Bookseller Reviews
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Incredibly gripping
Aged 12 Freya finds herself in a horrifying situation, to say the least. On the surface, Freya, now in her 30s, seems like a caring, dedicated surgeon spec... READ MORE
Morally Complex
This is the third book in the Elementals series and by far the most harrowing in my opinion. It has links to the previous books and is beautifully written.... READ MORE
Shocking and unputdownable
My goodness , disturbing, unflinching, shocking, and completely unputdownable. John Boyne is a must read author. I can't wait to read the last in this Asto... READ MORE
Synopsis
On the face of it, Freya lives a gilded existence, dancing solely to her own tune. She has all the trappings of wealth and privilege, a responsible job as a surgeon specialising in skin grafts, a beautiful flat in a sought-after development, and a flash car. But it wasn’t always like this. Hers is a life founded on darkness.
Did what happened to Freya as a child one fateful summer influence the adult she would become – or was she always destined to be that person? Was she born with cruelty in her heart or did something force it into being?
In Fire, John Boyne takes the reader on a chilling, uncomfortable but utterly compelling psychological journey to the epicentre of the human condition, asking the age-old question: nurture – or nature?
Publisher information
- Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
- ISBN: 9780857529879
- Number of pages: 176
- Dimensions: 223 x 142 x 19 mm
- Weight: 288g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allTop read
I very much enjoyed - if that is the right word - the previous books in this collection. The subject matter makes this a difficult read. In the previous bo... READ MORE
The darkest so far in this mjni series
This is the darkest book in the Elements series and explores how far we are willing to excuse heinous behaviour if it is the result of an earlier trauma. F... READ MORE
Challenging Expectations
As a reader you are quickly drawn to Freya, Dr Petrus, who initially appears a capable, calm and considerate doctor intent on doing the best for her burns ... READ MORE
Loving this quartet of books!
Massive thank you to the publishers for an early review copy of Fire.
I truly loved Water and Earth so this went straight to the top of the towering to be... READ MORE
Wince worthy!! So dark and twisty
I absolutely love John Boyne’s writing and wow oh wow did this book deliver! This felt so different to any of his other books for me in that he wrote from ... READ MORE
Disturbing yet totally gripping
Freya is a successful, respected surgeon working in a hospital burns unit. She's unmarried, childless and lives life her own way. She drives an expensive c... READ MORE
An interesting novella about a Jekyll and Hyde character
I felt that this novella was rather lightweight even though it dealt with a serious subject ie the main protagonist displays both a good side and also a ve... READ MORE
Disturbing tale of sinister vengeance
Fire
By John Boyne
So chilling, this is the third in the Elements series, and Freya has the most disturbing narrative voice I have come across since ... READ MORE
A powerful novel
John Boyne"s latest novel in his Elements series, the third, is the story of Freya, an abusive relationship, and of her story of survival. This a powerful... READ MORE
A powerful subject, Convincingly told
Dr Freya Petrus is a renowned surgeon who works in a burns unit within the NHS. On the day that we meet her, she has to use the lift which she hates due to... READ MORE
Another masterpiece from John Boyne
Fire follows consultant burns doctor Freya’s story. A highly successful doctor with a hidden deeply dark and disturbing past, which plays a pivotal role in... READ MORE
A dark, disturbing story, and brilliantly written
Fire is dark, disturbing and brilliantly written. I won’t go into any more detail on the plot as I wouldn’t want to give anything away.
For me, at the ... READ MORE
The elements continue to gather
Fire is novella number 3 in the author's Elements series. It follows on from Water (November 2023) and Earth (April 2024). For those who are not familiar w... READ MORE
Packs a Punch
This is the third book in Boyne's Elements series, and like the previous two it packs a punch. The focus of the story this time is Freya, a successful surg... READ MORE
Fantastic
Fantastic book, read in one sitting..abuse and revenge..who is the victim? The only part I don't like is having to wait until May for Air to come out!
Fire
Fire is the third in this Elements series from John Boyne and this one really dials up the disturbing factor.
Burns specialist surgeon Freya is brillia... READ MORE
Maintaining His Very High Standards!
