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Winds of Ares: An Apocalypse Thriller
The clear blue skies suddenly turn bright pink and within a few seconds it begins … nature explodes with a vengeance. Like most people, Jana Lucas pays little attention to the details about the weather. All that changes when she is invited to join an online survival group. There she learns of the impending natural disasters that the world faces. Even though the reasoning behind the forthcoming apocalypse is outlandish, Jana falls into the intrigue. She packs up her family, supplies, and in an old RV sets a destination for the mysterious safe zone, Olympus. All on the word of an anonymous scientist online. Those who know her, view her choices as unreasonable and over the top. Even her easy-going husband thinks she has gone too far. Then it begins. The wicked and devastating first storm strikes and it is just the beginning. The storms will continue, increasing in intensity, becoming a constant force all leading to one massive extinction-level event. With knowledge of what’s to come and limited resources, Jana must lead her family and a group of survivors to the only place deemed safe before the final fury hits. A trek across the country that will be nothing short of a minefield of massive disasters. Will Jana and the group make it in time? If … they can make it at all. Winds of Ares is a standalone novel.
213 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 22, 2021
200 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
April 15, 2022
I’m being generous in giving this two stars. There are so many issues with this novel. First up is that Druga seriously needs an editor. I’ll finish my review soon.
Updated Review —
I said there were a lot of issues with this book. The cadence alone affected the flow of the book to the point that it seemed some parts were written by a different person. The misspellings, poor grammar, wrong and extra words gave me pause to think that the only editor this book had was autocorrect. For example,
- “Julius told me to make sure I try to come in on either Internet Sixty-Four, Route Sixty or Route Two-Nineteen.”
- “Too many people, he told me, where in route, messaging him and, like me,”
- “I made sure did a screen shot of what he said,”
There was little to no character development. Even the main protagonist acted in such a way to make me not care about what happened to her. The silly confusion where she thought her husband was having an affair with Sally Ann and it turned out to be a horse he bought? Telling her niece and nephew whose mother abandoned them that she was on a mission to Mars? It was supposed to be Project Jupiter and later she called it Project Olympus. The big storm never happened and the ending was so anti-climatic. And it was in VERY poor taste to have a tornado hit Joplin, Missouri.
I stuck it through and read the entire book. Sort of like watching a demolition derby to see how bad the damage would be. I’ve tried reading Druga’s books in the past, and I had hoped that this premise with a weather phenomenon as the apocalyptic trigger would be better than the previous works, but it wasn’t. The plot had so much promise, and I found it failed.
As I said, a very generous two stars with no recommendation.
Updated Review —
I said there were a lot of issues with this book. The cadence alone affected the flow of the book to the point that it seemed some parts were written by a different person. The misspellings, poor grammar, wrong and extra words gave me pause to think that the only editor this book had was autocorrect. For example,
- “Julius told me to make sure I try to come in on either Internet Sixty-Four, Route Sixty or Route Two-Nineteen.”
- “Too many people, he told me, where in route, messaging him and, like me,”
- “I made sure did a screen shot of what he said,”
There was little to no character development. Even the main protagonist acted in such a way to make me not care about what happened to her. The silly confusion where she thought her husband was having an affair with Sally Ann and it turned out to be a horse he bought? Telling her niece and nephew whose mother abandoned them that she was on a mission to Mars? It was supposed to be Project Jupiter and later she called it Project Olympus. The big storm never happened and the ending was so anti-climatic. And it was in VERY poor taste to have a tornado hit Joplin, Missouri.
I stuck it through and read the entire book. Sort of like watching a demolition derby to see how bad the damage would be. I’ve tried reading Druga’s books in the past, and I had hoped that this premise with a weather phenomenon as the apocalyptic trigger would be better than the previous works, but it wasn’t. The plot had so much promise, and I found it failed.
As I said, a very generous two stars with no recommendation.
April 25, 2021
Starting over
I love this author's books. One never knows what genre will be coming out next. Her style is her own. This book although a apocalyptic didn't have the usual army of killers. My favorite character is Lane. He just goes along with his wife's plans and loves her unconditionally.
Definitely recommend this book. Not just a good read but a great read.
