Kitty G Books's Reviews > River of Blue Fire

So, this one goes straight onto the favourites shelf becuase this continuation turned this series from one I really liked into one I loved. The story picks up straight after the ending of the previous book, and I really loved seeing the instant re-immersion.

Some of the elements of this series which I most enjoy:
- The blend of Sci-Fi & Fantasy elements into a convincing, bizarre and fun world filled with exciting scenes.
- The characters - there are SO MANY great characters within this series from Renie & !Xabbu to Martine (who really developed a lot for me in this one with the addition of her diary entries and backstory) to Orlando and Fredricks (a gamer pair who are great friends) to Cristabel (a young girl and the narrative is told from her world-view so you see everything through a lens of innocence) to Paul (the lost wanderer) to all the others. We honestly get to meet so many fabulous characters and I loved all the plotlines which is marvellous becuase it's a long book.
- The pacing - I know for some people a slower story isn't what they like to see, but I find myself falling more and more in love with super chunky books and stories (if they are done well and spend the slow plot time to develop characters & worlds)
- The imaginative worlds - This story is set in a world where VR (Virtual Reality) is a huge part of day to day life and some of the ultra high tech is so capable of simulation that it's virtually like you're in another world. We pass through all sorts of crazy places within this story. Some of my favourites being the Emlar land where all the Emilies live, the War of the Worlds version of London and the giant Kitchen world (you can see they're a bit crazy). We definitely see a lot of travelling in this book and see our character encountering all manner of creatures, cartoons and manifestations in these wacky worlds.
- The plot - we're following a group of characters who are trapped on the Net and travelling through various Sims. The plot didn't ever feel too drawn out for me (especially if you compare it to something like Malazan or Wheel of Time - both super long yet I enjoy both a lot) and I found myself speeding through the majority of the audiobook (which is excellent by the way) in a day when I was travelling.
- The diverse elements - we have characters from all walks of life and from all over the world. Although it's set in South Africa predominantly when we follow the characters of !Xabbu and Renie, we also have an Englishman, Frenchwoman, Australian people and much more. I also love that we have people from vastly different cultures even within the same country like !Xabbu who is from a Bushamen tribe and has excellent stories to tell about this.
- The fun - this story truly is that. I feel as though we're always encountering new things and it's always a little on the crazy side. We get to see God-like beings ruling over their own specially crafted domains, meet the three blind mice and the scarecrow from Oz, and a world where everyone has the same name. All of this, and much more, made this into a crazy story but one I always knew was filled with vibrant, imaginative ideas.

Overall I really, really loved this. I whizzed through the book and I devoured it, and I NEED to go into the next book and final book really, really soon. I just found this to be a book which I loved from start to end, and I think it really worked out well for me at the time to be travelling and binge reading this. 5*s and I will certainly saw this is a series which stays on your mind and is just filled with life. Highly recommend this story!!