I found this one through Amazon.com when it was listed for free. The story description sounded interesting enough, especially considering the price. I felt just a bit let-down however. The idea of the parallel universe travel has been done several times over, and the author does doe a fine job of it, but I just felt like I was reading a copy of Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' series. In this alternate world there are 'gunslingers' with a special skill in being able to shoot. There's a 'dark man' that they are 'chasing'. Three main characters, plus the King, whom the author in the story had written about. It is all just a bit too much for me. This is the first book of this series, but I don't think I will be revisiting it anytime soon. ( )

If you are a lover of fantasy books such as the Dark Tower series by Stephen King or The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, where other worlds are discovered and mysteries are abundant, than this is a book you will easily fall into, entering the fantasy with the characters and joining them on their adventure.
This book even mentions authors King and Lewis and comments on their stories, sometimes with a humorous edge. The main character, Ross, is given the overwhelming job of finishing his father's book series, a series that has a huge following, all looking to him for closure. He isn't sure how he feels about this project, especially since his relationship with his father was less than perfect and he hasn't even read the books! Noreen and Sawyer are dedicated fans who join him early on in the story and are thrown into the other world with him. The three form a quick friendship.
There are a lot of characters in this story and I found myself having to go back a few times to review who was who but it was worth the time. I think that this is common in this type of fantasy and I'm just not used to it. The story, however, was immensely interesting once I got a handle on the names and style of language used. I loved the idea of the world of Ross's father's books being a real place. What better way for him to finish the series than to live it!
I think what I liked most was the originality of the story. Sure, there are a lot of books that have characters traveling to another world or dimension but I felt that this one stood out. It was perfectly paced and clever, and it even made me laugh at times. The details in the story were so well phrased that they allowed me to really picture what was happening and see both the humans and non humans to a point where I felt I knew them and could feel their highs and lows. It amazes me how authors can create such an immense fantasy realm with unique characters and make it seem so real, as if it really exists. The amount of work and talent that go into such a creation are admirable. The pages kept turning and I was consistently impressed with the fact that I couldn't predict how it would end. This author is truly gifted. I look forward to the next book!
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This book has been described as a Love Letter to Stephen King's Dark Tower series and it deserves every bit of that high praise. Its engaging, descriptive, and powerful. The story is complicated, moving and beautiful with twists and surprises that I never saw coming. I don't often give 5 star reviews because those are books that stay with me; books that leave me wanting more; books that I reread for years to come. This is a 5 star book in every way imaginable. ( )

A two-fisted, gunpowder punk, must-read!

When a famous writer is murdered, his estranged son Ross returns for the funeral and is quickly plunged into the unfamiliar community of fantasy geeks and role playing nerds. So when he learns that the fantastical world of his father's fiction actually exists, Ross quickly crosses over to hunt the killer down, but soon realizes that he may have acted too hastily, because he's now lost in a world of gun-slingers and monsters where the rules make no sense. And Ross hasn't read the books.

Whirlwind is one of those rare indie books that pulls everything together. Its strong writing, vivid imagination and intriguing characters all combine to keep you riveted to the page. Hunt's prose is a delightful surprise in the often plodding swampland of indie publishing, and his ear for language and turns of phrase are of a quality that I only expect to see from upper-echelon, traditionally published authors.

Having said all that, I enjoyed the first half better than the second, and for this I blame the plot. Ross's objective never properly emerges, and without a clear and present goal drawing him forward, the second half of Whirlwind plays out more like a drunken stumble through an amusement park than the decisive action story this could have been. And to my intense frustration, Hunt makes a couple of plot choices shortly after the half way mark that seemed entirely out of step with the dark and sinister vibe that had been building so deliciously to that point. But admittedly, my tastes don't usually run to dark fantasy and gun-slinger stuff, so these quibbles may be mine alone.

If you're looking for a bold new world of fantastical adventure that harks back to Lovecraft rather than Tolkien, then The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree is a definite two-fisted, gunpowder punk, must-read. ( )

When I read a book what I'm looking for is something that completely transports me while I'm reading it, that I can't stop thinking about when I stop reading it, and that I can't wait to get back to when my other obligations are satisfied. This was it! Since I don't read this genre usually, I can't compare it to any other of it's kind but it's what I would call fantasy-western-gunslinger. I was thoroughly engrossed.

The plot line is simple in that Ross, the son of a fantasy writer, is asked to finish the series his father was working on when he died. Having been estranged from that father and not really knowing his work starts to complicate things. He meets some superfans of the series and realizes that for many, the world his father has created is as real as the one they live in. And as it turns out, the imagined world is just as real. Once Ross and his two new friends are sucked into that world, the action gets wild and wooly pretty quickly. There are quite a few surprises in store for our three heroes as they live out what should have been just a fictional universe.

The worst part is that, as I understand it, the next in the series hasn't been finished yet. Come on, Mr. Hunt! We need to know what happens next!

I received this book as a LibraryThing giveaway. Thanks to S.A. Hunt for giving me a chance to read it! ( )