Customer Reviews

Gale Force (Weather Warden, Book 7)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Oh, Jo, you're sinking low.

If I had to name a favorite series, I think Caine's Weather Warden would edge out Harrison's The Hollows (Rachel Morgan), and Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld. I love the characters, I love the pace, I love the world Caine has created and the things these stories make me think about.

So it is with heavy heart that I suggest that Caine is losing her way. Gale Force is the next chapter in the saga, and we get the usual cast of characters - Joanne with her penchant for fast cars and designer shoes, her copper-eyed omniscient lover David, the best friend Cherise, the creepy-but-cool Rahel, the ever-sexy Lewis, and on and on. A few old faces have cameos in this book.

Again, Jo and friends are faced with some mysterious force that is threatening the lives of wardens, djin, and the Mother Earth herself. Again, Jo is the epicenter of the chaos, the missing piece to every puzzle. Again, there are quiet, tender, funny moments between Jo and her David, as well as some of the other characters. And again, those tender moments lead to a monumental choice that threatens to tear the fabric of their lives apart, that shakes the unity of Jo and David, and leaves us witnessing our star-crossed lovers saying goodbye... again.

See, I understand that all series are going to feel formulaic to some extent. Same author, same characters, same world, different bad guy. The problem that is happening with the Warden series is, as the reader, I am starting to feel like I'm being played. Each time something catastrophic happens, we see it through Jo's pain, and we are supposed to feel it with her. But seriously, how many times can people be killed, wiped from existence (because only in a series like this, is death considered an inconvenience compared to what ELSE can happen), turned bad, before none of it seems to matter anymore?

What, a djin has been captured and enslaved, which was NEVER SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN EVER IN THIS WORLD AGAIN? Meh. Jo will kill them.

Joanne's decision has broken the bond between her and David, and they may never speak to each other again? Meh. Jo will fix it.

Where is this going? I feel like this series has been amping up for the final act for a few books now, and if a character death is what we are being prepared for, then please, Ms. Caine, do it before it's so late in the series that nobody cares. Because if this is going where I think it is, I want to care. I want to weep. I want to curl up with my book and hurt with those characters, and flip the pages feverishly to find out what happens next, which is what I used to do... about three "deaths" ago.

I love these characters, and I want to feel their loss when they're gone, so stop giving me cardboard cutout stories and get to the meat of it. Git 'er done.

A lot has already been said well by the previous reviews. But I guess I need to add my wish that Ms. Caine consider wrapping up the storyline on the main characters here and move on. From the blurb at the end of my copy, it sounds as though the next warden/djinn book is going to focus on new players. Great idea, but some satisfying closure is still overdue for Joanne and David. Midway through Gale Force, I thought this would be the book to do it. Instead, I found myself almost irrationally ticked when I reached the end and found that indeed it was not.

I've never related well to Joanne as a character/heroine, but I love the world she inhabits and the people who surround her in it. That's why the earlier Warden novels work so well, I think. Not only are they incredibly rich in characterization, but the plots were timely -- echoing with an eerie relevance to many serious issues about nature, society, humanity, and current events and trends. (And no, not talking about fashion either.) Much of that depth and complexity seems to have been lost, and I wonder if Ms. Caine is as tired of the main players here as I am becoming. The number of negative comments about David alone in the reviews for Gale Force is an ominous sign of a breakdown not only in characterization, but in the communication between author and reader.

This series peaked for me with Chill Factor and Windfall (3&4). I felt Firestorm worked well enough, and though Thin Air required more perseverance on my part, it still had a few new things on offer. Gale Force was not what I expected, and not in a good way. The sequence where Joanne and Jerome Silverton unearth the dead djinn was the closest I came to that Old Feeling, and it was lamentably short.

Of course, there's a rhythm to good serial fiction, but the danger comes in turning too formulaic. With this series, we've already been through the obligatory pregnancy arc, the amnesia arc, the persistent love triangle arc, and now the "resurrected big-bad" arc. And with a near-total lack of resolution at the end, I might add.

Again, I'd love to hear about new characters in the old universe if that's what it takes to get back to the inspired storytelling. But it's time to give Jo and David a rest. Even Harry Potter got his HEA from Rowling after seven phenomenal installments. I've got room in my heart for one more with Joanne, but after that, no matter what Caine does, I'LL be taking the breather...

