Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

From the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of Words of Radiance coauthor of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson presents the second book in the Reckoners series: Firefight, the sequel to the #1 bestseller Steelheart.

They told David it was impossible--that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet, Steelheart--invincible, immortal, unconquerable--is dead. And he died by David's hand.

Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life more simple. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And there's no one in Newcago who can give him the answers he needs.

Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic, Regalia, David is sure Babylon Restored will lead him to what he needs to find. And while entering another city oppressed by a High Epic despot is a gamble, David's willing to risk it. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David's heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic--Firefight. And he's willing to go on a quest darker, and more dangerous even, than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.

Review:

It took me way to long to read this book. I’d been waiting and waiting for it to come out. I was the number one person on the hold list for it at my library. I enjoyed it; it just moved rather slowly for me in the beginning. And if I’m being totally honest, I need to add that I had a terrible cold this week that came with a terrible sinus headache/migraine that made reading impossible for a few days. Still though, 10 days is a long time for me (sickness or no).

I still will end up ranking this rather high because I did still love it. The world-building has escalated to an all time amazing high. We get to see a futuristic/post apocalyptic/dystopia New York City overrun by gangs and super villains. It was so, so interesting. Imagine the NYC of I Am Legend, but mostly underwater, still somewhat populated, and coated in glowing, neon paint (oh, and no creepy zombie type creatures). Okay, it’s a little hard to imagine, but this book just paints it wonderfully.

Also, I kind of loved the new cast of characters. I loved seeing how other Reckoners worked. I loved seeing more crazy, evil High Epics. I also got to learn some serious history about David’s mentor, and some seriously interesting facts about David’s “crush.”

The ending was, as I’m learning about all Sanderson books, epic. So much action happens at the end that I went from always wanting to put the book down, to just not being able to. Some mind-bendy conclusions are reached. And I am definitely excited for another installment.

Also, through out the whole thing is the almost Percy Jackson-ish sense of humor. There lots of bad jokes and silliness thrown in. And I can see how this can come off a bit cheesy (at least at times), but for me, I guess, it just defines the voice of this story. It’s loaded with action, super powers, evil villains, and humor. Oh, and there’s a smidgen of romance; I can’t forget that.

My only qualms are about the rather slow start. There’s certainly action and Epic-killing from the beginning, but it all moved slowly for me and seemed a little repetitive after book 1. It did end up picking up though. I loved the extended world building. I loved the new characters. I loved the awesome ending. I give it an 8/10.