Category 7 (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Marianna Jameson (Author)
Key Phrases: weather manipulation, weather research, storm cell, Davis Lee, New York, Carter Thompson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Evans, a meteorologist for New York's WABC-TV, and novelist Jameson (Big Trouble) pit a posse of diverse weatherfolk against Simone, a storm of unheard-of magnitude that's headed straight for Manhattan in this slow-building thriller. As it turns out, Simone isn't a natural phenomenon but the product of semimad scientist Carter Thompson, who's learned over the years to create hurricanes and move them in whatever direction he chooses. There are so many characters that it's hard to keep track of their diverse agendas, and there's a frustrating wait as the authors meticulously lay their fictional and scientific groundwork. Meteorologist Kate Sherman and CIA weatherman Jake Baxter have a secret, navy-built device to battle Simone—but it must be deployed from inside the storm. Some readers may feel Simone doesn't live up to her billing, but weather nerds should have a good time from beginning to end. (July)
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From Booklist

Remember the movie The Day after Tomorrow? It was a classic big-weather story, full of catastrophic special effects and characters thin enough that they didn't need hurricane-force winds to blow them away. This novel, written by veteran meteorologist Evans and technological writer Jameson, is exactly the same kind of story, in print form. Kate Sherman, a plucky meteorologist, and Jake Baxter, a CIA weatherman (huh?), are the last line of defense between New York City and a Category-7 hurricane (the deadliest category), which was created by a top-secret weather-control weapon. This is one of those novels where you forget about characterization and dialogue and just sit back and let the action wash over you. Fans of Ben Bova's 1967 science-fiction novel The Weathermakers might note some similarity of theme, although Bova's book feels like a scientific treatise compared with this one. But that isn't a criticism: the book is what it is, a fast-paced action-adventure yarn that promises a rousing finale and delivers it. Pitt, David

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765317354
• ISBN-13: 978-0765317353
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #609,456 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Thriller Without Any Thrills, August 2, 2007

By	L. Young "palmtree2000" (West Orange, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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What would happen if a meglomaniac billionaire could control the weather and create a Category 7 hurricane and send it directly to NYC? This is the premise of the novel. Sounds great doesn't it? It could have been great, but not in the hands of Mr. Evans. What results is this extremely dull and muddled book. The eponymous hurricane appears only towards the end of the book, everything before that is a repetitive mishmash of forgetable characters going over and over the same material - is there a repeated weather pattern that shows indications of manmade interference. This novel has screenplay written all over it. Maybe the movie will be better

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars AWFUL!! Stick to the weather, Bill., August 6, 2007

By	Rosemary M (Yonkers, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I ordered this book the first day I heard about it!! I love thrillers and I love Bill Evans doing the weather. What Bill can't do is write novels. This was really POOR! The writing was terrible and the story was weak, confused and confusing. It seemed that Bill and his co-author had just taken a course in the use of adjectives. The chapters written in italics( inside the mind of Simone) were almost laughable. example: "The Hudson and East rivers, between which Manhattan usually nestled in insouciant comfort, swelled and pushed brackish tidal water and its effluvia farther north than it had ever been, sloshing over real estate considered more valuable for its view than its ability to drain." WHAT? Here's another one:" The filty surge blocked their escape as it pushed against doors that needed to be pulled, turned wide hallways into flash-flooding rivers, and transformed broad, banistered staircases into ravaging, sucking cataracts."
Also, what happened to Elle? Can anyone tell me that? Did I fall asleep reading this boring book and miss the part where she was injured? She was out with Davis Lee. End of chapter. Next time we meet up with her she is waking up with "raw, bloody fingertips' What did I miss?
Very weak characters and character development. HUGE leap from people seeing unusual storms to a crazy man manipulating the weather. And, seriously, I didn't like the constant references to 9/11. Not appropriate.
Really bad book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dull, July 29, 2007

By	Teresa (Wilmington, DE) - See all my reviews

This book has the distinction of being both confusing and dull as dishwater at the same time. I quit reading it after 100 pages. I just did not care about any of the characters and the action was non-existent.