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sarrie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Flight & Anchor by Nicole Kornher-Stace is such a strange and fun novella. A lot of times with stories like these people want to put it somewhere before or after the novel it ties to, but with this one I’m not sure if I can! I read this one after Firebreak, and for that reason it really colored my reading one way, but thinking about it I genuinely wonder what someone’s reading might be like if they were to read it first then read Firebreak!
This story is about 06 & 22 who are children, kidnapped from the ruins of their homes and families who themselves were victims of a war between corporations that own swathes of America. The two children, along with many others are subjected to tests and modifications to create super soldiers for one of these corporations. 06 & 22 break out one evening and make a run for it.
In Firebreak we meet both of these characters as adults, and we get an idea of their personality but here we see the beginnings of that. How they were as kids, and I genuinely could see clearly how even in their young childhood they were already showing the signs of what they’d be like as adults. As I mentioned, reading Firebreak before this really colored my reading of Flight & Anchor but I still had a ton of fun despite the sad feelings. The new character addition of the AI nano-probe creature was delightful, and added a much needed note of humor to the story. The PoV chapters from the Director too were fascinating. The way she managed to put just a hint of relatability in that woman’s view really got to me. I despise that woman! But still… I smiled and got along with her sentiments at times.
I’d definitely recommend this for people who haven’t read Firebreak and for those who have. I think it’d be an interesting jumping in point, and for those who have read the full length novel it’d be a fantastic addition to 06 & 22’s stories. Evidently there are even more stories out there, and I’m excited to track those down and find out more!
4 out of 5 ‘mysteriously’ appearing pizzas
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Medical content, Torture, and Medical trauma
Minor: War, Death of parent, and Death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.
FLIGHT & ANCHOR takes place before the events of FIREBREAK when the operatives are still kids. It is best appreciated after reading FIREBREAK at the very least, as several plot-important events are referenced without quite spoiling them. I was a huge fan of the Boxcar Children series when I was a kid, collecting them for years, owning several dozen by the time I was old enough that I moved on to other stories. FLIGHT & ANCHOR is wonderfully and unabashedly 06 and 22 with their own attempt at being the Boxcar Children. The world of FIREBREAK with its resources controlled by two money-hungry and uncaring corporations literally at war with each other is a very different environment than the setting of that older series, and so this plays out in its own way. If you've never read those books, the salient point is that 06 and 22 run away from a really bad situation, scavenge to try and survive, and end up hiding out in an abandoned boxcar. It's winter, and their initial optimism about their ability to feed themselves turns into dismay at how little money they're able to find and just how much everything costs. They're resourceful, modified to be survivalists and killers, but their conditioning isn't yet complete and sometimes they can remember faint traces of their lives before they were kidnapped by the corporation. The Director is keeping an eye on them, trying to handle this massive screw up without anyone knowing that she's made a mistake.
The books in this series defy my usual attempts at my sequel check. This gives context for how 06 and 22 end up as the people they are by the time FIREBREAK happens, but it doesn't specifically wrap up anything. The main storyline is both introduced and resolved, but for anyone who's read FIREBREAK the question is much more how it's going to end up the way it always had to, without much doubt as to what the conclusion will be. Even FIREBREAK has that feeling for anyone who has read ARCHIVIST WASP or LATCHKEY. It's not about the destination, it's about the journey, and I could read endless stories of 06 and 22, whatever shape that takes.
FLIGHT & ANCHOR takes place before the events of FIREBREAK when the operatives are still kids. It is best appreciated after reading FIREBREAK at the very least, as several plot-important events are referenced without quite spoiling them. I was a huge fan of the Boxcar Children series when I was a kid, collecting them for years, owning several dozen by the time I was old enough that I moved on to other stories. FLIGHT & ANCHOR is wonderfully and unabashedly 06 and 22 with their own attempt at being the Boxcar Children. The world of FIREBREAK with its resources controlled by two money-hungry and uncaring corporations literally at war with each other is a very different environment than the setting of that older series, and so this plays out in its own way. If you've never read those books, the salient point is that 06 and 22 run away from a really bad situation, scavenge to try and survive, and end up hiding out in an abandoned boxcar. It's winter, and their initial optimism about their ability to feed themselves turns into dismay at how little money they're able to find and just how much everything costs. They're resourceful, modified to be survivalists and killers, but their conditioning isn't yet complete and sometimes they can remember faint traces of their lives before they were kidnapped by the corporation. The Director is keeping an eye on them, trying to handle this massive screw up without anyone knowing that she's made a mistake.
The books in this series defy my usual attempts at my sequel check. This gives context for how 06 and 22 end up as the people they are by the time FIREBREAK happens, but it doesn't specifically wrap up anything. The main storyline is both introduced and resolved, but for anyone who's read FIREBREAK the question is much more how it's going to end up the way it always had to, without much doubt as to what the conclusion will be. Even FIREBREAK has that feeling for anyone who has read ARCHIVIST WASP or LATCHKEY. It's not about the destination, it's about the journey, and I could read endless stories of 06 and 22, whatever shape that takes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Child death, Stalking, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Confinement, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Medical content
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