED...more This book started rather slow and boring, but I stuck to it, and then I couldn't stop reading it.
I'm not saying that I liked it, it was really depressing and Firethorn (the heroine) was really annoying at times.
This book was really realistic in it's description of the setting, a war camp during a historical period that might be medieval, and the 3 page description of Sire Galan (we might think of him as our hero) donning his armor were really interesting, I totally enjoyed them.
But what I HATED about how realistic it was, the total lack of privacy, it took away any romance from the book, and left me with a bad taste.
I mean they managed to put up a curtain for the sick lady, why couldn't they do it for their own privacy??!!!
I also thought the book was violent in many ways.

The characters, other than Firethorn because she was the narrator, were lacking in character building.
All we know about them are the things they said to firethorn.
Sire Galan character certainly needed a bit more, I can understand why in some reviews people didn't like him and said the Firethorn deserved better, but to me, it was the opposite, I mean in the society described in this book Galan looked to me better than others, he might have treated her bad at times, but I think he didn't know better, He obviously cared for her, in his own way, it's just that the author made you feel that these people didn't really know what love is.
In fact my favorite part in the whole book(apart from the armor) was when he slapped her after thinking that she left him, I saw this as the first real sign from him that he actually cared!!
I found Firethorn to be a lacking characters in many ways, I hated her, honestly, the things she said always sounded to me as if she were stupid, and how she thought she might have been touched by the gods then she saw this vision that was showing her the way, and caused trouble for herself and the others to achieve it and then all of this ended up for nothing!! I didn't see the point on that.

It's true that I couldn't stop reading the book, and I also had no idea how it was going to end, but I didn't feel good after finishing it, I had to run and pick up a light funny romance after it to erase the affects.
I'm totally not interested in reading the sequel, I don't care what happens to Firethorn at all.

(less)

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Mar 20, 2010 Katie M. rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: feminists, medievalists, herbal medicine practioners, people who like non-fluffy love stories

Shelves: feminist-interest

In the parallel universe where our evil selves have goatees, Firethorn would be a romance novel. In this one, it's something darker and much more interesting. Some of the elements of a romance novel are present: an improbably handsome knight chooses a common woman as his bedmate and sweeps her away from her life of servitude, and she accompanies him as he rides off to serve in the King's army. Their passion, both physical and emotional, is intense, and sometimes it's not really clear why these t...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Christina Thornton rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fairly slow paced and definitely not light and upbeat. The main character of this book, Firethorn, is low born and a woman, and thus has absolutely no status. One of the things this book explores, though, is how someone of low status can achieve some semblance of power.

It was difficult to read because Firethorn is really at the mercy of the man she decides to follow for war. You keep hoping for him to treat her as an equal, or for her to take what she deserves, but it's a lot more subtle than t...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Tamara added it · review of another edition

Shelves: author-female, class, community-or-something-like-it, fantasy, female-protagonist, gender, first-person, medieval, romance, secondary-world, war

This is that book people keep asking for in Fantasy, but secretly wonder if they'd actually want to read: the one about small things happening to common people and not about the high king and the fate of the world.

As it turns out, it's a page turner. I think there must be a kind of temptation, when writing this sort of story, to broaden the scope, give the characters more power, make the story more extraordinary, but Micklem resists and the book stays tightly focused on the psuedo-domestic (as...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Liza rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-loans, 2011

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

This story has a singular narrative characterized by the protagonist's reflective nature. The entire story is told from Luck's / Firethorn's perspective. The details of her surroundings and the events that transpire are all her interpretations.

Firethorn lives in an imaginary historical time and place that has no technology and a social structure like feudalism. As a foundling or orphan, Luck has no pre-determined place in this heirarchy; she falls to the bottom, but is raised up by a Dame, a les

...more

This story has a singular narrative characterized by the protagonist's reflective nature. The entire story is told from Luck's / Firethorn's perspective. The details of her surroundings and the events that transpire are all her interpretations.

Firethorn lives in an imaginary historical time and place that has no technology and a social structure like feudalism. As a foundling or orphan, Luck has no pre-determined place in this heirarchy; she falls to the bottom, but is raised up by a Dame, a lesser noble of some sort. Also, as a foundling, Luck has no protection except for that which she can court from those around her with higher social position or some other power or prestige. The Dame who takes Luck under her wing teaches her things no common mud-born (peasant) would likely learn, like reading, the High speech, and extensive plant lore, which Luck later uses to help herself and others.

