Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!

Firebreak is a near-future sci-fi novel in which the US has been divided up between two major corporations, Greenleaf and Stellaxis. The two corporations periodically fight over territory, and they have complete control over their citizens and the resources in their districts. Water is particularly tightly controlled, and citizens compete in a virtual war game to help themselves gain more access to resources in the real world. The story centers around Mal, who was orphaned by the war between the corporations and has been given an opportunity to help expose some of the lies the corporations have been telling. In many ways, the plot is a typical "bring down the controlling entity by exposing lies" plot, but it is definitely fun and fast-paced, and Mal is an interesting character. She is a bit of a reluctant leader, and she has trouble connecting with people, which makes the relationships that she does form all the more precious. The one negative aspect for me was that I wasn't particularly surprised by any of the "twists" in the plot. It is obvious (at least to me) from the outset what the corporations are lying about, and it left me wondering a little how the characters in the book could have been so fully taken in by the corporations and the reality they are selling.

Overall, a fun, fast-paced, futuristic sci-fi novel, which I would recommend to fans of the genre, both adult and YA audiences!

This is one of my top books for 2021. Despite it being about a dystopian world in virtual video games and enhanced soldiers there was just show much real life in that made me on edge. There was just simple things that set off big events much like the political landscape of today.
The beginning of the book's pacings slow but it was interesting in I would reading it so fast. And then bam things heated up and you couldn't catch your breath. Not a lot happen but it felt realistic compared to a lot of dystopian books. I did not predict how certain parts would end or what would play a big part of the story.
Also because the core the book is so for me tied to real life, the ending gave me hope for their world but at the same time feelings of misplaced hope.

I really enjoyed this story and pretty much flew through the book while reading other things as well. The author is well know for YA fantasy though I haven’t read any other books by her. This is more adult speculative fiction and deals with the larger issues of corporate control over the lives of citizens and using people to make money by pitting them against each other and controlling resources, especially precious water. There is a devious and nasty underbelly to the two corporate powers that control the world and the protagonist finds out and tries to bring justice to those who deserve it. It has a gaming element but nothing like Ready Player One.

I thought the book was well written but the author can get too wordy and with editing I would have cut at least a quarter of the book. Character development wasn’t awesome though I did really like Mal, the main character and she is a strong female figure which always attracts me in dystopian environments as it shows how women can effect major change. The SpecOps operators were interesting characters as well and would have liked to know ore about them but the book would be even longer if we did. Maybe a duogoly or trilogy next time? This certainly had the bones for that.

I hope to read more by this author and recommend the book if you enjoy speculative fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace is a brilliant novel. I loved the dystopian aspect and it's so gripping and an incredible concept.

This took a while to get off the ground, but when it did, it was good.

The plot centers around Mal, a girl struggling to make ends meet in a post-United States dystopia controlled by two warring mega-corporations. She makes part of her living by gaming in a super-advanced virtual reality MMORPG world.

From this, the "Ready Player One" comparisons are inevitable. This is nowhere near as annoying as RP1, though. It also doesn't have the other side of the coin: that offbeat, entertaining RP1 energy. They spend a lot more time in the real world in this book, and the main character's personality is flat and matter-of-fact. Overall, that means that "Firebreak" is slower to grab you, but in my opinion, a more enjoyable and solid story when you get into it.

This book's game features SecOps characters: unique, massively overpowered NPCs that are based off actual SecOps operatives in the real world. There's a whole fan subculture of hunting them, and following them around like superheroes. The real story starts about thirty-five percent in, when Mal runs into a SecOps fighter in real life.

From there, a cascade of action, corporate lies, intrigue, tyranny, cover-ups, and revolution just start building. It's good and interesting and absolutely kept me reading. The best part, though, is the gradual humanization of the SecOps fighters as we meet them more and more. I kept expecting Mal and 22 to have met before as children, or something to explain her interest in him, but there was no backstory and in the end I was fine with that.

