Firebird Trilogy by Claudia Gray

Feb 8, 2021


Hello friends! I finally read the last book on the Firebird trilogy: A Million Worlds With You. Over the years all I've heard was that this series was bad or boring, overall that people didn't like it that much. I have to say that I don't understand this. Of course, is not a perfect series and it won't be one of my favorites but I don't think it was bad,  I think it was very entertaining and adventurous.

Before the review please admire this beautiful covers.馃槏

Firebird trilogy covers by Claudia Gray.

The story is about Marguerite Caine. She's a regular teenager who likes painting and art but her parents are very different from her since they're both scientists. They are professors in a university where they assist two graduate students: Theo Beck and Paul Markov. All of them develop a device, called the Firebird, that allows them to travel through dimensions. This means that they can travel to the other lives they could have had if things would have happened differently. Maybe her parents studied oceanography instead of physics or maybe Marguerite didn't break her leg when she was seven, and so things in those universes developed differently.

I like this part of the story, how everything we do, our decisions or accidents, or the people we meet, can take our lives in so many directions. The possibilities are endless.

The way they travel to other dimensions is by your conscience taking control over your body in the other dimensions. It's not like now there are two Marguerites inside the same dimension. It is just one taking control over the other. In most cases, their other selves don't remember what they did while their bodies are taken. They soon realize the impact their actions will have in their other selves lives.

But, back to the story, I'm going to spoil the first book to talk about the other two.

❗Spoiler Alert❗

So in the first book Henry Caine, Marguerite's father, is killed and whoever did it stole one of the Firebirds. Marguerite discovers that person is Paul Markov, one of her parents' graduate students. Enraged and grieving for her father she decides to follow him through the dimensions to capture him and make him pay. Theo comes along with her and together they discover the never ending possibilities of the lives they could've led. From living in a Russia where technology didn't develop, to being in a futuristic London, to living under the water in the middle of the ocean.

End of Spoiler✅

In the second book, something happens to Paul through the dimensions and Marguerite and Theo have to go rescue him to bring him back home while having to help an evil corporation destroy the Firebird projects in the dimensions they're being developed.

The third book is about them trying to destroy this corporation's evil and out of this world plans. Seriously, they're insane.

All three books explore the concept of destiny and the possibility of how no matter what we do or the decisions we make in our lives, some things are constant that we are always going to find. That's the belief of the characters, however, after discovering all the never-ending possibilities they start to doubt this and realize that it's not destiny but the decisions that guide us through life.

What I liked about the series

I loved the dimensions, the lives they got to discover and the lives I got to read about. It was like reading 10 stories in one book because every time they change dimensions is like starting again, rediscovering their lives over and over again. I loved that part. You never knew where they were leaping, it could be Russia or outer space; what were they doing, if they were scientists or diggers or they could be royalty. To me, this was a lot of fun.

I liked the talk about destiny and what that means for us. What is constant in the universe and what is not? How much our decisions weigh in our lives? Do we mark the path or is the path already marked? I liked exploring those possibilities.

My favorite character is Theo. He's the most drama-free of all of them, keeping in mind the circumstances. He was always so kind and in every universe trying to do the correct thing even when he inside was troubling and hurting. He had a few slips here and there but overall in the end I think he did what he knew was best and always cared for others.

What I didn't like about the series

One of the things that I had trouble with was the science aspect and its implications of it. I'm a very rational person and I studied engineering and there was a time in my life when I used to read a lot about physics and the universe so to me it was very hard to understand some functions of the Firebird and some other implications.

For example, they develop a drug for their bodies in the other dimensions that have trouble accepting their conscience. And keep in mind this drug is injected and it was made with normal things you find in-home... like Clorox... like what? Are you telling me that mixing a bunch of chemicals to clean floors and dishes and clothes will produce a drug that you can inject into yourself, without dying, and that will make your body more accepting of someone else's conscience from another dimension? That's something that seems so out of the blue to me that I just couldn't get on board with it. I don't even think a drug like that can be created. Like... is someone from another dimension taking over your body.

Let's say I could add the Firebird to the list of unbelievable things but this is science fiction and the device was necessary for the development of the story so I don't mind it, I would like to have one. But then we learn that apparently, the Firebird does other things like destroying dimensions by basically making a universe implode. I understand the imploding thing and yes, I would say that slowing the expanding of the universe until it starts shrinking is a way of destroying a universe although I suspect another Big Bang would occur and it would start expanding again but anyway. What I had trouble with was the way they did it. I don't exactly remember how they said they did it because if I'm being honest I don't think the author knew how to explain something like that could even be possible. They switched some controls in the Firebird and they united two of them or something like that and pressed a button and boom the frequency of the universe decreases and starts shrinking. I'm sorry but it would take a LOT more than pressing a bottom a causing a little explosion that doesn't even kill anyone close to it, to end a universe. That's just something that I kind of had to let pass to enjoy the books.

And the last thing that I didn't like was Marguerite. Not that I didn't like all of her. She was very caring and very brave but her obsession with Paul and Paul being the one and Paul is the love of my life and blah blah blah. The amount of thought she gave to the doubt of Paul being her destiny or not while fighting for her life got very annoying very fast. That's all I will say about the matter because I don't want to discourage you to read the books.

Overall the series was good and very entertaining in my opinion even though there were some technical issues but if you can just overlook that you will have a good time. The stakes are high, the different dimensions and lives they lead are so much fun to read about and I can't say I was ever bored, even though I read the first one too long ago but I don't think. And the covers are very pretty. I really would like for everyone to read the series and judge it for themselves.

And that was all for today. Thank you so much for reading me rambling about a series that came so long ago and that nobody talks about but I had fun with it. I hope you also enjoyed reading my opinion of it and please feel free to comment what you think of it if you have read it or if you plan on reading the series.

If you liked it leave a comment and share it with your friends :)

No comments:

Post a Comment