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A review by greebytime
Written in Fire by Marcus Sakey
4.0
As the final part of the Brilliance trilogy - something i discovered only courtesy of NetGalley, which provided me with all three books that I devoured in a row - Written in Fire is an extremely satisfying conclusion to the series. They are based on "our" world - with the exception that in the 1980's, about 1% of children born going forward were considered 'abnorms' - that is, genetically brilliant in ways that gave them huge advantageous. This inevitably leads to a confrontation between these 'abnorms' or 'twists' and "normal people."
I really liked how Sakey veered away from both tried and true tropes with subjects like this, as well as avoided being too preachy about the obvious allegories between the way any privileged majority looks at new, 'strange' new minority groups. (The point comes across without feeling as if it is being shouted down from Mount Pious.)
It's a very satisfying and engaging conclusion .. with the only complaint I have is that at the very end, it resulted in a few pages of "and here's how all the other loose ends were tied up and resolved" that was likely necessary for space (and also because it wouldn't have been as interesting to play out after the events that preceded it)....but it felt a bit lazy and rushed.
Marcus Sakey has written a LOT of terrifically engaging books and this is no exception. I really recommend the series - even if, like me, you're not particularly drawn to sci-fi or fantasy. It's well worth your time.
I really liked how Sakey veered away from both tried and true tropes with subjects like this, as well as avoided being too preachy about the obvious allegories between the way any privileged majority looks at new, 'strange' new minority groups. (The point comes across without feeling as if it is being shouted down from Mount Pious.)
It's a very satisfying and engaging conclusion .. with the only complaint I have is that at the very end, it resulted in a few pages of "and here's how all the other loose ends were tied up and resolved" that was likely necessary for space (and also because it wouldn't have been as interesting to play out after the events that preceded it)....but it felt a bit lazy and rushed.
Marcus Sakey has written a LOT of terrifically engaging books and this is no exception. I really recommend the series - even if, like me, you're not particularly drawn to sci-fi or fantasy. It's well worth your time.