“Born of Fire” by Lisette Martinez

Born of Fire

Lisette Martinez
Independently Published  (2025)
ISBN: 979-8283852461
Reviewed by Denise Donaldson for Reader Views (07/2026)

Lisette Martinez’s Born of Fire: The Phoenix Knight hits all the fantasy highs:  a central life-or-death quest, characters with special powers, multiple worlds, and good-versus-evil themes.  That said, its departures from formulaic stories are what make it a book that captures and holds the attention.

Roux, the central character, is a wounded and troubled hero, fighting to overcome his past and fulfill his unlikely, unchosen destiny.  His battle to transform himself forms the arc of the narrative, which is filled in by his missions to help people, both in his world and in others.  His central charge is to protect the Keeper of worlds, but that protection takes on many faces.  In his travels, Roux moves from a lonely, tortured soul to a man with family, friends, and a full life.

Through his changes as a human being, he is prepared for his final challenge.  In the end, he confronts that challenge with the support of those he has helped, befriended, and come to love.

Roux is not the sole narrator, though.  As new characters are introduced to the story, their points of view are added to the structure.  This switching of voices is a plus for both the pacing of the immediate action and also for the overall moving of the plot.  Each character adds thoughts and emotions that are distinct from Roux’s, which helps sustain the bigger story.

Born of Fire was written for a teenage audience, and in that sense, the story’s construction is extremely well designed.  Roux’s missions read like levels in a computer game, and the action and combat sequences have the tone and visuals of gaming battles.  He acquires additional weapons and powers as he takes on more complex missions.  The powers he’s gifted are all supernatural, whereas the weapons tend to be basic hardware.  There’s a unique dichotomy between medieval and modern settings, a contrast between swords, knives, and bows versus guns, missiles, and computers.  It all works throughout each context, however; ancient and modern armaments often work in tandem.  Throughout the story, there’s a fascinating juxtaposition between science and the supernatural.  In Martinez’s book, there’s no conflict between them, nor is there any jarring note when characters travel through time, across dimensions, or between worlds.

The themes that run through the novel are likewise suited to its audience.  The forces of light opposing the forces of darkness is the foundation, a given for the genre.  But the overriding tie that holds the story together is the love of family, in any form that takes.  Family isn’t limited to blood relatives, but rather, the people one builds a home with.  Love is love, no matter where it’s found.  Some of the beings in Roux’s family are from worlds apart from his, people who’ve aided him and treated him like their own.  The idea is that there are no “others,” except the evil ones.  And even in their case, remorse and redemption are possible, which is another significant concept.  When it comes to the struggle for the survival and well-being of the worlds, all are called, and all their powers are necessary—everyone is respected and worthy, and all contributions are valued. 

In Born of Fire by Lisette Martinez, the plot has enough turns to surprise, the characters are both noble and occasionally all too human, and the tale itself is worth telling.  A thorough editing would add reading clarity and elevate the book to excellence.