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Rating: 
Summary: A really cool idea and some interesting game mechanics
Review: Before I start, let me say that I'm a supporter of any game system that isn't D20. That being said, I think Fireborn has some very good potential as a game system. Since, as I write this, the GM's Guide hasn't been released yet, I can't comment on all the aspects of the game, but from what I've read so far, I this Fireborn is definitely worth a look.
Also, I give four stars rather then five because I've only read it, I haven't tried to play a campaign yet, so I can't give it five stars yet.
The basis of this game is that the players, called "scions," form a "brood" of souls that have been reborn down through time. They are the souls of great and powerful dragons that have forgotten what they once were. And, over the course of a campaign, they begin to remember little bits and pieces of their pasts as well as begin to regain some of their powers. At the same time, other fantasy-type things like this are also slowly beginning to re-emerge and be remembered in the rest of the world.
In the past, sometime before the last Ice Age, occured what's called the "Mythic Age". This is a traditional-type fantasy age, with great heros and villians and such. It's, quite frankly, pretty standard Fantasy-type fare. However, this also leads into what I think is the most original aspect of the game: Playing in the mythic age through the game mechanic of "Flashbacks."
In these flashbacks, and this is another game mechanic that I really like, you're playing your fully-realized dragon. You've got all the powers you've chosen, all your abilites and magic, and access to your hoard of treasure that you've gathered throughout your time there. I should note that, as your modern age character advances, you begin to regain some of your powers as you remember more of what you were.
You play these flashbacks normally, your characters have free will and all that, but the idea is that your character is remembering what happened to him long ago. The idea behind this is, for example, your modern character is hunting some cult or something that's trying to summon a creature of some kind. In the process of hunting this cult, your character has a flashback of fighting this creature in the mythic age, and knowing how powerful and devastating it would be if it's unleashed again.
As for actual mechanics, characters have four aspects: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These aspects, in general, define your character and you get once D6 in each aspect for each point. A Fire score of 4 lets you roll 4 dice on Fire tests. The dice are used to generate individual successes, a lot like Shadowrun, rather then totalling the rolls for a single result. The harder something is to do, the more successes it requires.
Earth is the strength of your mind, Fire is fighting and conflict, Water is defense, and Air is reasoning and mental things. Now, these aren't as clearly divided as D20 or GURPS, Fire isn't just combat, Earth isn't just defense, they're treated more broadly then that. Skills act to allow you to move dice between your aspects. For example, having a Fighting skill of 2 allows you to move 2 dice from your other aspects into Fire. This can leave those other aspects lacking if you need to test those before your aspects refresh to normal.
I know I didn't explain that all that clearly, it's explained quite well in the book, though.
The default setting is in London, much like Shadowrun and Seattle, but you can easily adapt a campaign to another location. Any campain I'd run I'd set here in southwest Montana because I know that area.
As I say, I haven't bought the GM's guide yet, because it hasn't been released. I do look forward to buying it, though.
If you're looking for a new, interesting system, give Fireborn a look. It's got a lot of potential to be a pretty good time.
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