Excellent, as were the others in this series; this one was more action-packed, similar to the early books. A couple of observations:

It relies heavily on the previous novels, and if you don't know those story lines and characters you'd miss a lot. I strongly recommend that you read the whole set in order.

The number of secondary characters has reached the point where most are treated in a rather cursory manner, although Lewis, Kevin and especially Cherise have good-sized roles here.

SPOILERS:

There are (once again) major unresolved issues at the end, with Joanne (once again) infected and about to launch herself against the bad guy. This is rather frustrating, since it'll probably be a year before the next book comes out.

The whole coming out to the news media thing is kinda lame, and lamely done. Presumably this will make more sense in retrospect, in subsequent books.

Excuse me. Didn't the previous book end with a patented Caine cliffhanger (PLEASE, stop these!) in which all the gang had formed a truce in order to combat the Earth waking up and becoming rather violent? Or did I dream that? At any rate I was waiting for this question to be resolved or at least addressed (with the inevitability of an all-new cliffhanger relating to a new problem) in this book. Instead--zippo. No really, was I imagining that plot?

(And since the ending in the last book was the same as the ending in the most recent Morganville book ["Here's our plan!"], can we expect the same in the next volume over there?)

This episode starts off extremely slowly, but around the middle suddenly develops the ol' Rachel Caine spark that makes me like her writing so much. But we get another round of rerun-itis: Jo has to be recreated yet again, this time due to a very convenient magical book and an even more convenient familiar villain popping up. (I thought Demons had been defined as being quite different from what we see here? I'm confused.) I was hoping that this would provide a neat ending to the series, with the original threat now upped in scope and then defeated for all time. Perhaps in the next volume? It does seem time to bring this series to an end.

Caine handles action so very well, and her world-building is great except when it shows cracks as it does in this book. However, Caine's portrayal of the Joanne-David relationship has always been rather superficial and plastic, and the emphasis on it this time was a real downer.

Number one, both protagonists are just too perfect. (Heck, most of the main characters in this series are perfect! Not only in personality and power but in looks. And too many of the guys have heavy crushes on the incredible Jo. Leave something for the rest of the gals in their world, please.)

Number two, the oomph just isn't there. I'd love for Caine to study how Jenny Crusie and Susan Elizabeth Phillips (have you read their last books? Fabulous!!!) approach relationships and sex scenes in their books. If Caine can ever figure it out -- wow! I'd look forward to that. (My suggestion: the relationship needs less surface glam and more honest emotion that ranges farther than mere lust.)

But overall the book pretty much rehashes what has been rehashed before. Joanne's still sticking her hand in that metaphorical vending machine that Jonathan pointed out to her. I think the next volume would be a perfect place to give us the ultimate Joanne fight, reunite the lovers forever, give a happily ever after for all involved, amen. I would truly enjoy that and think it would be spectacular reading!

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin is finally marrying David, the Djinn of her dreams. You'd think this would be a happy occasion. You'd, of course, be wrong.

Neither the Weather Wardens nor the Djinn approve of the match. Worse, the press is suddenly aware of the Wardens and seems to be destined to hound Jo's every step, which seems to be frought with disaster--particularly in terms of fulfilling the mundane wedding details.

Jo discovers there's a new group in town, the Sentinels, who are bent on destroying the link between Wardens and their partner Djinn. Bad Bob, who she thought she'd killed oh-so-many-times before is back and he's in the lead, but she really doesn't know who she can trust.

It's with a heavy heart I write this review. Rachel Caine is one of my favorite fantasy authors. I love the Weather Wardens series. Have been hooked since the beginning, but I am not sure I'll go much further. Bad Bob was interesting as a villain the first few times he showed up, now I just want to see someone new and interesting for the Good Guys to fight. Worse, Caine's left us with a cliffhanger ending which will not resolve until Book Eight.

Rebecca Kyle, January 2009

Yes, it is a fun read, but this series has taken a serious plunge into mediocrity. I don't regret the read, it's just compared to what she has done before this read is disappointing. I don't even have to know the premise to the next novel to know how it ends. Wait, can you guess? I see the world coming to an end and Jo saving the day. Does anyone else feel like the end of these last two novels has been like those old cliff hanger sitcoms? "...to be continued." Caine's weather warden series, at least the last two novels, are written like chapters in a story. They do not stand on their own as books. She needs a new editor, or perhaps she needs to end the series before the Hamilton curse becomes the Caine curse.