All of the above elements of the story set Luck up for what amounts to a second orphaning. The Dame dies, Luck wanders in solitude through a vast forested wilderness, and she earns her new name Firethorn by almost dying from eating poison berries from the firethorn tree. This portion of the book is quite descriptive, but the narrative wanders in the same way that the protagonist does. Firethorn's return to civilization (her old village) is unremarkable until she is noticed by a noble warrior of The Blood, that is, a member of the upper class or ruling elite. This notice comes in the form of an anonymous sexual advance on a festival eve.

The introduction of this noble, Galan, resurrects the violence that readers glimpsed in an earlier attack on Luck by the new master of the Dame's holdings. Galan travels with an army of men. Violence, patriarchal attitudes, sexism, egotism, and other such elements also travel with Galan. For the latter half or two-thirds of this book, the story is full of sex and violence. At times it is quite disturbing and graphic and otherwise bothersome. Firethorn becomes Galan's "sheath". Essentially, she is his sex receptacle. In modern times she would be something less than a mistress, but more selective than a prostitute, and unpaid to boot. She is a kept woman at Galan's beck and call.

The frequent sex scenes are often graphic and hint at violence. They are not romantic, yet somehow Micklem convinces we readers that what is between Galan and Firethorn is almost romance. This subtlety is the saving grace of the story because otherwise it would be an all-too realistic historical account of a woman's place as property. I want to be outraged by the chauvinism and sexism and anti-feminism of this story, but they are all so accurate to the way things would be in such a time and place that instead I have grudging respect for their place in the story. As one of very few women in a camp of thousands of idle soldiers, Firethorn would certainly have suffered threats and outright violence, as she does in the story.

The relationship between Firethorn and Galan is complicated and volatile and compelling. It is part mutual attraction, part ownership of her by him, part submission to him by her, part socially sanctioned role-playing, and lastly, but certainly not least, part voodoo or magic or whatever other word could describe an inextricable spell binding the two together. This part of the story is both disturbing and intriguing because it suggests that Firethorn has powers beyond those which she knows and those which she discovers as the story progresses.

This novel is filled from the beginning with a combined since of expected discovery and terrible foreboding that makes the reader want to keep reading. Firethorn will learn something about herself, about her past, but she will also suffer and then suffer some more. As a female protagonist in a time ruled by men, she is incredibly strong while also being flawed. I'm interested to see how her story continues in the second installment, Wildfire, of the as-yet unfinished trilogy. Hopefully Micklem will not tarry in finishing the story arc.

(less)

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Aug 03, 2011 Victoria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After finishing the novel my initial rating of this book was two stars- the pacing was slow even through the "action" scenes due to the long descriptions and prose style writing and the character development was too subtle in comparison to the rich vastness and grittiness of the world.

I give this novel 3 1/2 stars. The world literally felt like it was a slice from history. The god pantheon was woven beautifully into the story and helped to set the emotional tone for pivotal scenes in the book.

Th...more

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Sep 25, 2009 Jenne marked it as didnt-finish · review of another edition

I was liking this for a while, but it's just too grim. Not in the mood.

It's basically about a woman in a vaguely medieval world, who ends up following this guy to war because she doesn't really have any other options because she's female. She's not of a high social class (and the guy is), but the highborn ladies' lives pretty much suck too. More or less everyone gets raped and abused and/or prostituted. Fun.

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Jun 26, 2009 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A young drudge, Luck, flees into the Kingswood when her kindly mistress dies, leaving her to a cruel master. After what can best be described as a shamanic near-death experience, Luck believes she has been chosen by Ardor, the god of fire, for some unknown purpose, and changes her name to Firethorn.

Firethorn returns to civilization, where she becomes the lover of Sire Galan, a handsome, reckless young knight on his way to the king's war. Infatuated with him, and having no better options, Fireth...more A young drudge, Luck, flees into the Kingswood when her kindly mistress dies, leaving her to a cruel master. After what can best be described as a shamanic near-death experience, Luck believes she has been chosen by Ardor, the god of fire, for some unknown purpose, and changes her name to Firethorn.

Firethorn returns to civilization, where she becomes the lover of Sire Galan, a handsome, reckless young knight on his way to the king's war. Infatuated with him, and having no better options, Firethorn follows Galan to the Marchfield, where the army is assembling. The rest of Firethorn takes place at the Marchfield, and the main plotline concerns a feud between Sire Galan's clan and another noble house. As Galan's mistress, Firethorn is often near the center of the rivalries and hostilities that develop.

