What do you suppose that fire thinks about as it cooks your dinner behind its cage of containment stone? Jetta ak'Kal knows--but no one listens to a Firedancer who has failed to protect her assigned village from an assault by living flame. The Ancient, the strange, elemental fire imprisoned at the heart of the world, took her lifemate, her reputation as the most talented Dancer of her generation, and nearly her life. Now her clan demands she redeem herself, yet seem strangely indifferent to her insistence that the Dance itself that has always bound the Ancient seems to be failing. Assigned to Annam, a village with no previous experience of fire, Jetta and her new partner, Settak, find themselves battling the naive ignorance of the villagers, the hostility of arrogant Windriders whose mastery of air could kill them both with the flick of a finger, and occasionally each other as they struggle to find new and more powerful forms of the Dance. Pursued by fire crawling up through every crack, by a new love she does not want, and a nagging suspicion that there is more to her assignment than her clan bothered to tell her, Jetta must forge unprecedented alliances in this high and beautiful place before the Ancient breaks free--for if it does, there will no longer be anything left to fight for.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Author
I clearly remember the first sentence of this book popping into my head: "This fire was malicious." What the heck? Malicious fire? I kinda had to know what that meant. My fingers began to wander on the keys, and pretty soon I discovered a world threatened by fire that thinks. Holy cow. That was fun to write. Now I am having just as much fun writing the sequels to what was originally supposed to be a "stand-alone" novel. Who knew that Windriders have beautiful songs to sing or that Wind has a really angry sister? I can't wait to discover what the Seaborn are going to get up to.
About the Author
S. A. Bolich is a full-time freelancer with a number of published fantasy stories as well as many nonfiction articles in print. A native of Washington state, she resides there again after serving six years in Germany as a regular army military intelligence officer. She graduated summa cum laude from college with a degree in history, which she confesses was greatly aided by devouring historical fiction of every era and kind through her formative years. Her first novel, "Firedancer," Book 1 of the Masters of the Elements series, was released in September 2011 by Sky Warrior Books, with Book 2, "Windrider," upcoming in Spring 2012. Her short fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, On Spec, Damnation Books, Defending the Future IV: No Man's Land, and Wolfsongs 2, among others, and is upcoming in several more.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Be careful not to open this when you buy it. I did, fell into reading, and had to drag myself out with block and tackle. Reading on my commute, I nearly missed my stop.
This black-hole of the brain effect comes from pure high-quality work. The first scene drops you into the conflict, sets up the tension, and it rolls on from there, carrying the reader along. Events flow naturally, never seeming contrived or forced, as Jetta has to find what is wrong and how to even start meeting the challenge.
In a world where writers from the Big Publishers frequently annoy me with their expectedness, their mundaneness, or the obvious strings on the puppets, this was a rare treat.
Characters never seem contrived or forced, so they're easy to be interested in. I am way weary of the modern stereotype characters, let alone the Old School ones. There are no stereotypes here, but flawed, many-sided, undecided people, like the ones we are and know. There are no Mean Girls, no Evil Overlords, not even a Handsome Duke. Jetta isn't the apprentice who's going to do marvelous things of course. She isn't the spunky chick or the sword-wielding Amazon. She's a twenty-something master of her magical art, who's taken a big wallop to her confidence, and is trying to recover from her personal losses. There are no villains, but people have so many different agendas, viewpoints, and bits of knowledge that they wind up in conflict, or trip each other up, or just have collisions of personality. It makes the whole cast very real. (So losses really hurt.)
That the magic is nothing like any other book's again refreshes me and makes this both interesting and more convincing. This isn't a half-thought pastiche of tradition. It isn't science fantasy, trying to make its magic a physics-manque. Instead, it comes out of world-building that subverts our concepts of geology and meteorology, just for starters, but does it convincingly and with a consistency that makes me go along. You don't have wizards or sorcerers, but the Blooded Clans, variants off humanity, born to their racial peculiarities and particular magics. (No elves, dwarves, dragons, vampires, werewolves, or unicorns, either, blessed be.)
The writing is fluent, intensely sensory, but never fussy. This is a rare book that made me feel like the story took place, not on sets, not on a big map, but in a convincing world of dust, sky, trees, mountains. You can feel the air and the open reaches of a life not constantly lived in buildings and cars.
In short, marvelous fantasy adventure, outside the usual boxes. I am so looking forward to the next volume.
This black-hole of the brain effect comes from pure high-quality work. The first scene drops you into the conflict, sets up the tension, and it rolls on from there, carrying the reader along. Events flow naturally, never seeming contrived or forced, as Jetta has to find what is wrong and how to even start meeting the challenge.
In a world where writers from the Big Publishers frequently annoy me with their expectedness, their mundaneness, or the obvious strings on the puppets, this was a rare treat.
