Rating: 
Summary: Wow, this book really sucks!
Review: This inane, silly novel begins slowly and and then proceeds to go downhill. If you are into cartoonish, unrealistic sex, this novel is for you. All the characters act and sound the same. The science in this novel is ridiculous, and the preposterousness of the ending will simply annoy you. This is one of those books that you wished that you had never invested any time or money in. Since I cannot get back my time or money, I can at least warn other readers how bad this book truly is. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: A rich tapestry, endlessly rewarding, which deserves reading
Review: This is a rich tapestry of a book, endlessly rewarding. I enjoyed the science, which is made understandable almost effortlessly by Barnes, while the characters were realistically developed and worthy of concern. After all, if you don't care what happens to the characters, how good can the story be? I found MOTHER OF STORMS to be densely layered and intriguing, and definitely worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mixed Bag
Review: This novel starts out slow, with many characters being introduced, and this becomes a long, drawn out process. John Barnes along the way gives us a little science, how dangerous storms develop, and more. The premise centers around small nuclear bombs being detonated in the Artic ocean in the year 2028, releasing methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas, which in turn heats the oceans and atmosphere, and you can guess what happens after that. I am not a meteorologist so I cannot speculate as to the likelihood of these events, as dipicted in this novel, taking place in the real world. John Barnes is adept at character developement and uses it to great effect here, the plot also is excellent, although at times the writing is dull and plodding, with an oftentimes unclear writing style. I found much of the book to be a tedious read, perhaps with too many characters and too many pages, it could easily be 80 pages shorter. It did become more interesting after page 150 or so, and there is much interesting speculation on what would happen if our atmosphere suddenly became warmer. In addition to the topic of weather and hurricanes, Barnes gives his readers here some idea what it may someday be like subjectively to have your consciousness transferred into a computer system, of course one much in advance to what is available today, this alone is probably worth the price of admission to read this book, but again, there are vast stretches of dull reading intermixed with a few areas of suspense. Also, Barnes uses earthy subjects now and then here, so beware if you are easily offended.
Rating:
Summary: weather and disaster go together!
Review: This story starts a little too slowly for me. The real action begins at about one third of the book. However, I learned a good deal on weather patterns. The most interesting event is the joining of human and computer. It is very originally presented. The technology in this world is convincing.
Characters are the usual: industrialist, president and aides, astronaut; an exception here is a XV porn star.
Humanity is not wiped out but is given a wakeup call. I suggest this book to everybody who likes this author and disaster novels mixed with science, in this case, meteorology. Not a ground breaking novel but very good in its genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Flat out Weather on a Wired Planet- Air, Energy and CyberNet
Review: Wanna-be meteorologists take note. Barnes starts with a sub orbital Baby-Nuke strike on the floor of the Arctic ocean, and triggers an enviromental disaster of biblical scope. Powerful, seemingly technically accurate descriptions of monster air flow blends with a dark, sexually active view of a future mass media gone beyond influencing public opinion. At some points this is a very disturbed narative- no hard shock nightmare perversion seems left untouched. But the author dutifully supplies a happy ending, and if you filter out the sickos, a likeable group of characters. Solid Book. Disasteramma
Rating:
Summary: Look how Man's good intentions can have terrifying results.
Review: We're all in this together. The best of us can tip things over the edge just as easily as the worst of us. The results can be unexpected and disastrous.
As usual, Barnes spins a gripping and engrossing tale. For me, the important thing was not whether Man would luck out "this time" but how individuals showed courage and resourcefulness in the face of overwhelming odds. Also keeps me thinking about how we might avoid getting into such a situation. A superb vision of a really big hurricane. This book reminded me of Earth, by David Brin (for What Has Man Done??), and Heavy Weather, by Bruce Sterling (for the meteorological aspects)
Rating:
Summary: A Rollickin' Good Tale! Fast read, fast pace, fast storm.
Review: Years ago, I was a sci-fi freak. Then the market faded.
John Barnes has revived and revitalized that oh-so-sweet science fiction genre where Common Man can lean his elbows on a bar at the edge of space and trade travel tales with a Phyrexian Wanderer over a mug of glfx.
It's 2028. Various border realignments and world peace issues have created Pacificanada and an independent Alaska. Far above the West Siberian plain, and linked to the observing public via Passionet, pilot Hassan Sulari cuts in scramjets and launches his four crambombs (Compression Radiation Antimatter) into the North Slope, aimed to destroy a stash of prohibited weapons.
And what follows, as Mother Nature raises her weary head from the bottom of the ocean and rebels at the centuries of mistreatment, chills the spine and tingles the hairs on the back of your neck. If you're of the opinion that the Winter of '96 California/Oregon floods were dramatic, think again... you ain't seen nothin' yet.
I found myself ducking as unimaginable winds blew rubble and cars around me on the west Mexican coast, huddled on the backside of a crumbling block wall, wailing muddied children shivering with fear and wet and cold pushed up into my armpits with Clem Two ravaging her way through my village.
Earlier, I held my breath, pointlessly, as four massive tsunami literally swept away the contents and the very existence of the mid-Pacific island where moments before I'd manned a military observation post.
Pages before, I stretched my mind across a few million miles and hyperlinked to a datarobot scouring the grubby alleyways of phone conversations for the juiciest and most revealing of secrets being discussed as two "gentlemen" determined the fate of the world's satellite launching industry
Louie is an aged but still phenomenally sexy Mel Gibson. Carla must be Sigourney Weaver. Liam Neeson carries off Diogenes, the NOAA primal worrier. Brad Pitt shines as Jesse. Ann Margret portrays XV artiste Synthi (Mary Ann in person). Roving reporter Brenda Starr-type? None other than Rosie O'Donnell in her spare time.
Bottom line: Get it. Read it. Wonder how this guy sneaked into publication without you hearing about him before. Go out and get everything else he's ever written. Inhale deeply and sigh, smile - heck, grin! Sci Fi is back and its shirtsleeves are rolled up and ready to get seriously at it again. At least, that's what *I* did.
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