There are only about two or three big game sequences, which makes this a lot less of a "gaming" book than RP1, but honestly it's better that way. I love gaming books, but this was better as a revolution-in-real-life book, because all the stakes were in the real life part of the story. If you can work past the slow start, this book is good.

My first time reading a book by Nicole Kornher-Stace and it was a pretty pleasent experience, so I'm not sure about the YA books, but I will most likely read any further series aimed at adults.

I have received this book in exchange for an honest review, thank you Gallery / Saga Press and NetGalley for the opportunity.

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I enjoy stories about struggle, and this book is nothing if it didn't have struggle at the basis of its world. The reality the author paints here for Mal and her friends is bleak, it's difficult and it's probably the first dystopian book, in memory anyway, that makes me feel pretty uncomfortable. One of the main things that make this book, or rather the reality of this book easy to immerse myself in is because it's not an impossible possibility. In this pandemic in particular, the past years of war in some areas of the world and some third world countries, shortage of water and food is a very real reality which is why I think that the harshness of the part I saw in this world is on point.

I had more than a few questions when I started the book as it threw me right in the middle of it, I wanted to know more about the game itself and I wanted to know more about the world they live in while learning more about the operatives. By chapter 9 of 22 however, I had all my questions answered and I was ready to fully experience this world.

The plot of the book in itself, is not something very new, and I won't necessarily say that the themes she explored concerning oppression, monopoly and humanity are new either. However, I will gladly say that she combined them in a way that makes the experience very fun, made me root for the characters and made me want to see it till the end without pause for the bigger majority of it.

To be fair though, the one thing I felt that sort of set it apart a bit, would be the streaming angle. Usually, or at least in the books I read where there is a VR gaming angle, like Ready Player One, Warcross and Arena, there is no human interaction between players and viewers. It's a TV show or a broadcast or something of the like, so with the incorporation, she definitely brings something new to the table. I'm not big on streamers, as I rather play the games myself, but I thought that the way she had this angle actually play a bigger role in the movement of the plot than simply a money grab was interesting.

Plot-wise, the book had an overall pretty good pace in my humble opinion and the only time where I felt that it could have been a bit better was part 4, as I think it needed a bit more to it than what I got which made it seem like it ended on a bit of an abrupt way. Until that part however, I did not want to put the book down. I liked the team Mal and Jessa made and I really wanted to learn more about them, I enjoyed seeing them think of new ways of completing their objectives and I also wanted to learn more about the hidden darkness while learning more about the operatives. The way the plot and the pace of the book moved as it was showing me each and every one of those angles was very good.

The characters were also pretty interesting to stick around with, from the main characters to the operatives to the supporting cast felt like they had to add something to the discussion and there was even an instance where I thought that one of the side characters, specifically in chapter 14 in regards to the way forward had a way of thinking that honestly made the most sense to me, even if it might not have been the absolute correct way of moving forward. This variety is always interesting to see, and I kind of wished for more of it.

Until there, everything was going very well, part 4 is when I started having some issues with the book. The author says that she doesn't give a damn about romance and such, which I believe as this doesn't really have it in the same way as other books that want to shoehorn it in for no good reason. However, there is this unreal level of devotion here to a character that to me, feels more like a figurehead worship than anything, comes off as pretty creepy. I tried really hard to convince myself that it's a very strong platonic relationship that may or may not develop if given time and actual reasoning, but that whole focus felt very off to me.

I did hope for the ending the book had, but I had some different characters in mind to end it and I'm not very sure how that would have impacted the overall mood of it, but I do think it would have been a more fun experience for me, as selfish as this sounds.

Like I said, only part 4 had a bit of a snag to it, but the rest of the book is pretty solid. I'm definitely interested in seeing a sequel to this with a bit of an older cast this time, as the story feels open to continuation, but for now, it was a very good first try with Nicole Kornher-Stace's books and I'll most likely be picking up another by her whenever the opportunity presents itself.

By the way, 06> and that's a hill I'm willing to die on :)

This book has a lot of sci-fi, virtual reality, friendship adventures which make it a fun read. Similar to 'Ready Player One', with a good cast of characters makes this. an engaging read.

