A Successful Sequel

Sequels get a bad rap. Especially if they're in a series of more than two - the second one is often seen as the weak link, just a placeholder til the creator gets to the "big finish." This book breaks that mold, though I had my doubts in the first couple of chapters. (Jack's and Gitmo's never-ending smart-aleck bantering seemed forced, and got to be annoying). Whirlwind continues the story of Jack Danielsen, who in Firestorm discovered that he was sent from the future because he is the only one able to save the world from an ecological disaster. His "parents" (actually just people who posed as his parents and raised him in a small Pennsylvania town) were killed by superhuman people from the future who came back to stop him. But others came back, too, and they taught Jack about his powers and prepare him for the battles ahead. These partners included a talking dog named Gitmo and a beautiful martial arts expert named Eko. Firestorm ended after a nearly fatal, but ultimately successful battle with Dargon, the bad guy in this story.

In Whirlwind, Jack , who has been on the move since the end of Book #1, returns to his hometown to apologize to his girlfriend P.J. for just disappearing without notice. But he finds out that she has been kidnapped by the Dark Lord, the father of Jack's old nemesis Dargon. To find and rescue her, Jack must follow the trail to the Amazonian rain forest, where the Dark Lord is engaged in an all-out effort to eliminate the rain forest, thus destroying the Earth's atmosphere. When Jack's meditative trances transport him to the place where P.J. is being held captive, he sees that the Dark Lord has the ability to transform himself into a huge tarantula that tortures and torments his prisoners. Jack discovers that in this battle, he is not destined to be the "chosen one" who will save the day. Instead, the Dark Lord speaks of a wizard with unimaginable powers.

By the end of this book, I was anxious to get started on #3, Timelock. 3 out of 4 stars!