Highfire

TEST

Artemis Fowl creator Eoin Colfer turns his hand to adult fantasy in this amusing piece of work that’s a southern fried Howard the Duck, a shade Dragonheart, and all original.

Vodka-loving, pop-culture immersed Vern – Formerly Wyvern, Lord Highfire of the Highfire Eyrie  – is a dragon who’s been hidden away from human eyes for years, living in a swamp, watching Netflix and snarking on cryptid hunters.  It’s not a condition he’s particularly happy about, but as long as he has access to TV and food, he’s generally content, though incredibly lonely and incredibly aware that he’s the last of his kind.

Squib Moreau is a young fatherless kid living in the swamp, whose sainted mother Elodie’s heart was broken by the disappearance of his stepfather.  With a police record a mile long behind him and his mom struggling under the debts left by his stepfather, Squib wants to be good but is trapped in a cycle of rebellion.  At fifteen, he’s got an apprenticeship with Willard Carnahan, a moonshine runner, and hopes he’ll be able to afford to pay off his stepfather’s debts and move his mother out of town at last.

Regence Hooke, meanwhile, is an extremely crooked cop with a thing for Elodie and a thing for vengeance.  He’s trying like hell to take over the local drug trade, which is why he’s clashing with Carnahan’s bootlegging enterprise.

All three of our main characters collide, resulting in a truly funny and surprising battle for redemption, survival, and friendship.

Highfire is odd in a good way. It’s a delightfully bizarre book, a cross between a Burt Reynolds’ deep south good-ol’-boys action comedy and a coming of age fantasy.  It’s ridiculous, raunchy and funny, and its characters are amusingly winning in a way that buoys the book.

The best character in the production is, naturally, Vern, who is the most interesting dragon figure I’ve read about in some time.  The others stand out as unique enough but don’t draw as much attention as he does, with his confidence and cock-eyed sense of humor.

Hooke makes a fine villain – very much a tougher take on the Jackie Gleason role in Smokey and the Bandit.

But the slight blandness of Squib, who doesn’t pop to life as the others do, sticks out like a sore thumb among the vibrant cast of ridiculous and colorful characters.

The banter, action, dialogue and sense of humor, however, are all top notch and absolutely elevate Highfire to a high-recommended level grade.  It’s a fun, ridiculous, rollicking trip that’s worth all of the little bumps along the way.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

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Reviewed by Lisa Fernandes

Grade: B+

Book Type: Fantasy

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date: 28/01/20

Publication Date: 01/2020

Review Tags: 

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier

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Eggletina
Eggletina
Guest
01/28/2020 1:15 pm

Sounds fun. I haven’t tried Eoin Colfer before, but have been wanting to. This sounds like it might be a good place to start.

Lisa Fernandes
Lisa Fernandes
Guest
Reply to  Eggletina
01/28/2020 3:32 pm

I think it is! Hope you like it.

Dabney Grinnan
Dabney Grinnan
Admin
01/28/2020 10:29 am

My favorite Colfer is The Supernaturalist. Such a compelling view of a dystopian future. And yet a fun read!

Lisa Fernandes
Lisa Fernandes
Guest
Reply to  Dabney Grinnan
01/28/2020 3:31 pm

I haven’t read that one yet! I need to.

Maggie Boyd
Maggie Boyd
Guest
01/28/2020 10:16 am

This sounds amazing! I’ll definitely have to read it.

Lisa Fernandes
Lisa Fernandes
Guest
Reply to  Maggie Boyd
01/28/2020 3:29 pm

Hope you like it!