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Firebird #2
Fusion Fire
A NEW LIFE FOR LADY FIREBIRD
Lady Firebird didnt fully understand her former enemy, the Sentinel Brennen Caldwell. That might take a lifetime. But she knew enough, loved enough, to embrace his mysteries--and his certainty--and to step out on the frightening path of pair bonding.
Exiled from her royal heritage, she had escaped the terrible fate of her birth as an expendable wastling. She fought heroically to save her adopted world from destruction. Bonded to Brennen, though, she finds herself the unexpected bearer of an ancient messianic prophecy.
While her royal family seeks to seal her doom, Firebird and Brennan face two implacable enemies--one from his past...and one from deep in her soul.
A Compelling Story of Honor and Adventure, Chronicling the Life of an Extraordinary Woman and Her Heroic Fight to Save a World in Peril.
232 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
18 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Kathy Tyers
33 books234 followersShe is the first child of Dr. H.C. Moore, an accomplished dentist and jazz musician who had served during WWII as a test pilot, and Barbara Putnam Moore, flutist with several California orchestras.
Kathy attended Montana State University in Bozeman, where she received a degree in microbiology, married, performed widely on her flute, and then became certified as a K-12 classroom teacher. After teaching primary grades for three years, she retired to start a family. Her only son took long naps and enjoyed playing alone, so in 1983 she set her electric typewriter on her kitchen table and started writing a book. Shortly after finishing the first draft, she joined a writers group, where she learned to critique and self-edit. First novel FIREBIRD was published by Bantam Spectra books in 1987, followed by FUSION FIRE, CRYSTAL WITNESS, and SHIVERING WORLD.
In 1993, her Bantam Spectra editor asked if she’d like to be a Star Wars © writer. THE TRUCE AT BAKURA hit the bestseller list, and life got hectic, exciting, and generally crazy for a while.
After one more novel for Bantam Spectra (ONE MIND’S EYE), Kathy took a sabbatical to deal with family issues. Targeting the Christian Booksellers Association market, she attended several writers conferences before concluding that no CBA publisher was interested in science fiction. She made three attempts to write a contemporary women’s novel, then turned back to her secret passion, which was to revive the unfinished FIREBIRD series. A year later, she connected with Steve Laube of Bethany House Publishers. Laube, a science fiction fan, was willing to take a risk on the project. Rewritten to enhance their underlying spiritual themes, FIREBIRD and FUSION FIRE reappeared in 1999 and 2000, followed in 2000 by a third Firebird novel, CROWN OF FIRE. Meanwhile, the call to write Star Wars came again, this time from Del Rey Books. NEW JEDI ORDER: BALANCE POINT was also a 2000 release.
In 2001, Kathy received the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference’s Pacesetter award for her efforts in the growing Christian science fiction genre. However, during the years that followed, worsening family troubles forced another sabbatical. Another SF novel was started but shelved. Bethany House asked for a new edition of SHIVERING WORLD, which Kathy completed while working at a retail greenhouse.
Kathy was widowed in 2004 and returned to school in 2006. Also in 2006, she completed working with classical guitarist Christopher Parkening on his autobiography, GRACE LIKE A RIVER. She has received a Diploma of Christian Studies from Regent College in Vancouver, BC, and she is working on toward a Master’s degree, mentoring several apprentice writers through the Christian Writers Guild, and drafting a new science fiction novel. Her Canadian experience includes worshipping at a marvelous Anglican church with stained-glass windows, kneeling rails, and challenging Scriptural preaching.
In October 2014 Kathy married William Thomas Gillin.
Kathy attended Montana State University in Bozeman, where she received a degree in microbiology, married, performed widely on her flute, and then became certified as a K-12 classroom teacher. After teaching primary grades for three years, she retired to start a family. Her only son took long naps and enjoyed playing alone, so in 1983 she set her electric typewriter on her kitchen table and started writing a book. Shortly after finishing the first draft, she joined a writers group, where she learned to critique and self-edit. First novel FIREBIRD was published by Bantam Spectra books in 1987, followed by FUSION FIRE, CRYSTAL WITNESS, and SHIVERING WORLD.
In 1993, her Bantam Spectra editor asked if she’d like to be a Star Wars © writer. THE TRUCE AT BAKURA hit the bestseller list, and life got hectic, exciting, and generally crazy for a while.
After one more novel for Bantam Spectra (ONE MIND’S EYE), Kathy took a sabbatical to deal with family issues. Targeting the Christian Booksellers Association market, she attended several writers conferences before concluding that no CBA publisher was interested in science fiction. She made three attempts to write a contemporary women’s novel, then turned back to her secret passion, which was to revive the unfinished FIREBIRD series. A year later, she connected with Steve Laube of Bethany House Publishers. Laube, a science fiction fan, was willing to take a risk on the project. Rewritten to enhance their underlying spiritual themes, FIREBIRD and FUSION FIRE reappeared in 1999 and 2000, followed in 2000 by a third Firebird novel, CROWN OF FIRE. Meanwhile, the call to write Star Wars came again, this time from Del Rey Books. NEW JEDI ORDER: BALANCE POINT was also a 2000 release.
In 2001, Kathy received the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference’s Pacesetter award for her efforts in the growing Christian science fiction genre. However, during the years that followed, worsening family troubles forced another sabbatical. Another SF novel was started but shelved. Bethany House asked for a new edition of SHIVERING WORLD, which Kathy completed while working at a retail greenhouse.
Kathy was widowed in 2004 and returned to school in 2006. Also in 2006, she completed working with classical guitarist Christopher Parkening on his autobiography, GRACE LIKE A RIVER. She has received a Diploma of Christian Studies from Regent College in Vancouver, BC, and she is working on toward a Master’s degree, mentoring several apprentice writers through the Christian Writers Guild, and drafting a new science fiction novel. Her Canadian experience includes worshipping at a marvelous Anglican church with stained-glass windows, kneeling rails, and challenging Scriptural preaching.
In October 2014 Kathy married William Thomas Gillin.
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April 25, 2023Dnf
After reading a couple chapters, I started skimming ahead and I just wasn't at all interested in what was happening, not sure why.
After reading a couple chapters, I started skimming ahead and I just wasn't at all interested in what was happening, not sure why.
March 30, 2020
A Christian space opera? Sounds strange, but this actually works very well.
Some may think this is merely a sanctified version of Star Wars, but it definitely isn't. In fact, the writing--especially the dialogue--is vastly superior to the cornball utterances from Lucas' film trilogies.
In short, fans of "speculative" fiction will likely enjoy this; I'm glad I can get the next two books from my local library's e-book service, given my current situation.
Some may think this is merely a sanctified version of Star Wars, but it definitely isn't. In fact, the writing--especially the dialogue--is vastly superior to the cornball utterances from Lucas' film trilogies.
In short, fans of "speculative" fiction will likely enjoy this; I'm glad I can get the next two books from my local library's e-book service, given my current situation.
July 1, 2017
3 1/2 stars probably.
I was confused about some of the plot points, though I am not sure if that was a deficiency in the writing or if I just didn't remember enough about the first book. I liked revisiting the characters though and overall enjoyed the book.
I was confused about some of the plot points, though I am not sure if that was a deficiency in the writing or if I just didn't remember enough about the first book. I liked revisiting the characters though and overall enjoyed the book.
March 9, 2023
Oh boy. This series took an unexpected turn. Not bad exactly but kind of dark and gruesome. Still interested in where it's going but I'd definitely suggest a parental pre-read.
