Interesting book about the history of Hawaii and the first King that brought the islands together. The writer did a lot of research to make sure the facts were correct, which I appreciate in a historical work of fiction.

Once There Was Fire by Stephen Shender provides the readers an opportunity to follow 18th century Hawai'i to the early 19th century as it grows from an isolated paradise to the modern world. Though Kamehameha's action and words the reader learns about his strong will, haole advisers, comrades and enemies that changed everything for the Hawai'ian people.

Was a little long and slow but also tremendously researched and lots of detail. Kudos to Shender. I can't say I'll read this author again, but hopefully I can find some Hawaiian HF written by AAPI authors.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for permitting this book to be a Read Now to help members develop their Feedback Ratio in exchange for an honest review.

Review Summary:
This is a historical fiction based in late 18th century Hawaii. The story is told through a narrator who is writing a memoir of his childhood and his predecessors, predominantly his ‘uncle’ (the author specifies they were likely unrelated in real life) Kamehameha I and later his brother Kekuaokelani. The memoir details Kamehameha’s birth, childhood and rise to power and the political and cultural strife throughout his life and following his death. This book was definitely out of my comfort zone but it was a fascinating read, if not challenging in parts. I immediately had huge respect for the author following his foreword of this revised edition, in which they said they did not want to shy away from the sense of legitimacy in the novel despite it creating some obstacles for the English reader, such as the pronunciation and spelling of the Hawaiian language (which, the author explains, is actually the language after colonisation by the Roman Catholics). The revised edition offers footnotes at the end of each chapter to try and assist in phonetic pronunciations. As with probably most historical fictions, there are some content warnings including rape of multiple minors (not seen as rape in this time period) and A LOT of incest.
Positives are that this book felt like a true love letter from the author to the history of Hawaii. The novel captured the beauty, complexity and heart of the islands and their people. The level of research the author has clearly engaged in to create this book is astounding.
Negatives are that I did not find myself very attached to any of the characters or their relationships which made it difficult to stay engaged in the story. The added revisions to aid with pronouncing the names of people or objects in the Hawaiian language weren’t provided in an effective way so the flow of reading was still very choppy, having to stop-start multiple times in a sentence to try and spell out the names in my head.

3 stars. Although this novel is a beautiful read in many ways, there were times that I felt it lacked engagement and I would find myself taking breaks for days at a time. The narrative structure was sometimes a hindrance for character development and as a result the story became sluggish at points. However there is no denying that the novel captures the rich culture and history of a time not talked about enough here in my native country of England, despite our heavy involvement in Hawaii’s colonisation.

FULL REVIEW BELOW. AVAILABLE WITH THE ADDITION OF HIDDEN SPOILERS ON GOODREADS.

World-building:
My favourite aspect of the book. We learnt about the Hawaiian gods, such as Lōno and Kuka’ilimoku, and the Hawaiians worship of them. This included prayers and chants, human and animal sacrifices, burial rites and building of temples. Their dedication to their gods was reflected in the ‘kapu’ and how seriously all citizens followed it. The Hawaiians attitudes to sex and romantic relationships was interesting too, in many ways harking back to their worship and closeness to nature. The class systems and royal lineage were fascinating but also very convoluted. If anything this revised edition would have benefitted from a genealogical tree at the beginning or the end of the novel because, especially with some people sharing names, it got very confusing at points. In the same vein I would have preferred all pronunciation footnotes to have been on one page, as many of the names continued throughout the book so it was irritating having to memorise which page held each footnote so I could refer back. A glossary for cultural items, Gods and places would have been useful too.

Characterisation:
This was the area I struggled a little more with. I don’t know if it was because we were hearing the stories through a narrator, but I just felt a lot of the characters didn’t feel distinct from each other. Their dialogue was very similar and I often couldn’t decipher what each characters personalities were. The exceptions to this were Ka’ahumanu and her foster son, Liholiho. Ka’ahumanu was shown with a sense of humour and a craving for freedom and independence, while Liholiho’s unhealthy attachment to her was shown in his passive, meeker personality. There were glimpses of Ka’ahumanu and Kamehemaha’s relationship too, with some courting and flirting. I just wished there had been more of these interactions to make them feel more ‘human’. Kekuaokelani also became more hot-headed and pushy later on. But I felt even the main character himself, Kamehemaha, needed more development and more personality. We learnt lots about his achievements and his physical prowess, but I just didn’t feel an attachment to him as a character. Because of this the closeness that we were told he had with other characters just didn’t translate very well for me, so moments of grief or words of affection felt somewhat hollow.

Story:
Heavily based on reality the story is a journey through the raging wars amongst the islands and the strife of their ali’i to become mō’ī, but also the ‘discovery’ of Hawaii and the adjacent islands by Captain James Cook and the consequent relations developed with the British. The story had lots packed in including action-filled battles, betrayals, schemes and societal shifts. I did find earlier parts of the book a bit more sluggish to get through, predominantly when Kamehemaha was still a child.

Prose:
An interesting prose outside of my comfort zone due to the incorporated Hawaiian language but also because it is written through a narrator. I thought it was genius that the original Hawaiian spellings and pronunciations, pre-colonisation, were shown through the dialogue of the haoles so we had an idea of what the older language was like and how it would have been heard at the time. As mentioned earlier though I felt the story being told through a narrator was sometimes a hindrance to more varied dialogue. In the latter part of the book there was an increase in typos, a lot of missing ‘the’ or ‘to’. Overall, ambitious and definitely interesting but sometimes at the cost of a comfortable, smooth flowing read.

"Once There Was Fire" definitely leans more heavily on the history side of historical fiction with the way it's structured. However, writing as someone who has an occasional strong niche interest in Hawaiian history (particularly that of its indigenous peoples), I found this to be very, very enjoyably informative.

Stephen Shender does a great job in writing a book about Hawaii. It had everything that I was looking for from the description. The story was everything that I was hoping for and thought it was a beautifully done story. It had everything that I was hoping for and hope to read more from Stephen Shender.

Great historical fiction read! Highly recommend it to fans of the genre and those looking to expand their reading circle. Purchasing for library.

It's nice to read about the history of places. It's also interesting to know the history of places like Hawaii, some times so close but yet so far, like this archipelago.

I just couldn’t get on with fictionalised history of Hawaiian King Kamehameha. For one thing there were just too many multisyllabic names all beginning with K. Not the author’s fault, admittedly, but it made for some very confusing reading. And although learning about Hawaii’s history in the 18th and 19th centuries with the encroachment of the modern world is of course a worthwhile activity, endless battles, political machinations and predictable encounters with foreigners and the subsequent conflict between tradition and the new soon became tedious. The book is interesting as a historical document, but I didn’t find it an entertaining or engaging novel and I failed to relate to any of the characters. In the end I simply gave up.

Interesting historical fiction story of Hawaii. I've never been to Hawaii, but have read many books on the state. This one has lots of info, tho' as it's not a scholarly work, the facts in it may or may not be correct. i am hoping they are as they sound like they should be. Mr. Shendor seems to have done his homework! it's a good solid read for anyone wanting to learn more about Hawaii's history.

I teach world literature, and we were recently discussing Polynesia and the effects of European colonization activities on the native cultures. This book came at the perfect time, and I have discussed it in class and recommended it.

Life moves in cycles and in this cycle I find myself immersed in historical fiction. Not the sort of story that uses (loosely) the manners and mores of an era to bring an extra bit of piquancy to a romance but the type that tries to share with you the lives and times of its cast and inform and enlarge your knowledge of the past. "Real" history, fictionalized, such as this well-researched biography of King Kamehameha and history of the Hawaiian Islands. I can hear the island lilt in the dialogue as the ways and practices of the times before the invasion by the haoles are described. Despite being at a neolithic stage of development (largely, I would imagine, due to lack of available metals), the society was diverse, multi-layered and as nuanced as the iron age James Cook's; a complete and complex civilization. The story itself moves along well despite confusion caused by so many similar musically multisyllabic names (abbreviated for our convenience wherever possible--and quite probably by the people at the time, in the manner of nicknames, despite a certain formality required by court etiquette and very strict laws).

I've been to Hawaii and enjoyed its beauty and became intrigued by its people and history so when I saw this listed in the Netgalley offerings I requested a copy. Many hours later (this is a large, meaty book!) I am feeling enriched by my selection.

Very slow moving but interesting in it's information about Hawaii

Visitors think of Hawaii as a place of surf, sand, and flowing lava, but Stephen Shender's new book is a keen reminder that 'once there was fire'--the fire of culture that had grown for 1400 years prior to its first encounter with Europeans, and one which reached its apogee in the reign of King Kamehameha (I) the Great (1758-1819). The central figure in <i>Once There Was Fire</i>, Kamehameha, would unify the islands under his rule, but he would also sow the seeds that brought native culture there to the brink of destruction.

The first half of the book describes Kamehameha's youth. A "golden child" of sorts, he is initially hidden from the <i>ali'i</i> or chief of the island in response to a prophesy that he--not the chief's lineage--would unify the Hawaiian Islands. Another portentous event, Kamehameha's overturning of a stone, also bodes him well. It is in this section that Shender describes the chiefly rivalries and disunity among the nobles of the Big Island, Hawaii, as well as the various <i>kapus</i> or traditions, which regulated relations between women and men, and between commoners and the chiefly/priestly class.

The book really takes off, though, with the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1798, a time when Kamehameha has risen to the role of priest under his uncle, Kalaniopu'u. The Hawaiians are amazed by tools and items made of iron, but Kamehameha recognizes the superior English technology. While his countrymen are dazzled by nails and pots, Kamehameha is laying plans to get his hands on muskets and cannon. Once he does--with the help of a stolen ship and a couple of kidnapped English sailors--conquest will be his.

The book rightfully focuses on the lives of native Hawaiians, resisting any temptation to shift to European perspectives once the <i>haole</i> arrive. Shender has used the voice of a Hawaiian noble to tell the tale, which helps him to stay focused on the Hawaiian court. A final chapter, set in the days after Kamehameha's death, shows European/Christian values moving in and overthrowing long-held Hawaiian traditions.

At 524 pages, this book won't be read on the plane ride to Honolulu, but it is a great book for those whose visit to the islands will take in native culture and who wish for some background. Readers fascinated by other great Native Americans like Crazy Horse or Chochice will want to make room in their libraries for Kamehameha.

I fit into the latter category. I have never been to Hawaii, but every year I teach about <a href="http://speak.bisonscribe.com/2017/01/writer-cited-richard-kurin.html">the incredible feathered cape</a> of Kamehameha's son, who took on the name, Kamehameha III. When I spotted this title on NetGalley, I couldn't resist the chance to learn more. It was a great choice for me. I learned a lot.