Official Review: The Weather Vane by Gedalia Gershon

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Tomah
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Official Review: The Weather Vane by Gedalia Gershon

Post by Tomah »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Weather Vane" by Gedalia Gershon.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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The battle between good and evil rages across several planets, universes, and timelines. Amidst this eternal conflict are the Ascendant, a group of people from Earth chosen to join the Guild of the Greater Good in the fight against the Eternal Enemy. They board The Sea Star ship to Exland but on their way are attacked and end up stranded. Whether it’s a stroke of luck or misfortune, this happens to leave them near the Eternal Enemy’s current whereabouts. Will they find a way to Exland or will they mount a resistance right under their foe’s nose?

Gedalia Gershon’s The Weather Vane is an ambitious and creative novel, combining fantasy and science fiction to deliver a unique take on the classic good versus evil scenario. Souls, magic, and prophecies intertwine with artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and quantum compasses to form a wildly imaginative setting.

Sadly, the book falls into a common pitfall of complex sci-fi stories: it often alienates the reader with jargon and incomprehensible descriptions that are never cleared up. What’s dereality? What’s a derealization engine? What’s the Amulark of Zarganthos? In fact, this doesn’t happen only with complicated phenomena. Some events go by so quickly it’s hard to parse them, forcing one to re-read the passages one or more times. New characters are thrown in the middle of a scene without warning, characters bring up things we’d never heard about before, and entire chunks of time with crucial events are skipped. The reader can’t help but feel they’ve missed several pages, especially since many plot points are never resolved.

While the writing is usually straightforward and competent, there are a few confusing sentences here and there that could use some rewording. That’s not to mention the instances of sheer word salad, such as: “On Earth, the entropy in the directorate of the administration of the mission objective precipitated a non-rigorous cataloging of the fathmic depths of the magical oceanic planet and the Gaians were not discovered.”

The novel features an enormous cast of characters, to the point where it’s easy to keep forgetting who's who. As a result, it’s unlikely that the reader will connect to anyone, especially since many characters are introduced only to die or disappear moments later. Even the protagonist has little character development other than becoming more powerful (moreover, the reason why he’s so strong isn’t ever clearly explained).

Though The Weather Vane had everything to be one of my favorite novels of the year, it fails to live up to the fullest potential in its current state. In my opinion, the author would benefit from working with a developmental editor or beta reader that could point out the flaws in character development, exposition, and plot. As mentioned earlier, however, the book is competently written; I haven’t found any errors. I would’ve rated this 2.5 out of 4 stars if I could, but my final score is 2 out of 4 stars.

Young audiences and people with a queasy stomach might want to avoid the novel, as it features profanities, torture, gruesomeness, and rape. On the other hand, fans of stories combining fantasy and science fiction that don’t mind adult content could enjoy this one.

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Damis Seres Rodriguez
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Post by Damis Seres Rodriguez »

Good vs evil probably is the oldest subject of them all when it comes to literature, and it is really easy to fall into clichés. I was very allured by this book. It was really nice to get to read your review before I wasted my time on it. Thanks for your honesty!
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Post by Tomah »

damis wrote: 15 Apr 2020, 14:04 Good vs evil probably is the oldest subject of them all when it comes to literature, and it is really easy to fall into clichés. I was very allured by this book. It was really nice to get to read your review before I wasted my time on it. Thanks for your honesty!
I don't mind standard tropes as long as they're used well. This book does bring a lot of interesting ideas to the table, but it's a shame the execution is lacking. Thanks for the comment!
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Post by NetMassimo »

The infamous "technobabble" can be an asset for a science fiction story if used properly, it becomes a burden when it's too much. The phrase you quoted left me open-mouthed in puzzlement, so I understand the reasons behind your harsh judgment. A shame considering the novel's potential. Thank you for your honest review!
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Tomah
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Post by Tomah »

NetMassimo wrote: 16 Apr 2020, 01:55 The infamous "technobabble" can be an asset for a science fiction story if used properly, it becomes a burden when it's too much. The phrase you quoted left me open-mouthed in puzzlement, so I understand the reasons behind your harsh judgment. A shame considering the novel's potential. Thank you for your honest review!
Yes, the story itself has a lot of potential, but it needs to work on its presentation. Thanks for the comment!
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Post by hasincla »

