Fire is the prequel to Graceling, and since Graceling is such a great book I really had no reason not to read Fire.
Basically, Fire, the last human “monster” (irresistibly beautiful creatures with the ability of mind control) is brought to “king city” by prince Brigan at a time of unrest in the Dells, as war between the kingdom and the rebel forces seems imminent. Fire is given the task of uncovering a plot against the king.
When compared to its predecessor, this book has a far greater emphasis on dialog and character development. There is a much deeper emotional aspect in this book, but unfortunately, it sacrifices plot to achieve this. Fire lacks the same level of violence, action, and fast plot movement of Graceling. Also, the protagonist – Fire – is a much weaker character who, at many times, seem to depend on the characters around her.
Bottom Line: this book is well written and has great character development and emotional analysis, but lacks in plot movement. I give Fire an 8/10.