Customer Reviews

Second Wind

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

Second Choice is one of the few time Francis disppoints. When he moves away from horses, he moves aways from the environment he knows best which forces him to focus on the technical information that he has learned which he wants to us as a background for his new novel. In Second Wind, he has studied hurricanes. He tries to create a story in which he can use his new found knowledge. We learn a lot about hurricanes, flying into hurricanes, and tracking hurricanes, but the story he attempts to create with hurricanes as a backdrop never seems creditable. These aren't the usual believable Francis characters, nor a tightly woven plot. The background became the foreground. Even the ending seems forced; i.e., how do I bring this thing to a conclusion.

I am a die hard Dick Francis fan - I have reread most of his books several times. This one I won't. It's disjointed and extremely slow to get to the plot ( which is so convoluted that even at the end it didn't make sense). I had to force myself to finish it in the hopes that it would get better, it didn't. There was very little character developement, far too many of the pages were taken up by descriptions rather than plot enhancement or better yet - plot explanation. It reminded me of the later Louis L'Amour books that were pages and pages of the same thought (who am I, why am I here, etc.) I really hope that Mr. Francis goes back to the good basic story and characters that have won him so many fans.

I have to agree with most of the others. Did Dick Francis actually write this book? If so, what happened? I kept reading in hopes that the uninteresting, convoluted plot would get better if I just gave it a few more pages. It never did. Don't waste your time with this one. Go get one of your old Dick Francis favorites and re-read it instead.

Second Wind is vintage Dick Francis if you are interested in character study and human frailty. This is not Sid Halley material. He only pays passing homage to the racing industry. However, he tackles the issue of an innocent meteorologist sucked into an international intrigue due to a desire to fly through a hurricane. The villains are not so much evil to the core, but opportunists, who are inept. The plot is full of convolutions and requires some thought, but is fully satisfying in the end. As for the romance, isn't it nice to find a couple that don't reveal all their bedroom secrets on the page?

This book is certainly not indicative of Francis's style or the caliber of his books. I read several reviews that say that Francis has lost it, and I would say that is far too harsh. Prior to this book, nearly all of his novels centered more around horse racing than this one does here. That is not to say that the books are racing books themselves, but it plays a key role in the backdrop of the story. Furthermore, Francis normally gives a character we can relate to put in extenuating circumstances and we feel more of a connection with the story. In this book, Francis has strayed significantly from the norm. "Second Wind" plays more like a espionage novel rather than a mystery. The book in of itself really isn't that bad, but it definitely falls short of what Francis is capable of and doesn't capture his strength as a writer. So what can you take from this. If you have already read the book and hated it, don't give up, Francis is an excellent story teller. If you loved it, then you should really like what else he has to offer. For those of you considering this book, I offer the following opinion. a. If you are new to Dick Francis read "Whip Hand", "The Danger", "In the Frame", or "Bloodsport". You will appreciate him as a writer more. b. If you are a big Francis fan, be prepared -- this story is definitely different and you shouldn't expect the same type of tale you normally get. By itself the story isn't bad, it's just not what you expect from him.

I have all Mr Francis' production on my shelves, and each one of his books has been for me continuous reading to its end. This happened with this new novel, too, but this time it was just out of deference for past merits. Mr Francis has apparently come short of ideas for the plots of his books, and has made in this one a partial change of scenario: meteorology, hurricanes, shady deals on the market of fixionable material. His classical grounds (the turf, National Hunt, steeplechasing, point-to-point, etc.), where he used to couple an undoubtable ability to write with an intimate knowledge of that world, are marginal here. And the spinning of the story, the writer's way of telling it, is somewhat circumvoluted. Regrettable: I preferred the old form. Nevertheless, it is for sure I will keep snapping up any of Mr Francis's books to come (and I do hope they will keep coming) as soon as I find them in the bookstore.

The unconvincing plot, shallow characterizations and inaccurate editing would have been embarrassing for an amateur. I am left wondering if the real plot is to discover who wrote this. It can't be the same Dick Francis I have enjoyed year after year.

Dick Francis is back on the shelves with another in his stable of horse-racing mysteries. It has all the classic Francis elements -- a detailed plot (involving a mysterious Caribbean island, meteorology and a hurricane), a reluctant hero (a BBC meteorologist), and, of course, horses (an ailing race horse figures in the opening and closing of the book). This novel ranks in the upper third of Francis' books, and is a welcome return to form after last year's uneven collection of short stories.

I am an avid Francis fan. He, along with Clancy and Hillerman, are the only authors whose books I will buy as soon as they hit the shelves. He writes interesting stories, wonderfully developed characters, and makes you care about the people in his books. His evil twin must have written this book. I was so disappointed. The plot made not sense, and I did not care one bit about his characters. There was even a point where I hoped the two protagonists would die in the hurricane and put me out of my misery. One other note, as a private pilot I know that no sane pilot would do nor be allowed to do what the pilot in the story did. It would have been suicide in a light plane. Here is hoping that the real Dick Francis returns.

As a Dick Francis fan you must get this book to complete your collection.However do not expect the usual Dick Francis style.The story was very disjointed and lacked the usual page turning engrossment that you get with a Dick Francis mystery.It also seemed at times that the main characters had knowledge of things that according to the story there was no way they could have been privy to.This is the only novel by Francis that I've not been completely thrilled with.Please forgive my honesty Mr.Francis.