Monday, October 1, 2018

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Cold Fire by Kate Elliott




Cold Fire is the second book in Kate Elliott's Spiritwalker trilogy after the series' first book, Cold Magic (Review Here).  I liked Cold Magic a bit, but it was a bit slow at first and involved an incredible amount of worldbuilding, such that while the plot eventually moved on a pretty great pace (I couldn't put it down in the second half), it was almost hard to absorb everything the book was throwing at me.  Cold Fire's story picks up immediately after Cold Magic and makes damn good on all that worldbuilding, even as it expands the world further, taking us from an alternate version of Europe to an alternate version of the Caribbean.

This is the fourth completed series by Kate Elliott that I've had the pleasure of reading (Jaran, Crossroads, Court of Fives), and Cold Fire continues a trend from those series:  The second book is at least as good as the first, if not substantially better.  And Cold Fire is really good - our main character and her love interest remain excellent and interesting characters, some of the secondary characters previously only given small mention are expanded in interesting ways, and the plot surprises on numerous occasions.

Note: If it wasn't obvious from the above, you will be endlessly confused if you start the story here instead of with Cold Magic.  Don't do that.

More after the Jump:


-----------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------
Catherine "Cat" Bell Barahal and her cousin Bee may have temporarily escaped the control of the tyrannical and dangerous Cold Mages, but Cat knows this is only a temporary reprieve.  But when they seek aid of the Radicals in Europa, they find themselves in the path of the dangerous General Camjiata, who once waged war to unite Europa under his rule and now seeks to attempt a second conquest, where he can create a new Roman Empire with his own new legal code.  Camjiata wants Bee's power of prophecy and wants Cat due to an older prophecy foretelling her importance, but Cat distrusts the man's ambition and seeks yet again to escape to more friendlier corners.

But when their escape results in Cat once again returning to the Spirit World, she winds up confronting and being bound by dangerous forces, which seek powerful human blood, such as that of Bee.  And when the deadly Night Court returns her to the mortal world, she finds herself in the Antilles, the local peoples' fire mages are prominent and powerful, and where cold magic is weak.

In order to save her cousin, Cat will have to find a powerful person to sacrifice in Bee's place to the Night Court.  But the Antilles is host to numerous dangers - not only the local fire mages, but a deadly plague, deadly creatures, and its own branch of radicals.  And then there are the forces of Europa who have chased Cat - Camjiata and his own dangerous fire mage and Cat's own husband Vai, the Cold Mage....who not only has his own agenda, but still seeks Cat's love.

Can Cat find a way to save Bee from the Wild Hunt?  And who amongst this group of snakes can she really trust to help her? And what exactly are her feelings for Vai?
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Cold Fire continues the story of Cat Barahal right where the prior book left off (in fact, its first chapter is a slightly altered retelling of the last chapter of Cold Magic), from once again her first person perspective.  Cat remains a wonderful character to serve as our main protagonist - she's bright and witty and fast-thinking....and also incredibly impulsive, sometimes self-destructive, and a master at hiding her own feelings.  The story takes her from one new setting to another - going from Europa (Europe) to the Spirit World to the Antilles (the Caribbean) - and she makes this whirlwind of events (because a ton of stuff happens) exciting and interesting to read about.  And when good or bad things happen to her - and both happen in this book - its incredibly easy to feel for her.

And then there's Vai, Cat's love interest (and husband after a forced marriage in the first book), who returns in this book to a major role.  I loved Vai so damn much and he gets so much more development in this book.  Still cocky and self-assured on the outside- one such time is absolutely hilarious - but very insecure on the inside due to the conflict between his power and his allegedly inferior birth, driven by such things to try to work secretly for great change without technically breaking his orders....I love Vai so much, and it's so easy to feel for him as well.  I'm not a big fan of the trope where a young woman is forced to marry a man and falls in love with him, but this story makes it work by subverting that trope quite a bit - Vai was just as forced into the marriage as Cat and at this point clearly cares for her (though she isn't sure if she cares for him) and the book does reveal a way for Cat to get out of the marriage if she so wishes.

*Note: An excluded chapter from this book from Vai's perspective is up on Elliott's web-page, and it is wonderful.  Don't read before reading Chapters 1-31 of this book mind you.

Vai is contrasted by a new character, James Drake, who forms his antithesis in many ways - as a potential counter-love interest, as a fire mage rather than a cold mage, as a man who is cocky and arrogant on the outside.....and seems to be just as much so on the inside.  Easily the most hateable character to be introduced in this trilogy so far, alongside several other new or more-developed antagonists (such as Camjiata).

I've somehow gone this far into this review without again mentioning the worldbuilding, which remains fantastic.  We expand now from the alternate version of Europe (Europa) to an alternate version of the Caribbean (The Antilles) (not to mention the new parts of the Spirit World we see in this book), and it's a fascinating alternate version of our world, where magical power has allowed the indigenous peoples of the New World to maintain a strong force that can more than withstand the forces of colonization - indeed, the natives of the Antilles are powerful enough to take over the colony island if they ever so wished and everyone knows it.  And this isn't even talking about any part of the American mainland, which we never see here but is shown on the map to begin this story and looks very different.  It's a very well done and interesting world that I suspect I'll want to read more of even after this trilogy is complete.

The book isn't perfect but its flaws are very minor and largely related to I suspect the book seeding plot points that don't go anywhere this book but I suspect will be followed up in the finale.  The pacing of this book is great from the outset, unlike its predecessor (which started a bit slow), and things never seem to slow down at any point - I breezed through Cold Fire in two days and probably could've finished in one if I wasn't deliberately trying to conserve reading material.  I want to shout out one last time the dialogue, which especially after something happens to Cat midway through the book becomes incredibly well done (not spoiling).  The result, especially when Cat and Vai have a scene right before the final act, is a masterful piece of work between a character and a love interest, I've reread that part of the book multiple times I love it so much.

Can't wait for the finale, much recommended.
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