The second of Jack Forsithe’s books is a fast-moving read that combines the genres of thriller and alien-type fantasy. It is an easier story to follow than the first volume, Heart in the Clouds, because the four original separate story-lines have merged into two at the book’s opening and quickly becomes a single plot. Naturally that would be easier to follow, although it is hard for me to assess that since I did read the first volume first, so I had already become familiar with the whole other-creature setup (and their tongue-twister moniker, the Zighorottiz). Although Forsithe does provide enough back story to pick up on the ideas, it would definitely be worth your while to read Heart also (here’s the review). Forsithe himself also seems to be more comfortable with his own story-telling style and there is less reliance on Clancy-style descriptions of equipment, and his voice is getting stronger.
At the end, Forsithe chooses not to employ the now-common device of leaving the characters hanging on a cliff in order to drive sales of the sequel (but driving readers like me away because of the cheesiness of it all). Instead, he presents a very satisfying conclusion to the installment of the tale while leaving the characters at a point from which several roads may plausibly diverge. I have a feeling that we are going in the direction of the Sith from Star wars, but that remains to be seen. I look forward to it.
As an added thrill – one I wasn’t aware of until I stumbled across it in the text – one of Caltrop Press’ other books gets a mention along with some of the great business books of our time. Maybe you too will enjoy Let It Simmer.
Here’s a link to Head in the Cloud on Amazon: