Firebreak is a standalone dystopian near-future adventure story by Nicole Kornher-Stace. Released 4th May 2021 by Simon & Schuster on their Gallery/Saga imprint, it's 416 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (paperback release scheduled for 2022). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.
This is an enveloping, intense, well written powerhouse of a novel which delivered everything it promised me. I've seen lots (and lots) of comparisons from other reviewers with Ready Player One and it has only the most basic commonalities: much of the action takes place in a virtual world (but with very real real-life consequences), and there's a gigantic EvilCorp the underdog protagonist has to fight.
There's a lot of unvarnished social commentary here and I got flashbacks to Sinclair's The Jungle at several points. The author takes on late stage capitalism, corporate power dynamics, exploitation, economic corruption and manages to do so in the middle of a rollicking adventure buddy narrative which is blissfully free from romantic drama.
The author writes deftly and engagingly and I never found my interest waning. I was a little intimidated at the very beginning of the read over the length of the book, but I was gratified to see that there was no page bloat at all and I was never yanked out of my suspension of disbelief. It -is- a first person narrative which is challenging, but the author manages to avoid the "I did this and then this and then this happened" pitfalls.
It's a gripping and well told story. Highly recommended for fans of dystopian underdog adventures with strong protagonists. Four and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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