You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
recreationalhobbyist 's review for:
Firebreak
by Nicole Kornher-Stace
The United States has been taken over & is now ruled by 2 corporations, Stellaxis & Greenleaf, which are at constant war with each other. Mallory lives in the ruins of New Liberty City, known as Old Town. Here she is bunked with other young adults, working odd jobs & dealing with the aftermath of war & rationed water & food by the Stellaxis Corporation.
Stellaxis has a group of super-soldiers that are named only by numbers. The super-soldiers are the equivalent of celebrities in this dystopian society. They have fought in the great war against Greenleaf & Stellaxis sells all their merch in the corporate stores. Stellaxis has also created an MMO game, SecOps, to keep the population at bay with online versions of all the soldiers. Players compete against each other in a virtual version of New Liberty City to get to the top of the daily leader board to be allied with & control a super-soldier until they are booted from the top spot on the leaderboard. Everyone streams their games in the hopes of landing sponsors to get better in-game gear to improve their rank as well as real-life goods such as water, food, or merch.
Mallory & her BFF, Jessa, find a presumed “dead” soldier wandering around in the game, resulting in their stream going viral. They receive sponsorship from a mysterious sponsor that wants more than just entertaining gameplay. Mallory is tasked with investigating the circumstances & background of another one of the soldiers that have died in real life. Throughout the course of her investigation, Mallory unwittingly becomes the face of an uprising against Stellaxis corporation.
What I liked: Firebreak is a wild ride. The dystopian world that is created by Nicole Kornher-Smith has a familiar feel but is incredibly unique. It is well written & the pacing of the plot is on point. I never felt bored or that there was filler that wasn’t integral to the story. As a gamer, I found the gaming aspect realistic & incredibly relevant to the current day Twitch & social media influencer world we live in.
What I didn't: I needed more backstory. This is a selfish ask as the book probably would have hit 1000 pages to include all the things I wanted to know. I wanted to know how the corporations take over the US government. I want to know more about Mallory. I want to know more about the soldiers. I want to know what happens next.
I’ve read several reviews comparing this to Ready Player One & I have to fully disagree. The only similarities between the two are only that:
1. It takes place in a dystopian future with a poor young adult/teenager
2. There is an MMO style video game
And that is where the comparisons end. While I enjoyed Ready Player One, it was more focused on a fun nostalgia trip & the gaming aspect than the bleak dystopia of the world. Firebreak is the opposite. The MMO game in Firebreak is merely a vehicle to introduce the characters & the propaganda put forth by the powers in charge.
Firebreak is a sci-fi dystopian blend of 1984, Hunger Games & Ready Player One & would make an excellent episode of Black Mirror. The story portrays a bleak dystopian future where corporations rule & the population is forced to ration basic needs in the name of corporate warfare. I am hoping for a prequel or sequel to Firebreak.
*I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions included herein are my own.*
Check out more reviews here!
Instagram
Twitter
Stellaxis has a group of super-soldiers that are named only by numbers. The super-soldiers are the equivalent of celebrities in this dystopian society. They have fought in the great war against Greenleaf & Stellaxis sells all their merch in the corporate stores. Stellaxis has also created an MMO game, SecOps, to keep the population at bay with online versions of all the soldiers. Players compete against each other in a virtual version of New Liberty City to get to the top of the daily leader board to be allied with & control a super-soldier until they are booted from the top spot on the leaderboard. Everyone streams their games in the hopes of landing sponsors to get better in-game gear to improve their rank as well as real-life goods such as water, food, or merch.
Mallory & her BFF, Jessa, find a presumed “dead” soldier wandering around in the game, resulting in their stream going viral. They receive sponsorship from a mysterious sponsor that wants more than just entertaining gameplay. Mallory is tasked with investigating the circumstances & background of another one of the soldiers that have died in real life. Throughout the course of her investigation, Mallory unwittingly becomes the face of an uprising against Stellaxis corporation.
What I liked: Firebreak is a wild ride. The dystopian world that is created by Nicole Kornher-Smith has a familiar feel but is incredibly unique. It is well written & the pacing of the plot is on point. I never felt bored or that there was filler that wasn’t integral to the story. As a gamer, I found the gaming aspect realistic & incredibly relevant to the current day Twitch & social media influencer world we live in.
What I didn't: I needed more backstory. This is a selfish ask as the book probably would have hit 1000 pages to include all the things I wanted to know. I wanted to know how the corporations take over the US government. I want to know more about Mallory. I want to know more about the soldiers. I want to know what happens next.
I’ve read several reviews comparing this to Ready Player One & I have to fully disagree. The only similarities between the two are only that:
1. It takes place in a dystopian future with a poor young adult/teenager
2. There is an MMO style video game
And that is where the comparisons end. While I enjoyed Ready Player One, it was more focused on a fun nostalgia trip & the gaming aspect than the bleak dystopia of the world. Firebreak is the opposite. The MMO game in Firebreak is merely a vehicle to introduce the characters & the propaganda put forth by the powers in charge.
Firebreak is a sci-fi dystopian blend of 1984, Hunger Games & Ready Player One & would make an excellent episode of Black Mirror. The story portrays a bleak dystopian future where corporations rule & the population is forced to ration basic needs in the name of corporate warfare. I am hoping for a prequel or sequel to Firebreak.
*I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions included herein are my own.*
Check out more reviews here!