Eye of the Storm

I received a print copy of Eye of the Storm by Frank Cavallo for review.

Eye of the Storm is a difficult book to pigeon hole genre wise. One of those books where explaining details about the book would certainly involve spoilers (and you know how feel about that). Although basically it is a sword and sorcery fantasy, it also has elements of history, political intrigue, the quest, science, technology, horror, romance and military action/adventure. It is your true roller coaster ride. As such, it is highly unpredictable most of the time, not unusual for me since I rarely anticipate correctly the next move in any story, but Eye of the Storm highlighted this inability on my part (thanks Mr. Cavallo).

We start the story in current times with a scientific expedition, which of course goes wildly off track. We travel through a storm which sends us through a space-time portal (no spoiler, it's on the back cover), and the roller coaster has begun.

We follow two heroes (or at least main characters) as they encounter the bizarre inhabitants of this world, each more exotic and unbelievable than the last. There are different factions/species/entities? vying for control. None of whom seem particularly benign or benevolent. As reader/participants we find ourselves forced to choose sides, or at least sympathize with viewpoints that change as the story progresses.

My only real complaint is that the story jumps in time months to years at a time rather abruptly. The way we wind up with the two main characters is a little rocky.

On the plus side, there is a lot going on, the story does not lag even though it moves from straight out physical action to more cerebral pursuits. Eye of the Storm contains graphic violence, some language (unnecessary in my opinion), political double dealing (is there any other kind?), secret loyalties, romance, sexual innuendo (as opposed to graphic portrayal) and an absolutely colossal three way battle at the climax.

Frank Cavallo has created an interesting, if not terrifying, world for us to explore in Eye of the Storm. I recommend it to readers looking for that "little something different" in a fantasy read. Enjoy!


Mike