Reviews - Firebreak | The StoryGraph

405 reviews for:

Firebreak

Nicole Kornher-Stace

3.93 AVERAGE

aneges's review against another edition

3.5

dark 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: Yes

Listened to this on audiobook and it was entertaining enough but I also liked the messages and themes that were present in the story. The setting is not so hard to imagine and especially at the end some things that don't seem to make sense are explained. It's not foolproof though as some motives are still unclear in the end.

The ending was vague but fitting. I liked how she came to the conclusion and even though it’s just a theory it kind of makes sense and explains a lot of strange behavior from the corporations.
The book got darker than I expected in the end but it still left a bit of hope for the future.
It did not shine perhaps but I still enjoyed my time with it.

catieanason's review

3.0

challenging tense medium-paced

Kept me engaged the entire read. Not really fond of the ending. A good book to skim read.

thebonekingdom's review against another edition

3.0

When I first started this book, I got instantly hooked by it. Each chapter made me look forward to the next one, not only because of one single "end" reveal I waited for, like it was the case for One Last Stop, but thanks to the general mystery atmosphere lying within this book.

After reading mostly Fantasy for a while, I was glad to experience again this exhilarating feelings I get while reading stories about dystopian worlds.

I thought it was going to be a 5 star read however there was one detail that definitely lowered my rating.

Malory, the main character, suffers from this insufferable "everyone's savior" behaviour. Half through the story it can almost be unnoticeable, however there is one particular moment near the end, that especially bothered me.

During a confrontation between a victim and their abuser, Malory step in to talk and resume the situation, even though she only got to experience a tiny little fragment of what all the victims had to go through for 8 years. And, surprisingly enough, it is the argument she uses to justify her giving her point of view on the situation.
《 "If you had any ideas what this —person— put us through—"
"Okay, but... don't I? At least a little? 》

Moreover a few lines later she almost takes pity on the Director (the abuser), saying that she, maybe, is trying to make things right again and truly didn't mean to hurt them and wondering if it really makes her evil if she didn't mean them any harm. It felt like she was dismissing what each of her victims had to go through taking the position of "The one who knows better"

"Maybe she didn't want to hurt us, but she still took notes while she watched us die." -22

asfonk's review against another edition

4.0

dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

barnesm31's review

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

It's like 'Ready Player One' but the characters have more depth and nuance, the investigation into the corruption by corporate factions is more real-life believable and the avatars have a more heartbreaking origin. The story has the punk for cyberpunk then R.P.O and the revolution is never total. It's a fight every day to make the world better for people.