Book Review for Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace
Full review for this title will be posted at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

Review of eGalley

Orphaned in the corporate war, Mallory lives in a hotel room with eight other similarly-orphaned young people. They all work multiple jobs, hoping to earn enough to purchase water [a dollar an ounce at the company store] and pay for the room. Mallory’s best job, the one she excels at, is streaming a popular virtual reality war game. For Nycorix [Mallory’s avatar], the highlight of the game is catching sight of SpecOps operatives, celebrity supersoldiers grown and owned by the corporation that runs the forty-five remaining states of the United States of America.

Once upon a time, Stellaxis didn’t control most of the water. Once upon a time, Greenleaf didn’t control most of the agricultural business. Along with other companies, they each grew and rebranded and grew again until there only two giants remained standing: Stellaxis controlling twenty-three states; Greenleaf controlling twenty-two.

And the company controls everything about their lives.

But a chance encounter with one of the operatives reveals a stunning secret: the supersoldiers weren’t created. They were children, stolen, augmented, and tortured until they became supersoldiers to star in the virtual reality game. And when Mallory tries to expose the lies, the most powerful company in the world will bring everything it has to bear . . . against her.

Set in the near future of the twenty-second century society where the gig economy is the norm, gamers uncover a massive secret and reveal to the world the greed, conspiracy, and corporate one-upmanship practiced by Stellaxis, the corporation that controls their lives.

Mallory and her friends are reasonably well-described, as is the setting; however, the backstories for supersoldiers 06 and 22 remain undiscussed beyond the “children, stolen, augmented, and tortured” revelation. Still, there’s a great deal of action as the unfolding story takes a few surprising turns. The power of the corporation is truly frightening while the resoluteness displayed by Mallory and her friends is inspiring.

For readers who enjoy virtual reality games, there is much to appreciate in this fast-moving, action-packed tale of the near future.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Gallery Books and Gallery / Saga Press and NetGalley
#Firebreak #NetGalley

This was such a fun ride.

I would say this is like Mr. Robot meets Black Mirror. It is thrilling and fast paced and full of twists and turns. But the thing that will capture you and overcome you is the sense of reality and how this can become our reality in the future.

'Nicole Kornher-Stace, like big name author Blake Crouch, has created a thrilling realistic sci-fi adventure that will leave you on the edge of your chair wondering if this narrative will become reality, or if its already happening to us and we just don't know it yet.

Firebreak is set in a dystopian 22nd century society, where corporations fill the role of an ineffectual government and dehydration is a constant companion. The main character, Mal, is just trying to keep herself afloat by working multiple jobs and scraping together enough subscribers by streaming a video game to keep her water account full enough to stave off kidney failure. When a chance encounter in her virtual reality side hustle leads to attention from an unexpected source, Mal is thrust into the middle of a vast conspiracy, forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world she inhabits and to wonder just how far she'll go to restore justice to a broken world.

Firebreak started out strong, with a well-realized dystopic world, a compelling main character, and a well fleshed-out supporting cast. The initial revelations were well-crafted and kept the story moving, and helped to create emotional interest in the story.

Unfortunately, the book faltered in its third act. Most of the reveals seemed to be used up by that point, and the story unfolded predictably without major fireworks or surprises. While the characters were placed in danger, the conclusion seemed foregone and ultimately the the ending was without anything more than the illusion of high stakes.

I also would have loved to have heard more about 22 and 06's backstories. The book hints early on that they may become more fleshed-out characters, and indeed much of the plot revolves around the treatment of real human beings as two-dimensional avatars, but ultimately fails to deliver anything more than surface-level personalities for these two characters. Given the main thrust of the plot, this felt like a particularly severe missed opportunity.

Loved this book. It had me from the beginning. This book starts fast and doesn’t let go. If you have ever liked gaming online or a fan of say, Sword art Online or dystopian fiction, this book is for you.
No idea if this is a stand-alone or if the author wants to keep this world going but I would definitely like to see more after the amazing world building she built here.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalkey for the ARC of this book.

