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A Girl From Nowhere
(The Firewall Trilogy #1)
by
Surrounded by fire, a girl with mysterious powers and a young warrior search for safety.
Life in the wasteland is a constant struggle. No one knows it better than Taimin. Crippled, and with only his indomitable aunt to protect him, Taimin must learn to survive in a world scorched by two suns and frequented by raiders.
But when Taimin discovers his homestead ransacked and his ...more
Life in the wasteland is a constant struggle. No one knows it better than Taimin. Crippled, and with only his indomitable aunt to protect him, Taimin must learn to survive in a world scorched by two suns and frequented by raiders.
But when Taimin discovers his homestead ransacked and his ...more
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Renata
Definitely feels like it
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of A Girl From Nowhere (The Firewall Trilogy, #1)
Told Not Shown
I enjoy fantasy on occasion, and I'm always looking for a new series to sink my teeth into. I had high hopes for this first book of a fantasy series. However, I found myself disappointed.
As I started reading this book, something felt off and odd, and it took me a bit to puzzle out what was bothering me. I finally figured it out, though. The book feels like it is more telling than showing. There’s a writing adage that authors should “show rather than tell,” but this author misses th ...more
I enjoy fantasy on occasion, and I'm always looking for a new series to sink my teeth into. I had high hopes for this first book of a fantasy series. However, I found myself disappointed.
As I started reading this book, something felt off and odd, and it took me a bit to puzzle out what was bothering me. I finally figured it out, though. The book feels like it is more telling than showing. There’s a writing adage that authors should “show rather than tell,” but this author misses th ...more
I came for trope-filled fun, but instead was blasted with ableism and stilted writing that I found hard to believe came from a best-selling author.
Here are my two positive comments: It was fast paced, and the concept of the firewall was cool (pun intended). Don’t be mad at me please, I brought a cat GIF!
https://media.giphy.com/media/dRcMsUU... (I hope this works, I'm sort of new to Goodreads and don't know how to insert images.)
DNF at chapter one, because I am merciless. I might have given it so ...more
Here are my two positive comments: It was fast paced, and the concept of the firewall was cool (pun intended). Don’t be mad at me please, I brought a cat GIF!
https://media.giphy.com/media/dRcMsUU... (I hope this works, I'm sort of new to Goodreads and don't know how to insert images.)
DNF at chapter one, because I am merciless. I might have given it so ...more
Nov 19, 2020
Tonya
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2020reads,
2020-reads,
action,
authors-to-know,
journey,
looks-good,
series,
uniqueread,
fiction,
twisty-plots
Whoa!!! The Girl From Nowhere is part one of a new trilogy by James Maxwell. The trilogy is called The Firewall Trilogy.
In depth look at surviving the wastelands and how the Firewall limits life for those trying to find food and water. The character development seems slow but steady. Possibly aimed at young adults and though I am 50, I am quite young at heart. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more in the series.
Kindle Unlimited read and listen!
In depth look at surviving the wastelands and how the Firewall limits life for those trying to find food and water. The character development seems slow but steady. Possibly aimed at young adults and though I am 50, I am quite young at heart. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more in the series.
Kindle Unlimited read and listen!
Buy the book or borrow it on Amazon KU.
I got this book from Amazon First Reads. I thought it started out really good and then I just got bored. I didnt care about any of the characters or anything they were doing. I had zero connection. I did like the description of all the different species though.
Overall, very meh. I dont care enough to finish the series.
...more
I got this book from Amazon First Reads. I thought it started out really good and then I just got bored. I didnt care about any of the characters or anything they were doing. I had zero connection. I did like the description of all the different species though.
Overall, very meh. I dont care enough to finish the series.
...more
I liked the whole setting- the non-humans, the whole mystic power and the beasts. I know it’s a dystopian survival trope with gladiator mixed in (and possibly Divergent series by the looks of the ending) but it is a fantasy, very fast paced and the action scenes were good. It’s an okay read to pass the time.
