Rating: 
Summary: A Provocative, Fearless Masterpiece
Review: I was stunned by this novel. In my view, this ranks with the best contemporary fiction, whether gay or straight. The characters are drawn with amazing subtlety and compassion. We regret leaving behind their worlds as the novel draws to its close. Certainly, the themes that Russell explores here are bound to cause a certain feeling of squeamishness, if not outrage, in readers who look at the world through conventional lenses. This novel has been condemned by some as a justification of pedophilia. I am convinced that such criticisms fail to do justice to the moral complexity and even wisdom offered by this work. In short, this novel is intelligent, wise, provocative, subtle, profound, affecting...it has all the earmarks of a great work of fiction. Please don't miss this one.
Rating:
Summary: the inner storm
Review: A young gay teacher in a traditional boy's school in NY. What happens if he gets involved in a relationship with one of his students? Four characters whose lives intertwine: the headmaster,his wife,the young teacher and the confused student. The generation gaps, the psychological insight of the characters, the enthralling and sometimes unsettling story make of this book a very good read. The prose is beautiful and full of lyricism, a style which whispers to your ears and seduces you; it is also a sad story set in the times of AIDS. The storm never really breaks out except in the minds and souls of the characters. A very good book that I would heartily recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Not just for gay readers.
Review: It's a shame that this book will be lost in the ghetto of gay fiction because it contains some very deep and profound truths about the way we all live and love. I agree with one of the earlier reviewers in that I want to see more of these characters. As flawed as the four main characters are, I grew to feel deeply for each one of them, wishing they could all follow their dreams but knowing that they could not. Russell's style is highly literate, allusive, but always brutally honest. It's rare that a book brings tears to my eyes, but this one did. I was so invested in the characters that I stayed up until 5 am to finish the book and still found myself wanting to continue their story. Although the writing styles are dissimilar, I found myself thinking this a good companion piece to Jeffrey Eugenides' "The Virgin Suicides" if only for the way they both capture what it feels like to be a teenager lost in your desires, hopes, and a dreams.
Rating: 
Summary: My first Paul Russell novel, and definitely not my last one
Review: I sort of knew what to expect from reading the book's back cover description, but I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I thoroughly enjoyed Russell's prose, especially when used to reflect the characters' inner thoughts. I also enjoyed (though i didn't expect to) his choice to alternate each chapter from a different character's viewpoint. I'm always a little disturbed by books that seem to celebrate man-boy love, but that wasn't so much the case for me in this book. I think some of that was due to the constant references to Thomas Mann throughout the chapters dealing with Louis - Mann's Death In Venice is one of my favorite pieces of literature, and the character of Louis is a striking contrast to Mann's character of Aschenbach; indeed, one of the book's themes, especially in dealing with Louis and Tracy's respective dilemmas, is the conflict between the Dionysian and Apollonian spirits within all of us. This book wasn't so much a celebration of any particular kind of loving relationship, but a celebration of the concept of love in all of the forms it takes. It's also a book about regret and getting second chances, which made the novel's ending sort of bittersweet to me. These are characters I would love to see again, but in the meantime, I've picked up another Paul Russell novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Borrow the book, find it second hand - not worth buying!
Review: Although this book is well written, the primary theme distuborsme. I understand how love can develop between two people, but as a responsible adult I can't condone adult-child relationships.I felt like I was reading NAMBLA material....This bothered me. Putting aside that issue, the evolution of the other characters was interesting. The conflict, or "coming storm" for each character resulted in something positive, with the exception of Tracy. He seems to be doing his penance at the end. This book is great for a discussion group, but also provides fuel to Jerry Falwell's fire :)
Rating:
Summary: A Powerfully Sad, Yet Beautiful Story
Review: I have very mixed feelings about the book. This is the first book by Paul Russell that I have read and to be honest the book depressed me. The story is very easy to get into and can be very fast paced at times (enabling me to finish the book in under 24 hours). The chracters, esspecially Tracey and Noah are easy to become attatched to and at sometimes seem real. They can be so enganging at times I found myself wanting to jump into the pages and strangle a few sub-characters. My only complaints are that some chapters with Louis so to lag the book and seem uneeded in the actual story itself. Claire could use a lot more developement. I have to say I was very disappointed with the ending. Being a hopeless romantic, I felt very let down. All loose were pretty much tied up except for Tracey, whom I felt the most connection with. I hope Paul continues this story as a sequel so if I ever chose to re-read The Coming Storm again, I will not have the urge to throw the book at the wall again.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip it at all costs!