April 20, 2020
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
[Note: I am reviewing the original 1987 edition, which is apparently been significantly rewritten for the 2000 edition. There's some spiritual tones to this one but I don't think I could in any way classify it as christian lit.]
https://imgur.com/Dz0rtnh
Fusion Fire is the second novel by Kathy Tyers and the second in the Firebird series, and the one I have appears to be the original 1987 publishing, clocking in at 231 pages – the tape was added by me in an attempt to keep the whole thing from disintegrating while I read it. I know some of you are going to tell me I’ve profaned a vintage novel. When I grabbed it off the shelf, the back lied to me about being a ‘stand-alone’, as it is actually a direct sequel to the first book, but for the most part, it wasn’t too hard to follow what was going on. I hadn’t heard of Kathy Tyers or the Firebird series before, so anything I mention here not from the novel is scraped from Wikipedia and Google searches.
The author:
Kathy Tyers herself is probably more notable, at least so to me, for her 90s Star Wars writing, authoring the EU novel The Truce at Bakura and a story in the famous Tales of the Bounty Hunters anthology (The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk). She took several sabbaticals from writing in the late 90s and early 00s to deal with family issues, and her husband died of alcoholism in 2004, which appears to be the explanation for the sudden bent in her career from standard science fiction to an attempt to meld it with Christian literature – I mention earlier I have the 1987 publishing of this novel because the whole Firebird Trilogy was apparently rewritten in 1999 and 2000 to make it much more explicitly spiritual and religious and was marketed as Christian literature on rerelease, not science fiction. There’s not much of that in this edition, and pretty much everything is chalked up to the main characters’ psychic abilities. Which brings us to the actual novel:
[The following is largely a discussion of the plot - if you don't care, you can skip down to the next marker]
Our protagonist is Lady Mari “Firebird” Caldwell. Originally hailing from the planet N’tai, Firebird is now married to her once enemy, General Brennen Caldwell of the Thrycian Sentinels, an elite military force composed entirely and uniquely of powerful psychics. N’Tai is a feudal society fresh off being ‘liberated’ by the human Federacy in a war of intervention after the N’tai government nuked the hell out of a neighbor from orbit for their resources. In the feudal society of N’tai, to preserve inheritances, your first born is a real person, your second is barely acceptable as a backup, and any children after that are “wastlings”, considered expendable and used as soldiers in their endless feudal wars. This practice is called ‘heir limitation’, also popularly known as “100th trimester abortion”; Firebird, the third-born of the royal family, was one such “wastling”, until she was captured by Caldwell during the liberation war in the first novel and shown there is another way to live.
This is all mostly background to the current plot. There’s also quite a bit of emphasis placed on a prophecy involving the “ashuran star-bred” genetic lines, a term that is never really explained, finally being reunited, and the heirs of such a union. It turns out the N’Taian royal family secretly carries this in their genes, and through her union with Brennen – Firebird is about 7 months pregnant at the start of the novel – Firebird’s children are prophesied to bring the end to the Thrycian’s ancient enemies, the Shuhr. Descended from the same “ashuran star-bred”, the Shuhr are antithesis of the dutiful and ethical Thrycians, believing their ability to psychically dominate others makes them a superior breed. The Shuhr are obsessed with obtaining new gene-lines from other star-bred descendants, as their small populations and ‘breeding practices’ render them vulnerable to inbreeding – the Shuhr appear to exclusively reproduce through mass artificial creches, and then slowly “weed out” the “unsuitable” as they mature. A commander at one point determines a girl to be unsuitable because she delivers his tea slightly too hot-- this should give you some clues on why they have problems maintaining a healthy population. They wish to obtain Firebird and Brennen's genetics for themselves and eliminate the prophesied threat their offspring pose.
Psychics in this series are pretty much unstoppable, easily able to read your mind and take complete control over those who are not under the protection of another psychic of similar power. They also possess some telekinetic ability, which is only used once or twice, although to great effect. Some of them also possess the ability to catch glimpses of the future, including Brennen – hence the prophecy (apparently changed to straight up divine revelation in the re-write). There’s lots of techno-babble about the ‘epsilon carrier’ and ‘alpha personality matrices’, but it’s only relevant insofar as Firebird spends much of the novel attempting to access her own latent abilities through some deep-seated psychic blocks related to her time as a Wastling and the omni-present fear/acceptance of death she faced. This later matures into some sort of special ability - when a Shuhr spy attempts to break into Firebird’s house, he accidentally makes mental contact with her right as she accesses her latent psychic ability and is promptly brain-fried on the spot.
The actual plot of the novel is a pretty straightforward spy/suspense bent for the first half, with Firebird growing suspicious of one of her husband’s co-workers and convincing Brennen to investigate the man who, unsurprisingly, turns out to be a Shuhr spy. Once the plot is uncovered, Brennen, with the assistance of a few allies, flies a solo mission to rescue Firebird’s flat-out evil sister, who allies with the Shuhr in a doomed attempt to make herself queen of N’Tai. Predictably, they immediately mind-dominate her and use her as bait for Brennen and Firebird, who are unable to resist an earnest plea from her consort to rescue her. The consort is a very good person, is deeply in love with the sister, and deeply blind to to the fact that she is completely and unapologetically evil. As mentioned earlier, Firebird is very heavy with child for much of this portion, which is an out of the ordinary trait in a main character in my experience, but the author does a good job of ensuring she is treated as an active character in the narrative and not a bystander: She remains the main POV character and despite their doubts about her concerns, Brennen and his allies in the military treat her as an active participant in their war councils about the Shuhr, and when it becomes clear that she’s just picking up on things Brennen is not he is quick to consult her. This does however lead to an extremely strange scene where Brennen, concerned about her safety and what they might be facing, practices knife fighting with his gravidly-pregnant wife. Because for some reason the weapon of choice of super psychic space soldiers is space knives. There’s a whole page dedicated to the wonders of the traditional Sentinel weapon, the crystace, which as far as I can tell behaves exactly like a normal knife except it can be made bigger or smaller with psychic energy. There’s no Dune shields either, and your typical space blaster is both present and used effectively plenty of times, mostly by Firebird, later on in the novel. Thankfully, in the far distant future, the bad guys also believe knives and not guns are the weapon of choice, so it all works out at the end of the novel in an epic psychic knife fight.
The second half is more action-oriented and also a little more cliche. Brennen is captured in his rescue attempt and Firebird’s evil sister is executed, so it falls to Firebird herself to attempt a rescue of Brennen. By this point she has given birth, but the Thyrcians, aware of her children as those foretold in prophecy, are keeping them from her out of fear she might injure them with her newly discovered, lethal, and untrained psychic talent. Deciding Brennen must be saved so someone can properly raise her psychic children, she ventures out to save him, busting through a Shuhr blockade with the help of some die-hard believers in the prophecy. Her own rescue goes awry as well, but she and Brennen manage to turn the bad guy’s evil soul-sucking amplification technique against him. Brennen uses their resulting amplified psychic power to telekinetically throw his crystace hilt hard enough to literally turn the bad guy to paste and leave a meter-deep trench in the concrete behind him.
The immediate threat gone and Firebird proven to be able to make safe mental contact, they are returned home and reunited with their children…but there are other hidden bases of Shuhr out there, waiting. (Dun Dun Dun).
