Thin Air by Rachel Caine

A fast read but a bit of a let down...

I've enjoyed the unique, intriguing, and well-written Weather Warden series from the beginning and wholeheartedly recommend this series, as well as Ms Caine's other series (Red Letter series: Devil's Bargain, Devil's Due; Morganville Vampires series: Glass Houses (Book 1), The Dead Girls' Dance (Book 2), Midnight Alley (Book 3)).

Unfortunately, Thin Air is a little bit of a let down from the other books in the series, even though this book starts off with a blast, and the action rolls on from there pretty much without a stop. The excitement of learning how Joanne has come to lose her memory and why spurs the reader to continue reading. Along the way, we see much more of the interaction among the Wardens, among the Djinn, and even between David and Lewis and the perpetually sulky teen, Kevin. All of which is good.

So why the disappointment? you ask.

The notion of the evil twin, as also commented by other reviewers, is a long-established one. That's not to say old ideas can't be given new life, of course. Alas, Thin Air doesn't really take the idea and run with it. In fact, once I read how and why the evil twin came to be and its purpose, I was strongly reminded of the shapeshifter in Patricia Briggs's book When Demons Walk. The creature in Ms Briggs's story had essentially the same reasons for why it did what it did as the evil twin in Ms Caine's book.

In addition, while I was overjoyed to discover the resurrection (so to speak) of a character, I wasn't so enamored of what that brought: Joanne's new power. That did seem somewhat convenient.

The one true twist was the entire scenario involving Eamon and Sarah. I confess I was never a big fan of the these characters (well, yes, of course that's the point; what I mean is the reappearance of these 2 unlikable people seemed out of the blue and didn't appear to serve much of a purpose except to throw a wrench in the works and to showcase Joanne's new power), but it looks like we'll be seeing more of them next. I'm hoping both Sarah and Eamon will be dealt with in a somewhat permanent manner.

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