Fire discussion

I can't decide which I loved more: Fire or Graceling. Can you? Please give some reasons why, I'd love to know!

I really can't decide between the two, they are just so good. Definitely one of my favorite book series! Can't wait for Bitterblue :)

Deondra wrote: "I really can't decide between the two, they are just so good. Definitely one of my favorite book series! Can't wait for Bitterblue :)"

Me either! It looks like it's going to be good. And the cover is gorgeous!

I think Fire as a novel was written more melodically. It had a flow with the piecing memories of Cansrel starting each chapter and the elegant correlations of these memories with the main topic of the chapter. The blossoming of the romance is just lovely to read and I found Fire herself to be an interesting and unique protagonist.

Some people have a problem with the pacing of Fire, claiming that it is inconsistent and doesn't follow the traditional building action/climax/falling action formula but I love it for that. It's a novel that focuses on many things and everything ties together in its own way, with the proper balance (which it has) it doesn't need to be formulaic.


This isn't to take anything away from Graceling though, as a novel it was written a little grittier and a little more to-the-point. The time we spent in Katsa's head was very interesting and I think in the end each novel reflects its heroine stylistically.

Graceling is written with suspense, excitement, bluntness and I think the reader really gets to feel how squirmy Katsa is at the prospect of love.

Fire is written with a strange sort of beauty and sadness, with a flowing elegance throughout.


This isn't to say that either novel is lacking in what makes the other best, just that each focuses on the things that make up their respective heroines. They stand well on their own merits but Fire spoke more to me as a story.

Samantha wrote: "I think Fire as a novel was written more melodically. It had a flow with the piecing memories of Cansrel starting each chapter and the elegant correlations of these memories with the main topic of ..."

Very well said.

Samantha wrote: "I think Fire as a novel was written more melodically. It had a flow with the piecing memories of Cansrel starting each chapter and the elegant correlations of these memories with the main topic of ..."

Love what you said! I've never been able to decide between the two. They are just two great pieces of literature that are just so good, neither one is "best".

I'm sure it'll be a 3-way tie between them and "Bitterblue" once I read it, haha.

Hehe thanks you two, I think these are two woefully unknown gems in the YA genre, they make me want to tell even my non-reading friends to read them :P

And I'm so beside myself excited for Bitterblue, I keep trying to dial it back a little but I can't lol.

Samantha wrote: "Hehe thanks you two, I think these are two woefully unknown gems in the YA genre, they make me want to tell even my non-reading friends to read them :P

And I'm so beside myself excited for Bitterb..."

Can't agree more! I think I'm leaning towards Fire now too, thanks!:)

Graceling
It is so much better

Graceling - better for adventure, political intrigue, and the love that should not be.

Fire - better for family issues and an amazing love story.

OOOOO what a tough question. I think I will have to say Fire though. I just think that Cashore's writing style and development of the characters got better in Fire. The story is organic in the way it develops, the present and past working together to create the story almost like a train of thought. I just LOVED it!!!!! There are so many angles through which to look at the characters.I absolutely love those kinds of books!

Samantha wrote: "I think Fire as a novel was written more melodically. It had a flow with the piecing memories of Cansrel starting each chapter and the elegant correlations of these memories with the main topic of ..."

Wow nice way to put it Samantha! Thumb up to you!

Samantha wrote: "I think Fire as a novel was written more melodically. It had a flow with the piecing memories of Cansrel starting each chapter and the elegant correlations of these memories with the main topic of ..."

I agree that both Graceling and Fire are equally amazing and both books do a beautiful job of describing and defining the heroines in their own unique way.Seems like I've been waiting forever for Bitterblue to be released and I am still anxious as ever to read it!

I personally prefer Graceling to Fire. It has a more believeable plot line than multi colored monsters flying around all the time trying to kill people. I mean get real. However, Fire does have a lot of literary elememts that are a lot better than Graceling.