[Plot discussion ends here]
My thoughts:
This book has some good points, but the beginning of the novel plods along far too slowly for my tastes. It took me quite a while to get through, at no point was I surprised by anything, and it largely consists of Firebird noticing a thing, telling Brennen about it, and him investigating it and discovering some irregularity that just makes no sense. The author often gets so focused on characters internal monologues that I had to review pages several times to figure out that the character had also actually done something while they were blogging to themselves. Once the action portion begins, things pick up a bit, but it mostly just serves to make it slightly more exciting to read rather than actually adding to anything the novel has previously presented or expanding any of the characters. The novel does have the honor of having the scene depicted on the cover being something that actually happens in it, which largely came as a surprise to me considering it doesn’t happen till about 4/5ths of the way through (and definitely mis-portrays what the majority of the novel is). There’s also a bizarre subplot where one of the Brennen’s ‘friends’ is a fellow soldier who apparently backstabbed him in some sort of federation council and regularly concocts plots that would make Firebird get herself nobly killed, because she wants Brennen for her own, but Thrycians mind-bond for life when married. She’s a fellow spec-ops and everyone is apparently completely aware of this, but they kind of shrug their shoulders about it until the space-pope gives her a stern talking-to and she mind-marries some other dude who has the hots for her and all is well – she gets multiple POVs on this subject and it’s resolved in about one line off screen in the last few pages of the novel. There’s also quite a bit of screen-time given to Brennen’s political issues with the Federacy and Firebird’s status as some sort of green-card immigrant (which the government threatens at some point for reasons unclear to me), perhaps at an attempt to do the mil-sci-fi “dumb civilian government” thing. This also doesn’t go anywhere, and it was very unclear to me the entire time what the extent of the Federacy was, what their powers were, and why a space government with fleets and armies can’t handle what is apparently a maximum of 100 evil psychics hanging out on a moon who go around kidnapping people to experiment on. Their evil base isn’t even secret! They hang out in mapped and designated systems that everyone is aware of. Perhaps this is expanded on in other novels, but here it's just a plot thread that goes nowhere and is largely abandoned in the second half except as an offhanded “oh yeah, the feds also decided to bomb the other bad guy base” at the very end (after they spent the whole novel refusing to do that thing, obviously). I do like that Brennen and Firebird are wholly dedicated to each other, as ‘will they or won’t they’ drama always bores me, but because most of the antagonists are never on screen with them until the very end, their loyalty doesn’t see much use as an actual plot device or driving character force. I have no issues with comically evil bad guys, but the novel spends far too much time on just HOW comically evil they are - given the pacing issues and general lack of foreshadowing in most circumstances, I don't know that we really need a third scene of Cobra Commander, I mean, Training Commander Polar stepping on puppies or whatever. About half-a-dozen chapters are also given to a side plot where Firebird’s eldest, not-evil sister, the current ruling monarch of N’Tai, is forced to abdicate due to political machinations and a Shuhr bombing, but this appears to be largely sequel setup and has no real impact on the plot, so I don’t mention it in my summary. I think probably the most notable element is the portrayal of a very pregnant woman as a protagonist and plot driver, and the author gets props for that but I don't think the novelty there can really make up for the myriad of flaws in the actual writing.
Overall, I would rate the novel a 2/5. I can’t really recommend it. There’s an interesting plot in here somewhere, but it’s drowned in bad pacing, long internal monologues, and lots of unnecessary details in a very short novel. I felt it was very predictable in what was going to happen next, and it at no point played off of or utilized this in a manner I found interesting or enjoyable. If you have time to kill in an airport and a dead phone, I might pick it over generic political thriller #576, but I have no plans to read the other books in the series.
[Note: I am reviewing the original 1987 edition, which is apparently been significantly rewritten for the 2000 edition. There's some spiritual tones to this one but I don't think I could in any way classify it as christian lit.]
https://imgur.com/Dz0rtnh
Fusion Fire is the second novel by Kathy Tyers and the second in the Firebird series, and the one I have appears to be the original 1987 publishing, clocking in at 231 pages – the tape was added by me in an attempt to keep the whole thing from disintegrating while I read it. I know some of you are going to tell me I’ve profaned a vintage novel. When I grabbed it off the shelf, the back lied to me about being a ‘stand-alone’, as it is actually a direct sequel to the first book, but for the most part, it wasn’t too hard to follow what was going on. I hadn’t heard of Kathy Tyers or the Firebird series before, so anything I mention here not from the novel is scraped from Wikipedia and Google searches.
The author:
Kathy Tyers herself is probably more notable, at least so to me, for her 90s Star Wars writing, authoring the EU novel The Truce at Bakura and a story in the famous Tales of the Bounty Hunters anthology (The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk). She took several sabbaticals from writing in the late 90s and early 00s to deal with family issues, and her husband died of alcoholism in 2004, which appears to be the explanation for the sudden bent in her career from standard science fiction to an attempt to meld it with Christian literature – I mention earlier I have the 1987 publishing of this novel because the whole Firebird Trilogy was apparently rewritten in 1999 and 2000 to make it much more explicitly spiritual and religious and was marketed as Christian literature on rerelease, not science fiction. There’s not much of that in this edition, and pretty much everything is chalked up to the main characters’ psychic abilities. Which brings us to the actual novel:
[The following is largely a discussion of the plot - if you don't care, you can skip down to the next marker]
Our protagonist is Lady Mari “Firebird” Caldwell. Originally hailing from the planet N’tai, Firebird is now married to her once enemy, General Brennen Caldwell of the Thrycian Sentinels, an elite military force composed entirely and uniquely of powerful psychics. N’Tai is a feudal society fresh off being ‘liberated’ by the human Federacy in a war of intervention after the N’tai government nuked the hell out of a neighbor from orbit for their resources. In the feudal society of N’tai, to preserve inheritances, your first born is a real person, your second is barely acceptable as a backup, and any children after that are “wastlings”, considered expendable and used as soldiers in their endless feudal wars. This practice is called ‘heir limitation’, also popularly known as “100th trimester abortion”; Firebird, the third-born of the royal family, was one such “wastling”, until she was captured by Caldwell during the liberation war in the first novel and shown there is another way to live.
This is all mostly background to the current plot. There’s also quite a bit of emphasis placed on a prophecy involving the “ashuran star-bred” genetic lines, a term that is never really explained, finally being reunited, and the heirs of such a union. It turns out the N’Taian royal family secretly carries this in their genes, and through her union with Brennen – Firebird is about 7 months pregnant at the start of the novel – Firebird’s children are prophesied to bring the end to the Thrycian’s ancient enemies, the Shuhr. Descended from the same “ashuran star-bred”, the Shuhr are antithesis of the dutiful and ethical Thrycians, believing their ability to psychically dominate others makes them a superior breed. The Shuhr are obsessed with obtaining new gene-lines from other star-bred descendants, as their small populations and ‘breeding practices’ render them vulnerable to inbreeding – the Shuhr appear to exclusively reproduce through mass artificial creches, and then slowly “weed out” the “unsuitable” as they mature. A commander at one point determines a girl to be unsuitable because she delivers his tea slightly too hot-- this should give you some clues on why they have problems maintaining a healthy population. They wish to obtain Firebird and Brennen's genetics for themselves and eliminate the prophesied threat their offspring pose.
Psychics in this series are pretty much unstoppable, easily able to read your mind and take complete control over those who are not under the protection of another psychic of similar power. They also possess some telekinetic ability, which is only used once or twice, although to great effect. Some of them also possess the ability to catch glimpses of the future, including Brennen – hence the prophecy (apparently changed to straight up divine revelation in the re-write). There’s lots of techno-babble about the ‘epsilon carrier’ and ‘alpha personality matrices’, but it’s only relevant insofar as Firebird spends much of the novel attempting to access her own latent abilities through some deep-seated psychic blocks related to her time as a Wastling and the omni-present fear/acceptance of death she faced. This later matures into some sort of special ability - when a Shuhr spy attempts to break into Firebird’s house, he accidentally makes mental contact with her right as she accesses her latent psychic ability and is promptly brain-fried on the spot.
