Customer Reviews

City of Fire (City Trilogy)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 1:53 Mins

City of Fire by Laurence Yep is an exciting, adventurous read for children ages nine and up. Set in the 1940's, our heroes journey across the Pacific ocean from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands meeting shapeshifters, dragons and even the ancient goddess Pele who has disguised herself as a vagabond, but controls the land and the sea through her mystical enchantments.

Magic is part of this fantastical world and our hero, twelve-year old Scirye, will come face to face with evil and her own abilities to overcome it. She will find friendship in a young boy, Leech, who she first mistrusts, but then comes to understand that he is also on a journey of self-discovery. Leech must find out about his own mysterious past and make the decision to do good or evil.

Gaining the trust of her traveling companions, Scirye, sets out to avenge the death of her sister caused by the evil dragon Badik and the powerfully evil Mr. Roland. Each of her companions have their own personal journey in finding the powers within them that will help them stop the diabolical Mr. Roland from stealing the Five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yu and giving him ultimate power over the world.

If you have a middle-schooler --or even an older elementary school child -- who is looking for an adventure series with great world-building and interesting characters, let me suggest Laurence Yep's new City Trilogy.

Yep, who is a Newbery Honor Award author, sets his story in an alternate universe where an alternate earth enjoys magic and magical creatures; and where certain historic events, such as World War II, never happened. [Hawaii remains an independent country!]


The principal characters are 12 year-old Scirye, her lap-Griffin Kles, Leech and Koko, two street urchins: as well as Bayang, a dragon sent to assassinate Leech.

The book doesn't begin with them knowing each another, but soon their paths cross as they find they seek revenge against a common foe, the ancient dragon Badik and the human Roland. Revenge takes on more importance when they find out that the two bad guys are determined to steal the Five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yu, weapons that will let them alter the world forever.

Talking Points :::

This is the beginning book of what promises to be a good series. The characters are interesting and fun, the world building is excellent.

This book will be particularly good for readers who like complex worlds where magic doesn't just 'sit there' on the surface. There are some philosophical issues here that are interesting.

I really liked that the story is told from two perspectives. One point of view was Scirye's and the other was the mysterious and enigmatic Bayang, the assassin dragon. Her other-world perspective was actually my favorite as it gave insight into the strange goings on in this alternate earth.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews

City of Fire

* Accelerated Reading level : 5th Grade (generic; no month given)
* Hardcover: 320 pages
* Publisher: Starscape (September 1, 2009)
* ISBN-10: 0765319241

I've always loved Fantasy. From the time I could first read chapter books I was drawn in by the worlds that were build for me by these amazing authors. However, sometimes it is hard to get into a book because the world is so vast and the amount of characters is overwhelming. As a reader, I find it easier to invest in a fictional world when there is a handhold for me that relates to the world around me. Cue Laurence Yep's City of Fire.

Yep builds a fantastic world around the real events of the 1940's. This time period allows our adventurers the use of planes and boats as their main transportation, which is much more exciting in my opinion! Certain events in our history have been altered, such as the fact that Hawaii is still an independent country. Also, and here is the kicker, mythical creatures walk among humans as equals. Pretty amazing right? Or is your head hurting? Well either way trust me, it's worth the slight confusion at the beginning because once I was pulled into the world there was no turning back. The world is so vivid, so well written, that I can guarantee you'll be pulled in as well.

Bring on the characters shall we? We meet Scirye, the fiery young girl with a vendetta against her sister's killer. She is tired of being treated as a little girl and ready to prove herself. Then we are presented with Leech and Koko, two street urchins with secrets buried within them. Mysterious and hilarious, they are quite the duo! Finally we meet Bayang, a dragon who is disguised as an elderly lady and is the key to the whole journey. These four characters are so fantastic together! Their banter with one another is classic, and throughout their interactions there are so many lessons learned about friendship, understanding and forgiveness. There is a character for every reader to attach to and fall in love with.

I could write a whole novel about my appreciation for this book, but I'll end here. The long and short of it is simply this: City of Fire is a fantastic journey complete with realistic and magical elements. Although this written for the younger reader, I see a lot for us young adult and adult readers to love. If you're ready to be transported to a new world, let Laurence Yep take you there! This book gets the highest recommendation possible from me, and I can only hope that you agree.

