Welcome to Quill Quotes Book Club and the final discussion of Burn by Patrick Ness! We hope you enjoyed the read. Note this discussion covers the full book and will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t finished reading yet you may want to go back to the Burn Book Club Summary Page.
Brooke’s Thoughts
While I liked this book I wasn’t super impressed. I think I could have done without the multiple universes. I might have liked it more if we hadn’t just read Dark Matter which I think did multiple universes better. Also, I was a little underwhelmed with how they killed the dragon at the end. I did really enjoy some parts though like the prophecy being about a girl in the right place at the right time. I also like that it was a fast easy read. Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars.
Favorite Quote
“You shouldn’t call people liars. Say ‘economical with the truth’ or ‘teller of tales.’”
– Patrick Ness, Burn
Kevin’s Thoughts
I really enjoyed Part 1 and was leaning toward a 4-star rating but then struggled to get into Part 2 and wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. Mitera Thea being the goddess and turning into a dragon in the alternate universe was interesting and having many of the dead characters (especially Agent Dernovich) re-involved was cool. However, having people turn into dragons at the end wasn’t for me. I don’t understand how the goddess could provide the magic to the world without knowing that it relies on humans as Kazimir explains; and for Sheriff Kelby to become a dragon because of his hatred/rage took away a lot of the power in the message against discrimination for me. Maybe Ness plans to write a sequel, which would make the ending a bit more understandable, but as a standalone story I would have rather seen more closure. Overall, I rated Burn 3 stars.
Favorite Quote
“Suspicion corroded, she’d always said. It would grow and take the things you loved with it.”
– Patrick Ness, Burn
Vote
Burn Final Discussion Prompts/Questions
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts/questions below:
- Were you satisified with how they killed the dragon?
- How do you feel about the dragon magic being human magic and people turning into dragons?
- Share favorite a quote!
- Did you like the muiltple universes better in Dark Matter or Burn?
- Were you surprised that Malcolm was the only one to return to the original universe? What do you think he’ll find there?
- Who was your favorite character? Did it change from Part 1?
Commenting
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I find it hard to come up with a book report on Part 2 of Burn. But here goes.
Kazimir is now human, 18 years old, who will always be a dragon but in human form. The dragon claw became an important part of part 2. Matera Thea could not be complete without it but it played a big part in her destruction. The author even threw in eggs hatched by the lady dragon Matera Thea. The 2 universes threw me off. You died in one universe and are now alive. In another. I needed to tell myself that it is fantasy.
When help was needed to fight the very mad dragon lady I thought the statement by agent Demovich was an understatement. “Would it help if I got you an Army?” At the time it seemed liked an Army could not even stop her. I would try reading another fantasy later on just because…….
Bring on the horror🤯
I thought it was interesting that they sent in an army but still planned to drop a nuke on the dragon if their plan didn’t work. With the amount of destruction caused in Seattle and immediately nuking the eggs, I feel like the military would have gone that route sooner. I also didn’t really understand how Mitera Thea brought/awakened the dragon magic in the new universe but then Kazimir states that it comes from humans at the end…so I was left wondering why it wasn’t always there. Weird concept. I did like how it tied together the concept of mutual destruction tho:
“The simple fact was, if there were not humans around to create it, the unreality of dragons would cease to be. All annihilation was mutual in the end.”
– Patrick Ness, Burn
I’ve always had mixed luck picking fantasy books. I usually like the concepts/ideas from fantasy but only really like large series where the concepts and world can be fully explained. It seems really hard to write a good standalone fantasy novel to me.
Yeah, I found it a little too perfect that everyone Sarah loved died in her world so she had no reason to want to go back.
Fantasy is not my go-to genre because I am very picky and it has to be done right. I agree with Kevin, series are usually better because they can slowly build the world instead of just throwing you in the deep end.
I can’t wait for October and Halloween!
It seemed like the ending was rushed in this book. I did like the parts where the dragon had some heart with the women on the street and seeing her previous partners child. I wish the dragon would have turned to good instead of needing to be destroyed.
People turning into dragons was a interesting concept and does explain why they hadn’t killed all humans.
I think both concepts were pretty much the same in Dark Matter and Burn just different on how to get to an alternate universe. Which both seem so unrealistic and fascinating at the same time.
I wasn’t surprised at all that Malcom wanted to return to save Nelson. Hopefully the universe is not destroyed and the dragons and humans still can live in same world.
I really liked Kazimir in part 2 he was so knowledgeable on the history of dragons and how to save that universe.
“I’m just a girl.”
“It is tragic how well you have been taught to say that with sadness rather than triumph.”
– Patrick Ness Burn
I liked this quote just because it is so true in many societies today. Maybe in alternate Universes this quote wouldn’t exist. Something to think about.
I liked that quote too. Interesting thought about alternate universes not having that concept. Hopefully, the future in our reality won’t need that quote either!
It doesn’t seem like too much time passed in the alternate universe so I think Malcolm will find his world still exists, but a lot of work to be done avoiding war between the U.S. and Russia. I’m not sure how much Malcolm can help them straighten that out though and feel like Kazimir should have gone back too. I can understand Sarah not wanting to return since her whole family is dead there; lucky that Jason and her family in the alternate universe accepted her so quickly.
I agree it did feel a little rushed. That would have been interesting to convince her to live in peace.
I was a little confused about how and why people could turn into dragons. I didn’t like that they just said “magic” to explain everything. I guess that’s why fantasy isn’t my go-to genre.
I also would have liked to know what happened to their original planet. So maybe it does need a sequel.
Kazimir was my favorite character! He was funny and smart!
I also really liked that quote and I’m sure right, in an alternate universe that quote wouldn’t exist.