Review: Temple of the Winds

Temple of the Winds Amazon UK HC
James Follett
Class/Genre: Science Fiction Thriller
Severn House, 2000, £17.99
Classification: Adult fiction (sci-fi thriller)

A question in my mind recently was what had happened to James Follett. The last book I remember seeing by him was 'Sabre' and then he disappeared from the face of the earth. However, it seems that he has merely moved to another, smaller publishing house.

His newest novel is the first in a trilogy, which takes place in Pentworth, West Sussex. Supplies of electricity, gas and water are strangely diminishing and suddenly, a forcefield surrounds the town, cutting them off. The centre of the field is the Lake, where locals think a UFO may have landed.

In Pentworth, human nature seems to be magnified, with all sorts of strange events. However, the alien force does not seem to be evil, simply mysterious - so why does it not make contact? Since the book is the first in a trilogy, it does not have any real excitement or action. Instead, Follett introduces the characters, the location and the alien technology. He then sets the book up for the second novel in the series. Thus, as a standalone title, this does not deliver anything. The scene is set and we are waiting for the action. The only way that the action can take place is with the second novel.

Therefore, it is hard to review 'Temple Of The Winds' as such. On the whole, it is written well, although it seems to have been poorly proof-read. Words are omitted on quite a regular basis and the grammatical agreement of verbs often seems to be left by the wayside. The other thing that annoyed me was Follett's constant reference to euros. He sets his book in West Sussex, i.e. in England. However, his characters never refer to pounds and pence. Euros are not established currency in England and are unlikely to be for some years. Thus, this reference seemed slightly odd and did not really give an idea of the worth of a product, without having a currency converter to hand.

Overall, 'Temple Of The Winds' is a pleasant read, easing you into this trilogy. It has a lot of potential to develop and I hope that Follett can continue his skilful writing in the next two books. If you are a fan of UFOs and aliens or would simply like to see how a small area manages when it is cut off from the outside world, then this will be a good read for you.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Book Review: Temple of the Winds