The main problem I had with this book was visualizing the world it takes place in. While there are fantastic elements involved, the setting is that of the 1940's - which trains and planes for transportation - but also set in a world that seems more Asian in background and mythology - while set in California. It took me a bit to wrap my head around it and as such I couldn't get into the story as much as I would have liked.

The other problem is with the characters. I think, for being on such a dangerous quest, that everything seems to be going too well. All of the traveling characters become buddy-buddy a little faster than is believable - especially when one character originally was going to assassinate one of the others before the theft. Maybe it's just me.

Otherwise, I really loved the plot and I thought the world was original - as much as I couldn't visualize it - I love the concept of combining some unusual elements. I may re-read this book before the next one comes out and may enjoy it more than the first read.

Suggested for those who love fantasy, adventure and dragons.

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
[...]

It has been a very long time since I've read a young adult novel with this breadth of creativity and world-building. CITY OF FIRE gathers an unlikely band of confederates together and sends them whizzing out into an incredibly imagined world of adventure and wonder. From the broad political landscape to the delightful little details about daily life, I was enchanted through it all.

Reading CITY OF FIRE reminded me of the all the discovery of reading the first Harry Potter combined with the written equivalent of DINOTOPIA's intricacy and delight. Yep lays out a fascinating magical and political structure for his world, all the while sprinkling the story with visual tidbits like a six-foot tall lizard pushing a broom in the background. The plot swept forward with an amazing amount of information without ever bogging down, due in part to the way Yep balances the lush depth of his scenery with fast paced action and dialog. While CITY OF FIRE was a fantastic entry into this world, I wouldn't recommend skipping straight to later books in the series, if only because you would miss the way each member of Scirye's motley group changes and comes together over the course of book one.

The characters in CITY OF FIRE are around twelve-years-old and are definitely pre-pubescent. Given that CITY OF FIRE takes place in the span of a day, I would imagine that we're not going to watch Scirye and Leech grow up in any physical sense over the course of the trilogy, despite the emotional maturity they gain. Packed with adventure, admirable character growth and an inventive world, CITY OF FIRE will be a hit for readers at any age looking for adventure and wonder, but not a hint of romance.

Sexual Content: None.

Laurence Yep is a two-time Newbery Honor Award winner, and I really liked his sea dragon series. It's also nice that Yep gives us Asian-influenced fantasy and Asian characters, since fantasy often seems to be populated entirely by white children. I was very pleased to learn that he was starting a new fantasy series with this book.

City of Fire introduces us to an alternative version of San Francisco in 1941. In this world, dragons take human form and a well-to-do diplomat's daughter named Scirye has a lap-sized talking griffin named Kles. Her family represents the ancient kingdom of Kush. At a museum exhibit of Kushan artifacts, we meet the rest of our cast of characters--a boy named Leech, his companion Koko, and a disguised dragon named Bayang whose mission is to kill Leech.

When the exhibit is attacked by a huge dragon and other monsters, Scirye's warrior mother and sister fight back, but Scirye's sister is killed and the exhibit is robbed of a strange ring. Determined to avenge herself, Scirye impulsively steals a magic carpet and, with her new companions in tow, sets out to chase the dragonish thief.

Their first attempt to retrieve the ring fails, so our heroes must stow away on a plane headed for Honolulu, having realized that the thief is working for a wealthy and powerful man named Mr. Roland. On the island they meet a new ally, the goddess Pele. But even she might not have the power to stop Mr. Roland, who is planning to retrieve the Five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yu--for nefarious purposes, obviously!

Certain characters are particularly fun: while Pele may seem like a stereotype to some, I thought she was a hoot as a raucous, pidgin-talking, casually powerful Hawaiian deity in human form. Koko has an intriguing secret, and we do finally learn the mystery of Bayang's pursuit of Leech, who turns out to have magical powers of his own. Yep's world building here is another plus, with the retro vibe of the 1940s along with an alternative Asian history giving the story a fresh fantasy feel.