Ah, too bad this falls under "great idea, poor execution". Perhaps if the author does work with the proper editor the piece could be improved. For now though, I'm not a fan of having to work hard with my brain just to understand a story, so I'll pass.
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Post by Mbrooks2518 »

The problematic flow and feeling of missing things would definitely put me off of this book, so I'll skip it. Thanks for the great review!
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Post by Tomah »

Mbrooks2518 wrote: 17 Apr 2020, 10:36 The problematic flow and feeling of missing things would definitely put me off of this book, so I'll skip it. Thanks for the great review!
hasincla wrote: 17 Apr 2020, 06:59 Ah, too bad this falls under "great idea, poor execution". Perhaps if the author does work with the proper editor the piece could be improved. For now though, I'm not a fan of having to work hard with my brain just to understand a story, so I'll pass.
Indeed, properly parsing the events took me quite some time, and I'm still not clear about a number of things. Thanks for the comments!
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Post by booksandmagicshop »

That's such a peeve of mine as well! When sci-fi doesn't clear up its new vocabulary and leaves me feeling confused and frustrated.
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Post by Tomah »

booksandmagicshop wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 00:06 That's such a peeve of mine as well! When sci-fi doesn't clear up its new vocabulary and leaves me feeling confused and frustrated.
True, it's very easy for sci-fi stories to fall into this trap, so authors should be careful. Thanks for the comment!
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Post by SunVixen »

Tomah wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 23:47
booksandmagicshop wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 00:06 That's such a peeve of mine as well! When sci-fi doesn't clear up its new vocabulary and leaves me feeling confused and frustrated.
True, it's very easy for sci-fi stories to fall into this trap, so authors should be careful. Thanks for the comment!
This eternal problem can be easily solved with the help of a glossary. Why don't authors put a glossary at the end of the book?

Anyway, thfnk you for honest review.
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Post by booksandmagicshop »

SunVixen wrote: 26 Apr 2020, 06:33
Tomah wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 23:47
booksandmagicshop wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 00:06 That's such a peeve of mine as well! When sci-fi doesn't clear up its new vocabulary and leaves me feeling confused and frustrated.
True, it's very easy for sci-fi stories to fall into this trap, so authors should be careful. Thanks for the comment!
This eternal problem can be easily solved with the help of a glossary. Why don't authors put a glossary at the end of the book?

Anyway, thfnk you for honest review.
Yes! Sometimes, it can be done well (like with A Clockwork Orange for example), but most of the time I really am left confused.
“The magical time is coming. Come to the Magic Shop.
Now, take off your mask and open your eyes.”

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Post by Tomah »

SunVixen wrote: 26 Apr 2020, 06:33
Tomah wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 23:47
booksandmagicshop wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 00:06 That's such a peeve of mine as well! When sci-fi doesn't clear up its new vocabulary and leaves me feeling confused and frustrated.
True, it's very easy for sci-fi stories to fall into this trap, so authors should be careful. Thanks for the comment!
This eternal problem can be easily solved with the help of a glossary. Why don't authors put a glossary at the end of the book?

Anyway, thfnk you for honest review.
I personally believe a reader should be able to follow the story without a glossary, but of course, they're always welcome as an addition to the reading experience. This novel would've definitely benefited from one, after all. Thanks for the comment!
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Post by SunVixen »

Tomah wrote: 26 Apr 2020, 23:13
SunVixen wrote: 26 Apr 2020, 06:33
Tomah wrote: 25 Apr 2020, 23:47

True, it's very easy for sci-fi stories to fall into this trap, so authors should be careful. Thanks for the comment!
This eternal problem can be easily solved with the help of a glossary. Why don't authors put a glossary at the end of the book?

Anyway, thfnk you for honest review.
I personally believe a reader should be able to follow the story without a glossary, but of course, they're always welcome as an addition to the reading experience. This novel would've definitely benefited from one, after all. Thanks for the comment!
Of course, some authors are so talented that they can really explain to readers new words and names without a glossary. But if the story is literally stuffed with such words and names, then it is better to make a glossary.
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Post by Nafreezy »

When writing on aliens and their stuff, it's pretty important to do just what needs to be done for every character. And harder than it sounds.
Your honest review makes me hesitant to try read the book. Thank you for the honest review.
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