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emihansen's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. It was difficult for me to start, but that part is on me being easily distracted. But once I really began to imagine the setting, to know the characters and to crave to learn what happens next, I fell in love with this book. I’m no avid reader and I’m definitely not a justifiable reviewer, but I can honestly say that this book had me so eager to turn the next page. I loved unfolding Mallory’s story, I love how there were still so many unanswered questions at the end (and yes, I did cry) that are going to keep me wondering & curious for the next week. Maybe I’m biased because this is the first book like it that I’ve read in a long, long time, but I loved Firebreak so much.
posthumusly's review against another edition
3.0
I just couldn't see the importance of the VR game in the real life setting!
angelod24's review against another edition
2.0
Firebreak is a difficult book for me to review. The blurb was interesting to me and I looked forward to reading the book. However, I just couldn’t get into it for maybe the first 70%. I honestly kept reading only because I felt like I needed to complete it to write a review. I also always finish a book I start, one reason being I’m naively optimistic it will get better by the end.
And this one did get better by the end. It was just a little too late for me to recommend to others. I’d have liked the main characters to have a bit more depth to their backstories. I would have also liked a bit more world building. I also found myself losing interest in all the times they were in the game mode.
Overall, I’d give this one 2.5 stars. It’s not bad, it just couldn’t have been a lot better. In the end, I’m disappointed. This might work as a TV show, where they can build off the novel.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
And this one did get better by the end. It was just a little too late for me to recommend to others. I’d have liked the main characters to have a bit more depth to their backstories. I would have also liked a bit more world building. I also found myself losing interest in all the times they were in the game mode.
Overall, I’d give this one 2.5 stars. It’s not bad, it just couldn’t have been a lot better. In the end, I’m disappointed. This might work as a TV show, where they can build off the novel.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
eastofthesunwestofthemoon's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars. This book was a good read overall , but I did feel like it had more momentum earlier - I didn't want to put the book down for the first half, and then that feeling tapered off. It's also on the darker dystopian side of the future, and I generally prefer a more optimistic outlook. I didn't relate well to the protagonist, who is antisocial to a degree that I question whether the strong sense of community that comes together around her is actually very believable, even given her tendency to help others and be generous.
Spoiler
I read to escape the drudgery of life. This book did not offer enough of a feeling that a better future would really be achieved. Too bleak for me. /Spoiler
bkachenbach's review against another edition
5.0
So the last time I read a book with a video game ish premise it was…disappointing. This book however, exceeded expectations and kept both the plot moving along and the characters developing. Well done.
lookingforamandaa's review against another edition
4.0
Firebreak follows Mal, who is a gaming streamer in a terrifyingly realistic dystopian future. It’s about 100 years or so in the future and two corporations have taken over the United States. One controls the water supply for the population and the other controls the agricultural supply for the population. Climate change has ravaged the coasts and the war between these two corporations has done its own damage. Mal lives in what was once a nice hotel in the city. She shares one room with like six other people. When she’s not working odd jobs (dog walking, babysitting, attempting to brew beer) she’s gaming and streaming with her best friend and roommate, Jessa. The two manage to spot one of the rarer special operatives in the game (read: the special operatives are essentially celebrities in this world) and talk to her for about a half a second before the power is cut for the day. This thrusts them into a minor spotlight, just enough to grab the attention of B. B is a mysterious sponsor who, after meeting with Jessa and Mal, shares a theory that she and others have about the special operatives. This is where the story really gets going.
I really liked Mal. She sort of held herself apart from her other roommates, and kept to herself. But I really was a great moment when she realized what a mistake that had been. That she should have taken more time to get to know them all. I loved her loyalty and love for Jessa. The two of them were and excellent friendship dynamic with how they pushed and pulled each other when it was called for. I liked how they complimented one another. But I liked Mal outside of her relationship with Jessa too. We get to see her act selflessly, recklessly, and with her whole heart. She was a really well-developed character and one that I enjoyed following through this story.
As for the story itself, oh man, what a wild ride. We get a brief summary of how the world ended up the way that it is in the story. Though I usually like more backstory and world building, I found that I liked learning how this future worked as the story went on. We see how society works as we follow Mal and we see what’s wrong with it as she does. I think that Mal questioning the status quo felt natural for her character. And everything after was really well done. The story starts with a slow build-up, showing us the world. Then starts to show what’s wrong with it, and once Mal’s eyes are opened to the theory that B shares, there’s just nonstop action. Also, I don’t know if this was on purpose, but I really thought the way the author took things from the game that Mal and Jessa play and started showing that same violence and action in the real world was absolutely fascinating.