Best paragraph:
"Then Martin saw his well, and with a smile said, “Will you look at that? With all that rain, we will have a full well.” He found the positive. Then it began. Each person seemed to find a bright spot in their loss. It would be like that for a long while. The simple things would make us happy."
I love this author's books. One never knows what genre will be coming out next. Her style is her own. This book although a apocalyptic didn't have the usual army of killers. My favorite character is Lane. He just goes along with his wife's plans and loves her unconditionally.
Definitely recommend this book. Not just a good read but a great read.
Best paragraph:
"Then Martin saw his well, and with a smile said, “Will you look at that? With all that rain, we will have a full well.” He found the positive. Then it began. Each person seemed to find a bright spot in their loss. It would be like that for a long while. The simple things would make us happy."
December 17, 2022
The idea of humans trying to control weather and the unexpected aftermath of such an attempt, while not a new concept, is still somewhat unusual in this genre. Since there was reference to common knowledge of people colonizing Mars, this clearly took place in the future. I had several issues that dampened my enjoyment of the book. First, as with other books by this author, there were many writing and editing issues. A first person narrative is generally meant to be read as though you heard the people speaking and, of course, most people don't speak in complete, grammatically correct sentences. I usually cut a little slack for this. There isn't a lot of slack for awkwardly structured sentences, so that if you heard them spoken, you would hard-pressed not to correct the speaker. There are spelling issues, which should be correct first-person or not. One chapter is titled "PILGRAMAGE"... just noooooooo. There is even less leeway for getting a character's name wrong-Lane become Lance and then back to Lane. A simple proofread should catch most of this.
I had a lot of issues with the main character, Jana. She had been on this disaster prediction website/group for a while and planning to get to what she is told will be a safe zone. Even though the prediction of when it would start was off, why leave yourself so little margin for getting there safely-leave earlier. She suspected her husband was having an affair (he was buying a horse with a female name), but rather than behave like an adult and have a discussion with him, she just leaves with the kids. The kids are her sister's, abandoned by the sister, yet she and the rest of the family have this cockamamy story that the mom is on Mars working on a colony. The kids never wonder why she doesn't communicate? Once they were old enough, they should have been told the truth. Jana and her group lurch across country just a head (or not quite ahead) of disaster and they have a lot of deaths in their caravan of friends. Yet, when it is suggested the freeway would be faster to get to WV before it gets 'really bad', she demurs because she had planned the secondary highways to be safer. Not working out that way, sweetie. It is amazing that anyone actually followed this person on her quest. When they finally meet the General (Julius's sister), the area has a lot of resources etc and since they were part of the government, why did they not warn anyone and help them find safety? In the end, after a lot of build up for this final big disaster, it all just fizzles out and ends with a whimper.
I had a lot of issues with the main character, Jana. She had been on this disaster prediction website/group for a while and planning to get to what she is told will be a safe zone. Even though the prediction of when it would start was off, why leave yourself so little margin for getting there safely-leave earlier. She suspected her husband was having an affair (he was buying a horse with a female name), but rather than behave like an adult and have a discussion with him, she just leaves with the kids. The kids are her sister's, abandoned by the sister, yet she and the rest of the family have this cockamamy story that the mom is on Mars working on a colony. The kids never wonder why she doesn't communicate? Once they were old enough, they should have been told the truth. Jana and her group lurch across country just a head (or not quite ahead) of disaster and they have a lot of deaths in their caravan of friends. Yet, when it is suggested the freeway would be faster to get to WV before it gets 'really bad', she demurs because she had planned the secondary highways to be safer. Not working out that way, sweetie. It is amazing that anyone actually followed this person on her quest. When they finally meet the General (Julius's sister), the area has a lot of resources etc and since they were part of the government, why did they not warn anyone and help them find safety? In the end, after a lot of build up for this final big disaster, it all just fizzles out and ends with a whimper.