Although the book is written in third person, alternating chapters give us the story from the points of view of Scirye, Bayang, and Leech, an approach I think enriches the narrative.

My only hesitation about City of Fire is that it seems to rely more on plot and setup than on character development, but I think that may simply be true of this type of series. For one thing, it's hard to juggle a large cast and give each character much depth. We do learn that Scirye is klutsy compared to her sister and feels she has something to prove and that Bayang begins to question her mission, but Leech is a little harder to get a handle on. I guess I didn't feel as strong a connection to these characters as I would have liked. However, as the series continues, Yep will no doubt add further nuance to his key characters. In the meantime, this series, with enough action to satisfy fans of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books, is off to a very good start.

1941, San Francisco. Museum Exhibit opening: Kushan, The Empire of the Moon
As far as exhibit openings go, this should have been simple. Sell tickets, open the doors, wow patrons socks off. Nope. Not this book. Look 2 over on the shelf. The events of this alternate universe are somewhat different.
An assassin lurks outside the exhibit waiting to execute her duties. The exhibit is protected by magic. Magic carpets are real. The flying beasts are real. People die. This is NO normal museum exhibit!
Laurence Yep creates for young readers a world of what if? What if magic really existed? What if dragons were real? What if we lived in an alternate time/spatial frame where magic and reality intermingled? The quest by Bayang, Leech, Koko, and Scirye to exact revenge (getting even) with Badik for the murder of Ninske and Primo is exciting. Just like scenes from a "Thousand and One Arabian Nights", the magic carpet comes to life, and Chinese mythology sweeps through the skies, the imagined soar in these pages.
Plot wise, the book gives a couple of twists. An assassin who saves the life of her victim, who now cannot execute her duties. The presence of an Island being raised magically is unique, and the search for the Five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yu turn this Yep novel into one of his best.
I really loved the watercolor cover that is reminiscent of Ralph Bashke's Lord of the Rings and Fire and Ice (Frazetta).
All said and read, this book is highly recommended for your young reader.
Tim Lasiuta

In 1941 twelve year old Mistress of Kles Scirye is angry to learn her older sister Nishke was killed trying to prevent a treasure from being stolen from the Hearn Museum in San Francisco. She plans to regain what was taken and kill her sibling's murderer Badik the evil dragon though she is ignorant of the plan of the dragon's even more evil partner Mr. Roland to possess the five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yu in order to change existence as Scirye knows it.

Fuming she sets out to avenge her sibling's murder. Joining her on her trek is Bayang the dragon disguised as a human Pinkerton Agent, Leech the orphan, and his best friend Koko. Her three allies have secrets they keep from one another but share a common need to destroy Badik and his associate Mr. Roland. The trail leads to Houlani, the newest Hawaiian island created by magic, but even with Pele the Goddess of volcanoes abetting their cause they are too late to prevent a second theft as they pursue the malevolent duo into the frozen north.

This is a fast-paced alternate historical fantasy as one episode follows another. The story line is loaded with a horde of mythological creatures, beasts, cretins, and Gods, but it is the unlikely teammates led by a tweener who fight the forces of evil. Although at times the discussions between the good guys slows down the plot especially during dangerous incidents, middle school fans will root for Scirye and her squad against the enemy who seems several steps ahead of them; setting up a sequel or two.

Harriet Klausner

I'm a mother who screens what my daughter reads, and I really enjoyed this book. I'm excited that it's the start of a new series - but I'm thinking the people in charge were just a little too anxious to get it off the presses. Sentences like those below just irk:

It was the dragons who sent you, didn't they? - p. 163

... he once tried to exterminate my people. - p. 163 Spoken by a dragon about his "people"?!

... Scirye still felt as if Kushan's long history was a dense ... - p. 32 As if "Kushan" was a pronoun rather than a collective noun.

When people insisted she do something, ... - p. 162

She had been eying the flagstaffs ... - p. 96

Maybe I'm just picky, but I'm not making money off my typos!!

In any case, I still really enjoyed the book, and I am looking forward to when my daughter is through with it so we can work on the discussion topics at the end of the book. Nevertheless, I'm just irritated that I have to tell her to watch out for simple editorial carelessness. I hope these can be corrected in future editions.