Fire Country

The Country Saga, Book 1

By: David Estes

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely.

Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low that the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn 16 and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.

Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with.

As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.

©2014 David Estes (P)2016 Podium Publishing

Love this series!!!

Wow, this book blew my breath away. It had everything I wanted in a book. I’m confused about which series of David’s I love more. The Dwellers or this one. I will say as much as I love Adele and Tristan (and their circumstances were quite different), I love the relationship between Sienna and Circ. It was just, amazing.

The story had me on an emotional runaway train. There were highs and lows and everything in between. Siena was a strong character which much to lose and little to gain, yet she did what needed to be done when needed. She’s the kind of character I admire. And it’s been a long time since I felt this way. (Rose from Vampire Academy the only other one).

There are many lessons to learn and several characters to love and an equal number to hate. It will be interesting to see where this series goes. I absolutely can’t wait.
Overall, FANTASTIC!

My book boyfriend Circ.

The narration was fantastic. I've listened to this narrators as Jane in the Jane Yellowrock series as well as another urban fantasy series. So it took a moment to hear those voices and not associate them with the other characters.

Great narration enhances story

3.5 stars. Solid start to a new series. I am a huge fan of strong female leads so of course I just loved Siena. Having read the Chaos Walking series it was very easy for me to jump into the strange dialect here and think it added to the world building. Speaking of world building, I really liked the world Mr. Estes created and was able to picture it in my mind easily. I do feel there is still a lot of unexplained portions of this "new world" but then again this is the first book in the series and I am more than certain we will get some answers as the books progress. I liked the humor thrown in and enjoyed all the main characters.SPOILER I did feel her father's repentance at the end was a little off because he seemed to have no heart to me but he was dying so who knows! . This was a re-read for me as an audio and the narrator did a fantastic job capturing Siena.

Vivid characterizations Brilliantly performed

This is my first experience with this performer but it will definitely not be my last! With very good material she was able to bring our protagonist to full life! Not since "Hunger Games" have I wanted to hug and care for a character. I will never forget her or this powerful performance by a very talented artist!

A slow start, lays a foundation then picks up...

It is a good story for this genre, it has a slow start, but that is because it is laying a foundation for the ongoing story. It does draw you in to the lives of the characters. Stick with the books, they are good, keeps the story growing and changing I have read them all now. I will not stay with a series if it is not good or it gets too stupid, so it says something if I have bought all 4 so far.

Amazing

This was a thrilling beginning to a great Saga. Absolutely gripping. I can't wait to finish this series.

Love this story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it's a great story

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fire Country?

The wilds. I just want to be with them!

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Range of voice.

Disliked how old the narrator sounded. Didn't mesh well with the idea of Sienna being young.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

idk

Any additional comments?

Love this story.

Sync to Echo

I loved the book, but the sync to the Echo doesn’t work right for this book. I’ve not had issues before, but figured I’d let y’all know.

Brilliant performance, loved this!

Having read Fire Country twice before in print, I still wasn't prepared for the breathtaking performance of Khristine Vham as Siena. This is without a doubt my favorite audiobook EVER!

I was driving home from a late night work meeting when I got to those final chapters. The emotional depth of Khristine's performance was so brilliant and I was so immersed in this world and her voice that I almost missed my turnoff. Plus to make it worse, my eyes were leaking and full of water. I'm surprised I made it home in one piece, not even counting that I was an emotional wreck. Such a beautiful story even without the incredible narration.

So what's this story about? From my first review from my print read: The Heaters tribe live in a hard cruel world full of toxic air that gives them each a life expectancy of about 32 years. Siena is a 15 year old girl who is a pre-bearer and will become a Bearer shortly after her 16th birthday. The story follows Siena's journey and at times I laughed out loud at her antics, especially conversations with her friend "Perry". And, dang you, Estes... I cried like a baby at other parts of Siena's hard journey!

Estes' creative descriptive writing talent had me gagging, sweating, laughing and crying right along with his wonderful characters. And the slang he's created had me giggling and I've even found myself using bits and pieces of the Heaters' more unsavory terms myself. ;-)


Now I have to wait a couple of weeks before the audio of Ice Country is released. I'll be pacing waiting for the audio to drop into my audible app! Based on the sample we got a taste of at the end of Fire Country, I'm in for another ride!! Can't wait!!

A New Saga

I adored The Dwellers Saga, so when I saw it continued into this series I was excited to listen. The overall story was good, but not as well developed as the Dwellers saga, in my opinion. There is a lot to be left to the imagination and some character development seemed lacking. But I enjoyed finding out what happened to those who survived and discovering a new world.

Khristine Hvam's narration was well done. Nothing over the top and easy to listen to, even with the twang.

Overall, a good start to this Saga and I'm eager to jump into book 2.

I would recommend this all.

GREAT follow up!

after following the stories of the Sun, Star and Moon dwellers this series came in my suggested list. it sat in my wish list for a while,I was not convinced I'd enjoy it. how much is too much? after a break for some other adventures I figured I'd give it a try. starting with the first of these three it took me just 2 weeks to devour them.
I don't think it matters which series you start with as after finishing this one I believe it would've been okay either way. though there ARE things that I caught in this series that made me glad I'd heard the Dwellers saga first.
give it a go, if you liked The Dwellers you'll like this!