Rachel Caine

Weather Warden — (2003-2008) Publisher: Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually, all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now, she's 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 known. Unfortunately, he's stolen not one but three bottles of Djinn-making him the most wanted man on earth. Still, she's racing hard to find him-before the bad weather closes in fast...

Ill Wind

Ill Wind is the first book in Rachel Caine's urban fantasy series Weather Warden. The book stands well on its own and doesn't have any of those nasty cliffhangers so often found in fantasy series, but it still keeps you interested in what happens in the next book.

Ill Wind starts in the middle of the action and I was impressed with the first chapter because Caine seamlessly juxtaposes the present with flashbacks and keeps readers on the edge of their seats. This world's magic system is also original and, thankfully, Caine manages to narrate an exciting tale to accompany it.

Ill Wind has a lot of elements that identify it as an urban fantasy but without overdoing it. There's romance in the book (albeit a predictable one) but unlike, say, Laurell K. Hamilton, the indulgent sex scenes are kept to a minimum.

One element Caine manages to capture well is dialogue. Her characters have distinctive speech patterns and you feel they're people with personality rather than simple plot devices. As far as language goes, they're easy to get into and pretty much appeal to anyone.

The Weather Warden series may not be brain-food reading material, but if the rest of the books are as enjoyable as Ill Wind, they could fulfill my guilty pleasure reading needs. —Charles Tan
FanLit thanks Charles Tan from Bibliophile Stalker for contributing this guest review.

The Revivalist — (2011- ) Publisher: Bryn Davis was killed on the job after discovering her bosses were selling a drug designed to resurrect the dead. Now, revived by that same drug, she becomes an undead soldier in a corporate war to take down the very pharmaceutical company responsible for her new condition...

Working Stiff

Rachel Caine’s Working Stiff is technically a zombie novel, but it’s not your typical zombie novel. It’s not your typical urban fantasy, either. In fact, it might be more properly termed urban soft science fiction, as the zombifying agent is a nanotech drug rather than magic. But whatever you call it, it’s an excellent book that has me kicking myself for not having tried Caine’s novels before (I’d only read her short story “Death Warmed Over”).

Bryn Davis is one of the most relatable urban-fantasy heroines I’ve seen. She’s neither Superwoman nor a clinging vine. She’s just a young career woman with an endearing mix of strengths and vulnerabilities, who is forced into a desperate existence and must struggle to survive.

We first meet Bryn as she’s about to begin work at Fairview Mortuary. Working in the funeral business may seem like an odd choice of profession, but Bryn isn’t bothered by bodies after a stint in the Army, and she finds a sense of honor in working with the dead. But her first day on the job is a day from hell — and that’s before she stays late at the funeral home and learns that the owner is selling an expensive drug that brings clients back from the dead. Now Bryn knows too much. She is murdered…

…and then wakes up. Turns out Fairview was being raided that same night by men from Pharmadene, the company that makes the resurrection drug, Returné. Thinking Bryn might have information on Fairview’s supplier, they used the drug to bring her back. Now she is, to all appearances, alive, as long as she gets her daily shot of Returné. If she doesn’t, her body will begin to break down and she will die a slow, agonizing death. If she can’t provide any useful information to Pharmadene, she’ll be written off as a bad investment and her shots cut off. If she does sniff out the supplier, Pharmadene will have no more use for her and again, no more shots. Working Stiff is filled with nonstop tension, as Bryn investigates the mysterious supplier and gets deeper into danger from Pharmadene with every pricey shot that goes into her arm.

Yet she’s not as alone as she thinks. Caine brings two wonderful men into Bryn’s unlife, but this isn’t a love-triangle cliché. One of the men does indeed become a love interest, after a slow, cautious growth of trust. The other is that rarest of creatures in urban fantasy: a dear platonic friend.

There’s not much more I can say without spoiling the twists, but I will say that Working Stiff is really, really good. It’s sometimes creepy, sometimes sad, sometimes terrifying — Bryn’s death scene is a wrenching example of all three — but always riveting, and it’ll make you think about what really makes a person “alive.” The ending leaves Bryn with even more troubles than before, and leaves the reader jonesing for the sequel.

There’s one loose end that niggles at my brain, but you might consider it a spoiler, so highlight the following text only if you want to read it: I’m a big dog lover, and Bryn’s sweet, brave bulldog Mr. French is a great addition to the story. So I wonder, where is he? He simply isn’t mentioned in the later chapters of the story. I hope he’s OK, and that he’s either blithely pooping on Bryn’s floor or that Liam swooped in and got him. I’m worried about the little guy! [END SPOILER]. —Kelly Lasiter