The actual plot of the novel is a pretty straightforward spy/suspense bent for the first half, with Firebird growing suspicious of one of her husband’s co-workers and convincing Brennen to investigate the man who, unsurprisingly, turns out to be a Shuhr spy. Once the plot is uncovered, Brennen, with the assistance of a few allies, flies a solo mission to rescue Firebird’s flat-out evil sister, who allies with the Shuhr in a doomed attempt to make herself queen of N’Tai. Predictably, they immediately mind-dominate her and use her as bait for Brennen and Firebird, who are unable to resist an earnest plea from her consort to rescue her. The consort is a very good person, is deeply in love with the sister, and deeply blind to to the fact that she is completely and unapologetically evil. As mentioned earlier, Firebird is very heavy with child for much of this portion, which is an out of the ordinary trait in a main character in my experience, but the author does a good job of ensuring she is treated as an active character in the narrative and not a bystander: She remains the main POV character and despite their doubts about her concerns, Brennen and his allies in the military treat her as an active participant in their war councils about the Shuhr, and when it becomes clear that she’s just picking up on things Brennen is not he is quick to consult her. This does however lead to an extremely strange scene where Brennen, concerned about her safety and what they might be facing, practices knife fighting with his gravidly-pregnant wife. Because for some reason the weapon of choice of super psychic space soldiers is space knives. There’s a whole page dedicated to the wonders of the traditional Sentinel weapon, the crystace, which as far as I can tell behaves exactly like a normal knife except it can be made bigger or smaller with psychic energy. There’s no Dune shields either, and your typical space blaster is both present and used effectively plenty of times, mostly by Firebird, later on in the novel. Thankfully, in the far distant future, the bad guys also believe knives and not guns are the weapon of choice, so it all works out at the end of the novel in an epic psychic knife fight.
The second half is more action-oriented and also a little more cliche. Brennen is captured in his rescue attempt and Firebird’s evil sister is executed, so it falls to Firebird herself to attempt a rescue of Brennen. By this point she has given birth, but the Thyrcians, aware of her children as those foretold in prophecy, are keeping them from her out of fear she might injure them with her newly discovered, lethal, and untrained psychic talent. Deciding Brennen must be saved so someone can properly raise her psychic children, she ventures out to save him, busting through a Shuhr blockade with the help of some die-hard believers in the prophecy. Her own rescue goes awry as well, but she and Brennen manage to turn the bad guy’s evil soul-sucking amplification technique against him. Brennen uses their resulting amplified psychic power to telekinetically throw his crystace hilt hard enough to literally turn the bad guy to paste and leave a meter-deep trench in the concrete behind him.
The immediate threat gone and Firebird proven to be able to make safe mental contact, they are returned home and reunited with their children…but there are other hidden bases of Shuhr out there, waiting. (Dun Dun Dun).
[Plot discussion ends here]
My thoughts:
This book has some good points, but the beginning of the novel plods along far too slowly for my tastes. It took me quite a while to get through, at no point was I surprised by anything, and it largely consists of Firebird noticing a thing, telling Brennen about it, and him investigating it and discovering some irregularity that just makes no sense. The author often gets so focused on characters internal monologues that I had to review pages several times to figure out that the character had also actually done something while they were blogging to themselves. Once the action portion begins, things pick up a bit, but it mostly just serves to make it slightly more exciting to read rather than actually adding to anything the novel has previously presented or expanding any of the characters. The novel does have the honor of having the scene depicted on the cover being something that actually happens in it, which largely came as a surprise to me considering it doesn’t happen till about 4/5ths of the way through (and definitely mis-portrays what the majority of the novel is). There’s also a bizarre subplot where one of the Brennen’s ‘friends’ is a fellow soldier who apparently backstabbed him in some sort of federation council and regularly concocts plots that would make Firebird get herself nobly killed, because she wants Brennen for her own, but Thrycians mind-bond for life when married. She’s a fellow spec-ops and everyone is apparently completely aware of this, but they kind of shrug their shoulders about it until the space-pope gives her a stern talking-to and she mind-marries some other dude who has the hots for her and all is well – she gets multiple POVs on this subject and it’s resolved in about one line off screen in the last few pages of the novel. There’s also quite a bit of screen-time given to Brennen’s political issues with the Federacy and Firebird’s status as some sort of green-card immigrant (which the government threatens at some point for reasons unclear to me), perhaps at an attempt to do the mil-sci-fi “dumb civilian government” thing. This also doesn’t go anywhere, and it was very unclear to me the entire time what the extent of the Federacy was, what their powers were, and why a space government with fleets and armies can’t handle what is apparently a maximum of 100 evil psychics hanging out on a moon who go around kidnapping people to experiment on. Their evil base isn’t even secret! They hang out in mapped and designated systems that everyone is aware of. Perhaps this is expanded on in other novels, but here it's just a plot thread that goes nowhere and is largely abandoned in the second half except as an offhanded “oh yeah, the feds also decided to bomb the other bad guy base” at the very end (after they spent the whole novel refusing to do that thing, obviously). I do like that Brennen and Firebird are wholly dedicated to each other, as ‘will they or won’t they’ drama always bores me, but because most of the antagonists are never on screen with them until the very end, their loyalty doesn’t see much use as an actual plot device or driving character force. I have no issues with comically evil bad guys, but the novel spends far too much time on just HOW comically evil they are - given the pacing issues and general lack of foreshadowing in most circumstances, I don't know that we really need a third scene of Cobra Commander, I mean, Training Commander Polar stepping on puppies or whatever. About half-a-dozen chapters are also given to a side plot where Firebird’s eldest, not-evil sister, the current ruling monarch of N’Tai, is forced to abdicate due to political machinations and a Shuhr bombing, but this appears to be largely sequel setup and has no real impact on the plot, so I don’t mention it in my summary. I think probably the most notable element is the portrayal of a very pregnant woman as a protagonist and plot driver, and the author gets props for that but I don't think the novelty there can really make up for the myriad of flaws in the actual writing.
Overall, I would rate the novel a 2/5. I can’t really recommend it. There’s an interesting plot in here somewhere, but it’s drowned in bad pacing, long internal monologues, and lots of unnecessary details in a very short novel. I felt it was very predictable in what was going to happen next, and it at no point played off of or utilized this in a manner I found interesting or enjoyable. If you have time to kill in an airport and a dead phone, I might pick it over generic political thriller #576, but I have no plans to read the other books in the series.
September 22, 2022
Things got really dark and intense in this book very quickly. I didn't expect that, but I think it was all handled well. It flows well from the first book. Again, I find myself looking forward to reading the rest.
January 27, 2024
Whew! That was pretty intense, exciting, and adventuresome! It's hard to talk about series without spoilers, but I'll try my best. This book starts about a year after the first one ends and follows the drama that unfolds as Firebird learns more about Brennan's family and people. Someone is trying to wipe out his family in order to prevent the promised Messiah (this series's Christ figure) from coming. And yowza, was that a lot of drama! The action started immediately and never really let up. They face so much evil and God gave them the ability overcome insurmountable odds. And also some very evil people got what they richly deserved and I can't say I'm sad about that. But of course there are still more challenges and evil to overcome in the next three books.
I've also been very impressed at the depth and complexity of the spiritual themes that are being investigated in this series. It couldn't have been easy to write, but I've felt that Tyers is handling it skillfully and with much grace and tact.