Firethorn is an unusual fantasy. There's no grand quest forming the backbone of the story, and the much-talked-about war is just getting underway as the novel ends. Sarah Micklem zooms in, instead, on day-to-day life in the army camp and how it changes Firethorn. This is a harsh and gritty world, particularly hard on women. Firethorn's wits, sharp tongue, and herbal skills sometimes enable her to help herself and others, and sometimes get her into deep trouble.

Another focus of Firethorn is the relationship between Firethorn and Galan. By modern standards, this relationship is dysfunctional in the extreme. However, I thought it was realistic, given the setting. This is a society in which love is disdained, and love between a knight and a commoner unthinkable, so when Firethorn and Galan begin to realize their feelings are developing beyond lust, they are unprepared to deal with these emotions. Misunderstandings, jealousy, and fights ensue.

An underlying theme is honor, and the differences between true honor and the way honor is often measured in a violent, sexist society. In the Marchfield, men's honor is a matter of duels and vendettas, women's honor is too tied to chastity, and "mudmen" (commoners) are believed to have no honor at all. Firethorn is struggling to do the right thing in a situation where doing the right thing often leads to punishment rather than recognition. It's an interesting exploration of the theme. Micklem casts a critical eye on ideas that go unquestioned in some fantasies.

If there's any flaw in Firethorn, it's that it sometimes seems like one bad thing after another, with few triumphs and no comic relief. The relentless grittiness sometimes made it hard for me to read more than a little at a time. I'm glad I persevered. Micklem's prose is beautiful, I loved watching Firethorn buck the system, and even though I started out hating Galan with a passion, the love story had some moments that surprised me with their emotional power. Many questions are left unanswered at book's end, and I look forward to seeing what lies ahead for Firethorn.

I'll end this review with a quote that displays both Micklem's prose and her treatment of war:

"When I'd decided to go with Galan, I'd been ignorant of war. It had been no more to me than tales told about the king's doings, songs about battles so ancient that those who survived them had long since died of old age, tapestries with woven blood spurting from woven wounds. But my ignorance proved to be willful, for surely it was all there in the tales, the songs, the tapestries, if I'd chosen to look: the cruelty under all that splendor. But the songs and stories lied when they gave war shape and purpose. Would I have believed the wanton waste of battle, the squandering of life and suffering, if I'd not seen it myself? And the waste of meaning, for Hazard stalked the field, choosing one to be killed and another maimed and another to go unscathed, and not for anything a man had done or failed to do. Fate gives us what we've earned, but it was Chance who held sway, careless and sightless Chance."(less)

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Apr 15, 2010 Abby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Firethorn is a peasant with unknown parents. She is raised by women who advise her even after their death. She knows the gods have plans for her, just not what and she's not quite sure which one is pulling all the strings. All she knows is she is the lover of a rash knight who says she's his luck, despite his recklessness leading him down a bad pat;. makes one wonder what would happen to him if she wasn't there. They are waiting for a war to start, doing their best to train or fend for themselve...more

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Feb 26, 2010 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

Firethorn is a foundling and a drudge, plucked from her village to be a sheath for Sire Galan (basically, a woman who follows a man in to war so he has someone to shag on the road), in the first of a trilogy.

Micklem has done a good job creating a plausible and detailed medieval world, the only trouble is that it's incredibly depressing and quite often rather coarse (which is something of a shock, coming from me!), and filled almost exclusively by deeply unpleasant people and events.

The first hal...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Rusty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A most creative and interesting read. The author held this story next to her heart for years as she wrote, rewrote and finally finished the tale to the delight of her readers. To add realism to her tale, she examined works by historians, sociologists, journalists and anthropologists. Firethorn is the heroine, a young mudwoman who is claimed by one of the Blood as his sheath to accompany him when he goes to war. She is strong-willed, loving and dedicated to Sire Galan who grows to love this young...more

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Nov 16, 2009 Jacqie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a female coming-of-age fantasy in the vein of "Mists of Avalon", a favorite of mine. Firethorn is a common girl ("mudfolk") who ends up following a young nobleman to war as his "sheath" or bed-warmer. However, she has unusual abilities and independence. She and her paramour grow in strength and discernment throughout the book. There are many hardships for them both. If you're looking for a fast-paced plot, you won't find it here- the book ends with the army leaving for war and the book's...more

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Apr 07, 2010 jD rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series_trilogy, series_mystical, genre_fantasy, must-read-seq

I was suprised how much I enjoyed the book. It is a long story but part of a trilogy. Luck aka Firethorn lives in a world were women are of little to no value and she is not a woman of the Blood so she could not marry above her station. There was only one way for her to move forward and that was Galen. Not a saint by any stretch of the word. This story is a love story and one of political intrigue but it is dark. I would have enjoyed it more if the writer had included a map of the country and al...more

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May 24, 2009 Alison Young rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, fantasy

A fantasy at its most brutal.

