A review by gameoftomes
For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Awe. That’s the main emotion I feel after finishing this book. It is spec-tac-u-lar!

The sense of humor is so refreshing. Especially in a high fantasy that involves necromancy, guerrilla warfare, and colonialism. Nothing feels disjointed. I never got board. 

I loved the inserts of flyers, letters, music pages, etc. that are between some of the chapters. It reminds me of novels like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the heap of epistolary books in the early days of the novel as a literary form. Obsessed. 

This novel does get dark though. The main character Jetta is bipolar and so is the author. The colonizing power Aquitan is loosely inspired by French colonialism, and the setting of Chakrana is loosely based on Southeast Asia. A crazy necromancer dictator was defeated by Aquitan, but then they colonized Chakrana. There is a lot of death and some descriptions of blood.  

I loved the plot twists and trying to figure out everyone’s motives. I loved that the main character is an entertainer who manipulates puppets for a shadow play. The characters who were performers at Le Perl, so funny and memorable. 

This is clearly meant to be a series, so there are loose ends. Some of the words are French-ish and if new jargon annoys you, you might not like this book. Or if a somewhat mixed media approach annoys you. Romance is a very minor plot element. There are some symbols and metaphors that I totally loved, but some readers may not. If you’re looking for political intrigue or a complex magic system, that’s not what this book brings. Even though I’m obsessed, every reader is looking for something different, so those are my trepidations. 

I am gobsmacked by this book. This book is insanely underrated, it deserves a frenetic fandom. 

10/10 completely hooked.