Firebird

by Kathy Tyers

Book Overview

Her death was expected, but something more powerful kept her alive. Lady Firebird was born to the royal family of Netaia. Because of her birthplace in the family, however, her life is expendable.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764222147
• ISBN13: 9780764222146
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Firebird is memorable science fiction in a new genre

Firebird is a wonderfully unique science fiction novel in a new genre: Christian science fiction. Firebird is such excellent science fiction, it can be enjoyed even by those who are not religious, however. Firebird draws us into the lives and trials of Firebird and Brennen Caldwell, the main characters in Kathy Tyers' fictitious universe. Built around a wonderful "what if," the conclusion leaves you anxiously wanting to read the next volume in the series. You are in luck -- Firebird's sequel, Fusion Fire, was recently published! I highly recommend both books to those who love good science fiction and to Christians who would like to read excellent books in this new genre. Enjoy!

It's a Space Opera AND It's a wonderful love story!

I'm giving this five stars not because it's some academically thought out review, nitpicking every sentence--almost nothing would get five stars that way--but because once I got several pages into it, I was totally swept into the story of Firebird and her world(s). In terms of holding my interest, making me adore the lead characters (who are fiercely courageous, honorable, unselfish people with some aching needs that make them vulnerable), making me want to know more about these cultures that Tyers has created, making me hate putting down the book when I wanted to read MORE.....on these terms, I'm giving it the full rack of stars. For romance fiction lovers, there is a really beautiful love story. For action lovers, there are air battles and sieges and special operations risking all. For those interested in spiritual matters, there are religions, and they actually affect the characters' choices. There is palace intrigue. There is family dysfunction. There is redemption and hope.For those who object to anything that smacks of Christian or Jewish theology, well, this book is published by a religious publisher. Be open-minded. Just because the writer has taken elements from the Judeo-Christian belief system to form one of the two main religious systems in the story, this is not sufficient cause to dismiss the novel. Let's beware of dismissing legitimate archetypes from our own world being used in speculative fiction. Yes, she chooses to use the terms "Father God", an "Eternal Speaker" and "The Path". So what? Does that make the action scenes less intense, the machinations less interesting or the characters less well-drawn?Anyway, I've long loved SF. Be it the more accessible forms such as Star Wars and Babylon Five or the more intellectual type such as Gene Wolfe or Delany or Sturgeon. And I am also an avid reader of genre romance. I like a good head story and a good heart story. I found a happy few hours here and hope Tyers has a sequel planned.

Excellent balance between sci-fi action and soul-searching

In the sci-fi genre, Star Wars books are usually my reading of choice, but I have to say that I was impressed by Kathy Tyers' book Firebird. I read the recently published version by Bethany House and have never read the previously published version. Firebird's struggle is one that many people can probably relate to. The new worlds and cultures Tyers has created were a breath of fresh air. I was especially intrigued by the Sentinels and would like to find out more about them. Tyers gives a lot of good background on characters but leaves spaces that will more than likely be filled in the upcoming books. Tyers has the uncanny ability to create characters that touch the heart as well as characters you dislike upon first meeting. The space battles were very well-done and were balanced out by the moments of romance and deep conversation. I am very much looking forward to the next book coming out! I do not think that Bethany House will regret the decision to publish this series!

Firebird Series Returns flying New Cover/Publisher

Welcome back to Netaia and the "Firebird" Universe. That's correct, I said 'Netaia' and it's not a typo for those, who have read the first 2 books in the series. This version of "Firebird" has been revised and some words in the original version that were unpronounceable have been rewritten so you can now pronounce it. The story of the book hasn't changed much from what it was in the original but the revisions has made a great book better. The flow of the story is much easier to follow now since everything is pronounceable. The main characters are fairly the same with the exception of Ellen, who is much more likable or at least you'll understand why she acted the way she has. The plot of the book tells the tale of a 'wastling' daughter of the Royal Family of Netaia. Some people would say why should I go out and buy this book due to the fact that I have read the original and the sequel to it, "Fusion Fire." That reason is due to the major rewrite to the book makes things more clearer than what it was in the first book. Also, the rest of the series has been rewritten along the same lines as "Firebird" and they will be published as well. It will included 'Fusion Fire,' the 2nd book in the series and the 3rd book, 'Crown of Fire,' which was never released. Depending of how well the first three books do in sales for Bethany House, there is the strong possibility that the series could be expanded by 2 more books. For Bethany House, the publication of a science fiction book is an adventure into the unknown for them. This is the first total pure science fiction book ever published by them and they couldn't have picked a better vehicle to use than Kathy Tyers' Firebird series as the standard bearer of that adventure. After searching though the net for a fan club for Kathy Tyers, or any information on what she was doing couldn't be located, I had just about given up on locating any information until I ran across a message in one of the UseNet newsgroups that she had replied to. I took a chance that it was Kathy and got back an almost instant reply from her. Since then, I have setup a place where her fans can call home and invited her to join her fans there. She has graciously accepted the invitation and now her fans can actually ask her questions to what she is up to nowadays. Everyone who enjoy her work and consider themselves fans of hers are invited to join her club. You can reach us at onelist.com and all you need is a valid email address.