However there was a bit too much telling rather than showing, hence, I couldn’t connect to the protagonists’ (Taimin and Selena’s) relationship and moreover, I couldn’t feel that bad for Taim ...more
However there was a bit too much telling rather than showing, hence, I couldn’t connect to the protagonists’ (Taimin and Selena’s) relationship and moreover, I couldn’t feel that bad for Taim ...more
I mean, it was okay. Getting past the telling-not-showing style of writing did my head in, but it was fast paced, there was some basic world building (largely off the back of post apocalyptic scarcity, so plenty of tropes in there) and thanks to the telling-not-showing I didn’t feel particularly attached to any of the characters (bar baby Griff. He was clearly the best of the bunch). It was more fantasy than sci-fi (maybe it’ll turn into sci-fi in the later books?) and generally, it was a time f
...more
Too tropey and clumsy writinv
Taimin's story is a unique one. As a child, he is crippled after he witnesses his parents' murder. That is traumatizing to watch for a child. In response, his "aunt" abuses him in the name of survival. This part of the book made me cringe the most because of how often she insulted him for being a cripple and told him he would die. If that's the case, then why bother trying to help him? At one point, she brings him home, then carries him back to the place he was injur ...more
Taimin's story is a unique one. As a child, he is crippled after he witnesses his parents' murder. That is traumatizing to watch for a child. In response, his "aunt" abuses him in the name of survival. This part of the book made me cringe the most because of how often she insulted him for being a cripple and told him he would die. If that's the case, then why bother trying to help him? At one point, she brings him home, then carries him back to the place he was injur ...more
This book is so far out of what I would typically read, but after reading a sample of the first few chapters I was hooked. The descriptions are so vivid that it really brings this other world to life and the characters are so relatable through their struggles. It is the characters relationships to each other that make this book so good.
The writing didn't work for me. It was all tell, no show. Setting was interesting, but plot too predictable.
...more
I recieved this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love fantasy so much and when I saw this cover and read the description I feel excited to beginning a new fantasy series! But then I was very disappointed so, here we go
The positive: It´s a very fast reading and the world is fascinating, all the idea about this books it´s amazing but...
The negative: I was a little boring while I am reading this book, like a said the idea and the world was amazing but the developing was boring ...more
I love fantasy so much and when I saw this cover and read the description I feel excited to beginning a new fantasy series! But then I was very disappointed so, here we go
The positive: It´s a very fast reading and the world is fascinating, all the idea about this books it´s amazing but...
The negative: I was a little boring while I am reading this book, like a said the idea and the world was amazing but the developing was boring ...more
Good
This is a good book and a quick read. It has danger, fantasy and love of family. It's a book of endings and new beginnings. I interested to BB see how the story continues.
...more
This is a good book and a quick read. It has danger, fantasy and love of family. It's a book of endings and new beginnings. I interested to BB see how the story continues.
...more
Strange yet fascinating
What a strange world this is, I am not, much for science fiction but this kept me reading, and I will read the nezt
What a strange world this is, I am not, much for science fiction but this kept me reading, and I will read the nezt
3.5 Stars
*ARC received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*
Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSz0J...
The world-building in the story is wonderful. This world, this wasteland, is completely surrounded by fire. Nobody knows why. It's a very arid desert-like place where survival, water, food, and supplies are all mixed together. Which is why everybody is in search of this White City.
There's also an introduction to the mystic system, which I quite enjoyed. And later in the
stor ...more
*ARC received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*
Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSz0J...
The world-building in the story is wonderful. This world, this wasteland, is completely surrounded by fire. Nobody knows why. It's a very arid desert-like place where survival, water, food, and supplies are all mixed together. Which is why everybody is in search of this White City.
There's also an introduction to the mystic system, which I quite enjoyed. And later in the
stor ...more
I’ve read James Maxwell’s previous series and loved them, but this feels like it was written by a different author. Maybe he’s trying something new? Well, it didn’t work for me. The writing was simplistic but too wordy (was he paid per word?). Many of the alien species just seemed like different types of human; they didn’t really have “alien” characteristics. Is he trying for a YA audience? I’ve read far better YA books.
The story itself was ok, if a bit predictable. The last half of the book was ...more
The story itself was ok, if a bit predictable. The last half of the book was ...more
I’m not going to lie, when I downloaded this book, I was thinking it’s a book to read at night, when I’m in bed. That way, if I’m bored, I’ll let the story drag until it’s died.
I was wrong.
