Fire-us #3: The Kiln (Fire-us) [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Jennifer Armstrong (Author), Nancy Butcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

They are not alone.

After most of the world's population was wiped out by a deadly plague five years ago, this small group of children formed a family. They've taken care of each other, scavenging food from deserted supermarkets, fighting off the wild animals that prowl soccer fields and schools. The children thought they were the only ones left.

Then they came across the Keepers, the first Grown-ups they'd seen for years, living in an abandoned shopping mall. The Keepers offered fresh food, clean beds, and security. But what looked like safety was instead the worst danger the family had yet faced.

Now the family is once again on the road. But if they want to reach the end of their journey, if they want to solve the mystery of what happened and who is to blame, they must head straight into danger -- to Pisgah, the heart of the Keepers' power.

In this stunning conclusion to the Fire-us Trilogy, Jennifer Armstrong and Nancy Butcher return to the post-apocalyptic world they created in The Kindling and The Keepers of the Flame, as the family discovers the dark secret that changed their world forever.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-In book three of the trilogy, Angerman, Mommy, Teacher, and the other members of the makeshift family have found their way to The Woods, a retirement community filled with elderly women who somehow managed to survive the virus that killed most of the adults in the world. However, the youngsters' troubles and travels are not over yet. As Mommy deals with the bewildering changes that come with puberty, Angerman grows increasingly agitated, and insists on continuing the effort to find the President of the United States. Traveling in solar-powered golf carts, he and the other kids manage to find the president on Pisgah Island-and he turns out to be the Supreme Leader of the Crossroads enclave. He also turns out to be related to more than one of the children, and an over-the-top, power-hungry madman to boot. One family member makes the supreme sacrifice to save what's left of the world in an explosive finale. Armstrong and Butcher have crafted a chillingly realistic picture of events that unfortunately isn't that hard to imagine, and have created believable characters who act in believable ways. A strong finish to an engrossing and disturbing series set in the near future.
Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Having escaped the extremely fundamentalist Keepers of the Flame, Mommy, Teacher, Angerman, and the other youngsters continue their search for the Grown-up known as President and find a remote retirement community of elderly women. When they learn from the community's doctor that Pesident's summer home is on the nearby island of Pisgah, also the enclave of the Supreme Leader of the Keepers of the Flame, the older kids go there, leaving the toddlers behind with the women. Soon they find themselves falling into the clutches of the Keepers, and they inevitably learn the truth behind the Fire-us (the virus) that killed most of the people in the country. Although the young people remain true to the characterizations established in the earlier books, the adults here are one-dimensional, and the chain of events stretches credibility. It's a shame that the trilogy, which began with such promise in The Kindling (2002), climaxes with such melodrama. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• ISBN-10: 0060080507
• ASIN: B000C4T15E
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,638,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Denouemont, March 6, 2004

By 

Veronica Bauff (Ottery St. Catchpole) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire-us #3: The Kiln (Hardcover)

Is anyone but me finding this Zimmerman person annoying? I mean, I appreciate being informed of the doings of the Left and Right wings, but this is a childrens book, for God's sake!
Anyway, this thrilling final chapter will keep you glue to the book. The children, now with Cory, the girl from the Keepers, are continuing their quest to find President, the only person who might be able to help them. Unfortunately, they have reason believe her is being held against his will by the Keepers at Pisgah Island, so the older kids, Mommy, Teacher, Hunter, Cory, and a mentally deteriorating Angerman, set out to rescue him, leaving the little ones in the care of an all-female retirement community they find at the beginning of the book. What they find is more terrible than anything they've seen along the way.
This concluding book held me too my seat until the very end. The construction of the novel, as we see the points of view of all the oldest children, as well as the twists and turns along the way make for a fantastic literary journey. If I may quote my favorite line from the book (I hope without giving too much away), "It's all rght, I get it. Gun breaks glass, virus kills all, ergo no bang-bang."
A real page-turner: 5 stars.

1.0 out of 5 stars What a Let Down, August 10, 2007

By 

Ruby J. Upthagrove - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire-us #3: The Kiln (Paperback)

This book was such a flimsy conclusion to what otherwise could have been a decent series.

I was really intrigued with the building of the characters in the first two books. I was excited about the third to see how the authors brought it all together, however it just didn't happen. I felt cheated by the introduction of the grannies in the retirement home. It was very insulting to my intelligence. After all, if women who had gone through menopause were immune to the virus, wouldn't their town in Florida be swarming with helpful grannies wanting to care for orphaned children? After all, within a one block radius of my own home, I can think of 6 people who would be immune to the virus.

I also was disappointed with the weak development of the president and his followers from the shopping mall. He was such a flat and predictable villian as were his minnions. All in all, this series could have really been interesting and exciting, but the authors were either too lazy or uncreative to bring all the elements together without cheating me.

5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling Conclusion, February 17, 2005

By 

Akemi "Music Obsessed Person" (Rockland, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire-us #3: The Kiln (Hardcover)

Here's the climax. The chilling conclusion. The scary exciting end of these series. It will disturb you, alarm you, and again, with these themes, it might be a bit too disturbing for younger audiences.

This book is fantastic! It will make you angry in bits, but all through it you'll cheer these characters on.