All the fun of Ready Player One with none of the exhausting 80s nostalgia references and pesky misogyny.

In a very-near future dystopia where two warring corporations control everything and everyone via water and electricity rationing, a thoroughly dehydrated girl just wants to get by.

It was nice to see a dystopian revolution book where things aren't magically better or fixed just because the protagonist stood up and did the right thing. It acknowledges that people will suffer, and die, for the cause and change will be slow. Despite that, the book was hopeful and quite the page-turner. Check it out.

The beginning was quite confusing, and quotes lack quotations that made it even more confusing - I’m a gamer myself, so I shouldn’t have felt as alienated as I did. It took a while before I felt stabilized in the setting.

The characters have an interesting dynamic, and I liked how they really had to work for what they wanted throughout the story. I must also say this story got me into Sci-Fi, I found it’s world incredibly interesting! The characterization was handled well, and no characters felt flat - their motivations made sense and pushed them forward.

I enjoyed most thinks about this book, if not all - and now will be looking into reading more sci-fi and books by this author! I definitely will be buying this when published.

I want to sincerely thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this ARC.

By golly, can this woman write a good yarn or not? The style is reminiscent of "Archivist Wasp" and "Latchkey" but this is a completely different story. And set in a world I hope to encounter again.

Mallory is close to finishing her one thousandth kill for the day, a goal she's been trying to achieve for months, when the unthinkable happens. She spots a lone beacon. There's a SpecOps operative out there and nobody knows it but her. The path to instant fame! But she still has six kills to go and five minutes to the power curfew. How's a girl to decide?

Which starts this unlikeable human on a path that will change things forever. Mal doesn't want to change things forever and pretty much fights it at every step. Antisocial, angry, and apt to snap at the slightest provocation she is nobody's concept of a hero. 22? Yeah, 22 is a hero. So is 06. B? Might be. But B disappeared shortly after filling Mal with a purpose she can't ignore. Leading Mal straight into the arms of a full on firefight against forces she can neither control nor even survive…

Ms. Kornher-Stace writes in a way that pulls you right in. From the first paragraph to the last she is unrelenting in her story-telling. Forcing to you stay involved but in a way that makes you want to be forced to stay involved. Or something like that. I've become so enticed by her writing that I joined Patreon just to send her a pittance a month in hopes to keep her consuming enough coffee to produce more fiction. Fiction which I will eagerly and joyfully devour.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this wonderful title.

I quite enjoyed this book. Gritty and brutal. Don’t let the back-of-the-book descriptions fool you - the video game plays a much smaller role here than one might expect, but there’s so much going on that it’s not necessary, anyway. I wish some of the secondary characters had been fleshed out better, and the pace slowed down during the final third, but these are minor complaints. Overall a good, thought-provoking read with plenty of action.