Joanna Baldwin, our favorite weather warden is back! Here's the good news, she and David are getting married. Bad news..... there's a group named the Sentinels who are anti-djinn and out to get her w/ a vengeance. Finally we get to see Jo and Dave in a relaxed setting (for a while anyway). Imara is involved in this installment but I'd like to see more depth into her character. She could be an exquisite storyline, but Rachel never seems to put more thought into the character but drops her name every now and again. I did find a bit of inconsistency w/ how the Djinn can be enslaved and also Jo's own enslavement w/ the demon mark. Further, Bad Bob's character was a train-wreck of inconsistency w/ him dying or not dying, being a demon or no demon; there was no clarity there. Kevin seems to be maturing, Lewis is always Lewis and Rahel is still as complex and dangerous as ever. I find the whole concept of bringing stable antimatter on earth extremely interesting. I also like that the Wardens and Djinn decided to go public. Although there seems to be a bit of confusion w/ this book, I'm still looking forward to the next installment.

I love the Weather Warden series and always look forward to a release date. I can't wait to read the next exciting story in this fantastical world of wardens and djinn. I truly enjoy the adventures of Joanne Baldwin and love her character. In fact, I probably would have given this 4 or 5 stars if Ms. Caine had given us a full weather warden story. With the cliff hanger ending we only get 1/2 a story. I feel cheated, frustrated, tricked. I hate paying for a full book then find I only received 1/2 a book. How long do I need to wait to finish this story -- a year! Yeah, I feel cheated.

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin is back in another action packed paranormal/urban fantasy adventure. And with her Djinn lover David sticking by Joanne's side way more than usual and a wedding for the pair on the horizon, there's a healthy helping of romance.

Neither the Wardens or the Djinn are happy about the upcoming nuptials, there's been a high toll paid by both groups -- the Djinn remember the eons they suffered as slaves to the Wardens and the Wardens are still mourning many of their ranks slaughtered by Djinn in the Djinn revolt. The result is that current association between the groups is an uneasy one at best and there is not a lot of support for the planned union. So it won't be all lists and dress shopping for Joanne, whose magic is controling Earth, Wind and Fire not surly supernaturals. And if wrangling the guest list with the animosity on both sides of the aisle isn't enough to add to Joanne's bridal woes, there's a new mysterious and extremely powerful group threatening the world. This time Joanne and the Wardens are on their own in the fight -- David and the rest of the magical Djinn will be no help -- there's the equivalent of a 'no see me' spell blinding all Djinn to the danger.

Gale Force has much more the feel of the earlier books in the Weather Warden series and I enjoyed this book every bit as much as I did the first four or so -- Joanne gets to use her magic, and I just love David, Louis and Cherise. The only problem with the book and the reason I dropped my rating half a star, was that the resolution of the final crisis in the story didn't make sense given the villan's motives in earlier attacks, although I'm glad that there were more survivors than there should have been. Also the last sortie in the battle added a twist that seems to have brought us full circle in the overarching plot arc and leaves us, yet again, hanging at the end of the book.

For some reason I thought that Gale Force was going to be the final book in the Weather Warden series - possibly because Caine is starting a new Djinn series with Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1), but from the cliff hanger ending, I guess I was wrong. Despite the ending and the sense that we will be feeling some déjà vu in the next book, as an old foe resurfaces and a vow threatens the future of both the Wardens and the Djinn, I'm still game for another go-round and I'll be ready for the next episode in the Weather Warden saga when it hits the shelves.

I'm surprised Jo hasn't fallen into a coma from complete exhaustion. There is never any time to stop and actually allow the characters to really communicate with one another. It's all about which impeding disaster is occurring at the moment and how Jo, as usual, will save the day. We, the readers, are constantly being hit...let us take a breather!

I like David. He's a good guy. But I fear that I just don't enjoy his relationship with Jo anymore. And one of the main reasons is because they've barely spent any time together in the last 2 books.
And David is constantly being portrayed as all knowing. Almost like a perfect beautiful God that I can never truly feel or connect with. So when he does show his "humanity", I just don't buy it.

I have to say that I like Jo and Lewis together better. I'm glad to see that many other readers feel the same way. There is something about their interactions and Lewis in general that feels more real, emotional and passionate.

Unfortunately it seems that the author has set it up for David and Jo to end up together in the end. Still, there is a lot of unfinished business between Jo and Lewis. I expect this to be addressed down the road. And I hope the author puts this series to rest sooner rather than later. It's time.