Samantha wrote: "I think Fire as a novel was written more melodically. It had a flow with the piecing memories of Cansrel starting each chapter and the elegant correlations of these memories with the main topic of ..."

Agree completely. I felt more of a connection with Katsa, but Fire appealed more because of its writing style.

Emma wrote: "I personally prefer Graceling to Fire. It has a more believeable plot line than multi colored monsters flying around all the time trying to kill people. I mean get real. However, Fire does have a l..."

I'm sorry, I don't want to sound argumentative, and this has nothing to do with my preference for Fire because it's only slight...but

Seriously? You don't believe in brightly coloured predators but heterochromia giving super powers to people is fine? A power that causes everyone to believe what you say, even when random people are repeating it, makes more sense than a bird of prey with the colourings of a macaw? Or a mouse the colour of a king snake? Just take a look at this list. http://www.cuteandweird.com/2009/07/m... and tell me the colours described in the book are still outrageous.

Sure most animals are so coloured to warn of predators (aposematism) as they are poisonous, but is it so far fetched for the predator to be colourful?

Now as for the mesmerizing portion of the monsters (which seems more farfetched to me though you didn't mention it) I can name at least one, the Cuttlefish that uses bright flashy colours under its skin to put its prey into a trancelike state.

So again, I know how I sound like I'm trying to be an argumentative jerk, but the "get real" really struck me funny.

Samantha wrote: "Emma wrote: "I personally prefer Graceling to Fire. It has a more believeable plot line than multi colored monsters flying around all the time trying to kill people. I mean get real. However, Fire ..."

Totally agree! These bookS (that is, plural because they both are!) fiction for a reason. They are NOT suppose to be believable so why be so shocked that they aren't?

Fire. I just identified with the character more.

I prefer Fire. I liked Brigan better than Po (even though Po was amazing) and I liked Fire better than Katsa. I loved Clara and Garan and everyone more than the rest of the people in Graceling.

If I had to choose one, I'd probably have to choose Graceling. Mostly because I preferred the characterization of Lady Katsa to Fire - both love stories were beautifully written, and I agree that Fire was more smooth in style and flow; however, I somehow connected more with Katsa - I'm not sure I can really explain it, but I missed her in the second book.

And as for Bitterblue, May cannot come quickly enough...

That is a super tough choice because they are quite different from each other. Fire is more plotical while Graceling is more adventurous I'd say :)

I liked Graceling because A) I read it first and B) I liked the characters in that book more than in Fire.

I liked Fire better. Any book with Brigan in it makes me automatically love it~!

I liked Graceling better because I like Po.

Fire. I fell in love with everything in that world. The thing that got me the most though was her horse Small. It may sound strange but Kashore portrayed that relationship so well. Sometimes you need the unconditional love of an animal. When I broke my back I healed only because of the therapy that my horse and I did. That one character, Small has forever made me a Kristin Kashore fan.

Andrea wrote: "Fire. I fell in love with everything in that world. The thing that got me the most though was her horse Small. It may sound strange but Kashore portrayed that relationship so well. Sometimes you ne..."

In the hands of another author the frequent mentions of Small's drool may have seemed silly or over done but it made my heart grow an extra size every time I read it.

Samantha wrote: In the hands of another.....

See that's the thing..she is so honest about it. I cant tell you how many times my horse drools on me, I love him anyway he makes me laugh the big goof.
When Fire was so distraught and only found comfort crying with Small it pulled my little heart strings.

Remember: seeing Fire with Small after her flute was broken is what made Brigan fall in love with her <3

I loved that whole section...it is where you truly see her humanity, and where Brigan finally saw it too. She wasn't just a monster to be suspicious of any more.

Andrea wrote: "Samantha wrote: In the hands of another.....

See that's the thing..she is so honest about it. I cant tell you how many times my horse drools on me, I love him anyway he makes me laugh the big goof..."

Oh gawd when Nash brought Small to her near the end and she just threw herself at Small for some comfort I broke down completely. Very clever way to create a gentle moment with Nash as well.