I'm very curious to see how things unfold as this series continues, though, these first two books have been intense enough reading them back-to-back I think I'm going to go read something more relaxing before I dive into book 3. XD Still, this is a great, epic story, and I recommend it to those who enjoy exciting adult scifi/space opera.
Content Advisory:
Adult Christian Fiction. It is plenty clean enough to be read by teens, but may be too intense for some younger readers.
Language:
No real life swears. "Squill" is a made-up term that Firebird uses as an exclamation occasionally.
Sexual/Romance:
Firebird is married now and she and her husband act like a married couple, but there are no details about anything beyond kissing. The multiple kisses they share are barely described, if they get described at all.
Phoena is married now also, but she has few qualms about flirting with another man whom she finds attractive. Nothing happens between them and there are no sexual details.
Violence:
Like the first book, there are scifi laser and space ship battles with implied deaths when ships blow up.
An explosion in a building severely injures someone, but these injuries are not described in detail. Someone else gets pinned under rubble.
Someone intentionally crashes a ship in a populated area order to try to harm others.
There are many, many threats of violence as a certain group is trying to wipe out Brennan's family.
An entire family is discovered having been murdered in their sleep, but there are no gruesome details. The body of one person is described as having a burn mark, but that's it. It is implied that the oldest daughter was mentally tortured (with scifi mind control powers) before being executed, but again, there are no details of what was done to her and no details of her death, even when the killer shows someone the memory of the act.
An intense scene involves someone trying to mind control Firebird. They try to make her open a locked door to let in an assassin and when she resists they nearly make her strangle herself. (She finds a means of self defense and the attacker dies. No details.)
When Firebird is initiated into Brennan's Sentinel community, it's a tradition to share a memory (with Sentinels, sharing a memory is like causing someone else to see that memory in their mind as if they are living it out themselves) that illustrates the blood sacrifice that must be made to cover human sin. In this pre-messianic setting, Old Testament-like animal sacrifices were made in the past and that is what Firebird witnesses in the memory. The memory is sad and the killing of the animal and blood is described in some detail because, again, it illustrates the perfect sacrifice to come that will cover all human sin. Those who are sensitive to animals being harmed may wish to skip this scene.
A particular weapon causes the victim to die in convulsions. It is used on a person once and their death convulsions are described. The villain's verbal description of what it does to the human body is a bit disturbing.
An attacker gets stabbed. There is brief description of a bloody knife, but the body and wound are barely described at all.
An evil person claims that someone's children were murdered, however this isn't witnessed by anyone or described.
There's one very scifi death where it's implied that a misused weapon actually turned a very evil man to jelly, but this is not described.
One woman has the ability to touch a person and make them feel a painful burning sensation in their skin. This happens twice and is described.
Drug/Alcohol
Brennan is injected multiple times with a scifi drug that blocks his Sentinel powers. The pain of this is described once.
Spiritual/Magical:
As with the previous book, this series is Christian fiction and there are many Christian faith themes as stated above. And again, the Sentinel powers (similar to Jedi powers in appearance, but the source is genetic engineering that has allowed certain humans to use telekinesis and mind reading/control, not "the Force.") get used. There is one group that has moral rules about how they use their telekinetic powers and one that has no rules. The latter group uses their powers for mind control and harming others, often while enjoying the harm that they do. They also use it to try to see the future (they see multiple future possibilities, not one future set in stone) and this is an act that the moral group forbids.
There's a lot of discussion about the reason evil and suffering are allowed to exist. The conclusions the main characters draw are all biblically based.
A character who is trying to learn how to access their Sentinel powers for the first time (called "turning")discovers darkness inside themselves that is eventually revealed to be a manifestation of the evil that is inside every person. (Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.") There is also a bright, white light inside them. This is used to illustrate the struggle that goes on between a believer's old, sinful nature, and their new, redeemed nature.
Other:
The suicidal traditions of the Netaian (sp?) culture are referenced again in this story, but not nearly in so much detail or frequency as the previous book, and no one attempts suicide here. (In fact, yet another person rejects this evil "tradition" and choses life instead. If you were okay reading the first book in this regard, you'll be okay reading this one.
I've also been very impressed at the depth and complexity of the spiritual themes that are being investigated in this series. It couldn't have been easy to write, but I've felt that Tyers is handling it skillfully and with much grace and tact.
I'm very curious to see how things unfold as this series continues, though, these first two books have been intense enough reading them back-to-back I think I'm going to go read something more relaxing before I dive into book 3. XD Still, this is a great, epic story, and I recommend it to those who enjoy exciting adult scifi/space opera.
Content Advisory:
Adult Christian Fiction. It is plenty clean enough to be read by teens, but may be too intense for some younger readers.
Language:
No real life swears. "Squill" is a made-up term that Firebird uses as an exclamation occasionally.
Sexual/Romance:
Firebird is married now and she and her husband act like a married couple, but there are no details about anything beyond kissing. The multiple kisses they share are barely described, if they get described at all.
Phoena is married now also, but she has few qualms about flirting with another man whom she finds attractive. Nothing happens between them and there are no sexual details.
Violence:
Like the first book, there are scifi laser and space ship battles with implied deaths when ships blow up.
An explosion in a building severely injures someone, but these injuries are not described in detail. Someone else gets pinned under rubble.
Someone intentionally crashes a ship in a populated area order to try to harm others.
There are many, many threats of violence as a certain group is trying to wipe out Brennan's family.
An entire family is discovered having been murdered in their sleep, but there are no gruesome details. The body of one person is described as having a burn mark, but that's it. It is implied that the oldest daughter was mentally tortured (with scifi mind control powers) before being executed, but again, there are no details of what was done to her and no details of her death, even when the killer shows someone the memory of the act.
An intense scene involves someone trying to mind control Firebird. They try to make her open a locked door to let in an assassin and when she resists they nearly make her strangle herself. (She finds a means of self defense and the attacker dies. No details.)
When Firebird is initiated into Brennan's Sentinel community, it's a tradition to share a memory (with Sentinels, sharing a memory is like causing someone else to see that memory in their mind as if they are living it out themselves) that illustrates the blood sacrifice that must be made to cover human sin. In this pre-messianic setting, Old Testament-like animal sacrifices were made in the past and that is what Firebird witnesses in the memory. The memory is sad and the killing of the animal and blood is described in some detail because, again, it illustrates the perfect sacrifice to come that will cover all human sin. Those who are sensitive to animals being harmed may wish to skip this scene.
A particular weapon causes the victim to die in convulsions. It is used on a person once and their death convulsions are described. The villain's verbal description of what it does to the human body is a bit disturbing.
An attacker gets stabbed. There is brief description of a bloody knife, but the body and wound are barely described at all.
An evil person claims that someone's children were murdered, however this isn't witnessed by anyone or described.
There's one very scifi death where it's implied that a misused weapon actually turned a very evil man to jelly, but this is not described.
One woman has the ability to touch a person and make them feel a painful burning sensation in their skin. This happens twice and is described.
Drug/Alcohol
Brennan is injected multiple times with a scifi drug that blocks his Sentinel powers. The pain of this is described once.
Spiritual/Magical:
As with the previous book, this series is Christian fiction and there are many Christian faith themes as stated above. And again, the Sentinel powers (similar to Jedi powers in appearance, but the source is genetic engineering that has allowed certain humans to use telekinesis and mind reading/control, not "the Force.") get used. There is one group that has moral rules about how they use their telekinetic powers and one that has no rules. The latter group uses their powers for mind control and harming others, often while enjoying the harm that they do. They also use it to try to see the future (they see multiple future possibilities, not one future set in stone) and this is an act that the moral group forbids.
There's a lot of discussion about the reason evil and suffering are allowed to exist. The conclusions the main characters draw are all biblically based.
A character who is trying to learn how to access their Sentinel powers for the first time (called "turning")discovers darkness inside themselves that is eventually revealed to be a manifestation of the evil that is inside every person. (Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.") There is also a bright, white light inside them. This is used to illustrate the struggle that goes on between a believer's old, sinful nature, and their new, redeemed nature.
Other:
The suicidal traditions of the Netaian (sp?) culture are referenced again in this story, but not nearly in so much detail or frequency as the previous book, and no one attempts suicide here. (In fact, yet another person rejects this evil "tradition" and choses life instead. If you were okay reading the first book in this regard, you'll be okay reading this one.
January 10, 2021
A pregnant Firebird is just beginning to adapt to her new life married to a Master Sentinel when an attack by the Shuhr, rogue Sentinels, sends her life spiraling back into mayhem. When her sister, Phoena, disappears, the Federacy asks her husband Brennan to track her down. Brennan wants to refuse; Phoena has made no secret of her desire to see Firebird executed. But when he receives a Divine summons, what can he do but obey? Could it be that the Shuhr are somehow responsible for Phoena’s disappearance? How does she fit into their diabolical schemes? And will Firebird and Brennan be able to stop them?
Fusion Fire is the second installment in the Firebird series by Kathy Tyers. Set several months after the end of the first book, the story is not an immediate sequel. In fact, the primary storyline carry-overs deal more with the characters and some of the subplots than the main plot from Firebird.
Stylistically, Fusion Fire is much the same as its predecessor. From a practical standpoint, this makes sense, as an author should want their books to feel similar when they are both a part of the same series. And if a reader reads an author for their style, the same is true. That being said, in some ways the story feels much different by the end than it did at the beginning. There is also some incongruity in some of the authorial motivations for some of the character’s actions; that is to say, the purpose for certain events happening in the book are a little unclear, despite the author coming out and saying the reasons at the end. Perhaps this only seemed to be the case because of reader’s inattention to the story; but if that is true, then perhaps there is an issue with the story holding a reader’s interest. Not as likely, as it is an interesting tale.
Sometimes the book is hard to follow, when characters are discussing epsilon carriers and such. But that can be the case with any book that deals with fanciful content that is new to a reader. Of course, if written well, a reader should be able to focus and understand what is being described.
Overall, the tale is one of self-discovery for Firebird. [SPOILERS AHEAD] Learning she has Ehretan ancestry, Firebird begins the process of discovering latent Sentinel powers in herself. But while she trains to use them, she finds a darkness within herself that frightens her. At first, she doesn’t believe Brennan or her spiritual mentors when they say all humanity is tainted by evil. She cannot see that she is evil; that is, until she finds the darkness within. Throughout the story, Firebird is forced to contend with that burning darkness, working to discover how to overcome it. This is one of the moments where the story doesn’t quite come to fruition. Perhaps more will be explored of this in the next installment. One would hope so, since there does not seem to be a real conclusion on the matter in Fusion Fire.
This book is good enough to keep the reader interested in Firebird’s story. That being said, there isn’t anything necessarily standout about it. In the previous review, the similarity between the Sentinels and the Jedi of Star Wars was mentioned. Well, the Shuhr are very much like the Sith, the Jedi’s evil counterparts. Unhindered by morality, they plumb the utter depths of epsilon ability, much as the Sith are willing to tap into the Dark Side of the Force. Again, these similarities to Star Wars are not surprising, considering Tyers wrote two books in that saga. And as has been pointed out by others, Star Wars does not have exclusive rights to space operas featuring telepathic abilities. Just because it is not completely original doesn’t mean it’s not good or entertaining.
Fusion Fire is the second installment in the Firebird series by Kathy Tyers. Set several months after the end of the first book, the story is not an immediate sequel. In fact, the primary storyline carry-overs deal more with the characters and some of the subplots than the main plot from Firebird.
Stylistically, Fusion Fire is much the same as its predecessor. From a practical standpoint, this makes sense, as an author should want their books to feel similar when they are both a part of the same series. And if a reader reads an author for their style, the same is true. That being said, in some ways the story feels much different by the end than it did at the beginning. There is also some incongruity in some of the authorial motivations for some of the character’s actions; that is to say, the purpose for certain events happening in the book are a little unclear, despite the author coming out and saying the reasons at the end. Perhaps this only seemed to be the case because of reader’s inattention to the story; but if that is true, then perhaps there is an issue with the story holding a reader’s interest. Not as likely, as it is an interesting tale.
Sometimes the book is hard to follow, when characters are discussing epsilon carriers and such. But that can be the case with any book that deals with fanciful content that is new to a reader. Of course, if written well, a reader should be able to focus and understand what is being described.
Overall, the tale is one of self-discovery for Firebird. [SPOILERS AHEAD] Learning she has Ehretan ancestry, Firebird begins the process of discovering latent Sentinel powers in herself. But while she trains to use them, she finds a darkness within herself that frightens her. At first, she doesn’t believe Brennan or her spiritual mentors when they say all humanity is tainted by evil. She cannot see that she is evil; that is, until she finds the darkness within. Throughout the story, Firebird is forced to contend with that burning darkness, working to discover how to overcome it. This is one of the moments where the story doesn’t quite come to fruition. Perhaps more will be explored of this in the next installment. One would hope so, since there does not seem to be a real conclusion on the matter in Fusion Fire.
This book is good enough to keep the reader interested in Firebird’s story. That being said, there isn’t anything necessarily standout about it. In the previous review, the similarity between the Sentinels and the Jedi of Star Wars was mentioned. Well, the Shuhr are very much like the Sith, the Jedi’s evil counterparts. Unhindered by morality, they plumb the utter depths of epsilon ability, much as the Sith are willing to tap into the Dark Side of the Force. Again, these similarities to Star Wars are not surprising, considering Tyers wrote two books in that saga. And as has been pointed out by others, Star Wars does not have exclusive rights to space operas featuring telepathic abilities. Just because it is not completely original doesn’t mean it’s not good or entertaining.
May 10, 2024
Great sequel in this Christian sci-fi series! (5 stars)
"Fusion Fire" is the sequel to "Firebird" in the space opera Firebird series by Kathy Tyers. While the original version of Fusion Fire was published in 1987, I read the revised version that was re-published by Bethany House in 2000, which has more Christian content, and was later included in the Firebird Trilogy (2004). Unlike many sequels, this not only lives up to the first book, but in some respects even surpasses it!
In this second book, Firebird is now married to Master Sentinel Brennen Caldwell, and is expecting twins. Originally from Naetai, from where she was exiled by her family, she is more and more finding her place in Thyrica and accepting its faith. But now Shuhr agents are attempting to wipe out her royal family, including Brennen and Firebird. What can Brennen and Firebird do when her traitorous sister Phoena heads to the Shuhr home world of Three Zed?
In many respects this book continues the fine pattern that Kathy Tyers began in the first book of the series, with a strong and interesting plot that features a lot of action, many invented science fiction concepts related to space travel and combat, and strong Christian themes. I especially appreciated her treatment of the concept of atonement by means of a sacrifice, and also the question of evil and suffering in God's world.
