“Theft of Fire” is late Heinlein: goofier, more emotional, and hornier. The premise is simple: Genetically engineered anime girl ice princess Miranda Foxgrove, desperate to make her own mark and distinguish herself from her wealthy family, shanghais a ship belonging to asteroid miner Marcus Warnoc, who is vulnerable to a hostile takeover because, strapped for funds, he has descended into piracy. Her goal: force him to take her to a space discovery that she expects to change everything. Will these two crazy kids butt heads but eventually appreciate each other? Will they! Does the ice princess melt and the crusty miner soften as they find new footing with each other and with the mysterious cargo she smuggled aboard? Do they! Does the genetically engineered anime girl need help getting into and out of her skin-tight space suit? Does she ever!
“Theft of Fire” is essentially a book in two acts. The first is a lengthy stage play about two characters butting heads in a spaceship while they negotiate their social situation. The second is an action-packed chase and fight; much of it involves the arduousness of extended travel under high-g acceleration. Eriksen takes a lot of care to show off his characters’ personalities and give his protagonist a variety of small-scale objectives, which keeps the power dynamic and the evolution of the characters’ relationship in steady motion. The structure is a bit clunky; the first act runs long, and the second act feels a trifle padded because the nature of the situation means there are limits to how much evolution Eriksen can provide.
The ending provides a meaningful conclusion for its characters but doesn’t deliver the satisfaction readers want, leaving several threads dangling for a promised sequel (“Box of Trouble,” delayed by a family health crisis but reportedly well on the road to completion). As the Hugo- and Dragon- nominated author Kit Sun Cheah fairly noted, the book’s generally hard science softens selectively for dramatic purposes, meaning that it operates on the level of a mostly but not overly realistic TV series.
But that’s still a solid space to operate in, and on a scene-by-scene level, Eriksen writes his tail off. “Theft of Fire” got readers’ attention from heavy social media promotion and an indefatigable spousal marketing campaign, but it kept them because Devon Eriksen can build tension, create suspense, and write an enjoyable conversation. His characters have strong, distinctive voices. They feel alive and colorful. Maybe there are too many negotiation scenes, but most of them are quite fun. Maybe there’s too much banter, but it’s entertaining. The excess is sufficiently enjoyable that one can see how it would be hard to cut. Devon Eriksen starts from a much, much stronger place than almost all other first-time authors. It’s hard to see him not getting better from here.
-David Hines, The Daily Wire