May 10, 2021
REVIEW HAS A FEW SPOILERS! I wish I could have given this review more stars... but I can't. The premise of the story, a weather-related catastrophe is a welcome change from the usual EMP plot lines, so that is a positive. But the main character, Jana, left her husband because she "thinks," he's having an affair. Turns out her hubby, Lane, had actually bought a horse named Sally Anne. Huh? A woman who doesn't bother to check the facts before deciding her husband is cheating on her and leaves him isn't a very good person, IMHO. Next on my list of problems is how they make the trip to "Olympus," located in West Virginia. Apparently, no one is on the road and the roads are clear of traffic. Another Huh! People just don't behave that way in a emergency... they get in their cars. Next, the power grid would not survive 15 minutes of this apocolypse. There would be no electricity anywhere. Fuel: Everyone would be swamping the truck stops and gas stations looking for fuel. And with no electricity, fuel cannot be pumped normally. The scenarios of this weather apocolypse are good.... and scary... however, it all seems to fall apart when they arrive in the vicinity of Olympus. It is anti-climatic. Julious is dead and has been for a long time. The government seems to have plenty of resources and can easily help the folks left alive which seems to be far-fetched. And they seem to think that electricity will be restored quickly in the aftermath of this disaster. So, I can only give this one star.
December 22, 2021
Stand alone book about a secret weather control system gone wrong, and a family trying to get to a place of safety with very little information.
A satisfactory storyline, quite interesting characterisation (the female lead is far better than the author's usual bossy-but-emotional-wreck female lead). There was some weirdly good luck for our heroes - they kept just missing the tornadoes or whatever, but fuel and food were available and hardly any people or vehicles around. As always the writing, especially dialogue, is poor to the point of being unintelligible at times. There's an absence of proof reading (driving on Internet 64?) and even a chapter title is mis-spelt (Pilgramage).
However, it was an entertaining read so I'd give it 4 for the story and 2 for the writing so 3*
A satisfactory storyline, quite interesting characterisation (the female lead is far better than the author's usual bossy-but-emotional-wreck female lead). There was some weirdly good luck for our heroes - they kept just missing the tornadoes or whatever, but fuel and food were available and hardly any people or vehicles around. As always the writing, especially dialogue, is poor to the point of being unintelligible at times. There's an absence of proof reading (driving on Internet 64?) and even a chapter title is mis-spelt (Pilgramage).
However, it was an entertaining read so I'd give it 4 for the story and 2 for the writing so 3*
April 30, 2021
Best one yet!
I've been reading Jackie's books for quite a while, but this one was her best one yet. I sat on the edge of my chair most of the way through it. Way a great story! I
The story starts with Jana, who has joined a conspiracy theory website. Apparently the weather s going to get really bad because of some scientists firing missiles into the clouds. And by bad, the mean world ending bad. Of course, no one believes her. Until the action starts. That's when the action starts and front stop through the rest of the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves action and adventure.
I've been reading Jackie's books for quite a while, but this one was her best one yet. I sat on the edge of my chair most of the way through it. Way a great story! I
The story starts with Jana, who has joined a conspiracy theory website. Apparently the weather s going to get really bad because of some scientists firing missiles into the clouds. And by bad, the mean world ending bad. Of course, no one believes her. Until the action starts. That's when the action starts and front stop through the rest of the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves action and adventure.
June 9, 2021
It's an ok read
The premise of the book, man messing with weather and what could happen, was really quite interesting. Having seen firsthand how destructive tornados and hurricanes are, these super storms would have been down right terrifying. However, the actual writing was not great. Weird sentence structure, misspellings, characters that came and went with no names ever mentioned; a good editing job would have helped. The ending was just....anticlimactic. It was can okay read, but once will do it for me.
The premise of the book, man messing with weather and what could happen, was really quite interesting. Having seen firsthand how destructive tornados and hurricanes are, these super storms would have been down right terrifying. However, the actual writing was not great. Weird sentence structure, misspellings, characters that came and went with no names ever mentioned; a good editing job would have helped. The ending was just....anticlimactic. It was can okay read, but once will do it for me.
July 16, 2021
Winds of Ares: An Apocalypse Thriller
by Jacqueline Druga
This book is about weather gone wild. It is written as an apocalyptic thriller. This author has written many books on varied subjects of a apocalyptic nature but her last book was a christian story. The characters are average people which makes it a more believing story. It is action packed, edge of your seat thrill reading experience. I love her books and will read anything she writes. Don’t miss this one because it will make you read all her other books.