In her author's note dated September 1999 in the revised edition, Kathy Tyers notes that this series isn't a spiritual allegory but "an extended parable of conversion". In the fictional alternate universe that is the world of these novels, she imagines a world without Earth prior to the coming of the Messiah. Salvation for these pre-atonement believers rests on a future event that is pictured by sacrifice of a substitute. In her words: "In `Firebird' I touched on God's existence and His mercy. In `Fusion Fire' I tried to deal with the existence of evil and our separation from God." Her theology is Scripturally sound, and I appreciated how it clearly conveyed the need for a Saviour as a result of "the intimate evil that results from our fallen nature".
These books are good examples of space opera, a subgenre of science fiction sometimes described as emphasizing "space warfare, melodramatic adventure, interplanetary battles, as well as chivalric romance, and often risk-taking. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, this genre usually involves conflict between opponents possessing advanced abilities, futuristic weapons, and other sophisticated technology." Kathy Tyers' work has the feel of an epic story which meets these criteria well, but in addition it has a deeper spiritual message that does a good job of combining science fiction and faith. Highly recommended.
"Fusion Fire" is the sequel to "Firebird" in the space opera Firebird series by Kathy Tyers. While the original version of Fusion Fire was published in 1987, I read the revised version that was re-published by Bethany House in 2000, which has more Christian content, and was later included in the Firebird Trilogy (2004). Unlike many sequels, this not only lives up to the first book, but in some respects even surpasses it!
In this second book, Firebird is now married to Master Sentinel Brennen Caldwell, and is expecting twins. Originally from Naetai, from where she was exiled by her family, she is more and more finding her place in Thyrica and accepting its faith. But now Shuhr agents are attempting to wipe out her royal family, including Brennen and Firebird. What can Brennen and Firebird do when her traitorous sister Phoena heads to the Shuhr home world of Three Zed?
In many respects this book continues the fine pattern that Kathy Tyers began in the first book of the series, with a strong and interesting plot that features a lot of action, many invented science fiction concepts related to space travel and combat, and strong Christian themes. I especially appreciated her treatment of the concept of atonement by means of a sacrifice, and also the question of evil and suffering in God's world.
In her author's note dated September 1999 in the revised edition, Kathy Tyers notes that this series isn't a spiritual allegory but "an extended parable of conversion". In the fictional alternate universe that is the world of these novels, she imagines a world without Earth prior to the coming of the Messiah. Salvation for these pre-atonement believers rests on a future event that is pictured by sacrifice of a substitute. In her words: "In `Firebird' I touched on God's existence and His mercy. In `Fusion Fire' I tried to deal with the existence of evil and our separation from God." Her theology is Scripturally sound, and I appreciated how it clearly conveyed the need for a Saviour as a result of "the intimate evil that results from our fallen nature".
These books are good examples of space opera, a subgenre of science fiction sometimes described as emphasizing "space warfare, melodramatic adventure, interplanetary battles, as well as chivalric romance, and often risk-taking. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, this genre usually involves conflict between opponents possessing advanced abilities, futuristic weapons, and other sophisticated technology." Kathy Tyers' work has the feel of an epic story which meets these criteria well, but in addition it has a deeper spiritual message that does a good job of combining science fiction and faith. Highly recommended.
February 16, 2021
This one had the bones of what could have been a really good book, and instead it turned out to be just OK. At times it felt a bit disjointed and hard to tell what was actually going on. I appreciate what the author was trying to do in writing an explicitly Christian-based space opera, but the execution leaves something to be desired in this case. The good: The author doesn't shy away from asking some tough theological questions, some of the sci-fi concepts are pretty decent (Jedi type powers, altered humans), Firebird herself gets some decent characterization. The bad: Gets rambly at times which distracts from the story, the conclusion feels a bit unearned and confusing, most of the characters outside Firebird aren't that interesting. I'll finish out the series because it's pretty short and easy to read.
January 27, 2024
Firebird and Brennan have bonded and settled into their new lives on Thyrica, awaiting the birth of their children. But leaving her homeworld behind will not protect Firebird or her family. The Shuhr, who possess deadly mental abilities, are targeting her bloodline in an effort to disrupt a prophecy. Firebird has developed her own abilities that might serve her well - or destroy everyone she loves.
The retro charm of this series has worn off a bit for me, though there is still some action to enjoy here - once you survive the many pages of family drama. I don't think Fusion Fire is as good as the previous book. That said, there was a lot that happened that I didn't expect and I was glad that Firebird began developing abilities of her own. I'm unsure if I can read book 3, given that it was released 12 years later - after Tyers' significant reworking of the series.
The retro charm of this series has worn off a bit for me, though there is still some action to enjoy here - once you survive the many pages of family drama. I don't think Fusion Fire is as good as the previous book. That said, there was a lot that happened that I didn't expect and I was glad that Firebird began developing abilities of her own. I'm unsure if I can read book 3, given that it was released 12 years later - after Tyers' significant reworking of the series.
September 27, 2017
The Good: A Christian space opera may sound like an odd experience, but, this works very well. The story gripped me, and the writing was excellent. After the ending of this one, I can't wait to see what happens next!
The Bad: Nothing, really; I just reserve the highest rating for truly spectacular works.
Conclusion: Kathy Tyers has written both Star Wars Expanded Universe fiction (The Truce at Bakura, Balance Point) and Christian fiction...and has done quite well at both. Fans of "speculative" fiction should check out her works.
The Bad: Nothing, really; I just reserve the highest rating for truly spectacular works.
Conclusion: Kathy Tyers has written both Star Wars Expanded Universe fiction (The Truce at Bakura, Balance Point) and Christian fiction...and has done quite well at both. Fans of "speculative" fiction should check out her works.
May 5, 2020
I loved both Firebird and Fusion Fire. I have not read Science Fiction in decades and did not even know “Christian Science Fiction” books even existed. I usually read Biblical Historic Fiction (based on Biblical characters & stories but fiction because many details are left out of the Biblical Narrative thus the author can expound on these events in history).
I have questions about the end. I don’t quite follow what happened on Three Zed. How did Brennan and Firebird escape?!? Did Firebird destroy their enemies by “turning”? Someone please explain!!
I have questions about the end. I don’t quite follow what happened on Three Zed. How did Brennan and Firebird escape?!? Did Firebird destroy their enemies by “turning”? Someone please explain!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2025
Talk about intense! Fusion Fire takes its readers into some of the darkest places of human depravity and (thankfully!) out the other side. The moments of grace scattered through its pages like stars in a moonless sky make the characters’ despair and sorrows bearable, though sometimes it felt like a close thing. I wept with relief at the hope-filled ending. Tyers is definitely a talented writer to make such an impact! I might need a break before tackling the next book in the series.
Audiobook note: I found the narration nearly intolerable and had to switch to print.
Audiobook note: I found the narration nearly intolerable and had to switch to print.
November 28, 2018
I really enjoyed her first one, Firebird. This second one felt like I was being slapped upside the head with religious pandering. No thank you. Would have been a decent story without all the proselytizing.
October 20, 2017
Just wow. The tension in this book. And the way it makes me end up liking Tel. And everything. (Yep, I'm not trying to be eloquent. Also I finished the book at least a few weeks ago.)
did-not-finish
December 10, 2019DNF 16%
February 1, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed the deeper dive into this "Firebird" fantasy world/ universe. Bring on Book 3!
September 10, 2020
Not as good as the first one and a slow start but I still enjoyed it.
February 24, 2021
Excellent Series
I first read this series in high school and I have read it at least 7 times since. It’s one of my very favorites and I never tire of it!
I first read this series in high school and I have read it at least 7 times since. It’s one of my very favorites and I never tire of it!
