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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great first book in the series, February 9, 2009
This review is from: Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
Undone is the first book of a new series from Rachel Caine. However, reader beware....you will get much more out of this book if you first read the Weather Warden series of books before you embark upon this series.
Let me say that I LOVED this book. I'm a fan of the Weather Warden series. If you've read any of that series, then you know about the ongoing struggles and alliances between the Djinn (old and new) and the Wardens (bad & good). The new series focuses on an Old Djinn who is cast out (and her Djinn powers "undone") by Ashan when she refuses to complete the task that he ordered her to complete. The Old Djinn that is cast out is Cassiel. Ashan transforms Cassiel into a human with some very limited Djinn-like powers that can only be supported by energies Cassiel draws from a Warden.
Undone is a book of twists and turns. The set-up of the book in the early chapters has many characters that you will know from the Warden series, including Joanna, David, and Lewis. Those characters introduce the situation and then spin Cassiel off to New Mexico with a Warden who accepts responsibility for watching and "training" Cassiel. As the book progresses, major characters are attacked. Cassiel must attempt to navigate her new "life" without her Djinn powers AND while under attack from "bad" wardens and an unknown force. The motives and who-done-it atmosphere of the book will keep you guessing until the very last chapter.
The book is a good introduction to the new series with a substantial hook into why additional books are required to tell the whole story. If you are a fan of the Weather Warden series, I think you will love the Outkast Season series for the in-depth look at the Djinn that is not present in any of the Weather Warden books.
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb urban fantasy, February 3, 2009
This review is from: Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
The Djinn Cassiel was ancient when man had yet to appear on the earth. She is one of the Old Ones wanting nothing to do with humanity as she believes they are beneath her. Unlike David, she never lived amidst these human fleas; preferring life on the aether plane of pure energy. She is cold and treacherous even to her own kind.
Her life crashed when her Master, the newly made Conduit Ashan orders her to perform a task, but she refuses. As punishment for saying no, he changes her substance and exiles her in human form from the aether. Stunned Cassiel still needs aether energy to survive, but can only obtain it through the help of a weather warden. It is arranged that earth warden Manny Rocha will be her aether supplier in return for her assisting him with his job. The longer she remains in human form, the more she learns how to feel and that soon leads to her caring deeply for Manny and his family even his brother Luis. When tragedy strikes, instead of walking away to find a new host, Cassie and Luis team up seeking to find Manny's kidnapped daughter who Cassiel has learned to love.
Rachel Caine, weather warden writing wizard, begins a sidebar series with the outcast Cassiel that will enthrall her fans as this is an excellent addition to the growing Caine mythos. Cassiel is terrific as a haughty essence who struggles with humanization learning first hand what a human is. Her transformation is brilliant as she is UNDONE by Manny and his family. With an abduction to add suspense, this superb urban fantasy enhances the author's universe while setting up the sequel.
Harriet Klausner
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Made me want to go back to Weather Warden, November 16, 2009
This review is from: Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
I was excited when I saw that Rachel Caine was doing something aside from the Weather Warden series but still in the same universe.
This time, the reader is introduced to former Djinn Cassiel (not Cassie), who suddenly finds herself powerless and cast out from the only life she has know. Undone begins with Cassiel's introduction to Caine's well-known characters from the Weather Warden series -Joanne, David, Lewis and others. After being forced to cope with her new mortal existence, Cassiel is sent off with Earth Warden Luis to start a new life.
Undone is everything that fans of Caine's Weather Warden series -it's filled with plenty of action, fronted by a butt-kicking heroine and has enough twists and turns to keep readers interested. Caine's style is still as masterful as in the previous series, but something about Undone feels a little stilted and tired. Most likely this is due Cassiel's seemingly flat, emotionless character. While her lack of understanding humanity makes sense, it makes her exceeding less accessible (and generally less enjoyable) than Joanne. Also, since this series takes place in the same universe as Weather Warden, there is very little here that feels new. Nothing amazingly different about the world is revealed and while learning more about the Djinn was kind of interesting, it wasn't compelling enough for me that it could launch a new series completely.
Sadly, Undone made me wish for more adventures of Warden Joanne Baldwin, as well as something more original from Rachel Caine. While Caine has created an amazing and vivid universe here, it seems like it's been just a little too exhausted and could use a rest.
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