From Unseen Fire is a literary blend of historical fiction and fantasy that will blow your mind. The city of Aven is so richly imagined, no detail goes unfinished. Cass has filled every corner of this world until it practically breathes. There is political intrigue, love, revenge and redemption.
And while there is a strong argument to be made for Cass’s gift in writing her secondary characters so well they practically leap off the page, what she really excels at is writing the strong female. Latona embodies all of the rich nuances that live inside so many of the woman I love and admire in real life – she’s strong when she needs to be, and yet also suffers from moments of self-doubt. And like those women, she’s able to see the big picture in ways many of her male counterparts can’t, or don’t. Or won’t.
I have to take a moment to reiterate how much work goes into a book like this. Not only does Cass have to imagine all of the fantasy elements – the rules, applications and limitations – she has to fit them into an imagined historical context that feels real. Which required her to do a huge amount of research on the real ancient Rome, in order to layer Aven over the top of it. I’m telling you, as an author of realistic fiction, I am consistently BLOWN AWAY by the work my fantasy counterparts do. And Cass is flawless in her execution. Aven is such a richly texturized world, I found myself often forgetting that the ancient Romans didn’t, in fact, have elemental magic at their disposal.
Speaking of…if you want to know what kind of elemental magic might you have if you lived in Aven, Cass’s publisher put together this quiz that will tell you!
I got Air:
