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A review by jefferz
Highfire by Eoin Colfer
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was a big fan of the Artemis Fowl series growing up and was interested to see how Eoin Colfer's adult novels would fare in comparison. At a first glance Highfire reads unlike any of his childrens/YA novels with it's namesake booze-drinking, adulterating dragon (with as the book would describe, very large balls which can be retracted... yes you read that right), Southern bayou slang, and a host of questionably gray characters. Not only that but the teenage human protag Everett "Squib" could be see as the polar opposite of Artemis Fowl being a school-averse, bayou exploring swamp kid with a history of getting into adolescent trouble. For anyone who has read Colfer's other works, the colorful language and crude humor can be jarring (I personally found it highly entertaining, you can just imagine Colfer letting loose with giddy excitement with how much crass language and surpassingly violent descriptions are featured).
However once the characters are introduced, I could see some of Colfer's signature strengths and expected elements coming through. While having completely different personalities, Artemis Fowl and Squib share the same element of growing up without a fatherly learning figure and finding it within a older sassy or prickly foe turned friend (Holly Short and Vern Highfire respectively). One my biggest pros to Colfer's novels is also his strong character dynamics and banter which is also on full display between Squib and Vern (as well as Vern's somewhat meme-d nickname for Bodie being "Green Day"). Speaking of which, this 2020 novel is chock full of pop references from Vern's love of Flashdance, jabs at corny lines being compared to Coldplay's frontman Chis Martin, a possible dragon being passed by as "fake news"; I really didn't expect it considering Colfer's past works were very light on pop culture.
While low-key funny throughout, I'm not sure if I would categorize this book as a comedy nor a fantasy genre as the fantasy elements are primarily contained to Vern's existence and another particular character. The lore and mechanics of the fantasy elements are playing a supportive role to what otherwise feels like a character drama piece or even a coming of age story if you focus on Squib's narrative. I felt like the pacing could've been adjusted as the introductory setup felt slow while the last confrontation arc between Hooke and Vern could've easily been twice as long as what was written. I also wished the middle of the story focusing on the growing relationships between Vern, Squib and Waxman was longer as it felt abruptly cut short just when the characters' backstories were really being explored. Overall though I like it and thought it was a light-hearted easy read and fit my expectation of Colfer writing an adult novel (I recently picked up Plugged as well, his other adult novel series). And I'd be lying if I said the final battle where all the good guys team up to fight the bad guys in Highfire didn't take me down memory lane reading the similar setup with Artemis Fowl, Holly Short, Foaly, Butler and Mulch Diggums doing the same years ago.
However once the characters are introduced, I could see some of Colfer's signature strengths and expected elements coming through. While having completely different personalities, Artemis Fowl and Squib share the same element of growing up without a fatherly learning figure and finding it within a older sassy or prickly foe turned friend (Holly Short and Vern Highfire respectively). One my biggest pros to Colfer's novels is also his strong character dynamics and banter which is also on full display between Squib and Vern (as well as Vern's somewhat meme-d nickname for Bodie being "Green Day"). Speaking of which, this 2020 novel is chock full of pop references from Vern's love of Flashdance, jabs at corny lines being compared to Coldplay's frontman Chis Martin, a possible dragon being passed by as "fake news"; I really didn't expect it considering Colfer's past works were very light on pop culture.
While low-key funny throughout, I'm not sure if I would categorize this book as a comedy nor a fantasy genre as the fantasy elements are primarily contained to Vern's existence and another particular character. The lore and mechanics of the fantasy elements are playing a supportive role to what otherwise feels like a character drama piece or even a coming of age story if you focus on Squib's narrative. I felt like the pacing could've been adjusted as the introductory setup felt slow while the last confrontation arc between Hooke and Vern could've easily been twice as long as what was written. I also wished the middle of the story focusing on the growing relationships between Vern, Squib and Waxman was longer as it felt abruptly cut short just when the characters' backstories were really being explored. Overall though I like it and thought it was a light-hearted easy read and fit my expectation of Colfer writing an adult novel (I recently picked up Plugged as well, his other adult novel series). And I'd be lying if I said the final battle where all the good guys team up to fight the bad guys in Highfire didn't take me down memory lane reading the similar setup with Artemis Fowl, Holly Short, Foaly, Butler and Mulch Diggums doing the same years ago.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Murder and Alcohol
Minor: Murder and Fire/Fire injury