The Fire Sermon

Debut author Francesca Haig's The Fire Sermon is the first book of the series of the same name.

When Zach and I were born our parents must have counted and recounted: limbs, fingers, toes.  We were perfect.  They would have been disbelieving: nobody dodge the split between Alpha and Omega. Nobody.

They were born together and they will die together.

One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega; the only thing they share is the moment of their death.

The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear.  Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts.

The Alphas are the elite.  Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they're free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts.

Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation.  But Cass has a secret: on that Zach will stop at nothing to expose.

The potential to change the world lies in both their hands.  One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they're not careful both will die in the struggle for power.

The Breakdown:
1. I am a fan of post-apoclyptic tales, but this one had some issues for me.  Haig's story dragged a bit in several places, especially at the beginning.  She spent about a hundred pages backgrounding for Cass childhood and her years in the Keeping Rooms.  I really felt that the childhood could have been more concise.

2.  I did think that Cassandra was a little bit of a cliche name for a seer.  I vacillated between liking her and thinking she was annoying. On one hand, she really did not believe in the us versus them for Alpha and Omegas.  She saw both as people. And despite everything he has done, she really does care for her twin. On the other, she is much too quick to believe the best of everyone, too trusting.  Then there is the fact, she can't seem to figure why she is a threat to the Council.  She is a powerful, and yet, she is clueless why that could be helpful to the Omega resistance, and why the Council wants to use her.

3. I did really enjoy the characters of Piper and Kip.  I thought that both brought out the best in Cass when they were with her.  I really liked their discussion on the island. I did, however, have an inkling about Kip's origin, but was quite surprised to find out who his twin is.

4. I have to say overall, I liked the story even with its problems.  I am interested to see where Haig takes the series, and if she reveals why the Alpha and Omega twins came into existence.

To Read or Not to Read:
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