Fire Country (The Country Saga Book 1) by David Estes – – sci-fi

Fire Country is the first book in the Country Saga. This series is a companion to the Moon Dwellers Saga, the first three books which I have already read. The author recommends reading the Moon Dwellers Saga’s first three novels first, then the Country Saga and finally finishing with the last Earth Dwellers novel.

Fire Country follows Siena, a young girl in a harsh apocalyptic world. As a woman in her world, she must become a breeder when she turns 16. She must bear 3 children to a man whom she cannot choose. We follow Siena as she tries to come to grips with her duty and with the feelings she has against becoming a breeder.

There are other problems in her world other than her duty to her village, also called the Heaters. Icers live to the north and there exists a tenuous relationship between the two tribes. In addition, there are wild tribes that are mostly fed on myths to the Heaters.

These books are young adult, but I really thought that Fire Country felt a little more grown up than its companion series novels. The dialogue in this book was a lot better than previous novels and I enjoyed the new slang terms for a new world. Siena is a very relatable character, a young woman who wants to abide by the laws set forth in her community, but who doesn’t feel like those laws are fair to her or anyone else. She questions the motives of her leaders and she isn’t afraid to fight for and protect the ones she loves, despite many of her physical disadvantages.

David Estes is an indie writer, but his books are well written and edited. Fire Country was a quick read, but it really makes you think about what might happen if some celestial post-apocalyptic event ruined our world. It’s an interesting study in the behavior of human beings and our desire to survive as a race.