Review: The Winds never obtained their full fury.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 18, 2014
There is an engaging story hiding in these words. The main premise revolves around an attack on Israel. This has a unique flavor in that a nuclear bomb will set off 150 below the surface to maximize the radioactive fallout. One might think this would cause massive damage to the surrounding countries. This is where the winds of Kedem come in. During the Winter/Spring transition the winds blow from the East to West, thus making Israel the benefactor of the destructive device. Now that’s a good plot.However, this work is bogged down with too many adverbs, sudden and suddenly became much to overbearing and un-descriptive.  The word ‘had’ has to go! It was used so many times, sentences which were depicting present tense action, became passive in a few words. Most distracting. I wonder if the author did this or the editor/publisher to ensure nice neat block paragraphs. If it’s the later, they need to perform a thorough fleshing of the manuscript and tighten it up.Another real problem I encountered was the reference to many of the characters, after they were well established. Instead of calling them by their proper names it was, the Israeli, the Shi’ite and the Maronite.Filler, the book is filled with it. I don’t understand why it’s necessary for character development to continue 73% into the story. It’s established. Let the reader move one. There are a host of sentences, mainly at the end of a section or chapter with frivolous comments, when they weren’t necessary, thus deluding the impact of the main point.The ending. I don’t want to provide a spoiler, but it was anti-climatic. It came across as rushed. Instead of being immersed into the action, I felt cheated. Why wasn’t it the focal point instead of coming across as a sub-thread? I should have been panting as worlds collided. Sadly, it was a small poof.Who will like this? If you’re a fan of the upheaval in the Middle East and the factions who combat each other daily for supremacy and survival, you will not be disappointed.Three Stars