Customer Reviews

Chill Factor (Weather Warden, Book 3)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chill Factor, the third installment of the Weather Warden series, is full of the non-stop action scenes and page-turning narrative that made Ill Wind and Heat Stroke riveting. Joanne Baldwin, Weather Warden, has been through a lot of things in a short period of time. She had been given a demon mark, gotten killed and reborn as a Djinn, only to return to her normal human form. Now she has to go after Kevin -- the troublemaker teenager that made her Djinn existence a living hell in Heat Stroke. He is in Las Vegas with powerful Djinn Jonathan. Jonathan wants to find missing Djinn, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and that includes taking advantage of the powers that Kevin had stolen from Lewis. But Rachel hadn't expected coming across a secret anti-Warden organization. She also hadn't expected the twists that transpire between her and her Djinn lover David. There are many twists throughout the novel.

This novel is a roller coaster ride of action coupled with twists and turns that kept me riveted until the end. Many things happen in this third book -- things that make me understand some of the characters better. Lewis is finally developed in this installment. His behavior in the previous two books makes more sense to me. Marion is also further developed in this installment. She is a more dimensional character this time around. The other characters -- namely Jonathan, Kevin and Rahel -- are dark and have very obscure personalities. You don't know whether they are good or bad. I am sure they are intended to be that way. Joanne continues to be the young, fun, sassy heroine who loves fast cars, fast men and the latest fashion trends. She manages to maintain her spunk during the most chaotic scenes. She is one of the best heroines I've read in books of this genre. The Weather Warden series has become a favorite of mine. This series gets better with each installment and I cannot wait for the release of Windfall.

Once again, Joanne Baldwin is in trouble. See, she's died once already (which sucked), got reincarnated in the form of a Djinn (which was cool, but, ultimately, sucked) and has since been returned to living flesh (much cooler, though now she has to pee after long car drives, and she never noticed how much that sucked before being a Djinn).

Not that she's negative.

Born a weather warden, Joanne can manipulate and control the air and water, and is a member of the Wardens, a group determined to do two things: keep as many humans alive in the much-more-volatile-than-you-know Earth, and stay a secret. The first isn't going so well, the second seems pretty dicey, too.

So, when the most powerful fella about with powers over all the elements has his powers stolen from him by a punk boy with major psychological trauma, and said punk boy also steals the world's most powerful Djinn, things get pretty nasty, pretty fast. And Joanne is pretty sure that people are trying to kill her (again).

What's a girl to do? Well, getting some kick-ass shoes, a fast car, and a dress that leaves just enough to imagination is a good start. The rest she'll come up with as she goes.

A load of fun as always, the writing of Rachel Caine is right up there with Jim Butcher and the early (non-overdosed) Laurel K. Hamilton. It rocks, but I'd suggest you start with "Ill Wind," which was the first book in the series.

'Nathan

The first two books were good, but this book was kind of boring. The heroine is becoming smug and unlikable (like the last season of Friends if you know what I mean).

I feel like the dialogue is there just so she can say her zingy one liners. Which are becoming less zingy and more obvious with each page.

This book reminded me of a Katie Mcalister book. Lots of people like her, but I think she's irritating and overly pleased with herself. Similarly, both authors seem to think that just because they are amused, everyone else will be too. I think her jokes need more quality control. Personally, I would prefer it if authors didn't make a joke unless it's better than 'lightly amusing'.

I didn't connect with this book. Characters made weird decisions that were only for the purpose of furthering the plot. By the middle of this book I was skimming pages and although I own the next one, I think it will take me several months to read it.

Read Melusine by Sarah Monette instead. Or Anne Bishop (dark jewels trilogy) or Kim Harrison.

With the third book in the Weather Warden series, author Rachel Caine has truly hit her stride. Chill Factor is a tightly-wound, fast-paced and action-packed story, rich in detail and characterization, and an utterly absorbing read.

Though I agree it would be tough to follow this book without the benefit of reading the first two, for those who've made the journey thus far with Caine's multi-faceted cast of characters, the payoff in this latest installment is substantial -- thought-provoking, emotionally intense, and ultimately satisfying.

Joanne Baldwin is not a heroine whom I identify with in a lot of respects. But for the first time, in this book, I found myself truly warming to her, even to the point of laughing and yes, crying at some of the more riveting turns. Caine has added layers of depth and complexity to her, drawing the character's inherent honor and integrity much closer to the surface. And the secondary players continue to expand and evolve as well, both good and evil, from those we already know in some detail (David and Lewis) to others whose motivations have been more of a mystery (Jonathan, Marion Bearheart, Kevin Prentiss, et al).

In the author's skillful hands, the initial plot surrounding the rogue partnership of Kevin (uncontrolled Warden) and Jonathan (all-powerful Djinn) widens into a greater conflict -- one encompassing missing/kidnapped Djinn, the ethics of a Warden bureaucracy that may in fact be rotten to the core, and the imminent future of a planet whose natural forces remain dangerously unbalanced -- all against the glittering backdrop of Las Vegas and the raw, desolate beauty of the desert southwest.

Meanwhile, relationships stretch and tangle. The connection between Joanne and her Djinn lover, David, remains at center stage -- exhilarating, heartbreaking, and always compelling. New readers to the series would be better off beginning with the first two installments, the excellent Ill Wind and its follow-up, Heat Stroke. Chill Factor ends cleaner, and on a different note than the more dark and disturbing Heat Stroke...but with so many issues left out there to resolve, I'm thrilled at the thought of the fourth book, Windfall, and whatever Rachel Caine has in store for us next.

I decided I might as well at least read the first chapter. 35 pages later, I realized I was hooked and bought the book. Honestly, this is the best of the series so far, very fast paced and compelling. Rachel Caine is definitely catching her stride as an author!

Joanna Baldwin is back from the djinn, once more human. She faces a teenager with inconceivable power and a grudge against the world. Can she stop the kid without killing him?

You'll turn pages til you find out.

This third instalment of Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series is a brilliant continuation of her story. Joanna Baldwin has been a human Weather Warden, a Djinn, and she's now back to being human again and, once again, doing her best, despite blundering around not knowing what's going on, to save the world.

What's been really interesting about the way Rachel Caine is building these stories is that it's not just the same or similar story rehashed each time, but she's introducing new elements with each book. In book 2 we had the Ifrit; now in Book 3 we are introduced to a whole new secret society working against the Weather Wardens. Once again Joanne's past catches up with her and influences the situations in which she finds herself - old enemies come back to haunt her.

Rachel Caine has very effectively built the love affair between Joanne and David in these three books. They are learning to trust each other, and although the time they actually spend together in this book is very limited, you get a real sense of closeness between them. Of course Joanne's other potential beaux are still out there - Lewis, Paul, even perhaps Jonathan... but it's nice to read, for once, of a sassy, modern woman being consistent and committed to her man. Even if he isn't a man but a Djinn.

Like book 2, this one ended with a definite idea of where the next book is going to go. All is not well in Joanne's world and she evidently has a lot of work to do in book 4 to rescue David from the fix he's found himself in. However, these books probably do work OK as standalone books, although I think this one might have been a little confusing if you hadn't read the previous two.

I love the way that Rachel Caine portrays her heroine - she's just so much fun. Long may she continue writing!

Our heroes were last seen barreling off to Las Vegas to rescue uber-djinn Jonathon from the clutches of the excessively powerful adolescent nightmare, Kevin.

What actually happens is so much better than a simple search & rescue, I can hardly find words to express it. No one has ever really told Joanne the whole story about anything djinn-related (or Weather Warden-related, for that matter) and her Need to Know just hit critical mass. The author has a gift for introducing the unexpected plot twist in a way that fits the world and its established rules.

I had a little wish list for my favorite secondary characters...all granted. (happy, sappy sigh)

I had a little wish list for my least favorite secondary character...not quite granted, but he got what he deserved and, on the upside, is around for further trouncing. (looks good on him, too)

I had a concern for the Warden powers becoming ex machinas for the series...intriguingly addressed.

I had concerns about some of the more powerful, less warm'n'cuddly characters getting too powerful or worse, too cuddly. Didn't happen.

I fretted over the author tying up loose ends and not having anywhere for the series to go...[SNORT] No, that didn't happen, either.

As for the villain? Darn it, I liked him, too!

On the whole, Chill Factor is the most satisfying genre read I've had in recent memory, and the first time I've stayed up all night to finish a book since a newly published book had "Dorsai" in the title.

Worst cover art of the series, but probably the best book! This one's got more plot twists than a box of pretzels. Gotta be careful what I say to avoid spoiling anything: Joanne is back, human again and trying to wrest Jonathan, the most powerful djinn in the universe away from Kevin before he destroys the world with his stolen power. Marion Lewis, Rahel, and David are all back in major supporting roles. We are also introduced to the mysterious Ma'at, a sort of anti-warden group who are hoping (with Joanne's help) to blow Kevin's head off. This series continues to be fresh, witty, and most importantly believable. The "rules" to Caine's alternate reality support the books flow rather than getting in the way like so many other stories in this genre. This particular story is centered in and around Las Vegas. There are some superlative flash backs to events that impacted Joanne's life in that area years before that turn out to be germane in causing and ultimately solving her problems today. It's fast paced and fun, extraordinarily hard to put down once you get started reading it (I finished all 337 pages of this one in just two days). And, of course, there's hot chicks with fast cars too...

I totally got into this book, without even reading the first two in the series.
Now you may be thinking, how does one do that? By putting together what happened simply by reading. I managed to understand what happened in the first two books just by reading this one. Oh, don't worry. I am going to go back and read them (the 2nd one looks intriguing from the small sample I read on Rachel Caine's website), definitely. I can't not after reading this one.

Now I absolutely loved this book. It has everything - fantasy, romance, violence, action, a whole lot of dry humour and a look at this decade in style.
I got immersed in the relationship between Joanne and David just from reading the first chapter. You can see they love each other - their relationship strengths and gets more intense in the chapters that follow. I am going back and reading the other books to see how they got together, and I am anxious to see what happens to them in the 4th book.
The humour in this book is just wonderful - some dry jokes and some just absolutely random moments that made me laugh out loud at them. It also has a lot of action, there is not one dull moment. There is always something happenin, there are no parts of the book where it just plods along and seems boring.
Joanne is a fabulous lead character, it's always refreshing to read from the heroine's point of view, and Rachel Caine delivers Joanne's views so well. Joanne is sarcastic and speaks her mind. She loves men, she flirts with them even though she's in love with David and loves clothes and cars. But she's also fiercely loyal, and will do anything to hold onto David, her Djinn lover. The secondary characters of the book are also developed well - like a lot of others I'm partial to a bit of David, he sounds gorgeous, and amazing. Jonathan, Kevin and Rahel are also polished secondary characters.

It is amazing to see me giving a book like this 5 stars. I usually cannot stand the fantasy genre and avoid it like the plauge. But this book is so wonderful, it hops between fantasy and reality, especially having been released in 2005. It has introduced me to this 'urban fantasy' genre, and I will definitely be checking out the first 2 books and the 4th, I seriously want to know what happens between Jo and David next.

Definitely check out this book, and read the other oes like I am going. Absolutely fantastic, 5 stars!

The third book in Rachel Caine's series is just as fun as the first two. Picking up where the previous book left off, Joanne is headed for Las Vegas to retrieve the djinn Jonathan and to stop a teenage kid from destroying the city. Complicating matters, however, is that the Weather Wardens start telling her how to do her job, and then she runs into a shadowy group called the Ma'at who give her a "join us or die" ultimatum.

The book was a blast to read, and it contained some good twists I didn't see coming. Unfortunately, the flashbacks really bring the story to a halt. Not nearly as frequent as they were in the first book ("Ill Wind"), these flashbacks have many of the same problems: they slow down the movement of the main story, at their core they're really only background material, and they never made me concerned about Joanne's safety -- because they already happened! Obviously she lived through whatever happened back then so no matter how often she got thrown into a trunk or had her head shoved under water (frequently, BTW), I still knew she'd live through it.

Fortunately, the flashbacks never became so obtrusive that I put the book down or I would have given this book four stars instead of five, but the information could have presented in a more compelling way for the reader.

Overall, however, this book is great fun. Tolerate the flashbacks because they contain a few pieces of information you need to know, but the main storyline rocks.