Fire by Kristin Cashore

Note: I've read an advanced reading copy, and don't know how much may change until the first printing.

Fire is the prequel to Graceling, Kristin Cashore's fantasy debut novel published in 2008 about a young woman unnaturally skilled in combat. It was a story about her alienation from society and her coming to terms with that, while also doing her part to better it.

In that way Graceling is very similar to its new prequel, whose heroine is named Fire. Fire is not graced; she lives in an land adjacent to the one we learned of in Graceling, where instead of Gracelings there are Monsters. Monsters come in the shape and mold of "normal" animals but are intensely beautiful; iridescent and multicolored, they create an insatiable desire in the minds of any people of weak constitution who lay eyes on them. For instance, there are monster bugs and cats that are generally harmless, but monster raptors will eat you.

Fire is the only human monster.

I'll just let that thought sink in a little.

Fire is in an almost constant threat of danger; she is especially irresistible to those monster raptors I mentioned before, as well as most men between the ages of 18 and 65. To put it frankly, Fire has to deal with "rape culture" at a whole new level. She has her friends, skills with a bow, and her mind reading/influencing abilities to help protect her, but she is never at ease.

To top it all off, her late monster father, Cansreal, took the title "monster" to heart and did all sort of horrible things to the world using the past king as a puppet. Yup. Those are not fun shoes to fill.

Beauty comes with a price.

Anyways, I think the author did an excellent job of defining Fire's character and how it evolved. A+ job.
Another thing that struck me was how she incorporated a lot of very human things that generally get glossed over in fantasy novels (at least that I've read), such as sex, puberty, the rigors of pregnancy, and sexuality. Fire's "monthly bleedings" are even a crucial element to the story, since the smell of her blood attracts dangerous monsters from miles around, putting her in some very tenuous situations.

The book is definitely worth the read, especially if you enjoyed Graceling.