When I got going with A Girl From Nowhere, by James Maxwell, I was stunned into loving the story. The actually plot, the characters and even the action was filled with something new. Something fresh, that I hasn’t read in a very long time. I’d fallen into this rut of wanting horror more than anything else, th ...more
I was wrong.
When I got going with A Girl From Nowhere, by James Maxwell, I was stunned into loving the story. The actually plot, the characters and even the action was filled with something new. Something fresh, that I hasn’t read in a very long time. I’d fallen into this rut of wanting horror more than anything else, th ...more
I couldn’t put this book down! One of the most original fantasies I’ve read, the snappy pace hooked me and the twists kept me guessing (and guessing incorrectly, which doesn’t usually happen!). Not only that, but, as the best of literature should, this tale caused me to ponder parallel situations of our world to consider the world beyond the boundaries of what we can see, and to assess my own interior world. I enjoyed this book so much and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a swashb
...more
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! James Maxwell did a wonderful job creating a vivid and intractable world. There were new races, interesting places, and action to boot. Every page was entertaining, and I read the whole thing in two sittings. Being that it was so fast paced, I didn’t find there to be any slow areas, and I think that the second half of the novel is even more page-turning than the beginning.
My only complaint is that, throughout, I felt like I was missing something with the ...more
My only complaint is that, throughout, I felt like I was missing something with the ...more
Jun 10, 2020
Louise Freeman
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favourites-i-ve-read
I loved reading this book with thanks to Amazon first reads, I've never read anything from this author before and now I must read his others I loved this book that much, it was so gripping from the first chapter , I didn't see anything coming has a few different view points ( which I wasn't expecting ) which do help follow the storyline. I love the main character was scared for him a few times he goes through a lot in this book . this is a must read can't wait for book 2
...more
Audiobook version:
Narration / voice acting was superb for this book.
A good story with with the theme of uniting different peoples and races can accomplish great things, and those that seek to divide, seek to conquer. A fitting message for the times we are in, in the US, right now.
The ending makes you want to grab the next book in the series right away, and I did!
Narration / voice acting was superb for this book.
A good story with with the theme of uniting different peoples and races can accomplish great things, and those that seek to divide, seek to conquer. A fitting message for the times we are in, in the US, right now.
The ending makes you want to grab the next book in the series right away, and I did!
This book was ok. Kind of a mix of dystopian and fantasy. The female protagonist was typical of these sorts of books. Girl has special powers. Girl doesn’t realize how powerful she is. Girl gets captured and is forced to use power for evil. Girl gets tired of evil and summons up her inner “force”. And so on. Over all, nothing spectacular, but also not the worst.
2020 grade FZ
Three thugs killing an innocent peasant in the first few pages and I am out of here.
Abandoned with prejudice.
NOT recommended.
Three thugs killing an innocent peasant in the first few pages and I am out of here.
Abandoned with prejudice.
NOT recommended.
I encountered this as one of the “Kindle First Reads”. After reading the sample, I have no desire to keep going.
When he was a child, Tasmin’s parents were killed by “rovers”; he was crippled at the same time. His aunt Abi raised him and trained him to survive in the waste, which is filled with hazards. He tamed a wyvern, and is able to ride it, apparently making up for his own inability to run.
The prose is simple and procedural — at the end of the Kindle sample, I feel like I don’t know the inne ...more
When he was a child, Tasmin’s parents were killed by “rovers”; he was crippled at the same time. His aunt Abi raised him and trained him to survive in the waste, which is filled with hazards. He tamed a wyvern, and is able to ride it, apparently making up for his own inability to run.
The prose is simple and procedural — at the end of the Kindle sample, I feel like I don’t know the inne ...more
I read the first two books of The Shifting Tides series by Maxwell, and thoroughly enjoyed at least the first of the two books. When I saw this one show up for the free Kindle book of the month, I figured I'd give the author a try again.
I must admit, the story was fast paced and the world was intriguing. I enjoyed the unique races described and the fact the main character had to deal with a serious physical handicap throughout.
It did lack...something though. I would liken it to watching the TV ...more
I must admit, the story was fast paced and the world was intriguing. I enjoyed the unique races described and the fact the main character had to deal with a serious physical handicap throughout.
It did lack...something though. I would liken it to watching the TV ...more
Wow! A young boy watches his parents murder. He in turn is crippled. His aunt teaches him to survive. Until she is killed years laster. Taimin starts on his own adventure to the promised city. Along the way, he meets other travelers.
