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A review by stormwhisper
Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace
3.0
I was provided an ARC by NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.
Firebreak is set in a dystopian 22nd century society, where corporations fill the role of an ineffectual government and dehydration is a constant companion. The main character, Mal, is just trying to keep herself afloat by working multiple jobs and scraping together enough subscribers by streaming a video game to keep her water account full enough to stave off kidney failure. When a chance encounter in her virtual reality side hustle leads to attention from an unexpected source, Mal is thrust into the middle of a vast conspiracy, forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world she inhabits and to wonder just how far she'll go to restore justice to a broken world.
Firebreak started out strong, with a well-realized dystopic world, a compelling main character, and a well fleshed-out supporting cast. The initial revelations were well-crafted and kept the story moving, and helped to create emotional interest in the story.
Unfortunately, the book faltered in its third act. Most of the reveals seemed to be used up by that point, and the story unfolded predictably without major fireworks or surprises. While the characters were placed in danger, the conclusion seemed foregone and ultimately the the ending was without anything more than the illusion of high stakes.
I also would have loved to have heard more about 22 and 06's backstories. The book hints early on that they may become more fleshed-out characters, and indeed much of the plot revolves around the treatment of real human beings as two-dimensional avatars, but ultimately fails to deliver anything more than surface-level personalities for these two characters. Given the main thrust of the plot, this felt like a particularly severe missed opportunity.
Firebreak is set in a dystopian 22nd century society, where corporations fill the role of an ineffectual government and dehydration is a constant companion. The main character, Mal, is just trying to keep herself afloat by working multiple jobs and scraping together enough subscribers by streaming a video game to keep her water account full enough to stave off kidney failure. When a chance encounter in her virtual reality side hustle leads to attention from an unexpected source, Mal is thrust into the middle of a vast conspiracy, forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world she inhabits and to wonder just how far she'll go to restore justice to a broken world.
Firebreak started out strong, with a well-realized dystopic world, a compelling main character, and a well fleshed-out supporting cast. The initial revelations were well-crafted and kept the story moving, and helped to create emotional interest in the story.
Unfortunately, the book faltered in its third act. Most of the reveals seemed to be used up by that point, and the story unfolded predictably without major fireworks or surprises. While the characters were placed in danger, the conclusion seemed foregone and ultimately the the ending was without anything more than the illusion of high stakes.
I also would have loved to have heard more about 22 and 06's backstories. The book hints early on that they may become more fleshed-out characters, and indeed much of the plot revolves around the treatment of real human beings as two-dimensional avatars, but ultimately fails to deliver anything more than surface-level personalities for these two characters. Given the main thrust of the plot, this felt like a particularly severe missed opportunity.