Firedance [Hardcover]

Steven Barnes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1993

In the sequel to Streethal and Gorgon Child, Aubry Knight, raised to be a killer for organized crime, once again rebels against his upbringing to become a champion for the underdog in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Here Barnes continues (but does not complete) the story of Aubry Knight begun in Streetlethal and Gorgon Child . Knight, a street-fighter and hired killer turned social activist is blessed with superhuman strength, agility and endurance. With the help of his wife Promise Cotonou-Knight and a team of loyal associates, Knight now leads the Scavengers, an organization of the disenfranchised that has achieved power and influence by rebuilding quake-struck Los Angeles. But old enemies die hard; in this case, Phillipe Swarna, dictator of the PanAfrican Republic, sends assassins to avenge his son's death at the hands of Knight. The attempt misses Knight but costs the life of one of his dear friends, and Knight--his family threatened--reverts somewhat to his warrior past, determined to kill Swarna with the untrustworthy aid of an American intelligence splinter group called STYX. Barnes leavens his tale with potted mysticism and a measure of psychological depth, but it remains a story more like a comic book than a novel, flavored unpleasantly with the fetishization of muscle, physical violence and macho codes of "honor."
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ex-assassin Aubry Knight finds a new vocation rebuilding the ruins of 21st-century Los Angeles until an old enemy threatens his family and causes the "killer" to resurface. Fast-paced action tinged with pseudomysticism colors this sequel to Streetlethal (Tor, 1991) and Gorgon Child (Tor, 1989). Full of machismo and derring-do, with a passing nod to politically correct ideologies, this one-dimensional sf/adventure is a marginal purchase for all but the largest libraries.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312850948
• ISBN-13: 978-0312850944
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,308,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far the best martial art's fiction I have read, August 17, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Firedance (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the third in the Aubry Knight trilogy and all three are excellent. The fight scenes are so well described and choregraphed that you can practically see them

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Be Fooled By The Cover, January 30, 2001

By 

Greg "Greg" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Firedance (Mass Market Paperback)

Just like the old axiom...this book gathered dust on my shelf until I was in the mood to read it...the lurid cover was a turn off. Particularly, the martial-arts-fighter-hero main character really seemed typical. I was wrong. This book is a deeply textured morality tale about power, politics and technology. The action, superb, is just part of the story. This has all the trademarks of cyberpunk with a solid story. The fact that I read the third book in the trilogy was not a problem, in fact, it just made me determined to track down the other two. Greg Davies/Toronto

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books i've ever read, September 10, 2006

By 

Byron W "Voracious Reader" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Firedance (Mass Market Paperback)

Firedance is the last book in a trilogy (the others being Streetlethal and then Gorgon Child), and boy does it go out with a bang! The whole series is jam-packed with action and intrigue, which in itself is perceptive commentary on human nature.

This book completes the story of Aubry Knight, a born and bred warrior, who throughout the series reluctantly finds himself at the forefront of persecuted humanitarian organizations. This particular book tells the story of Aubry Knight seeking revenge for someone assassinating his friend. The story takes him across continents where he finds himself as an assassin of a head-of-state, in a zero-gravity fighting championship and finally finding out the identity and whereabouts of his birth family (he was orphaned at a young age).