BOOK SPOTLIGHT/REVIEW: Wind Warrior by Jon Messenger
NA/YA Fantasy
ABOUT THE BOOK
THE EARTH GIVES WAY TO THE SEA, THE SEA BOWS BEFORE THE WIND, THE WIND FEEDS THE FLAME, THE FLAME BURNS THE WORLD OF MAN DOWN TO THE EARTH.
The sleepy town of White Halls harbors a dangerous secret. On a picturesque street, two houses down from a lovely little park, in a quaint little home with a wraparound porch, lives a family that seems rather normal. Sure, their twenty-year-old son, Xander, still lives at home, but he’s going to college and dating the leader of the schools top sorority. It’s all very…normal.
However, when a man is miraculously saved from being hit by a bus, Xander’s life turns in to the living embodiment of the tornadoes he can suddenly create with a flick of his wrist. Whether he wants this gift or not, Xander must learn to use his new ‘super power’ quickly if he wants to survive. For his kind is a dying race, and when this sleepy town has a sudden influx of new, blonde, fire wielders, no one is safe, especially Xander. It doesn't help that one of these blondes happens to be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Xander can’t deny the instant connection he feels to her so, when she tries to kill him, it certainly makes things complicated.
ABOUT THE AUTHORJon Messenger (Born 1979 in London, England) serves as an United States Army Major in the Medical Service Corps. Since graduating from the University of Southern California in 2002, writing Science Fiction has remained his passion, a passion that has continued through two deployments to Iraq and a humanitarian relief mission to Haiti. Jon wrote the "Brink of Distinction" trilogy, of which "Burden of Sisyphus" is the first book, while serving a 16-month deployment in Baghdad, Iraq.
REVIEW
Whatever else he may be Jon Messenger is a fabulous storyteller. I enjoyed Wind Warriors from beginning to end. Not only are there interesting characters, but the story moves quickly and is action-packed.
Xander seems like a pretty normal college student who doodles through class and is more interested in going to the spring formal than doing his homework. But everything changes the day he discovers he can control the wind. At first, he is thrilled until the day the girl he likes tries to kill him and he realizes his power has put a target on his back. With the help of his grandfather, Xander must master his power before he loses everything that is important to him.
At the same time that Xander is wrestling with the stunning information that he has been presented with, Sammy, the Fire Warrior who tries to kill Xander, must confront her own demons and the possibility that everything she has been taught is a lie. Can the feelings between Xander and Sammy possibly survive?
The premise of the book is quite an interesting one. The idea being that the different elements (earth, water, wind, and fire) will each have their turn governing the earth and each gives way to the one that follows. Unfortunately for Xander and the other Wind Warriors, some in the Fire Caste have become impatient and want to destroy them now so they can destroy the human world.
Strengths: The action moves the story along quite effortlessly which makes the book quite a quick read. Most of the characters are interesting and I appreciated that the 'villain' turns out to have some depth to him, more than I expected going in. The powers are awesome and portrayed beautifully.
Weaknesses: There isn't as much character development as I would have liked to see, the focus is on the action, but since most young readers prefer action to character development it works for the target audience.
Content: The book is listed as New Adult, but only because the characters are 20 and up. There is a mild amount of profanity and swearing and a couple of sexual comments, but no sex. There is quite a bit of violence related to fire and death. For more specific information check out the content disclosure at the Clean Teen Publishing website.
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