Review: The Fires of December

I think this book is my second-favorite of the Secret Novels (or Hoid novels), after Tress, and potentially tied with Yumi or just ahead of it. Like many of the Secret Novels you can get through most of it without knowing too much of the Cosmere, although, like many of the Secret Novels, portions of the climax and falling action might sound like nonsense to you if you aren’t caught up with The Cosmere. Although if you’ve read up to Stormlight 5 you’ve likely read all the rest of the Cosmere, if you’re one of those Cosmere readers that reads each series in order rather than in publication order, Stormlight 5 has the many relevant connections to what’s going on in this story. I would also say that Isles of the Emberdark would also be highly relevant to this story.

Unlike the other Secret Novels, this one is not quite so whimsical. It has quite a heavy tone throughout most of it. It’s not without jokes, which saves it from being too depressing, but it’s definitely more along the tone of a Stormlight book.

Since it’s mostly a mystery, I prefer not to say much more for fear of spoiling something. I think, given what I said above, that if you’re not already invested (no pun intended), in the Cosmere, you probably won’t enjoy this book. It’s not quite as free of references as the other Secret Novels or the early Cosmere books. (As I said in my review of the final Wax/Wayne book, it’s getting harder and harder to enjoy the books without being deep into the Cosmere lore) But if you like the Cosmere you’ll most likely at least enjoy the book, even if you don’t enjoy it as much as I did. (I think that’s at least a function of my age at the time of reading)

• Cosmere