The Wind Caller has an interesting idea. The Wind…as a killer. At first when I began reading the book I couldn’t figure out how it could be done without looking hokey or cheesy. Thankfully Cacek did inject some intelligence into her story.

The book tells the story of two “brothers” of sorts, both granted with a power, both joined in odd mystical ways. One is Joseph, an Indian, and another is Gideon, a white man who is angry and also protective of his land. Their granddaughter, Sky, is caught in the middle of a real estate deal gone sour between Gideon and another man, but is basically clueless on anything else.

I don’t want to give much more of the plot away, but I will say that it’s pretty clever and the ending shocked me in ways I didn’t think it could. The atmosphere wasn’t anything that was enhanced. The plot worked but nothing was exceptional about the atmosphere.

Gideon appeared like an ignorant and unbending sort of guy. He worked for the part if he wasn’t a bit too much of a villain. Joseph was a great guy and came off as someone with a genuine love for old Indian lore, children, his family, and the truth. I enjoyed reading about him but sometimes he seemed a bit whipped for my tastes, including some scenes with his daughter-in law. Sky was a strong woman and probably my favorite of the characters. She rang true to me and made sense with her actions, her thoughts, her beliefs. Sam Reynolds was my second favorite. He didn’t make any apologies for being who he was and made interesting reading.

The pace was pretty even. Things started from the start and didn’t slow down until the end. It wasn’t rush or suspense filled, but it was a smooth road. Cacek’s style is simple but also written well. It makes easy, light reading with some great play on words.

While The Wind Caller may not stand out in my mind a year from now, it was still an entertaining book to go through. The idea was original, the characters worthy, and the ending shocking. Go ahead and pick it up - not the most memorable thing but you’ve never read anything quite like it, either. ( )

A few weeks back I picked up a box of horror novels off of eBay for a good price (less than 50 cents each). Most of authors I hadn’t heard of, but I was looking for something different. This happened to be the first book out of that lot that was chosen at random.

Overall not a bad book. An interesting concept and overall not a bad story. The writing is fine. But overall, I would say this is just an average novel. Nothing to write home about.

A few issues I had with this book (a few spoilers perhaps, so beware). First off the story is set in a Native American backdrop. Makes sense for the story and I’ve always been interested in the mythology of the Native American, however there were times in the book when I felt preached too about the plight and hardships of the American Indian in the modern world. Really didn’t have a place in the story and it could have stayed out. Secondly, towards the end, one of the main characters kills his entire family, including an unborn child, for a reason that wasn’t really clear and seemed meaningless. The book already had enough bloody deaths that this seemed completely uncalled for. After reading through the entire book and relatively enjoying it, this scene occurs in the last 20 pages or so and I almost put the book down right there. I realize that reading horror exposes me to many things that are just not right in my Christian mind, but this from one of the good guys, just crossed a line in my mind and took away from an otherwise good story. ( )