I love Cashore for that as well, for remembering the relationships between all the characters in contrast with Graceling which has very few characters to throw together. Cashore weaves such a lovely tale but she's really good at keeping a sort of organized inventory of all her characters at all times. This, I would bet, is a result of her long writing process versus certain other authors of the YA genre that churn out their books very quickly.

graceling was way better but fire was still awesome. i cant wait till bitterblue comes out.

I felt that Fire was a superior book. When I first read Graceling, there were parts where I felt like it was languishing into a teen romance novel and, as an adult, made me a little squeamish. They weren't lurid, but I felt like I was intruding on a teen's world that I should have left alone. Fire cohered better and the characters were richer. The writing was more even. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Fire (to an adult reader), but couldn't do the same for Graceling.

They were both equally good, though, in certain aspects.
For example, Graceling was good because of the action and the turmoil of a corrupt kingdom added vastly to the tension. Though, I wasn't a huge fan of Katsa and Po's love. It seemed to fast and based on a different kind of want and love. Otherwise, I loved it and the plot was great.
As for Fire, that was good for the political struggle and the romance. I loved Fire as a character she was strong and brave. She didn't have Katsa's advantage of protection. She was also more kind and more harshly treated than Katsa ever was.
They were bith amazing and Bitterbluee is really good too, I'm about 5 pages from finishing that one. I have been speed-reading it for 3 days. Had to finish by the 11th. Phew! I was really booking it. Literally and figurtively.

I liked Graceling it's a first-of-the-series-book kind of way but both were good.

Fire is soooooo weird. It's not even about Katsa. I loved how they had the romance with Katsa and Po in Graceling. I couldn't even finish Fire. It was totally wack. I want to read Bitterblue soooo bad.

Although both were really good, I'd have to go with Fire.

Well, now is out. (I read and Po and Katsa are back but very much Bitterblue's story)
.)

Deborah wrote: "Well, now is out. (I read and Po and Katsa are back but very much Bitterblue's story)
.)"
Ah, it's on my list to read but so many books that I've been waiting for came out this month! Such a gorgeous cover, I saw it at the store and I'm so excited to read it! :)

I'm 67% done with Bitterblue. I like it but not as much as the other two.

Bitterblue, then its a toss up between Graceling and Fire

Hmm out of all three books I like Bitterblue the most as well. Then Fire because I didn't really like Katsa much. She was just a bit too forceful for me. And some parts of Graceling just dragged on. And I liked the love interest more in Fire.

Graceling was amazing, fire wasn't even close to enjoyable compared to that. The plot overall was weak, it had no deep messages and no action; so yeah, kinda boring.

i like graceling better, but fire was really close. i like the characters in graceling more. i hope she does another book in fire's world though. maybe from hannah's perspective?

Emma3501 wrote: "i like graceling better, but fire was really close. i like the characters in graceling more. i hope she does another book in fire's world though. maybe from hannah's perspective?"

I've been begging for a Hannah edition forever!

^I'd like that, too. Hannah was an interesting character.

I prefer Graceling over Fire. I liked Graceling's plot and characters more than Fire's.

Anyway, you might want to join this awesome group: Erudite Readers. If you'll join, can you do me a favor? Please mention that I invited you. Thanks guys! :)

I think Hanna is like a mini-version of Katsa, haha. She loves to get down and dirty :)

I think I love Graceling more than fire. But I love the series. Its definitely in my top ten

graceling

Fire. Because I could connect with the characters more (& I loved Brigan!!!)

I personally loved both books. They both had such depth, and they made very different points. I like both of the stories equally, but i like Kasta better than fire because of her grace. I like that her strength didn't turn her into a monster. Fire could have easily turned into a terrible person too, but she killed her dad and had someone there to take care of her before she really realized the depth of what she did. I just think that Kasta went through so much more than Fire and still turned out to be a stronger person.