Heir to Fire: Gila Flats

In Heir to Fire: Gila Flats, Ryan Morales isn’t having the best week of his life; he’s made a fool of himself in front of his dream girl Corrine, strange spider-like creatures and gila monsters popping up all over the place are taking control of Gila Flats, and he’s only recently discovered that a magical power literally burns inside of him. As monstrous creatures attempt to seize the outback Arizona town, Ryan must learn to conquer his fears to save the people he cares about most.

A fun, action-packed adventure filled with dangerous critters, explosive magic, and exciting scenes, Heir to Fire: Gila Flats will appeal to a wide range of young readers. The illustrations have a mid-Western feel to them, and are never too detailed to be distracting. Our hero, Ryan, learns a lot about himself in a short time—and although his story is a bit cliché—he makes for a captivating savior in the end once he gets a grip on his powers. Some aspects of the books, to a more seasoned reader, seem a bit silly (albeit referring to Ryan as the Fire Prince, dum dum duuum), but to a younger reader they’ll probably enjoy the names, plot devices, and mystical places in Heir to Fire: Gila Flats.

The story’s strength aside, the best aspect found within this book’s pages are the illustrations done by Mike Dubisch, whose work will be well known to fantasy fans. He has done artwork for H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror, Dungeons and Dragons, and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series so there should be no reason to not appreciate the work he’s done for Heir to Fire: Gila Flats. It’s both eerie and mesmerizing.

As indicated at the end of Heir to Fire: Gila Flats, Ryan’s journeys are not over. In an upcoming sequel, Ryan, Corrine, and Donut—a character who I enjoyed very much, but was saddened to find him left in the background—will find themselves leaving Gila Flats and traveling to the place where Ryan truly comes from...

I'd recommend this book to any and every young adult that has even the tiniest amount of imagination. It's surely to be enjoyed.