Characters never seem contrived or forced, so they're easy to be interested in. I am way weary of the modern stereotype characters, let alone the Old School ones. There are no stereotypes here, but flawed, many-sided, undecided people, like the ones we are and know. There are no Mean Girls, no Evil Overlords, not even a Handsome Duke. Jetta isn't the apprentice who's going to do marvelous things of course. She isn't the spunky chick or the sword-wielding Amazon. She's a twenty-something master of her magical art, who's taken a big wallop to her confidence, and is trying to recover from her personal losses. There are no villains, but people have so many different agendas, viewpoints, and bits of knowledge that they wind up in conflict, or trip each other up, or just have collisions of personality. It makes the whole cast very real. (So losses really hurt.)
That the magic is nothing like any other book's again refreshes me and makes this both interesting and more convincing. This isn't a half-thought pastiche of tradition. It isn't science fantasy, trying to make its magic a physics-manque. Instead, it comes out of world-building that subverts our concepts of geology and meteorology, just for starters, but does it convincingly and with a consistency that makes me go along. You don't have wizards or sorcerers, but the Blooded Clans, variants off humanity, born to their racial peculiarities and particular magics. (No elves, dwarves, dragons, vampires, werewolves, or unicorns, either, blessed be.)
The writing is fluent, intensely sensory, but never fussy. This is a rare book that made me feel like the story took place, not on sets, not on a big map, but in a convincing world of dust, sky, trees, mountains. You can feel the air and the open reaches of a life not constantly lived in buildings and cars.
In short, marvelous fantasy adventure, outside the usual boxes. I am so looking forward to the next volume.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By ravenswood
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The story kept pulling me back to pick it and read more, even when I had other things to do. Interesting characters that draw you into their world, descriptions that create vivid pictures of places and actions. Interaction among the characters flows well and makes the reader the feel like an observer, watching from a quiet corner of the scene. Can't wait for the next book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Firedancer is a refreshing new YA Fantasy book by author S. A. Bolich. Firedancer is part of a series with one sequel "Windrider' published and another "Seaborn" on it's way. However, Firedancer does come to an ending so this is not one of those 12 book series where you never find out what happens.
Firedancer is considerably different than most Fantasy out there, having no sexy vampires and a distinct shortage of other over-used fantasy tropes. In fact our heroine uses dance rather than a flashing blade to be a hero.
When reading Firedancer you are quickly drawn into the fully-fleshed out characters and world.
Now, it's true, our new author is not an experienced wordsmith and makes a few stumbles here and there, but they don't get in the way.
I am looking forward to more by this promising new author!
I rcvd a copy for review.
Firedancer is considerably different than most Fantasy out there, having no sexy vampires and a distinct shortage of other over-used fantasy tropes. In fact our heroine uses dance rather than a flashing blade to be a hero.
When reading Firedancer you are quickly drawn into the fully-fleshed out characters and world.
Now, it's true, our new author is not an experienced wordsmith and makes a few stumbles here and there, but they don't get in the way.
I am looking forward to more by this promising new author!
I rcvd a copy for review.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great fantasy novel, unique magic!
In Firedancer, S.A. Bolich introduces us to a fascinating world in which Clans have power over the elements of fire, wind, earth, and water. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Clare L. Deming
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved this book. I devoured the pages like the Ancient fire devours...
I loved this book. I devoured the pages like the Ancient fire devours all in its path. When I finished reading, I immediately bought the sequel Windrider. Read more
Published 4 months ago by atwojay
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful story, beautifully written
I'd been meaning to read Firedancer for some time and once I started I couldn't put it down. Jetta is a wonderful heroine--brave, vulnerable, creative, wise, deeply feeling. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Elisabeth Christie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bravo!
Ordinarily, I'm not a big fan of "high" fantasy, but this book ignores all the standard tropes and tackles meaningful issues in a way that makes the supernatural seem quite, well,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Josh Langston
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting Premise Beautifully Carried Out
S.A. Bolich's FIREDANCER is a remarkable piece of work with some intriguing premises. Bolich posits a world where the elements themselves seem to be sentient or, at least, aware. Read more
Published 10 months ago by James K. Burk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing and exciting
It's refreshing and delightful to read a novel that throws out the genre stock-in-trade violence and tyranny, in favour of the dangers and dramas that ensue when basically good... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Alexa Brodelyn
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Compelling Read
What a fascinating book! Tightly written, it dips and dives into the recesses of the mind like one of those worms in sci-fi thrillers that gets into your brain through the ear... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Avid Reader
More About the Author
S. A. Bolich is a full-time freelancer whose books come with warnings from reviewers of sleepless nights and missed bus stops ahead as they suck you in and refuse to let go. Her first novel, "Firedancer," Book 1 of the Masters of the Elements series, was released in September 2011 by Sky Warrior Books, with Book 2, "Windrider," appearing in Spring 2012. Her short fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, On Spec, Damnation Books, Defending the Future IV: No Man's Land, and Wolfsongs 2, among others, and is upcoming in several more. Currently she is working on "Seaborn," Book 3 of Masters of the Elements.
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