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!

Omnivore's Dilemma

My son has been telling me facts from this book for months. I've heard rumblings in various conversations, read in assorted news reports, and have been on the periphery of understanding many "background secrets" of how our diets or overly dependent on Almighty Corn. Well, as a former Iowan, and as a descendant of many Illinois farmers, the chapters on corn and the changes in farming over the past 25 years was fascinating. How agribusiness has changed the planting cycle, the use of the land, the use of pesticides, the way livestock is raised, fed, and butchered -- it all was very depressing and yet, viewed logically, understandable from a purely business perspective. Nutritionally, ethically, and possible-doomsday-apocalyptic-worldly, it is easy to buy into Pollan's view that the changes we have wrought may come back to bite us in the ____. Feed us now, starve us later. . .
This is an important book. But somewhat overwhelming in what it calls for us to change in our daily lives. And leads to the view that "though I may change my own little piece, what possible difference will that make in the world as a whole?" But then, an awareness of global climate change has brought about all sorts of movements and changes -- so maybe we can also bring the world back into harmony agriculturally and food-wise, too. If you haven't read this book, check out at least the first section on corn. I hear the second section, on organic gardening/farming, is also good, so I intend to keep plugging away.
Rating so far: 3 out of 4 stars.