Firefight

Brandon Sanderson knows how to write riveting plots--and Firefight, the sequel to Steelheart, is no exception.

In a world where cities are controlled by powerful Epics (humans with superhuman abilities), David has joined the Reckoners fighting to limit the Epics power. But after defeating Steelheart in Newcago (the steel-encased former Chicago), Prof, the head of the Reckoners, thinks they need to focus their efforts on Regalia, who rules former New York City (Babylon Restored, aka Babilar). David's eager for the new task, not just to take out another epic, but to reconnect with the Epic Firefight (aka Megan) whom he fell for when she infiltrated their force in Newcago.

But David's experiences in Babilar make him start to question his fundamental understanding of Epics: that their power inevitably corrupts them, to a degree proportionate to their strength. In Babilar, he finds people who are relatively content with their life, feeding off the strange fruit growing in the building and grown by a mysterious Epic named Dawnslight. Regalia, too, has some deeper motive in drawing them to Babilar--and some connection with Prof. And then there's Megan--Firefight--whose ability to stave off the Epic madness has David wondering if destroying the Epics is really the answer they should be looking at.

This one started a little slower than Steelheart for me (after the break-neck first chapter). But it definitely picked up, and there were some fascinating twists at the end of the book. I'm looking forward to see what Sanderson does with the next book--but I do wish he were a little better at writing the romance scenes! (I guess I like my romantic moments tender, rather than funny). All things considered, that's a pretty minor complaint.

Also--I have to say I read this one mostly for my husband. I enjoyed Steelheart and was planning on reading this, but it would have gone farther down on my TBR list had he not insisted that I read this so he had someone to talk to about the book. How could I resist that?