Firefight (The Reckoners, #2) in Audiobook Junkies

Oct 04, 2013 Mogsy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: review-copy, young-adult, audiobook, fantasy, science-fiction, favorites, dystopia, superheroes-and-superpowers

5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/01/25/a...

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, and I admit I usually go into his books with higher than average expectations. Still, I rarely find myself disappointed. There’s just something about his style of writing and storytelling that really appeals to me, and the truth is, the man is a font of utterly amazing and creative ideas.

In 2013 Sanderson brought us Steelheart, the first book in The Reckoners series a 5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/01/25/a...

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, and I admit I usually go into his books with higher than average expectations. Still, I rarely find myself disappointed. There’s just something about his style of writing and storytelling that really appeals to me, and the truth is, the man is a font of utterly amazing and creative ideas.

In 2013 Sanderson brought us Steelheart, the first book in The Reckoners series about superheroes gone bad, and I loved every moment of it. So you can imagine my excitement when I received the Firefight audiobook for review! This book is the highly anticipated sequel, and I couldn’t wait to get back to David Charleston and his fellow freedom fighters, joining them on their continuing mission to neutralize Epics and end their oppression. After destroying Steelheart and freeing the city of Newcago from his reign of terror, the Reckoners are headed to Babylon Restored, formerly New York City, to seek out more High Epics to defeat.

Their latest target is Regalia, a High Epic with water-based abilities who rules Babylar (Babylon Restored, or Babyl-R, hence Babylar). Sanderson once again proves he is the master of world-building the instant we enter the city by way of a boat, because most of what used to be Manhattan is submerged. If I had any reservations at all about the story and characters leaving Newcago for another setting, they were dashed as soon as I encountered Babylar’s watery landscape – er, seascape. Regalia has crafted hills and valleys out of the surrounding ocean using her Epic abilities, and what’s more, there’s a mysterious power in Babylar causing strange things to happen, like graffiti to glow and luminescent fruit to grow in abundance in what’s left of the skyscrapers visible above water. The result is this mind-boggling tableau of a post-apocalyptic city with an otherworldly, almost magical quality to its appearance.

In departing Newcago for Babylar, we’re also leaving a couple of characters behind, namely Cody and Abraham. However, the story makes up for that by introducing us to several new faces as Prof, Tia and David team up with the members of the Reckoners cell in Babylar. Val, Exel and Mizzy are all fascinating additions to the book, but I have a feeling it is the latter who will steal the hearts of many readers, due to her perkiness and loveable personality. Indeed, Mizzy was one of my favorites.

Obviously, a big part of this book also involves David’s conflicted feelings about Megan AKA Firefight, the girl who infiltrated the Reckoners and stole their secrets along with David’s heart. What I really thought was great is that David’s soft spot for Megan is more than just a typical vapid “forbidden love” side plot; besides causing friction with Prof and his new Babylar teammates, David’s relationship with Firefight also serves as the catalyst for huge things to come at the end of the novel.

When it comes to our main man, David is his entertaining, goofy yet charming self. I know some readers have expressed annoyance at these books so far because of the horrible metaphors David makes or the absurdity of some of the Epics’ weaknesses, claiming that these factors weaken the series by making it seem ridiculous. It’s a fair point, though on some level I think you have to see them as the running gags they’re meant to be. David’s attempts at metaphors may be cringe-worthy and pathetic, but they add some much needed humor to this otherwise very bleak world where Epics who by all rights should be humanity’s heroes turn out instead to be our worst nightmare.

This is probably also a good time to mention how much I enjoyed Firefight in audio format. Initially, I had qualms about tackling the audiobook – after all, a bad narrator can ruin the whole experience. This was absolutely not the case here, however. I believe I actually have narrator-extraordinaire MacLeod Andrews to thank for feeling a lot more connected to David’s character in this sequel than I did in Steelheart.

I’ve heard of Andrews before this; he has narrated a number of books and I’ve listened to a few of his performances. Still, I don’t remember being as blown away as I was with his work here. You can tell with some audiobooks when the narrator is really enjoying themselves, as they add their own inflections and other nuances as they’re reading, becoming the character. This is definitely one of those situations. For me, Andrews became David. Reading the character’s silly jokes on paper might fall flat for some readers, but the lines come to life when delivered by MacLeod Andrews. David is no doubt meant to be a little awkward, and somehow Andrews is able to convey that while still managing to sound very natural and real at the same time.

All told, I would say Firefight is another winner from Brandon Sanderson. New setting also means new heroes and new villains, and I’m glad things like that are keeping the series fresh. Arguably, there are even more twists and turns here than in Steelheart, with Regalia and her Epic minions like the wily Newton and utterly psychotic Obliteration mercilessly playing cat-and-mouse with the Reckoners. I loved the unpredictability of the plot, since it’s so rare that a Young Adult novel can capture my attention and keep me in suspense from beginning to end. The YA categorization is debatable though, as these books can most certainly be enjoyed by a much wider audience. I for one would recommend this to young adult and adult readers alike. Seriously worth your time. ...more

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Jan 06, 2015 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopia

Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2015/0...

Firefight is a good follow up to Steelheart and I think has a great set up for the next book. There’s more great action that gives you that Hollywood blockbuster movie type of feel. But I have to be honest, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as Steelheart. One of the largest problems was that it just took me a while to get into the story. Even though it ended quite strong, I have to acknowledge that, as a reader, I wish this book Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2015/0...

Firefight is a good follow up to Steelheart and I think has a great set up for the next book. There’s more great action that gives you that Hollywood blockbuster movie type of feel. But I have to be honest, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as Steelheart. One of the largest problems was that it just took me a while to get into the story. Even though it ended quite strong, I have to acknowledge that, as a reader, I wish this book had grabbed me earlier.