What's really fascinates me about this novel is that while it is a fantasy, the only magical device revolving around this alternate world is their religion and their gods. It's interesting how it plays out as whether or not if Firethorn can even feel them or it's just something of her subconsciousness.

Inspiration coming from the real-life medieval times, Micklem writes the character of Firethorn as what plenty of girls who weren't wealthy went through during that per...more

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Jul 24, 2009 Jeff James rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This one started off slow, but once I got used to the period style, I was hooked, and ended up thoroughly enjoying it, possibly more than I expected. The book is basically a romance set in a sort of alternate medieval times. What little touches of fantasy are present are very subtle. Overall the book is pretty straightforward period literature. Class and the structure of this little society were a big part of the book, and everything was very well drawn, down to the last detail. I'm glad to know...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really liked this story, and was so happy to find out that it is the beginning of a trilogy. Unfortunately, the third book hasn't been released yet, so I'm going to wait a bit to start the second one. This was a good mix of fantasy and magic, and I really liked the main character who starts off with the name Luck and ends up adopting the name Firethorn. She is the typical girl without a past who discovers special powers, but I like the fact that she is not perfect. She has a bit of a temper an...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Vanessa Baldwin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is such an intelligent, sensitive, mature rendering of complicated, flawed characters whom you come to love, worry about, and root for. Firethorn is a young "green" woman (or witch) who wants (and needs) to escape where she grew up, with a vague, "anywhere is better than here" drive. She does things recklessly, like sleeps with a knight, shoots off her mouth, decides to follow him to the battlefield as a "sheath". This is how real young women behave. As much as we love Bella, Katniss, and L...more

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Mar 03, 2012 K rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: character-driven, favorites, dark, kick-ass-female-lead, m-for-mature, romantic, softly-spoken, something-different, gritty, serious

Wow. If nothing else, this book is beautifully poetic, but it is much else: dark, introspective, mystic, gritty, an un-fluffy kind of romantic. It provided an interesting contrast to most of the heroine-fantasy I've read. It's not your average sword and sorcery epic.

Liked:
~Mythological storytelling/world building. There is a fully realized, culturally/religiously informed world view that isn't based on science, and not only is it understandable, it's practical and resonant. It makes sense as a w...more Wow. If nothing else, this book is beautifully poetic, but it is much else: dark, introspective, mystic, gritty, an un-fluffy kind of romantic. It provided an interesting contrast to most of the heroine-fantasy I've read. It's not your average sword and sorcery epic.

Liked:
~Mythological storytelling/world building. There is a fully realized, culturally/religiously informed world view that isn't based on science, and not only is it understandable, it's practical and resonant. It makes sense as a way of thinking, even to my modern brain. It was amazing. I loved the little mythologically-based explanations of the way the world worked, and I loved that it didn't seem to take miraculous acts of divine magic to underscore the point. The 'magic' was more of a mystical experience because of this, and it gave the whole story a soulful feel. This was really my favorite part.

Appreciated:
~Stark portrayal of life for women. I can't say I liked it, because it made me mad to the point of almost giving up the book before I'd made it 1/3 of the way through, but I appreciated that the author created a story within the confines of a realistically chauvinistic society. I appreciated the fact that we're shown what kind of life an ordinary woman can expect, and what kinds of rules she might be able to break if she's extraordinary (not many, and certainly not gender rules).

