Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Firebreak

I enjoyed this book so much! I kept wanting to know what happened next, the pacing was solid, and the characters were interesting and witty. I specifically became interested in it bc the author is very outspoken about ace-rep, and as an ace person, I realized that I couldn't think of any books that I'd read that had 0 romance or sexual tension. I didn't realize how important reading this would be for me... and it especially made me happy that the ace/aro-ness was just... part of the character. Not a big discussion about how valid those identities are, but they were simply allowed to exist without making a big deal out of it in this world... and that was incredibly special and validating to me.

As mentioned above, there are lots of personal reasons that I enjoyed this book, but I also think it was objectively compelling and rich--both the setting and characters! This is not a happy-go-lucky story by any means, but it handles a lot of really sobering and timely topics in a way that gave me hope rather than made me feel depressed. Overall, a very impressive read! I will be keeping an eye on this author!

Content Warnings

mrdadpool's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Picked this book up a week ago and finished it in just a few days. The writing sucks you into the world and immerses you in the main characters shoes. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the story and couldn’t stop reading until 4am on night. I would love prequels and sequels as there’s so much of this incredibly well setup world to dive into!

Content Warnings

lilifane's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

OMG how do I even write this review.

Okay, so the story takes place in 2134 in a world where Americas coast are flooded, and the remaining states are ruled by two mega companies, Stellaxis Innovations which controls the water and Greanleaf which controls the food. Both companies are at constant war, especially in the one city that is divided between both fractions, New Liberty City.
The protagonist, Mal, is a 20-year-old living in Old Town, a refugee town outside of New Liberty City, in an old hotel room she shares with 7 other people. She has several part-time jobs and streams a popular VR game with her best friend Jessa in their free time. Food, water and power are rare, so they rely on small everyday rations as well as donations from subscribers of their small gaming channel.
When they manage to encounter one of the rare NPCs of the game in one of their stream, they are contacted by a new sponsor with an unusual request. And everything kind of escalates from there.

Don't get fooled by the synopsis, the gaming aspect is only 1/4 or 1/3 of the plot, there is much more to it, and you have no idea at the beginning where it will lead you. So if you prefer books where a plot is hinted at and then went through with... this might not be for you. What you will get though, is a super fast paced, f**cking intense story. It was so intense that I couldn't stop reading and when I reached the last two pages I just started crying.

Like with all Nicole Kornher-Stace books, I absolutely love the setting and world building. It's super immersive. (And considering it's a brutal dystopian world we're talking about I probably shouldn't count this as a positive aspect...) It's actually one of the best dystopian worlds I've ever read, just because it's so close to our world. You can clearly see how global warming, dwindling recourses and the privatization of ... basically everything ... might lead to this. But there are also some shiny technology and sci-fi elements which make the world intriguing.
I loved the character dynamics here. Mal's and Jessa's friendship is amazing, you don't get these kinds of female friendships very often. The found family aspect with the other people they are living with is so nice. I was also super happy when one of them had they/them pronouns. As usual for Nicole Kornher-Stace there is no romance plot in the book, but a lot of platonic love and a friendship crush. Although not written out specifically, it's heavily hinted at that Mal is aro/ace and this really means a lot to me. And her being an introvert and socially awkward didn't make her the most lovable character but definitely one I could relate to a lot.
Usually I don't like too many action/fighting scenes, but they didn't bother me here, they matched the atmosphere of the whole world (VR and RL) very well.
And then there are the topics and themes that are so important and relevant today. The negative aspects and dangers of capitalism, standing up for oneself and others, organizing protests as part of the fight for basic human rights and freedom, using social media as a weapon against oppression. There is also some commentary on social media fame, streaming and fandom culture. So I really enjoyed how thought-provoking this book was.
There is just one small critique I have. I wish Mal's feelings for 22 were explored a little bit more at the beginning of the book (a little bit more show than tell) to make the rest of it even more believable.

I knew that this was a stand-alone book with easter eggs for fans of Archivist Wasp and Latchkey. And I have to say, THOSE easter eggs.... I wish I had reread these 2 books before Firebreak to fully appreciate the easter eggs.

Content Warnings

allisonwonderlandreads's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Welcome back to the not-so-distant dystopian future, the genre that reliably offers the worst vacation destinations. In this one, corporations control everything from water and agriculture (it's terrorism to access either on your own) to the internet and healthcare. Yeah... I barely see a difference from the here and now, myself. In the supercity New Liberty, two corporations carry on an urban war between mechs and super soldiers with bystander customer-citizens suffering through all the collateral damage.

Mal is getting by on multiple jobs to afford enough water, but her dream is taking she and her best friend Jessa's streaming full time. They play BestLife in a war game that imitates reality, going so far as to include real world celebrity super soldiers as NPCs, a marketing coup for the corporation Styllaxis. Mal and Jessa are hired to gather information on these non-player characters in-game while streaming, and the whole corporate house of cards comes tumbling down (slower, but still).

Mal was a great protagonist. She's unsure of herself and antisocial but does her best to help people in need. She's aro/ace, and the book has no romantic plots to be seen. It's all about friendship and found family, those we choose to fight for and protect. The video game elements were awesome from a gamer's perspective. I'm not sure of the approachability if that's not your wheelhouse. I loved the distinction between video game and real action sequences because while the scenarios could be similar, Mal's reactions and the author's descriptions were noticeably different, as they should be.

I think this book has excellent commentary on the trajectory of capitalism and the importance of speaking up and using collective action to resist. For the first part of the book, the mystery of everything propelled me forward. At a certain point after most of the big reveals, the focus is on more of a protracted action sequence as Mal reacts to this new information and decides how to both use it and disperse it. This is when I started to drift a bit because things were more predictable once the full framework was in the open.

I also want to be upfront and say that I don't think I was in the right headspace for this book at the time I read it. Dystopian novels are rough for me in this regard because I appreciate the societal critiques even as I'm pushed under by the emotional burden of the overlaps with daily life. So basically, if you're similar to me, you're forewarned. If this is a genre that you love or the type of thinking you want to pursue more, this is a high quality read that I hope you'll enjoy.

Content Warnings

booksthatburn's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

FIREBREAK is a heart-pounding story of scarcity and danger in a place controlled by warring corporations. Mal is a young streamer trying to impress her viewers enough to make it through each day and avoid ending up in the company dehydration clinics, when .

Because major parts of the plot revolve around resource control and water scarcity, there’s a lot of discussion of water-insecurity and shortage. That was stressful to read but also deepened my immersion in the story. The way Mal’s thoughts did or did not revolve around this essential resource at any given moment matters to the story. The book involves an in-universe MMORPG (multiplayer online game that most people are either playing or watching when they’re not working), and at first I thought that the plot would focus on some objective in the game world, but a little ways in it reveals that the main stakes are bigger and more important than the game, while simultaneously retaining the game’s importance to the story. I loves the shift where technically the game doesn’t matter, but what the game belies means everything.

The world-building is really good, both for the game and the real world. They mutually reinforce each other both in terms of narrative events and the actual structure of life under the Corporation. The idea and reality of resource scarcity is constant, especially early but it never goes away and is very important to the plot.

My favorite character's very description is a spoiler so I can't talk about him much, but I loved the strange rapport between him a Mal, a kind of uneasy peace from someone losing everything and everyone he trusted (which was a short list to begin with).

The ending is emotionally devastating, coming together in a strange blend of bleak and hopeful. It perfectly cements this as the kind of book where I need everyone to read it so they know what it put me through. There's a sense of finality, inevitability, which suffuses the latter part of the story. Watching everything play out and hoping it won't quite end up as bad as it looks.

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

More...