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<p>Review copy provided by the publisher.</p>
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<p>Once upon a time in the Before-Times, I traveled to New York City. (Pause to stare off into space and consider how distant this now feels.) And while I was there, I went to a reading that featured Nicole Kornher-Stace reading a section of <em>Firebreak</em>, and I got really excited, because it was really good. I was recovering from a bad bout of influenza and did not have the energy to stick around after and enthuse about the book. But! I received it in eARC form and have that opportunity now!</p>
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<p>I'm really glad that I heard the late section of the book early, because the beginning of the book is the characters' work in computer games, and I am a hard sell on computer game books. One of the reasons, though, is that a lot of books that feature computer games struggle with how to make them important and resort to silly melodramatic tropes like "if you die in the GAME you die in REAL LIFE." Kornher-Stace, on the other hand, understands that games are important because they are an art form humans invest with importance, and <em>Firebreak</em> reflects that on every level.</p>
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<p>("If you die in the opera you die in real life," come on, nobody feels the need to do this. Ahem. Anyway.)</p>
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<p>The other half of this book, besides involvement with online gaming, is water scarcity, and it is vivid and dystopic for sure. As a very water-focused person I found this just horrifying and needed to have a glass of water by my side the entire time I was reading this book, because oh wow, yikes, Kornher-Stace makes you really feel every detail of this system.</p>
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<p>I feel like <em>Firebreak</em> deals with tropes and themes that cyberpunk wanted to handle, but in a way that's taken the last 30-40 years of human politics and culture into account. Corporate behemoths focused on their own profit to the exclusion of human well-being? Check. Online life providing both respite and sinister problems? Check. But unlike most cyberpunk, <em>Firebreak</em> is well grounded in environmental change and in the desperation that can come from humans being ground down in a system that pits them against each other for the barest necessities. <em>Firebreak</em> is not anybody's-movement-punk. It's just plain punk. And I for one am here for it.</p>
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I really love dystopian thriller books set in the future. This book also has a bit of a sci-fi element too. This was set in 2134 where there are only 45 US states remaining because they were lost to rising water levels. I would not say this is a main character that is central to the story, but Mal seems to be the reluctant hero. There are two large global companies that control everything: food, water, electricity, utilities, etc. A few people that are computer hackers are trying to fight back against the large corporations, what could possibly go wrong? This was better than I thought it was going to be and was kind of frightening. What if that happens to our future generations? Scary and relatable. This just did not strike me as much because of other thrillers and nonfiction I have been reading, but still a solid read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Nicole Kohmer-Stace and Gallery Book Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/4/21

Book provided via Netgalley for review
This is not exactly what I was expecting but it was still quite good! I didn't know much about this going in and I hadn't read anything else by this author but I had a pretty good time with this.

I wanted to read this when I saw it on Netgalley because it seemed to be about issues with monopolies and technology that I've been concerned with. The cover did make me think this was going to be more about technology than it was. Mostly, this was about the issues of powerful corporations and viewing people only as customers. There's an element of future tech, but that's not really the main thread, so don't go in expecting that. I did like this exploration of issues with massive and powerful corporations and the power they may hold. While I think the problem was probably made as massive as possible for illustrative purposes but I don't think it was ever unrealistic, especially given the power some corporations already have. When I first started reading and saw there was a gaming element, I was a bit worried that this would be more of a Ready Player One type book, which doesn't really interest me so I'm glad this book didn't go in that direction.

Outside the themes of the book, I did enjoy the plot. There were a few times it felt a bit meandering. Every part of this book has necessary information that furthers the plot but something about some plot points felt a bit drawn out to me. There were several times where I was surprised there was so much left in the book because it felt like the story was wrapping up. Generally the pacing was fine and the plot moved along really well, there were just a few points where it felt a little overly slow. The ending was also a bit abrupt to me. I think it fit well into the tone of the book so I definitely don't think it was a bad ending, I just personally like to have more of a conclusion than we got here.

I think part of the reason it might have felt a bit slow was because there wasn't too much character development. I did enjoy Mal as a main character and I liked how her actions were used to illustrate what kind of person she was. I also really enjoyed her friend, Jessa. Jessa was the character I felt like we got to know best and I enjoyed her characterization as well as her relationship to Mal. I did want a little bit more development from the SecOp characters and I would have liked to see more introspective character development for Mal. I think having us find out about her from her actions is a good way to show, not tell, and it does work well here. I think I just wanted to learn a bit more about Mals background and daily life before the events of the of this book.

This was a great first book by this author and I'm definitely interested in reading more. Even though this was a little different than I was expecting, I still really enjoyed it and it's compelling take on the issues of corporate power.

I received a arc of this book from another site and was surprised to see that it was available to read now from NetGalley as I was under the impression that it was a "big release", not the kind of book that is generally available to read now. None the less I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick, fun, read. It wasn't very deep, but not all books need to be. The blurb says that the story is a cross between Ready Player one and Cyberpunk 2077, however I would say if anything it reminded me of the movie Gamer. With the book Necromancer thrown in. More to come closer to publication.