2006 Book #46 - Weather Warden 01: Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
With the end of 2006 creeping up on me fast, I needed some fast and fun books to read to reach my 50-book goal. That's when I remembered that I'd just been to Borders and hadn't been able to resist buying up to the most recent book of this series I'd had my eye on. It looked like the kind of genre I've been into for the last 3 or so years, fantasy books from authors like Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Jim Butcher, and Charlaine Harris with wizards and witches and vampires and werewolves. And of course all but Butcher's books have a kickass female lead. :D Which brings me to this book and the blurb from the back of the book:

The Wardens Association has been around pretty much forever. Some Wardens control fire, others control earth, water, or wind - and the most powerful can control more than one element. Without Wardens, Mother Nature would wipe humanity off the face of the earth...

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually, all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now Joanne is trying to outrun another kind of storm: accusations of corruption and murder. So she's resorting to the very human tactic of running for her life...

Her only hope is Lewis, the most powerful Warden. Unfortunately, he's also on the run from the World Council. It seems he's stolen not one but three bottles of Djinn - making him the most wanted man on earth. And without Lewis, Joanne's chances of surviving are as good as a snowball in - well, a place she may be headed. So she and her classic Mustang are racing hard to find him because there's some bad weather closing in fast...

Like I said, I'm into the supernatural beings, but this one added a new type to the "modern alternate history" genre, people who can control the weather. Caine doesn't waste any time doing too much explaining either, which at first was a little annoying because for a while there I was in a constant state of "wha'??" But, at least with this book, the author kind of went with the hope that you read the summary enough to know that Joanne is running and it's urgent! so keep up! Also, at first I didn't really like Joanne because she was so cocky and often superficial always going on and on about the specs to cars or the pricey name brand of shoes and clothes, but I learned to ignore it. I'd want to strangle her if she was a real person, though. :D

The descriptions of how the weather is manipulated is pretty cool and throwing in the nasties of uncooperative Djinn (genies to those of you too much into Disney) not to mention a demon rounds out the side of obstacles and bad guys. And just the thought that there's some group out there screwing with the weather to keep us from being plastered to death is pretty neat too. Not too many fantasy authors go for the tack of making the magical beings for fighting Mother Nature. Like reviewing author Jim Butcher is quoted as saying, "You'll never watch the Weather Channel the same way again." :)

So the plot kind of gets reeled out here and there between chases, near deaths, and as aside explanations to bad-guy monologueing. It's almost a bit "Memento"-ish in the way past events get thrown in, but once I got into the groove it was ok. I was anticipating the next bit that would help clear things up of why the hell anyone thought she'd murdered anyone or why some things spook Joanne. A real page turner and I inhaled this paperback probably in about a day and a half. On to book two!

Oh! And finally! A series that states in big letters across the top "Weather Warden Book One"! No second-guessing the order of books in the series or accidentally reading books out of order and things not making sense!

8/10