h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

REVIEW OF "ILL WIND" by RACHEL CAIN


I thought I would review a very different kind of book for my go at reviewing and so have chosen the above for several reasons, firstly I don’t normally read this genre of writing, and therefore was a revelation to me. Secondly I was so impressed by the style of writing and the imagination employed. So here goes


Illwind is the first in a series of books about "weather wardens " the heroine Joanne Baldwin is one such and basically is able to control the weather , there are other wardens - Fire - Earth - Water and they try to prevent Mother Nature from wreaking havoc on our world.

In the first of these books Joanne is on the run, in her classic Mustang car, from other wardens as she is accused of the murder of a very high ranking warden , consequently all elements are against her and she is fleeing to what she hopes will be the protection of one of the most powerful wardens, unfortunately he too is wanted for equally heinous crimes . Of course whilst in the middle of her own dilemma Joanne is called upon to help avert natural disasters threatening cities and people, and the premise of a storm homing in on her and threatening her just adds to the fun.
We meet another breed of creature , the djinn, who although they are servants of wardens also have their own, often hilarious agenda. They can be glamorous or very handsome, in fact they can be whatever they want to be in their human manifestation , they can be obstructive and come to the rescue from some very strange and alarming angles.

This is a roller coaster of a book, very fast paced and exciting, the descriptive passages are absolutely stunning and although some of the terms used and the hypothesis posited are outside of anything I had ever heard or thought about I just naturally knew what she was talking about . It also has a romantic angle, which is very tender and again described in glowing terms and I use the word glowing in its usual context.
Rachel Caine creates pictures in your mind using colour and a very broad brush, she is also a very humorous writer and some of the conversations and situations are very funny.
The end of the book is stunning and is not somehow where you thought it was going - when I got there I knew that I would continue to read the rest of the series and have now completed book two which is equally as good.
These books are ideal holiday reads or when you need something light and uplifting , certainly for me there was a high feel good factor.

oh what a great review..made me want to go and read it..your enthusiasm for the book shines thru! How can I follow that! Ditzx

pshwa you are too kind
i am sure you will follow it only too well ditz

Trouble is i'm not sure there's roommin my suitcase for any more books!

sounds really interesting LBP - I would read it based on your review - you made it seem accessible and I wanted to read more - perfect for a review!!

Ljx

i was worried it was too lightweight a book but then i thought that we need lightweight now and then

Absolutely....altho I am reading rubbish today..i can't even tell you what it is in case you throw me off the board!

spill ditz !

Can't say, can't say..you will never speak to me again! Authors initials are MB tho....Please don't throw me off!

OMG !

I know I know...but I wanted to read some pure total drivel and it filled the gap! Don't tell please..I've nearly finished it and I only started yesterday..I promise i won't read any more after this, only proper grown up books!