Third Wind: A novel

by Roger Gloss

With Third Wind novelist Roger Gloss has fashioned a deeply thoughtful story that captivates us on several levels. It confronts important contemporary themes head-on: looming climate change and a federal government, co-opted by corporations and big money, that has demonstrated a clear lack of interest in serving its citizens. But more than a mere polemic, Third Wind is also a richly plotted tale, dense with memorable characters and events.

Ten years in the future, a handful of survivors from all over America partner with a village of poor Native Americans in the high desert of central New Mexico to deal with climate change on their own terms by building a self-sustaining community and bringing wind power to the region. Besides facing overarching pressures of catastrophic climate events and failing government, they must deal with the normal challenges of human diversity: labor, community, love, loss, survival – and pure evil. Third Wind pulls us through numerous twists and turns to its conclusion which, far better than many endings these days, satisfies rather than disappoints.

475 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

Roger Gloss grew up in East Aurora, New York. He left the eastern U.S. to attend UCLA, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. He then settled in Southern California and has lived there since with his wife Linda. Together they raised two daughters, as well as one cat and a number of small dogs. They were also privileged to live in The Netherlands for more than a year. Now retired from a 45-year career in information technology, Roger spends his time writing literary fiction, supporting progressive causes, and struggling to raise awareness of climate change and our fragile natural environment.

Although proud of his upstate New York roots, Roger considers it the highest privilege to be a Californian, and he loves the landscape of the Southwest. In his younger years he was an avid runner, logging 25,000 miles in 25 years, as well as a series of impressive finish times in the half marathon. He has also backpacked in such impressive terrain as Grand Canyon, Catalina Island, the Sierra Nevada, Havasupai Indian Reservation, Rainbow Bridge, Canyonlands National Park and the Grand Tetons. His five hiking excursions to the Swiss Alps weren’t bad either.

Roger still enjoys travel, the outdoors, an active lifestyle, and reading fiction and history. He has written two novels: Compared to What (August 2009) and Third Wind (April 2014).

Visit his website at RogerGloss.com.

Reviews

[Laura Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought provoking book!

I enjoyed seeing hope bloom from what starts out as a seemingly hopeless situation in “The Third Wind”.

The story begins in the not so distant future after the U.S. economic infrastructure has more or less collapsed. Tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy, which caused emergency and social services to be critically under funded, have made coping with the multiple natural disasters resulting from climate change impossible to deal with for both state and federal government agencies. As a result, shortages, famine and plagues have started breaking out all across the nation without much chance of being remedied. Resources like gas, power and the internet have nearly evaporated.

This book makes you think. How would you make a strategy for survival in a modern world where power, gas and communication were slowly being completely wiped out? Mr. Gloss does a great job showing us how one man's plan unfolds and that, in those circumstances, the best option for survival might be to develop self-sufficient communities that are protected from an increasingly desperate and dangerous world.

The book is told entirely from the first person perspective of the main character, Martin. He is a level headed, modest, soft-spoken engineer who gives the reader a trustworthy perspective from which to see the new reality take shape. Twists and turns unfold as we discover the relationship between the characters and they realize they can’t make the same assumptions as they did before about each other in the face of a crumbling United States.

I enjoyed learning about the technology of wind turbines and seeing into Mr. Gloss’ imagination of how a small community might build and operate one to provide power for their own use. It was interesting to see how the characters bonded under the strenuous circumstances. It certainly makes you appreciate the little things in life like hot coffee and a cold beer – and music, too! There is a touching scene where some people bring music back to the community in an effort to bring more joy into all their lives. It was one of my favorite sentiments in the book that even when focused on survival, a happy community is a strong community.

I would recommend this book for anyone who has some flexibility in their ideological viewpoints, as well as lovers of adventure stories about survival in the modern age.

[Roger Gloss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third Wind represents for me the culmination of an exciting four-year effort. After publishing my first novel in 2009, I set out in my second book to stretch my capabilities and further develop my talents as a serious writer. With Third Wind I had several significant goals: (1) confront head-on, in a very serious way, the themes of climate change and a dysfunctional federal government that no longer serves its citizens; (2) research and write intelligently about wind energy, a subject in which I had no prior experience; and (3) weave these “big picture” themes into a captivating story rich with believable, memorable characters.

When confronting controversial issues, there is always the risk of getting preachy or turning off readers who might not agree. I have tried to avoid that by weaving the themes into the plot and characters. From this moment on it is for readers to decide whether I’ve succeeded. I invite you to plunge into Third Wind. I’m confident you’ll find the experience worthwhile.