Overall, this book was a wild ride to say the least. It’s a book that shows characters fighting for their basic human rights, against corporations that are just trying to wring every dollar out of anyone they can. I absolutely enjoyed this one and I will definitely be looking into this author’s backlist.
I really liked Mal. She sort of held herself apart from her other roommates, and kept to herself. But I really was a great moment when she realized what a mistake that had been. That she should have taken more time to get to know them all. I loved her loyalty and love for Jessa. The two of them were and excellent friendship dynamic with how they pushed and pulled each other when it was called for. I liked how they complimented one another. But I liked Mal outside of her relationship with Jessa too. We get to see her act selflessly, recklessly, and with her whole heart. She was a really well-developed character and one that I enjoyed following through this story.
As for the story itself, oh man, what a wild ride. We get a brief summary of how the world ended up the way that it is in the story. Though I usually like more backstory and world building, I found that I liked learning how this future worked as the story went on. We see how society works as we follow Mal and we see what’s wrong with it as she does. I think that Mal questioning the status quo felt natural for her character. And everything after was really well done. The story starts with a slow build-up, showing us the world. Then starts to show what’s wrong with it, and once Mal’s eyes are opened to the theory that B shares, there’s just nonstop action. Also, I don’t know if this was on purpose, but I really thought the way the author took things from the game that Mal and Jessa play and started showing that same violence and action in the real world was absolutely fascinating.
Overall, this book was a wild ride to say the least. It’s a book that shows characters fighting for their basic human rights, against corporations that are just trying to wring every dollar out of anyone they can. I absolutely enjoyed this one and I will definitely be looking into this author’s backlist.
ramblingpirate's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
4.75
azdesert_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Corporate war is decimating the world around them. Water is rationed. Electricity is rationed. Thousands of people are living in shelters transformed out of old hotels and schools.
In a society like this, set in the future, it is only natural that society would take their lives online and utilize the advanced technologies of the times. However, there is so much more to this book than a Ready Player One-esce virtual reality game. I personally didn’t see much similarity at all between the books. FireBreak can stand freely on its own and not in the shadow of another Sci-Fi/Tech book.
I did feel that Firebreak was a little slow to get off the ground, and I was a little concerned that I wasn’t going to like it. Which was interesting because the book starts with the focus on the virtual reality game that the entire world is playing. A game that includes the NPCs (Non-player characters) that are duplicates of the real-life SpecOps who are the heroes of the war between the two warring companies - Stellaxis and Greenleaf. Companies and their sophisticated, technologically advanced toys destroy the world. Which is a cool concept!
One of the things that changed this for me was when the true plot and conflict were presented ...outside of the game. Thankfully this is where the majority of the book took place - outside the game, in real life, so you get to know Mallorie (Mal) the protagonist and her little band of friends. From the beginning it is Mal and her friend Jessa who find themselves in a dangerous position after having a very out of the blue proposition given to them. A mystery of sorts. A chance to discover the truth about Stellaxis and these SpecOps who no one ever really sees outside of news broadcasts and in-game.
The rest of this cat and mouse plot was fun. Mal trying to uncover and expose Stellaxis for what they have been doing and Stellaxis trying to shut Mal up. The scenes flowed and developed well as everything led to one of them eventually succumbing to the other. I won’t give spoilers!
There were moments when I felt there was a little too much narration and repetition, but not to a point that it bothered me or made me feel differently about the storyline. However, conclusions are a big deal to me, that and characters, but I have to say I was a little disappointed in the conclusion of this book. I was just left with so many unanswered questions.
Characters: I love that Mal and Jessa were complete opposites. At the beginning, it seems that Mal is a little more introverted and doesn’t really like people, while Jessa is much more outgoing and understands the importance of the game audience. Their differences play well off each other and their friendship is well developed, and Mal comes into her own apart from Jessa.
The other minor characters that live in the hotel room add just a right amount of support to what Mal and Jessa are trying to accomplish. They could have very easily been presented as very flat copies of each other, but there was enough individuality about them that you could tell if the author had wanted to, she could have developed them into solid, unique people.