A journey of self discovery, overcoming challenges, trust.
A journey of self discovery, overcoming challenges, trust.
A decent story. It's been done before of course, but this one does have some unexpected plot twists that make it a worthwhile read for most scifi fans. Some won't like it, because of it's end of the world type setting (note, that's not the actual setting, just one that fits the description of most end of the world stories I've read), so if you can get past the tropes, you should be able to enjoy the story quite nicely, especially since it turns out, the world is stranger than you first imagine.
...more
Aug 24, 2020
Ziggy Nixon
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
no one, just awful
Recommended to Ziggy by:
Kindle Unlimited offer
1 star and only barely that. Dreadful. I can't believe this drivel is as popular as the numbers indicate because it is some of the worst writing I've come across in a long, long time. Maybe its just 2020 talking, but this title will go down as nothing more than another nail in the coffin of what was once my interest in the fantasy genre.
Equally astounding is that so many people consider this 'young adult' fiction. It is anything but as the YA genre relies on good writing built around the lives ...more
Equally astounding is that so many people consider this 'young adult' fiction. It is anything but as the YA genre relies on good writing built around the lives ...more
( I received an e-copy of the book in exchange for a review)
The Wizard of Oz meets a dystopian desert
I first came upon this book by looking through NetGalley; both the cover and the description called my attention and I immediately became interested in reading it. I was unfamiliar with the author, his writing, and the kind of characters he built. Regardless, the book turned out be an interesting read and I enjoyed myself while reading it.
SUMMARY:
After Taimin lost his last family member, who ...more
The Wizard of Oz meets a dystopian desert
I first came upon this book by looking through NetGalley; both the cover and the description called my attention and I immediately became interested in reading it. I was unfamiliar with the author, his writing, and the kind of characters he built. Regardless, the book turned out be an interesting read and I enjoyed myself while reading it.
SUMMARY:
After Taimin lost his last family member, who ...more
This was just so badly written, pages of just overexplaining concepts that it felt more like a "the world of..." book rather than a novel. Characters didn't feel developed at all - no personality and really any sense it seemed. The book spent so much time spelling everything out that you were just told someone was this rather than seeing it and couldn't develop any of your own feelings towards a character other than destain. Also half the time I couldn't understand why they did something other t
...more
I listened to this book almost completely on Audible. I did take a break and read a couple of chapters of the Kindle version, but for the most part I listened. After I finished, I sat for a few minutes and tried to figure out what my feelings were about this book. I have to admit that I had just come off of a high from reading an excellent book, a book that completely pulled at all of my emotions, so maybe that was the problem. But, when it came right down to it, I realized that that was the iss
...more
Jul 07, 2020
Nicholas
marked it as to-read
A GIRL FROM NOWHERE is the first installment of a planned trilogy focused on a young man Taimin, who is crippled from an accident in childhood, which makes his dangerous world even more dangerous to survive in. The other main character is a somewhat mysterious girl named Selena, who has a power called "farcasting," which is a cross between astral projection, telepathy, and mind control. They and other companions live on a scorched planet with two suns and very limited resources, and there are a
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOS: Serious Over...: [Jun 2020] "A Girl from Nowhere" Discussion | 1 | 7 | May 26, 2020 02:22PM | |
| YA Apocalyptic an...: May 2020 BOTM: A Girl From Nowhere (The Firewall Trilogy #1) | 3 | 19 | May 12, 2020 06:23PM |
Readers also enjoyed
Fantasy author James Maxwell has ranked in the top 5 best selling authors on Amazon worldwide. All of his novels have been category best sellers on Amazon.com and Amazon UK.
His influences include Wies & Hickman, George R.R. Martin, Raymond Feist, Terry Goodkind, Tad Williams, David Gemmell - and of course J.R.R. Tolkien.
He was raised in New Zealand and Australia, and lives in London with his wif ...more
His influences include Wies & Hickman, George R.R. Martin, Raymond Feist, Terry Goodkind, Tad Williams, David Gemmell - and of course J.R.R. Tolkien.
He was raised in New Zealand and Australia, and lives in London with his wif ...more
Other books in the series
The Firewall Trilogy
(3 books)
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