Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Forecast for "Heavy Weather"
Review: "Heavy Weather" by: Bruce Sterling. After completing this book, I felt deeply satisfied. This is a positive remark, considering that many stories leave me with a feeling of frustration (although, from a different perspective, this may be a beneficial comment as well).
I found the premise to be interesting. The surface story was engaging and well-executed. The main characters were well-rounded and interesting (in that they were different than "mainstream cardboard cut-out characters"). The story had resolution. This work has more weight than the smoky residue (that some books generate in your mind) that disperses upon closing a book. Many interesting situations (hard truths, ethical questions, responsibility, belief, philosophy) are presented that may give one pause. If you are willing to read more than just the words (that is, think), you may find this book to be challenging (not necessarily a companion to Hesse, Dostevesky, etc., but far beyond a Grisham in it's scope). I didn't find this book to be dull. There were a few lapses, but nothing unforgiveable. The manner in which Mr. Sterling presenting the future was pliable. This future's environment, culture and those inviduals populating it (that he chose to represent) seemed realistic (if not down and dirty).
Again, this was an interesting book. If you enjoy science fiction, 'cyberpunk', fantasy, action, or just crave something a bit different... I recommend this book. You will not feel empty after reading this. Thumbs up.
Oh yes, as for details reagarding the characters, story, etc., please read the book!
Rating: 
Summary: A Splendid Meteorological Cyberpunk Novel
Review: "Heavy Weather" is one of Bruce Sterling's finest novels. Of his recent efforts, I found it almost as satisfying and mesmerizing a tale as his critically acclaimed "Holy Fire". In both books he creates very appealing, well-rounded characters whose believable actions quickly move their plots along. Both Alex and Janey Unger are two of his most memorable characters; the plot unfolds through their eyes. Admittedly, Sterling's meteorology seems a bit far fetched, yet it is grounded well in science; it may be an accurate prediction of a future adversely affected by the "greenhouse effect". Sterling's dense prose is quite vivid, and among his most lyrical to date. Naturally comparisons to William Gibson's early work can be made, but that should not detract from Sterling's thoughtful, inspired view of a potential American future. It certainly should be regarded as among the finest works of cyberpunk fiction, written by one of its foremost proponents.
Rating:
Summary: "Forecasting" the Future
Review: What would it be like to chase massive storms in the year 2031? Bruce Sterling does a great job of "forecasting" what the future may hold in his book Heavy Weather. I liked Heavy Weather because it had good plot, the characters were well developed, and the technology was great. Really the only thing I did not care for was the ending. The main portion of the story pertains to the adventures of the Storm Troupe. The Storm Troupe is a small group of people that "hack" heavy weather in the year 2031. "Heavy weather" is a summer cycle of storms, caused by the out-of-control greenhouse effect, which produces tornadoes that ravage Texas and Oklahoma. The Storm Troupe leader, Jerry Mulcahey, has predicted the F-6, a super tornado that will be unimaginable in scale. The troupe's ultimate goal is to be there when the F-6 comes down. The reader is taken through the journey for the F-6 using the eyes of the main characters Alex and Janey Unger. One of the reasons I really liked this book was because of the characters Alex and Janey. The characters are well developed, interesting, and each has their own distinct personality. The brother-sister tandem of Alex and Janey is really kind of humorous as they argue and smart-off to each other just like a stereotypical brother and sister. The minor characters are also well organized. Sterling definitely took the time to be precise with minor characters, too. The technology was another reason I liked this book. The gadgets were always interesting to read about. One of my favorite techs was the ornithropter. The ornithropter was a machine that acted very much like a bird, but had two cameras mounted on it and was controlled with virtual reality. These machines were used to drop measuring instruments into the funnel cloud, and sometimes flew into the vortex. A great thing about Sterling's Heavy Weather is how easy it is to read and understand. This book is written in a clear and concise way that is easy to comprehend. I would say this book is a much easier read than Brunner's Shockwave Rider and Gibson's Neuromancer. There were quite a few good parts in the book, but the ending disturbed me. I would compare the ending of this book to that of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. In Snow Crash the ending keeps getting built up and built up, but at the end it kind of leaves you guessing. I felt the same way after I finished this book. It kept building and building, but kind of fizzled out. Even after what happened with the ending, I would still consider Heavy Weather a great book. The plot, characters, and technologies outweighed the one weakness of this story.
Rating: 
Summary: Bruce Sterling's Heavy Weather
Review: Heavy Weather is not a bad book, but it is not one of my favorite novels. While the plot can be slow at times and is a little predictable, the concept is interesting and the book is very easy to read. If you have a short attention span, I suggest that you do not read this book. The story has a very large lull in the middle. Another downfall is that the F6 tornado is extremely over-hyped. Sterling could have done much more with it, but didn't. The plot and characters are developed well, however, and the story itself is refreshingly different. Heavy Weather is much like one of Sterling's other works, Holy Fire. The writing styles of both books are very similar. Both books deal with medical technology. The theme of whether or not medicine can be too high tech seems to run through both books. Some characters even seem like they could fit in with the characters in Holy Fire. In both books, Sterling focuses on the people in his story, rather than the technology itself. He writes more about how technology affects people. The main characters, Jane and Alex, are two siblings that were never very close to each other. Fulfilling her role as the big sister, Jane saves Alex from a life of black market medical treatments, and takes him to experience her lifestyle. Jane lives with the Storm Troupe, a group of people that hack weather. The Troupe chases tornadoes gathering all the information they can get, in hopes that they will figure out the secrets behind one of Mother Nature's mysteries. Their mission is centered on a hypothesized F6 sized tornado, their Holy Grail. One attraction to this book is how different it is from other cyberpunk novels. I started reading this book expecting another classic cyberpunk storyline, but found a book that could have easily not been cyberpunk at all. The book seemed more along the lines of a natural-disaster-punk novel. The movie Twister, which came out two years after Heavy Weather, shares many similarities with it. Both show the group of outsiders who are only interested in solving the mystery of the tornado. Both show the main characters chasing the big tornado, which ends up making their relationship with each other better. There is even an appearance in both the book and the movie, by the cow that gets caught in the tornado.
