110 reviews for:

Written in Fire

Marcus Sakey

3.95 AVERAGE

adventurous challenging dark hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

It stayed exciting until the last page. The only thing is that there is a lot of violence which was really getting to me.

3.5 stars, really. Satisfying conclusion to the story.

Ok conclusion, series became less original as it went along.

Pretty darn good trilogy! Kept the pace up the whole time and didn't lose me.

I like the world this series creates, the abnorms (brilliants) and the rest of us unspectacular humans, but the ending leaves me wanting. Everyone wins, yet the revolution will still transpire? I give it a 'Meh'.

Darkest of the books, but wraps up the store

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

"Mostly, people believe they're doing the right thing. Even the ones who are doing bad things usually believe they're heroes, that whatever terrible thing they're doing is to prevent something worse. They're scared." (chapter 9)
"Not monsters; just men. Men who had lost loved ones or lost faith, who were too panicked to see beyond the animal side of themselves. Steeped in fear, hardened with pain, and released from bounds. There's nothing more dangerous." (chapter 29)

And so the Brilliance Trilogy concludes with this third title, Written in Fire. America is at a crossroads. And at the center are the major players for the normals and the abnorms. The abnorm heading up the civil war is John Smith (not his real name) and as things progress his end game becomes clear. He isn't planning on warring the traditional way, he's going the biological route and if he succeeds the normals could cease to exist. But the normals aren't ready to give up the fight, they have picked up their guns - literally - and are advancing on what they perceive to be the threat. Unfortunately their perception is a perfect cover for John Smith's real activities. Nick Cooper is unwilling to let either side see victory, he doesn't want one side to win and the other to lose - he wants humanity to win. Cooper has to figure out how to beat a chess grand master at his own game and hold back the militia that has formed from killing thousands of people they can only see as threats. Can a chess grand master ever be beat at his own game, that he created? There's only one way to find out - play it.
In this title I was reminded of the "us versus them" war we are having these days between straight people and those of the LBGT community. This book really highlighted, in my opinion, some of the possible reasons for the unrest in our world due to other people's choice to be different/live different/etc. It's interesting to see from a fictionalized perspective. And it is sobering. Sakey, in all three books, provided some very profound thoughts about people, labels, and our responses to them.
adventurous tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes