2 posts tagged “series”
Firestorm by Rachel Caine - this is the fifth book in the Weather Wardens series and finally takes me into new territory as it's one of the two (currently published) I hadn't previously read. Once again, our protagonist finds herself in big trouble, though that should come as no surprise to anyone who's been following these reviews, as she tries to find a solution to the impending war between humanity and the Djinn.
This time around, Jo is headed for New York in an attempt to get help from the other Wardens, only to find that Djinn-fuelled destruction has beaten her to the HQ and the welcome she gets is far from warm. Hardly surprising, given the fact that she'd quit the organisation, not to mention the fact that many of the surviving Wardens at least partly suspect she's behind all of this trouble in the first place.
Meanwhile, there's more human problems to deal with - her sister is still missing, kidnapped by her psycho lover, who's demanding a Djinn from Jo or else he'll start sending her sister back to her in bite-size chunks. The problem with that is, there are no Djinn to be had, for any reason. There's also the fledgling relationship with her own daughter, who is apparently half-Djinn, for Jo to sort out, not to mention the fact that her own lover has now taken over leadership of the Djinn and is himself, at times, taken over.
Once again, I really enjoyed this book, particularly the fact that I can't see what's going to happen next (which is not the case with some writers). This time around, the author goes deeper into the whole relationship between the planet, the Djinn and humanity and we discover that the Djinn are exactly as single-minded as we'd always thought. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes, although book 6 (Thin Air) has got to wait while I read Crown of Shadows because I thought I'd renewed it and I'm currently racking up library fines...
Chill Factor and Windfall by Rachel Caine - books three and four, respectively, of the Weather Warden series. See, I am going to get through all six before book 7 gets published, really I am!
Chill Factor sees our protagonist, Joanne Baldwin, still dealing with the repercussions of the previous book (Heat Stroke). She's on her way to Las Vegas, not to play the tables, but because the Wardens think she's their best hope of stopping someone she had dealings with in that books - Kevin, a sociopathic teenager, who has stolen the abilities of one of the most powerful Wardens on the planet and has one of the most powerful of all Djinns working for him. Except that Jo knows, better than anyone, that the Djinn in question is probably telling Kevin what to do rather than the other way around.
Because he doesn't understand the impact of his actions, though it's not clear he would care if he did, Kevin is causing all kinds of difficulties with the weather and the environment as a whole. If Jo can't get to him, then people want Kevin dead, and that might mean the powers he stole can't be returned...
Then, in Windfall, Jo finds herself in need of meaningful occupation, having walked away from the Wardens at the end of Chill Factor. Somehow she ends up working as a weather girl on a small town television station, dressing up in stupid costumes along the way, while trying to make ends meet and sort out the results of the previous book. It's at this point her recently-divorced, comes back into the ongoing saga that is Jo's life. Someone is stalking Jo, looking for answers about what happened in Vegas, but that's the least of her problems...
Once again, I really enjoyed these books, even on a re-read, and am now looking forward to reading the two books in the series I haven't read yet: Firestorm and Thin Air, coming up next. By the way, please don't be put off by the front cover blurb for Windfall which makes comparisons with Laurell K. Hamilton - this series is not magical sexcapades but instead relies on good writing and interesting plots...