The SpecOps that are presented are interesting. They seem very one dimensional, but there is a reason for that. So, with that in mind I think that they were developed very deliberately and thoughtfully, and that made me like them a lot. There is definitely more than meets the eye with these characters as the plot unfolds.
I appreciated the uniqueness of the plot. Taking the advanced technology and virtual reality concepts, which we are seeing a lot these days, and presenting them in a clever way. If you enjoy books like Ready Player One, I do think you will enjoy this. They are plenty different so you won’t at all feel like you are reading a book with the same basic outline. But, technology is running our world right now, and I can’t see anything changing that in the future.
This knowledge makes my favorite quote of the book all the more fitting because maybe we do need to be worried about where some of these advanced technologies are going to take us in the future. We may all be saying:
“Who knows what kind of nefarious-shit tech they have in here.”
Overall, I enjoyed it. The further into the book I got, the more I wanted to read. I just had to get through those first couple of chapters. The style is easy to read and follow. There are spots of great description and foreshadowing, but do really wish the ending went just a little further. I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you NetGalley and @sagapress for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In a society like this, set in the future, it is only natural that society would take their lives online and utilize the advanced technologies of the times. However, there is so much more to this book than a Ready Player One-esce virtual reality game. I personally didn’t see much similarity at all between the books. FireBreak can stand freely on its own and not in the shadow of another Sci-Fi/Tech book.
I did feel that Firebreak was a little slow to get off the ground, and I was a little concerned that I wasn’t going to like it. Which was interesting because the book starts with the focus on the virtual reality game that the entire world is playing. A game that includes the NPCs (Non-player characters) that are duplicates of the real-life SpecOps who are the heroes of the war between the two warring companies - Stellaxis and Greenleaf. Companies and their sophisticated, technologically advanced toys destroy the world. Which is a cool concept!
One of the things that changed this for me was when the true plot and conflict were presented ...outside of the game. Thankfully this is where the majority of the book took place - outside the game, in real life, so you get to know Mallorie (Mal) the protagonist and her little band of friends. From the beginning it is Mal and her friend Jessa who find themselves in a dangerous position after having a very out of the blue proposition given to them. A mystery of sorts. A chance to discover the truth about Stellaxis and these SpecOps who no one ever really sees outside of news broadcasts and in-game.
The rest of this cat and mouse plot was fun. Mal trying to uncover and expose Stellaxis for what they have been doing and Stellaxis trying to shut Mal up. The scenes flowed and developed well as everything led to one of them eventually succumbing to the other. I won’t give spoilers!
There were moments when I felt there was a little too much narration and repetition, but not to a point that it bothered me or made me feel differently about the storyline. However, conclusions are a big deal to me, that and characters, but I have to say I was a little disappointed in the conclusion of this book. I was just left with so many unanswered questions.
Characters: I love that Mal and Jessa were complete opposites. At the beginning, it seems that Mal is a little more introverted and doesn’t really like people, while Jessa is much more outgoing and understands the importance of the game audience. Their differences play well off each other and their friendship is well developed, and Mal comes into her own apart from Jessa.
The other minor characters that live in the hotel room add just a right amount of support to what Mal and Jessa are trying to accomplish. They could have very easily been presented as very flat copies of each other, but there was enough individuality about them that you could tell if the author had wanted to, she could have developed them into solid, unique people.
The SpecOps that are presented are interesting. They seem very one dimensional, but there is a reason for that. So, with that in mind I think that they were developed very deliberately and thoughtfully, and that made me like them a lot. There is definitely more than meets the eye with these characters as the plot unfolds.
I appreciated the uniqueness of the plot. Taking the advanced technology and virtual reality concepts, which we are seeing a lot these days, and presenting them in a clever way. If you enjoy books like Ready Player One, I do think you will enjoy this. They are plenty different so you won’t at all feel like you are reading a book with the same basic outline. But, technology is running our world right now, and I can’t see anything changing that in the future.
This knowledge makes my favorite quote of the book all the more fitting because maybe we do need to be worried about where some of these advanced technologies are going to take us in the future. We may all be saying:
“Who knows what kind of nefarious-shit tech they have in here.”
Overall, I enjoyed it. The further into the book I got, the more I wanted to read. I just had to get through those first couple of chapters. The style is easy to read and follow. There are spots of great description and foreshadowing, but do really wish the ending went just a little further. I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you NetGalley and @sagapress for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
bhagestedt's review
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0