I’ve thought a while on why I enjoyed Steelheart so much more than I did Firefight. Honestly, I think it comes down to I the fact that I enjoyed David’s backstory and how he grew into the the Epic hunting person he is more than the actual Epic fighting parts of the story. So, when this book opens with fighting an epic with kool aid filled water balloons (that’s so early in the book, I’m going to count it as a non-spoiler), I just really didn’t care. I often felt with Firefight that I was just not the target audience, which is true. It’s YA, and I historically don’t engage as well with many YA books. There are some very strong exceptions so I never discount a book for this reason, but this book over all just did not seem to work as well for me as its predecessor.

But, the world is imaginative and interesting. We move from Newcago to Babylar (which is the new name for Manhattan). Regalia is the Epic in power there, she has the ability to control water, and uses that to hold the water back from flooding Babylar. Without her, the city would be fully submerged. With this changed landscape comes some peculiar traits, such as glowing graffiti and produce. And it is also home to Firefight (aka Megan, David’s love interest. At least before she betrayed them in the last book). This relationship and romantic interest certainly plays a role in the story and in David’s motivations. It is interesting to see how he handles seeing Megan on the other side of the fight. While this did not dominate the plot, it may have been what I was most interested in.

There are mysteries to be solved, people to save, evil Epics to kill. Even though I say it took me a while to get into, this is not a book that you could find boring and it’s far from slow. In fact, I expect many people to love it as much as they did Steelheart. And I have to admit, I think I loved the ending to this as much as I loved Steelheart. There’s a great twist and plenty of reason to read on to the next one in the series.

And as a side not, I definitely enjoyed this more than I did Mitosis, a short story set between Steelheart and Firefight, which got a rating of “just OK”. ...more

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Nov 16, 2013 ☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

In Firefight, the Reckoners team travels to Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan. Here an Epic named Regalia rules. Regalia may be a tougher opponent than Steelheart with her clever cunning and mischievous schemes. David, Tia and Prof are busy trying to fight Epics and locate Regalia. David has ulterior motives for coming to the city though. Firefight is here and he believes he can help her. Prof and David do not see eye-to-eye causing friendships and the team to be tested.

David is a s In Firefight, the Reckoners team travels to Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan. Here an Epic named Regalia rules. Regalia may be a tougher opponent than Steelheart with her clever cunning and mischievous schemes. David, Tia and Prof are busy trying to fight Epics and locate Regalia. David has ulterior motives for coming to the city though. Firefight is here and he believes he can help her. Prof and David do not see eye-to-eye causing friendships and the team to be tested.

David is a strong hero with this huge heart. He is passionate but this also causes him to be impulsive and naive. His outlook and willingness to risk for others makes him a hero you can truly root for. Prof is struggling, and despite bull-bullheadedness, he and David make a great team. Tia is just crazy, but I adore the girl.

I loved Sanderson’s rendition of Manhattan. Babylon Restored was a huge underwater city where folks live on the rooftops. Through imagery, he brought the city to life. Here we battle Epics, but also learn more about them and Calamity. The overall arc development shared things that only increased my curiosity. Sanderson does a wonderful job with character growth particularly David’s.

Sanderson knows how to weave a tale and begins with a hook, then slows down to fill in the details and slowly builds to a frenzy. He weaves in twists and turns keeping the reader fully engaged. I enjoyed the unpredictability of the story. The geek in me loves the unique abilities and freaky gadgets. Sanderson’s ability to give the book equal measure ensures he delivers four and five cup rating. He weaves in humor, action, growth, cool characters and geeky goodness creating that perfectly blended tale.

MacLeod Andrews was a brilliant choice for this series and one of the reasons I switched formats. His audio rendition showed David’s frustration, fear, hope and exasperation. It was brilliant and I loved how he captured the snark, banter and quick wit of the characters. Each character had a distinct voice, and I felt he brought them to life. I would have liked a female narrator brought in for the female roles, but MacLeod held his own and did better than most when portraying the opposite sex. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer ...more

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Feb 26, 2015 AudioBookReviewer rated it it was amazing

ABR's full Firefight audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

I pre-ordered Firefight months ago, everyday, even though I knew it wasn’t out yet, I still had to check. I was so entranced by the premiss of superheroes having their powers make them evil. I wish it wasn’t such a long wait, but now the wait is over.

Sanderson has created such a unique universe with this series. Full of deep characters that I actually developed feelings for. Not only that but the world that ...more

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Aug 28, 2015 Melindeeloo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio_book, x2015-audio-challenge, urban-fantasy, super-heroes-super-villans, post-apocalyptic, x2015

There's a quick peek at post Steelheart Newcago as the Reckoners strive to protect the city from new Epics turning up to claim the city. But when clues point to the Epics having been sent to draw Prof's interest, Prof, Tia and David set off to the Babylon Restored (former Manhattan) to deal with the power behind the threat head on.

I did this second book in audio. The reader does a fabulous job with leading man David, his performance has me in love with David in all his nice guy quick thinking ne ...more

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Apr 14, 2016 Adrian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, dystopia, sci-fi, fantasy, post-apocalyptic, young-adult, narrated-by-macleod-andrews, superheroes

My rating: 4.5 stars
Audiobook narrator MacLeod Andrews rating: 5 stars

Right away, this book picks up with the action from where the last book left off from and does not let up much. The author goes deeper into making unique and interesting “Epic” powers. I also really like the names he picks the for he Epics. The idea of Newton (and the name) are just great.

There are some very similar story lines in this book from the last (including the exact same as… (view spoiler) ...more

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