Wildfire

by Sarah Micklem

Wildfire is the sequel to Firethorn and the second part of a rather intriguing fantasy saga that tells the tale of Firethorn, a lowborn woman with unusual gifts granted her by the gods. Having accompanied her aristocratic lover on a war campaign into a foreign land, she is separated from the army and ends up on a long journey, imprisoned first in one way and then another. The world of these novels is an intriguing one, full of gods and spirits and shades, and rituals for every one of them. High emphasis is placed on plantlore, and we see the main character practise her knowledge and skill as a greenwoman quite a few times. The story is written in first-person perspective, and I could not imagine it truly working any other way; we see what Firethorn sees, we hear what she hears, we feel what she feels, even if we may not always sympathise with her. The occasionally disjointed style also works quite well. While I did not like this novel as much as the first one, I would still gladly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy - although it would be preferable to read the first part before this one in order to understand all the references. As for myself, I shall await eagerly for the next part of Firethorn's tale.

/ [Linderel]

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