December 17, 2022
Excellent clean story that takes place in space.
September 27, 2025
Just as wonderful the second time through. This series has my heart.
June 30, 2025
June 2025
I think first of all this book should have a trigger warning for birth trauma and religious trauma. I have so many mixed feelings. It has been 12 years since I last re-read this book, formerly a favourite and now I’m not sure where I’d put it on the list. I’m listening to the audio book this time, and I know it might be a function of time—having been written in 1987. And yet, and yet, and yet the author couldn’t seem to picture a future in which women aren’t punished with lack of information on their bodies, or with separation from their babies at the critical time of birth. I know I’m biased on this topic, being raised by birth activists and being a midwife and doula and mother at various points in my life. But is this the best future we could see? A woman who asks questions during birth is told to be quiet and focus? A woman’s attitude is blamed for her infant being fussy? A woman is punished for the possibility that she is so powerful she could hurt her own child accidentally? Are you kidding me? And then the religious aspect of it, that this same woman is constantly berated for her doubts and worries, that she is told she’s in the wrong constantly for being human. I would like the audience to consider that although this was written as a (marginally allegorical?) stab at what the universe would be like if the Messiah hadn’t come for another 3000 years, it’s a very Christianized version of the Jewish faith. There aren’t religious thought police in Judaism. A more balanced vision would showcase the religious structure without the constant shaming of the main character. Honestly I think her only mistake was letting her spiritual mentors decide that she was an unfit parent to her newborns and not fighting tooth and nail to get away from them with her partner and children. Also, if using medications during birth is so terrible for the developing mind/ayin complex, are we assuming that Firebird’s mother, who knew nothing of this, would have forgone medicated childbirth which the author treats as standard? Why is hers so powerful then? Everything is fine at the end of the book so what Firebird went through was......worth it? I won't change my rating because I'm not sure it would be fair, or that I could even settle on a number.
I think first of all this book should have a trigger warning for birth trauma and religious trauma. I have so many mixed feelings. It has been 12 years since I last re-read this book, formerly a favourite and now I’m not sure where I’d put it on the list. I’m listening to the audio book this time, and I know it might be a function of time—having been written in 1987. And yet, and yet, and yet the author couldn’t seem to picture a future in which women aren’t punished with lack of information on their bodies, or with separation from their babies at the critical time of birth. I know I’m biased on this topic, being raised by birth activists and being a midwife and doula and mother at various points in my life. But is this the best future we could see? A woman who asks questions during birth is told to be quiet and focus? A woman’s attitude is blamed for her infant being fussy? A woman is punished for the possibility that she is so powerful she could hurt her own child accidentally? Are you kidding me? And then the religious aspect of it, that this same woman is constantly berated for her doubts and worries, that she is told she’s in the wrong constantly for being human. I would like the audience to consider that although this was written as a (marginally allegorical?) stab at what the universe would be like if the Messiah hadn’t come for another 3000 years, it’s a very Christianized version of the Jewish faith. There aren’t religious thought police in Judaism. A more balanced vision would showcase the religious structure without the constant shaming of the main character. Honestly I think her only mistake was letting her spiritual mentors decide that she was an unfit parent to her newborns and not fighting tooth and nail to get away from them with her partner and children. Also, if using medications during birth is so terrible for the developing mind/ayin complex, are we assuming that Firebird’s mother, who knew nothing of this, would have forgone medicated childbirth which the author treats as standard? Why is hers so powerful then? Everything is fine at the end of the book so what Firebird went through was......worth it? I won't change my rating because I'm not sure it would be fair, or that I could even settle on a number.
January 27, 2013
Rejected by her home world of Netaia, Lady Firebird now lives in the Federacy, with pair bond (husband), Master Sentinel Brennan Caldwell. Back on Netaia, her sister Princess Phoena, plots Firebird's murder and the restoration of Netaian aristocratic rule. Seeking to exploit the current tense situation are the Shuhr, enemies of the Caldwell family and their faith.
All three books in this series have been criticized for their Christian content because the first book was originally written as a secular novel. I find it hard to understand why someone would criticize Kathy Tyers for writing about her faith. Christian art, in all forms, is meant to either to glorify God or present ideas about the faith. In all three books of this series, this is done rather subtly. You could remove every mention of faith and religion and the story would still work.
Firebird, Fusion Fire and the third in the trilogy, Crown of Fire are not hard science fiction. These are stories of war, romance and yes, faith in a science fiction setting. The spiritual elements are merely a plus for believers. I recommend Fusion Fire.
All three books in this series have been criticized for their Christian content because the first book was originally written as a secular novel. I find it hard to understand why someone would criticize Kathy Tyers for writing about her faith. Christian art, in all forms, is meant to either to glorify God or present ideas about the faith. In all three books of this series, this is done rather subtly. You could remove every mention of faith and religion and the story would still work.
Firebird, Fusion Fire and the third in the trilogy, Crown of Fire are not hard science fiction. These are stories of war, romance and yes, faith in a science fiction setting. The spiritual elements are merely a plus for believers. I recommend Fusion Fire.
June 17, 2013
I thought this would be a "crazy starship pilot" story, but no, it's SF psychic romance a la "I fell in love with an officer of the evil empire." Also it's book two of a series, which I failed to notice when I picked it up. So the pilot has already married the officer, and she's pregnant. Plots and schemes continue from book one.
I did not much get into this one, and I suspect I wouldn't have done better if I'd started at the beginning. There's worldbuilding, there's psionic machination, a starship gets piloted a little bit; it's okay in a technicolor 80s sort of way. But I was never a fan of Catherine Asaro either.
I did not much get into this one, and I suspect I wouldn't have done better if I'd started at the beginning. There's worldbuilding, there's psionic machination, a starship gets piloted a little bit; it's okay in a technicolor 80s sort of way. But I was never a fan of Catherine Asaro either.
September 6, 2016
Writing reviews for the middle book in a trilogy is kind of hard.
Fusion Fire by: Kathy Tyers does a good job of giving the reader all the need to know information from book one. It even has a nice internal plotline, complete with beginning, middle and end. But it still doesn't quite stand on it's own.
So my advice? Read the first book first (Firebird). Then have the next book handy for immediate continuation (Crown of Fire).
Fusion Fire by: Kathy Tyers does a good job of giving the reader all the need to know information from book one. It even has a nice internal plotline, complete with beginning, middle and end. But it still doesn't quite stand on it's own.
So my advice? Read the first book first (Firebird). Then have the next book handy for immediate continuation (Crown of Fire).
February 18, 2012
Read my review of the first book (though I actually read this book first--- it was the first one I found a copy of, I believe).
Edit: The new Annotated Firebird is out. More on my blog:
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
Edit: The new Annotated Firebird is out. More on my blog:
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
April 21, 2016
This second book in the Firebird series is just as well-written and engaging as the first. In this one, Firebird and her new husband begin their fight against the evil Shuhr. However, Firebird discovers that her "turning," which should enable her to tap innate, hidden powers, is of a dangerous sort.
December 3, 2016
Firebird's struggles continue to intensify--both without and within. Can she learn to control her newfound gift, or will it consume her? I would recommend this series to fans of sci-fi/space opera who are open to a Christian allegory. (Like Christian sci-fi and fantasy? Check out thebookhoundchristianspecfic.blogspot.com)
December 26, 2016
I don't often read the second book of a trilogy right after the first, but Firebird was so good, that I just had to keep reading. Fusion Fire didn't disappoint. The character development, love story and political intrigue keep happening at the same fast pace as in the first book of the trilogy. Fabulous read.
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