Rating:
Summary: Twister meets Neuromancer... and it works!
Review: Before Twister, there was Heavy Weather. And Heavy Weather
was more interesting. Usually I find myself liking Bruce Sterling non-fiction better than his fiction, but
this book was an interesting blend of both. Fresh off
off his "Hacker Crackdown" non-fiction, Sterling incorporates
many of the real world personalities he interveied into Heavy Weather's "troupe", a band of roving twister chasers.
The book offers an interesting and exciting vision
of an eco-disastered futurisitic North-America. Having read many of Sterling's SF works, I find this
one to be one of the most fresh and interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Hack This
Review: Bruce Sterling has delivered quite a powerhouse of the imagination here. This book is a mostly strong mixture of cyberpunk elements along with textbook sci-fi storytelling techniques, in which real scientific research lies at the core of fantastical plot elements. We are given an environmentally devastated near future in which the weather has gotten extremely heavy due to the runaway greenhouse effect, with a team of cyberpunks seeking the ultimate tornado. Sterling has obviously done his homework on meteorology and the possible effects of climate change, as his speculations into potential heavy weather are both fantastic and plausible. This book also displays a very bright writing style with a real flair for outlandish similes and allegories. For example: "...kicked over cars like a giant child disturbing a convention of turtles." Just beware of the rather annoying overuse of the word "hack" without much explanation into what this activity really entails in this future society. Alas, the end of the story is somewhat of a dud given the extensive build-up, and there is a completely unnecessary evil organization appearing incongruously during the climax. But the best aspect of this book is Sterling's disturbingly possible vision of a dysfunctional future caused by violent disruptions in nature, economy, and cyberspace. These are some disturbing speculations that offer a lot of food for thought.
Rating:
Summary: Good Imagination but not a good story teller
Review: Bruce Sterling really missed a chance of writing a very good book. He took a extremely detailed and imaginative idea and put it in a simple and uneffective storyline. I felt during the reading if this story that "Man I wished he would have consulted with me".
Rating:
Summary: A very good spin on Cyberpunk
Review: Bruce Sterling took the familar sub-genre of Cyberpunk and carried it to new terrain, literally. The story takes place primarily in West Texas and up Tornado Alley, with a smattering of Mexico for the really dark side of living. Most of Cyberpunk takes place on the West Coast or Asia. The setting changes the whole ambience of the book. Instead of the slick, fast, all mirror feel of typical cyberpunk fare, we have a more paced and linguistically clever piece of writing. Sterling does go a little overboard with the F-6; the anticipation is built up so much that when he finally describes it, the disappointment is palpable. Words simply fail to capture the idea of such a colossal event. However, this book is about people, and how they are dealing with a world in climatic catastrophe. Consequently, the characters are rich and the dialogue is textured. The characters are not ginger-bread people, each is noticeably different from one another. Many very clever lines from this book and some astute insights as to the nature of modern American thought.
Rating:
Summary: Not that heavy "Weather"
Review: Bruce Sterling's "Heavy Weather" has an excellent concept that is just not brought off all that well. A story about a group of post-Greenhouse effect stormchasers going after the BIG one (tornado) should be faster paced and much scarier than this novel. Sterling also does not give a very coherent view of what the world is like during its period of so-called "heavy weather," given that all of the action takes place in Texas and Oklahoma. There is also an evil consortium subplot that makes very little sense. That said, most of the the main characters are quite likable and very believable. Their story is just not as remarkable as it ought to be. Overall, I would give this book a marginal recommendation to sci-fi buffs and perhaps disaster buffs. It moves slowly at times, but there are enough interesting ideas to make it worth your while if you're interested in the subject matter.
Rating:
Summary: Not that heavy "Weather"
Review: Bruce Sterling's "Heavy Weather" has an excellent concept that is just not brought off all that well. A story about a group of post-Greenhouse effect stormchasers going after the BIG one (tornado) should be faster paced and much scarier than this novel. Sterling also does not give a very coherent view of what the world is like during its period of so-called "heavy weather," given that all of the action takes place in Texas and Oklahoma. There is also an evil consortium subplot that makes very little sense. That said, most of the the main characters are quite likable and very believable. Their story is just not as remarkable as it ought to be. Overall, I would give this book a marginal recommendation to sci-fi buffs and perhaps disaster buffs. It moves slowly at times, but there are enough interesting ideas to make it worth your while if you're interested in the subject matter.
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