Didn't like:
~The lack of a relationship between the two main characters. They only seem to interact when they're in bed, or when they're fighting. Sometimes both at once. I don't understand how they have such a strong connection (supposedly from the beginning) if this is all their relationship is. He can't possibly love her for who she is because he has no idea who she is. Nor she, him. Perhaps I missed something, because I'm not sure what he saw that he confesses to have fallen in love with, other than (I'm assuming) her amazing sex powers. Or maybe this kind of relationship is a result of the aforementioned societal confines. She is supposed to be his personal prostitute, after all, and men in this book don't really seem to be interested in women as anything else. I suppose a man brought up in that kind of culture wouldn't really care to know who his woman really was, even if he believed she was capable of being more than a sex-toy.
I suppose this bothered me most of all because as a heroine, I really liked her. She is strong and determined without being reckless or fearless or magically adept at swords. She has character flaws but struggles to overcome them. I wish he knew what she was really like, because she deserves it, and because I think he'd appreciate her more for it.(less)

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Jan 19, 2013 Ruby Slippers rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, high-fantasy

At first I really did enjoy reading this book. I didn’t mind the slow sort of meandering that this novel did while telling the story of Luck and her transformation into Firethorn. I liked the details and the world building. I even liked Firethorn, and maybe I still do to some extent. The rest of the story is much like the beginning, slow and meandering, and there in lies the problem. I don’t mind slow starts as long as the tension and action start to build but it doesn’t in the story. It’s reall...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Sue Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2011

This book was probably more of a 2 1/2 star. I found things in it that I liked and others that were just plain awkward.

First off - the writing was enough to put anyone off if you didn't read a lot of it all at once. It's not one to put down over and over, it would just make it all the more awkward. Well, it seemed that way to me. When I did just 'read' for an extended time, I connected to the characters better. I found it to be really - well - stilted. It was like the author tried to make the la...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Yuki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of "gritty fantasy" (age 14 & up)

Recommended to Yuki by: R-4

Shelves: fantasy, house-plants-gardens, donate

3.75 stars. This book is beautifully written -- I could imagine the sentences being woven by someone with graceful and nimble fingers. I was immediately drawn into this medieval-ish world in which the fantasy element is more mystical and mythical than "magical" and kept to a minimum for the majority of the book -- the back cover description of Luck's transformation into Firethorn is a bit misleading and occurs very early in the story.

I appreciated the unsentimental and realistic look at the ver...more 3.75 stars. This book is beautifully written -- I could imagine the sentences being woven by someone with graceful and nimble fingers. I was immediately drawn into this medieval-ish world in which the fantasy element is more mystical and mythical than "magical" and kept to a minimum for the majority of the book -- the back cover description of Luck's transformation into Firethorn is a bit misleading and occurs very early in the story.

I appreciated the unsentimental and realistic look at the very precarious position of an orphaned young girl in a harsh realm and period. The 15/16 year-old heroine Luck/Firethorn who must survive by her wits and knowledge of herb lore and other talents is a familiar character, like Ayla of Jean Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear and perhaps Alyce of Karen Cushman's The Midwife's Apprentice. There's a fair bit of sex and violence, and very detailed battle scenes if you're into that sort of thing.

As a city-dweller with a green thumb, I enjoyed all the foraging scenes, and details of trees and plants and their uses as medicine and poison. This seems to turn off some readers.

My one beef with this book is that it feels like Part I of a novel and does not truly stand alone. It's a problem I have with other recent and popular "trilogies."

Here's a sample of writing that stuck in my mind because it is Firethorn's first time traveling past the woods of the only world she knows:

The road dipped and rose, and we came over the last hill and saw the army encamped over a full league of rolling plain. Beyond the army, the sea. I had imagined the sea would be like a great lake in a bowl of mountains, water cupped by land, but it spilled past the horizon. There was no edge to it, sea dissolved into sky and sky into sea in a gray haze. The surface of the water, green and pocked, reflected the low clouds like an old bronze mirror dulled by verdigris. It was marked by whitecaps quickly scrawled and quickly erased, leaving nothing for the eye to fasten on, a scene absurdly flat and featureless. Yet my eye was caught by it. I looked past the Marchfield until we were down the hill and riding through a city of sumptuous pavilions and squalid hovels, so swarming with men and horses--and sheep, chickens, boys, dogs, goats, women, and mules--that I was bewildered.

I had a good laugh seeing women mentioned between goats and mules! But it really makes you think about the station and worth of the life of a lowly "mudwoman" in such times.(less)

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May 17, 2010 Trisha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Terry Goodkind

So, I have ventured a bit out of my usual reading with Firethorn, but not by much. The story is set in the old-world, but one of magic and many Gods. Firethorn, or Luck as she is first named, is a mudchild (low class) foundling who is taken in and matures under the strict guides of a Dame of the Blood (high class woman) and one of her servants named Na. Under these guides she learns pride and skill as an herbalist or greenwoman.

After her Dame of the Blood passes on leaving her without purpose,...more

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Firethorn (Firethorn #1)

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