Reviews

De Komst van de Vuurbrenger by Meredith Ann Pierce

cy_anite's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

Lyrical, interesting, and fun. Great worldbuilding. Looking forward to continuing the series.

blazeofredfire's review against another edition

5.0

This had a very classic fantasy feel and I did really enjoy that! The richness of the world was wonderful and I found myself wishing it was a little longer!

mommy_mabel's review against another edition

4.0

I haven't really read any horse/unicorn related stories since I was in elementary school so I thought I'd give this YA title a chance. The story follows prince-ling Jan son of Prince Korr, the black unicorn. The wyrms used trickery to force the unicorns from their homeland hundreds of years ago. However, the prophesied Firebringer will come within Jan's lifetime and help the unicorns take back their lands.

Nicely done fantasy with warrior unicorns - no glitter and fluffy cloud unicorns here. Reminds me a bit of Marguerite Henry's horse stories but I could be wrong because I haven't read her work in years.

ashleyserena's review against another edition

2.0

The language was a bit much for me, so flowery it became distracting. The mythos however is potentially delightful and I found myself particularly interested when it focused on more than the unicorns. Will see what the second book has in store!

unibadger's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Blood and Pregnancy

blazeofredfiree's review against another edition

5.0

This had a very classic fantasy feel and I did really enjoy that! The richness of the world was wonderful and I found myself wishing it was a little longer!

pseudopod's review against another edition

I read this series many years ago as a kid, when I was very into magical creatures in general. I'm still finding the books to be very well written, with vivid characters and cultures.

This first book is the least interesting of the set. It's still a great, quick read, but mostly is setting up for the real meat of the story arc. It does have some very vivid moments, particularly the twists around the climax.

I definitely recommend the books if you're a fan of fantasy or xenofiction, and advise sticking with the series. The plot ramps up a lot in book 2.

annalisenak97's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting concept and good worldbuilding, but I had a hard time caring about some of the characters and the story. Jan and Tek are great characters but I didn't really understand the purpose of Dagg. The conflict was strong, and the twists at the end of the book were very good, but the story itself took a long time to build up. The whole thing reads in the tradition of Lord of the Rings, which is a tone that I like very much. We'll see how the other two books in this series hold up.

mel510's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

siavahda's review against another edition

4.0

A beautiful, unexpectedly mature and complex book; the Watership Down of unicorns. Pierce takes common tropes - a prophecy, a chosen one, an outcast people longing for their ancestral homeland - and uses them to examine difficult questions most middle-grade and YA authors flinch away from; racism, totalitarianism, prejudice, the meaning of loyalty and the complicated nature of family love. The writing style is simple and flows smoothly, making this a short and easy read for an older or more experienced reader, but the story and the questions it raises lingers after the book is closed. A truly gorgeous book and a joy to read.