This is the third part of John Boyne’s “Elements Quartet”. Both “Water” (2023) and “Earth” (2024) I’ve rated five stars so I was obviously eagerly anticip... READ MORE
A powerful read!
The third instalment of the Elements quartet, and it feels kind of wrong to say it because this one was HEAVYYY, but this was my favourite one yet. I devou... READ MORE
A dark tale but totally compulsive
As the third in the John Boyne Elements quartet Fire is not a comfortable read. Told from the point of view of Freya a successful doctor and specialist in ... READ MORE
Five star writing!
I can't give John Boyne's writing anything less than five stars but the story... So hard to read and so disturbing. Freya is complex and her actions are ... READ MORE
Fascinating tale
Fire is the third book in the element’s series by John Boyne and darker than the previous books in this series.
Freya is a specialist surgeon in a burn’s ... READ MORE
Tricky subject handled well
4* Fire - John Boyne. The third in the Elements Quartet.
Fire has left me a bit dumbstruck. The first two books in the Elements Quartet were 5* brilli... READ MORE
The Third part of The Elements series.
The third part of The Elements series.
The first,Water, had a definite calmness about it. Earth had far more conflict, and here we have compulsive and tot... READ MORE
Does nurture or nature make someone evil?
Freya, a hospital doctor at the burns unit, is not the tireless professional she appears to be. She has a dark secret. Did a trauma in her childhood make h... READ MORE
uncomfortable, disturbingly dark, and yet undeniably compelling.
This third instalment in Boyne’s Elemental series has left me completely devastated. It’s uncomfortable, disturbingly dark, and yet undeniably compelling.
... READ MORE
Brilliant read
I think this one might be my favourite book in the series so far! I really like how all the stories are standalone and unique but they do have clever links... READ MORE
Fire
I really enjoyed reading Water and Earth the first two books in this series and I was delighted to receive a copy of the latest book Fire.
I really enjoye... READ MORE
Difficult read continues a superb series
Fire is the third of a planned quartet of books by John Boyne and what a series it is turning out to be. The previous two were both superb and, if anything... READ MORE
The best of the series
The fourth in a series of novellas titled after and featuring the four elements of matter. There’s a thread that runs through them, linking them together, ... READ MORE
'A gripping piece of fiction which, like the others in this powerful series, leaves its readers with much to think about'
The third in John Boyne’s novella series, Fire follows Freya, already an eminent surgeon at thirty-six, living alone in a luxurious flat, once the home of ... READ MORE
The darkest yet. Loved it.
Just when you think it can't get any darker than Earth and Water, John Boyne gives us Fire. My jaw dropped open quite early on and didn't close until the e... READ MORE
dark but compelling
I loved the first two books in the "elements" series and this one is just as good. John Boyne is such a talented writer that, although this is a short book... READ MORE
Fire and ice
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.
This is the third book I have read of the quartet and I think it is the best ye... READ MORE
Nature versus Nurture
Fire by John Boyne
I give this book 5 stars
This is the 3rd book I’ve read in this novella quartet by John Boyne. It is also the darkest and triggers n... READ MORE
The Secret Bookreview.
On the surface, Freya appears to live a life of luxury and privilege: a respected surgeon specializing in skin grafts, residing in a beautiful flat, and dr... READ MORE
Dark dark read
This is one of those books whose subject matter makes it hard for me to hand-sell to customers, hopefully it will sell on the authors name alone and as par... READ MORE
Excellent series.
I have read the other two books in this Elements series and Fire was exceptional. A fascinating and disturbing read but so beautifully written it really ha... READ MORE
A complex, devastating read, brilliantly told.
John Boyne’s Elements quartet is developing into an extraordinarily powerful and moving reading experience. Thematic threads of culpability and collusion ... READ MORE
Disturbing
This is the third in John Boyne's elements series of short novels. I found this one to be very disturbing, as Freya seems to have no conscience at all. She... READ MORE
Dark and uncomfortable
This series is incredible.