Review: I can't remember ever being so outraged by a book. Once I got through the mind-numbing, bloated, sludge-like prose (which is the least of the novel's problems), I found the storyline reprehensible. For some unknown reason, the author felt the need to justify the protagonist's pedophilia. But even more repugnant, Russell describes the sex scenes between teacher and underage student in such graphic, salacious detail that it borders on kiddie porn. The author tries to make a case that the student was a willing participant. But how can a child who is still wetting his bed be in any position to make an emotional judgement that will affect him for th rest of his life? The fact that this is a gay novel is irrelevent. Whether gay or straight, this kind of book is the most repulsive, irresponsible garbage being printed. Without debating the issue of censorship, the publishers have a responsibility not to glamorous such an insidious issue. It baffles me how anyone could accept blatant (and illegal!) sexual titillation and call it art. And unlike other provocative artistic statements such as Mapplethorpe's photos, this involves a defenseless child. Consider yourself warned.
Rating:
Summary: The Calming of Russell's Coming Storm!
Review: After picking Paul Russell's book as a first read for a newly formed gay and lesbian book club, it has become my top suggested title of the year! I have read gay fiction all summer long, and Russell's book is top on my list. I quickly became absorbed in his characters, and his style of writing is just amazing. There are few books that I have read that leave me wondering where these characters might be now or what would be going on in the lives today. There are few books like The Coming Storm that touch me in such a way that I wake up seeing my own life from a different perspective. Paul Russell is a master of the page, completely predicting a "coming storm" in every reader's life. This is a book you better be prepared for! Our discussion of the book at the book club was truly touching to each and every reader, and I am sure Russell's book will do the same for you.
Rating:
Summary: Carefully-wrought plot, prosaic and obvious twists
Review: THE COMING STORM, like this author's earlier works, addresses the world where homosexual culture and mainstream culture converge. The characters, each of whom wrestles with his/her unique demons, interact in a cleverly twisting plot set at a stereotypical northeastern prep school. The reader finds an expected cast: an older, sexually-repressed man in an unhappy marriage; a young gay man, forced by his circumstances to maintain isolation while trying to succeed as a new faculty member; a troubled student, struggling with his own emerging sexuality; and a cast of lesser character each of whom seems to exist to act as catalysts to the plot, which tangles these four in a situation which will ultimately spiral toward conflict and eventual happy ending. One feels, while reading this book, that despite the often careful and convincing dialogue, and the frequent insights into each character's persona, that no single character has emerged "organically" from the author's imagination, but rather that each are props designed to impel the plot, with its conflicts and timely themes, forward. AIDS, repression, loss swirl around each character's consciousness, but the reader is never truly moved no matter how the drama--often melodrama-- advances, for no single character emerges as a complete person, more as a vehicle for Russell's meticulously-scripted plot. Certain minor characters are depicted as clichés so crudely that one is almost offended. All in all, a novel which has a plot which keeps one's attention; but this reader found himself frequently annoyed by the all-too-obvious simplification of the individuals and their relationships to one another.
Rating:
Summary: Shcoking!
Review: Loved this book. It is filled with twists, and horrible revelations. Some of the implications and revelations that you read are never made aware to the characters they effect! I sometimes wanted to shout into the books screaming WAKE UP WAKE UP! It is a wonderful novel about choices and first loves and the painful process of coming out. I really recommend it to everyone!
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