OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Martha Wells has written many novels, including the New York Times and USA Today-bestselling Murderbot Diaries series, which has won multiple Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards. Other titles include Witch King, City of Bones, The Wizard Hunters, Wheel of the Infinite, the Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads and ending with The Harbors of the Sun), and the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer, as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, and nonfiction.

FORMAT/INFO: The Element of Fire was republished in a revised form on February 27th, 2024 by Tordotcom Publishing in the omnibus The Book of Ile-Rien; the original novel was published on July 1st, 1993. It is 320 pages long and is told in third person from multiple POVs, including Thomas and Kade. It is available in paperback and ebook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: 

Note: This review is based on the revised and updated version of The Element of Fire, published in the collected volume entitled The Book of Ile-Rien.

There's never a dull moment when you're captain of the Queen's Guard, a fact that Captain Thomas Boniface knows all too well. A single day can include organizing protective details for the Queen and Dowager Queen, hunting a rogue sorcerer in the city, and being caught in the verbal crossfire of royal power struggles. So what Thomas doesn't need is the sudden appearance of the king's half-sister, who also happens to be half-fay with agendas all her own. As Thomas tries to unravel her motives in returning to the palace, he finds himself neck deep in deadly palace plots.

The Element of Fire is a fantastic palace intrigue adventure with a smidgen of Die Hard vibes for good measure. I loved that this tale is from the point of view of the oft-ignored security staff of a big palace. The characters who are usually stalwart supporting characters in the background are this time front and center. Sure, there's still plenty of scheming nobles and political struggles happening, but it rings different when your focus is on a guard who is trying to figure out if he needs to remove the Queen from a situation or if he would be committing a major faux pas over nothing - and the consequences of misjudging could be the Queen's life.

The majority of this tale is told from two POVs: Captain Thomas and the king's half-fay half-sister, Kade Carrion. I loved both of them in turn. Thomas is a sardonic veteran of the Queen's Guard, willing to throw himself on both political and literal swords to protect his charges, in particular the Dowager Queen, whom he's been guarding for years. Kade, on the other hand, is mercurial and bold, the kind of person who nonchalantly strolls into danger to satisfy her curiosity about one thing or another. But she's also nursing emotional scars, ones she tries to hide behind her disaffected attitude.

The beginning of this tale can be slightly overwhelming, as you are thrown into the middle of ongoing plots and squabbles and introduced to a whirlwind cast of characters. But after the initial deluge of introductions, you begin to get a sense of the political hierarchy of the palace. And don't worry that this will be a languid affair taking place over months; the entire story takes place in a mere two or three days, as events quickly escalate.

The one thing I bumped against slightly was the romance subplot (and I mean SUB plot, it is a small blip amongst everything else). I personally didn't love that it was between a man in his mid-to-late thirties and a woman who is around 25. But as it was such a small part of the story, it didn't hamper my enjoyment outside of a momentary groan.

CONCLUSION: The Element of Fire is a great time for those who like seeing fantasy professions treated as mundane, everyday affairs. While the fate of the kingdom is indeed in jeopardy, we are largely tracking events from the point of view of someone who is essentially the head of the secret service. His concern is with the protection of his charges, and he only cares about the politics of the palace insofar as they affect the safety of those under his protection. It's only a slight reframing of events but it is one that makes a meaningful difference in how the story is told. If the idea of seeing palace intrigue from the point of view of the guy who manages the guard details sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend picking up this story today.