Review: A Brewing Storm

A Brewing Storm by Richard Castle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



First, let's start with the fact that I gave this book 3 stars. That is not an indictment of the book itself, it's just that the book was not one of my favorites. I liked it, but I didn't "really like" it (which would be 4 stars) or "love" it (which would have been 5 stars). I liked it. It was a solid read.

Spy fiction is not my thing. Private Detective's are. This was a little of both.

Short Fiction is also not my thing. This was a novella, which made it just long enough for my taste.

The book was solidly written by a ghost writer. It is not fine literature, but it was a fun read. I applaud that. I'm a fan of fun. I think that if all of the books in the world were fine literature, the world would be a beautiful but boring place.

Most of the negative reviews of this book were complaints that the book was "part of a book" or "unfinished" or "a trick to get you to buy the next book." But those things don't worry me. I'll address each of them in kind.

First, the book is not "part of a book". It is a stand-alone novella in a novella trilogy. That means that the book should have some resolution at the end, while still leaving enough loose ends for it to run into the next book.

I'm going to use one of my favorite trilogies as an example* (and, mind you, this trilogy is no LOTR): In "Lord of the Rings", Frodo does not reach Mordor at the end of the first book (because one does not simply walk into Mordor). There is resolution in the first book on some of the smaller plot points, but the final objective carries forward into the next book. I don't think that anyone would complain that "The Fellowship of the Rings" is not a complete work of fiction. But it is part of a trilogy, and was designed as such, so therefore the most central plot point carries further into the following books.

So it is with "A Brewing Storm". The first book's mystery is solved (what happened to the money and why). But the overlapping myth arc is not solved (who is the source of the "conspiracy", if it should actually BE a conspiracy.

The novel is designed to be a stand-alone novella in a larger trilogy, and is successful in doing so.

The novella is NOT unfinished. See my points above. It RESOLVES the current mystery, while giving a hook for the overall arc.

And finally, the book is NOT A TRICK to get you to buy the next book. It's DESIGNED to be part of a trilogy. Just like a TV series is designed to be a series. So, when you watch a series, it not resolving EVERYTHING in EVERY episode is NOT A TRICK, it's the nature of writing for a series. It's WHY you make it as a series, and not as a stand-alone film. My example for this is "The X-Files"*. In this series, each episode (or couple if they are two-parters) resolved the current case, but we still don't know who is behind the conspiracy. We still don't know what the Cigarette-Smoking-Man is up to or all about. That doesn't make it "A TRICK", it makes it writing for a series.

That is what this book does.

The book is a fun read, if you take it for what it is supposed to be: Light Fiction and a part of a series (specifically a trilogy). If you like spy-craft (of which there is a little) and detective fiction, you will likely like this novella. Be prepared to read all three, if you want to know the final answers.

*I realize that comparing this book to LOTR or The X-Files is near-sacrilege in some circles. I fully recognize this. PLEASE DON'T REVOKE MY NERD-CARD.



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