annieb123's review against another edition
5.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Firebreak is a standalone dystopian near-future adventure story by Nicole Kornher-Stace. Released 4th May 2021 by Simon & Schuster on their Gallery/Saga imprint, it's 416 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (paperback release scheduled for 2022). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.
This is an enveloping, intense, well written powerhouse of a novel which delivered everything it promised me. I've seen lots (and lots) of comparisons from other reviewers with Ready Player One and it has only the most basic commonalities: much of the action takes place in a virtual world (but with very real real-life consequences), and there's a gigantic EvilCorp the underdog protagonist has to fight.
There's a lot of unvarnished social commentary here and I got flashbacks to Sinclair's The Jungle at several points. The author takes on late stage capitalism, corporate power dynamics, exploitation, economic corruption and manages to do so in the middle of a rollicking adventure buddy narrative which is blissfully free from romantic drama.
The author writes deftly and engagingly and I never found my interest waning. I was a little intimidated at the very beginning of the read over the length of the book, but I was gratified to see that there was no page bloat at all and I was never yanked out of my suspension of disbelief. It -is- a first person narrative which is challenging, but the author manages to avoid the "I did this and then this and then this happened" pitfalls.
It's a gripping and well told story. Highly recommended for fans of dystopian underdog adventures with strong protagonists. Four and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Firebreak is a standalone dystopian near-future adventure story by Nicole Kornher-Stace. Released 4th May 2021 by Simon & Schuster on their Gallery/Saga imprint, it's 416 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (paperback release scheduled for 2022). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.
This is an enveloping, intense, well written powerhouse of a novel which delivered everything it promised me. I've seen lots (and lots) of comparisons from other reviewers with Ready Player One and it has only the most basic commonalities: much of the action takes place in a virtual world (but with very real real-life consequences), and there's a gigantic EvilCorp the underdog protagonist has to fight.
There's a lot of unvarnished social commentary here and I got flashbacks to Sinclair's The Jungle at several points. The author takes on late stage capitalism, corporate power dynamics, exploitation, economic corruption and manages to do so in the middle of a rollicking adventure buddy narrative which is blissfully free from romantic drama.
The author writes deftly and engagingly and I never found my interest waning. I was a little intimidated at the very beginning of the read over the length of the book, but I was gratified to see that there was no page bloat at all and I was never yanked out of my suspension of disbelief. It -is- a first person narrative which is challenging, but the author manages to avoid the "I did this and then this and then this happened" pitfalls.
It's a gripping and well told story. Highly recommended for fans of dystopian underdog adventures with strong protagonists. Four and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
audreyliz964's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a thrilling ride. When you first read the description, its concepts sound like things you've read before: dystopia, futuristic VR games, corporations that have taken over the world... But Firebreak manages to take these seemingly familiar and overdone narrative concepts and turn them into something fresh and exciting.
I particularly like how the book incorporated the futuristic VR gaming side into the story. It served the narrative well without having to become the sole focus. It's so easy to overdo this plot element (*cough* Ready Player One *cough* a.k.a. plot holes: the book), and I was impressed with how well it's done in Firebreak. I also liked that the main character was an introvert who wasn't treated like her introvertedness was something that needed to be overcome in order to succeed. Instead, it was simply who she was.
The ending was satisfying and didn't feel over-the-top and unfeasible, like some dystopia book endings can be. In fact, a triumph of this book is how realistic and feasible everything seems, even though it's set so far in the future.
Definitely recommend this book. (Is it too much to say that this book is what Ready Player One should've been like?)
I particularly like how the book incorporated the futuristic VR gaming side into the story. It served the narrative well without having to become the sole focus. It's so easy to overdo this plot element (*cough* Ready Player One *cough* a.k.a. plot holes: the book), and I was impressed with how well it's done in Firebreak. I also liked that the main character was an introvert who wasn't treated like her introvertedness was something that needed to be overcome in order to succeed. Instead, it was simply who she was.
The ending was satisfying and didn't feel over-the-top and unfeasible, like some dystopia book endings can be. In fact, a triumph of this book is how realistic and feasible everything seems, even though it's set so far in the future.
Definitely recommend this book. (Is it too much to say that this book is what Ready Player One should've been like?)
picketfences's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
diaryofthebookdragon's review
4.0
Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace immediately got my attention because:
✔ It’s science fiction (without romance) written by a female author.
✔ Main character is a female gamer. With the exception of [b:Doomed|13505645|Doomed|Tracy Deebs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349241046l/13505645._SY75_.jpg|16364521] by Tracy Deebs, the rest of the main characters that were gamers (in the books I have read)were boys.
✔ Setting off the corporate USA was very intriguing. Probably there are a lot of conspiracy theories that big corporations are already ruling the world. But Nicole Kornher-Stace takes it one step further. What if a corporation actually owned a USA state? What would happen if there was no government to limit the corporation and if they could tailor the law and everything else to suit their needs??? The future is scarily possible. Power curfews, water rations, prices dictated by corporations, news tailored as they seem feet…
✔ Mal finds some evidence that everything corporations are telling to the people is not true (Shocker, right?) When Mal tries to share this on her streaming channel. it gets buried in hateful comments and accepted as a conspiracy theory. I found this very realistic. There are a lot of little people sharing their truth on social media who never get heard because they do not have enough influence or charisma to present it well enough.
