Firefight

Brandon Sanderson’s Firefight (2015) is the second book in the young adult, superhero-themed Reckoners series, which begins with Steelheart. Firefight picks up in the midst of the Reckoners’ battle against the tyrannical, superpowered Epics and follows the protagonist, David, as he comes to terms with what it means to be a hero and wield power. 

Firefight debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Sellers list and won the 2015 Whitney Award for Speculative Young Adult Fiction. Sanderson has written many works of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Brigham Young University, where he currently teaches a course on science fiction and fantasy. Sanderson’s works have hit the New York Times Best Sellers list 15 times to date, and the celebrated author has won many awards, including the Hugo Award for his novella The Emperor’s Soul. His books have been translated into 35 languages worldwide, and Fox recently acquired film rights for the Reckoners series. 

This guide refers to the 2015 Delacorte Press hardcover edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence and death.

Plot Summary

The Reckoners series takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States. Thirteen years before the series begins, Calamity (a mysterious red celestial body) rose in the sky, triggering the creation of the superhuman Epics. Amid the resulting unrest, protagonist David Charleston’s father was murdered by Steelheart, the Epic ruler of Newcago (post-apocalyptic Chicago). David then joined the Reckoners (a group of regular people fighting against Epic rule). Their goal was to destroy Steelheart and free the people of Newcago. Along the way, David learned that Calamity’s superpowers actively corrupt the Epics, making them selfish and cruel. He also developed romantic feelings for a Reckoner named Megan, who later betrayed the group and revealed herself to be an Epic named Firefight, one of Steelheart’s spies.

Since the events at the end of Steelheart, David and the Newcago Reckoners have defended the city from new Epics seeking to claim it. Independently, David has immersed himself in research on Epic powers, believing that Megan did not truly betray his group. When an Epic named Sourcefield, who controls electricity, goes on a killing rampage in Newcago, David destroys her by exploiting her specific weakness (the unique factor that neutralizes an Epic’s powers). After he kills her, he remains haunted by the fear in her eyes at the moment when her powers failed. Sourcefield is the third Epic who has come to Newcago from Babilar (Babylon Restored, formerly New York City). Now, Prof (the leader of the Reckoners and a powerful Epic) is sure that Babilar’s ruler, Regalia, is issuing him a challenge.

Prof, David, and another team member go to Babilar and meet with the Reckoner cell there. Regalia, the city’s Epic leader, holds power over water, which she has used to flood the city so that only the tops of the old skyscrapers are above the waterline. In addition, Regalia can spy through open surfaces of water, and when the Reckoners arrive, she immediately appears to them as a water-based projection, making it clear that she is aware of their presence. Regalia then unleashes dangerous Epics on Babilar, and as David’s team fights them, they realize that their information on these Epics is inaccurate. By extension, they begin to wonder how so many Epic abilities remained undetected by their observations.

The team’s base is in an underwater bunker, which they access via submarine after flooding an area with soap bubbles so that Regalia can’t see where they are. Their exploration of Babilar reveals a culture that is very different from that of Newcago. Whereas the people of Newcago have lived in fear of Epics, Babilar’s people spare little thought for the Epics at all, instead choosing to live their lives peacefully. The citizens are also frustrated by the Reckoners, whose presence threatens to disrupt their peaceful world. As David socializes with various citizens in an attempt to gain information about Regalia, he always keeps a lookout for Megan, who is rumored to be in the city. When David is almost discovered while spying on some of Regalia’s generals, Megan saves him with her powers. Doing so makes her keenly feel the corruption that her power causes, and she leaves abruptly in order to rein in her violent urges.

A heat-absorbing Epic nicknamed Obliteration is spotted sitting on a building, absorbing energy. In the past, this activity has always preceded his tendency to explode like a bomb, and the Reckoners conclude that Regalia wants to destroy Babilar. When a nearby building is set ablaze with people inside—serving as a message that the Reckoners must not interfere with Regalia’s plans—Prof rescues the endangered civilians by using his powers, but he is forced to go into isolation until the resulting corruptive thoughts pass. To keep an eye on Obliteration, David installs a camera, and when he is far from the Reckoner base, Megan joins him. The two are working together when another Epic finds David and attacks. Megan and David get separated, and Prof finds David. He knows that David has been meeting with Megan and is disappointed because he thought David understood that Megan wasn’t to be trusted after she betrayed them in Newcago.

When the Reckoners embark on a mission to find and kill Regalia, they leave David behind. Prof uses his powers to trap David in a room with a giant window that looks out into the bottom of the ocean. David is terrified of the water, but he puts aside his fear because he is sure that Prof is walking into a trap. David uses a puddle to contact Regalia and promises to help her if she frees him so that he can save his friends. Regalia breaks open the window and drags David to the surface, where she explains that she has communicated directly with Calamity. The sphere is sentient and is the source of all the Epic powers; it will give David water powers so that he can serve Regalia. However, when the rush of power enters David’s body, he is able to refuse it because he no longer fears the water. Frightened, Regalia disappears.

David rushes to warn Prof about Regalia. Prof goes to find her while David takes on Obliteration. He then uses Obliteration’s automatic teleportation powers to reach Regalia’s hiding place, where he learns that Regalia is dying. On a monitor, David watches Prof encounter a bomb made from Obliteration’s energy. As it explodes, Prof uses all his power to contain the blast. Such a strong use of power immediately corrupts Prof to the core, and he murders the other members of the team who are with him and then comes for David.

After killing Regalia, David realizes that he cannot run from Prof. He faces down his former mentor, and Megan stops Prof from killing David. Her power allows her to change reality itself, and she defeats Prof by turning his own powers against him. Terrified, Prof flees, leaving Megan and David to find the remaining Babilar Reckoners and form a new plan to stop Prof.