Fire is a very dark and uncomfortable read. Freya appears to be a successful surgeon with a beautiful home, and an apparently ... READ MORE
Powerful
Fire is the third in John Boyne's Elements quartet. Having read Water and Earth already, I was prepared for a hard-hitting read but I thought Fire was prob... READ MORE
Totally thought provoking - excellent!
Wow! Another 5* from John Boyne for this - the third in the Elements series. Water and Earth looked at guilt, culpability, but this one is so much darker. ... READ MORE
NOT for the faint of heart
Fire is the third instalment in the gripping Elements quartet, it explores the dark and disturbing life of Freya, a successful burns surgeon. This novella ... READ MORE
Astonishingly brave in the writing, unbearably challenging in the reading
I have completely surrendered and adored the exploration and the journey with the central and peripheral characters in the first two novels of this element... READ MORE
A superbly well written, morally complex and nuanced, compelling read
On the face of it, Freya lives a gilded existence, dancing solely to her own tune. She has all the trappings of wealth and privilege, a responsible job as ... READ MORE
Childhood trauma continues to haunt in adulthood.
Childhood trauma continues to haunt in adulthood.
Freya is a surgeon. Her speciality is skin grafts. She lives in a beautiful flat and drives a fast car... READ MORE
Packs an almighty punch
Fire is the third of a planned quartet of books by John Boyne and what a series it is turning out to be. The previous two were both superb and, if anything... READ MORE
A powerful and thought-provoking work with depth and nuance.
In Fire our narrator is Dr Freya Petrus, an accomplished and dedicated burns specialist. At just 36 years old she is recognised in her field, has a plush a... READ MORE
A dark and compelling tale with a chilling twist.
Fire is the third book in John Boyne’s Elements series. A traumatic incident, perpetrated by the fourteen-year-old twin sons of her mother’s landlord when ... READ MORE
A brilliant and shocking study on trauma and vengeance
Fire tells the story of Freya, a surgeon specialising in burn victims. As a victim herself, Freya cannot move past her own childhood experiences and seeks ... READ MORE
Fire
This is the third book in the Elements series (we stared with Water and Earth) and although it's more a group of interconnected books this one does refer b... READ MORE
A powerful punch of a read
This is the third book in John Boyne's Elements Quartet and following on from the previous two this packs a huge powerful punch.
This is a one sit readi... READ MORE
Compelling and shocking
This is the third in the amazing Elements quartet by John Boyne. The first two were fantastic reads. This one is superb. It is shocking. It deals with the ... READ MORE
Great Read
On the face of it, Freya lives a gilded existence, dancing solely to her own tune. She has all the trappings of wealth and privilege, a responsible job as ... READ MORE
Brilliant Disturbing Book
Fire is the third novel in John Boyne’s Elements Quartet
Freya Petrus is a 36 year old surgeon specializing in skin grafts. In her job she has genuine car... READ MORE
Darkly compelling and utterly chilling
Fire is the third in Boyne’s Elements Quartet. Like its predecessors, Water and Earth, it is a darkly compelling and unnerving, though short, read.
You... READ MORE
Another fantastic read
Another excellent novel from John Boyne. I've had the pleasure of reading the others in this series and looking forward to the last installment once availa... READ MORE
Gripping and unsettling
“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” Ferdinand Foch
Fire is the third book in John Boyne’s Elements quartet and in this instal... READ MORE
A must-read
This is an absolute masterpiece. The third of three novellas all standalone but with a common thread. John Boyne is so talented and if I could give this a ... READ MORE
Tense and chilling
Inadequately parented, abused and tormented by evil twins in her childhood, Freya takes her revenge over and over again, seeking the most vulnerable as her... READ MORE
Compelling
Fire by John Boyne is a shocking and bleak read, but one I was compelled to finish. Childhood abuse and trauma, and the impact and cycle of harm into adul... READ MORE
Fantastic.
Wow, what a book. I loved this from beginning to end. It raised all manner of feelings and emotions, from empathy, to discomfort and shock. The characters ... READ MORE
Vile but compelling
Freya is a successful and respected surgeon, with a dark secret. Did her traumatic experiences as a child influence the adult she became, or was she always... READ MORE
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