"I wish life were like a movie, where some antisocial nobody like me could get up in the front of a crowd, have a token moment of shyness, and then magically belt out this huge amazing speech about how the revolution starts right the fuck now..."
✔ I liked the ending. (Not commenting on it because of spoilers).
What my rating was not higher?
✘ How Mal until the moment did not think that anything corporation or news reported was false. That kind of blind faith is baffling in the modern age.
✘ Mal is very obsessed with one military hero (that is a kinda celebrity in the future). It's never explained why.
✘ Characters are a bit too much black/white. I wish they were more realistic.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Firebreak. Nice dystopia with relatable female gamer main character.
Recommended.
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
✔ It’s science fiction (without romance) written by a female author.
✔ Main character is a female gamer. With the exception of [b:Doomed|13505645|Doomed|Tracy Deebs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349241046l/13505645._SY75_.jpg|16364521] by Tracy Deebs, the rest of the main characters that were gamers (in the books I have read)were boys.
✔ Setting off the corporate USA was very intriguing. Probably there are a lot of conspiracy theories that big corporations are already ruling the world. But Nicole Kornher-Stace takes it one step further. What if a corporation actually owned a USA state? What would happen if there was no government to limit the corporation and if they could tailor the law and everything else to suit their needs??? The future is scarily possible. Power curfews, water rations, prices dictated by corporations, news tailored as they seem feet…
✔ Mal finds some evidence that everything corporations are telling to the people is not true (Shocker, right?) When Mal tries to share this on her streaming channel. it gets buried in hateful comments and accepted as a conspiracy theory. I found this very realistic. There are a lot of little people sharing their truth on social media who never get heard because they do not have enough influence or charisma to present it well enough.
"I wish life were like a movie, where some antisocial nobody like me could get up in the front of a crowd, have a token moment of shyness, and then magically belt out this huge amazing speech about how the revolution starts right the fuck now..."
✔ I liked the ending. (Not commenting on it because of spoilers).
What my rating was not higher?
✘ How Mal until the moment did not think that anything corporation or news reported was false. That kind of blind faith is baffling in the modern age.
✘ Mal is very obsessed with one military hero (that is a kinda celebrity in the future). It's never explained why.
✘ Characters are a bit too much black/white. I wish they were more realistic.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Firebreak. Nice dystopia with relatable female gamer main character.
Recommended.
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
mrfroggy's review
I just cant get into this. I might just be too judgmental especially w only being 15% through w the book, but i think it falls into the same pitfalls of Babel where the idea is there, but its neglected for a half-realized politics thats trying to push to the forefront of the story instead of working with the story to convey its message
It just ends up reading too literally and tbh it didnt approach its own issues complexly enough to satisfy me, especially as something that claims to be adult scifi and not YA
It just ends up reading too literally and tbh it didnt approach its own issues complexly enough to satisfy me, especially as something that claims to be adult scifi and not YA
maartabarrales's review
adventurous
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
nightjar656's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those books where it feels impossible to sum up how good it is and why it’s so good in a review. That being said, this book was amazing, and has further solidified the fact that Nicole Kornher-Stace is one of my favorite authors.
I read somewhere that a good dystopia is one that takes something to a logical extreme, and that’s something that this book does really well. Artificial scarcity, corporations caring about nothing but profit, the way certain scenes went down, even the unlimited water inside the building with the dehydrated citizens- it echoes the world we live in.
This is a book that will make you mad, and a book that might even impact how you see the world around you.
This is also a book with characters trying to do the right thing, and just trying to survive. It has a very strong emotional core.
There’s not much more that I can say without spoiling much. Tl;dr : this book is incredible.
I read somewhere that a good dystopia is one that takes something to a logical extreme, and that’s something that this book does really well. Artificial scarcity, corporations caring about nothing but profit, the way certain scenes went down, even the unlimited water inside the building with the dehydrated citizens- it echoes the world we live in.
This is a book that will make you mad, and a book that might even impact how you see the world around you.
This is also a book with characters trying to do the right thing, and just trying to survive. It has a very strong emotional core.
There’s not much more that I can say without spoiling much. Tl;dr : this book is incredible.
dschminkey's review against another edition
5.0
This book is an action packed thriller from beginning to end. A dystopian novel based in the future where corporate greed runs the world and everyone in it.
That is until Nycorix (Mallory) decides to stop being a spectator and do something about the atrocities she has witnessed.
I was pulled in by the gaming/streaming aspect and I was held there with the thrilling sequences that didn’t leave time to be bored. This book from beginning to end had my attention and was finished in 1 day. Worth the read my opinion!!
That is until Nycorix (Mallory) decides to stop being a spectator and do something about the atrocities she has witnessed.
I was pulled in by the gaming/streaming aspect and I was held there with the thrilling sequences that didn’t leave time to be bored. This book from beginning to end had my attention and was finished in 1 day. Worth the read my opinion!!
gracereadsit's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.5
I’m pretty neutral about this book. The premise was interesting and I mostly continued reading just to find out what happened next. The ending was kinda strange.