May 16, 2021
For the price, it was all right. I have enjoyed Ms. Druga's work before. This one seemed a little pointless. I could never buy the reason the main character bought into the possible apocalypse. It annoyed me that she was so judgmental of other people's ideas, but expected everyone to just accept whatever outlandish position she had. The book is a long series of awful things happening to people and no real payoff. I wouldn't recommend this as a good example of her work.
May 26, 2021
Take a chance
That's what I thought when I started to read this book. It was interesting at first and then you almost lost me. I forced myself to get past the part I thought was on it's way to crazy! The next chapter, you had me and I couldn't put it down. I finished at 4 in the morning and I can say, I positively loved it. So interesting and yet informative, well developed characters and story, so take a chance, I think you will enjoy!
That's what I thought when I started to read this book. It was interesting at first and then you almost lost me. I forced myself to get past the part I thought was on it's way to crazy! The next chapter, you had me and I couldn't put it down. I finished at 4 in the morning and I can say, I positively loved it. So interesting and yet informative, well developed characters and story, so take a chance, I think you will enjoy!
January 17, 2022
My new favorite author
This was my first book by Jacqueline Druga. I loved this book. The writing style is so smooth, the characters so well defined. It was an instant addiction for me. In the genre of post apocalyptic stories this is a winner. I especially appreciated the story was not about the military, but about real people in real life possible situations. It's a real page turner and you won't be disappointed.
This was my first book by Jacqueline Druga. I loved this book. The writing style is so smooth, the characters so well defined. It was an instant addiction for me. In the genre of post apocalyptic stories this is a winner. I especially appreciated the story was not about the military, but about real people in real life possible situations. It's a real page turner and you won't be disappointed.
June 17, 2022
Fun read
This is a great story centralized around global climate change. The main characters are well developed. There is lots of action and adventure. I love that it is a stand alone story. Many of these books tend to run into 5-7 books issued monthly. By the time the final book comes out, I have to reread previous books to figure out what is going on. This is well worth reading.
This is a great story centralized around global climate change. The main characters are well developed. There is lots of action and adventure. I love that it is a stand alone story. Many of these books tend to run into 5-7 books issued monthly. By the time the final book comes out, I have to reread previous books to figure out what is going on. This is well worth reading.
July 3, 2024
Entertaining
Pro’s: Easy and entertaining; interesting premise of unforeseen consequences of weather manipulation. Some characters die.
Con’s: Little detail on the scientific basis for the weather disasters makes the book less compelling and almost silly. Like hearing a cow moo as it is getting sucked into a tornado in the original Twister movie. The survival narrative is also far fetched to the point of fantasy.
Pro’s: Easy and entertaining; interesting premise of unforeseen consequences of weather manipulation. Some characters die.
Con’s: Little detail on the scientific basis for the weather disasters makes the book less compelling and almost silly. Like hearing a cow moo as it is getting sucked into a tornado in the original Twister movie. The survival narrative is also far fetched to the point of fantasy.
May 7, 2021
I always love books when I intimately know the setting and this one had a surprise for me. The final destination for this band of travelers is the Greenbriar in West Virginia. To get there they must cross the New River Gorge which we used to visit every year to go whitewater rafting. That this would be the area that would be most geographically safe made perfect sense to me. It is like no other location in the lower 48 states, absolutely geologically unique.
June 6, 2021
Holy Errors!
The story itself is... meh... okay. It's a run of the mill idea that kind of flopped. The absolute worst for me was the poor sentence structure, misspelling, punctuation errors, and plot errors. Those things made the book very difficult for me to get through. Will someone please tell this author how and when to use commas properly?
The story itself is... meh... okay. It's a run of the mill idea that kind of flopped. The absolute worst for me was the poor sentence structure, misspelling, punctuation errors, and plot errors. Those things made the book very difficult for me to get through. Will someone please tell this author how and when to use commas properly?
July 28, 2021
Excellent Book
I couldn't put the book down! The destruction was day after day. No promise of loss of life...this book will grab your attention and not let go. All of a sudden you're not reading a book..you are living the horror of wondering if the people you love will survive until daylight!! Fantastic journey that you will ever take.
I couldn't put the book down! The destruction was day after day. No promise of loss of life...this book will grab your attention and not let go. All of a sudden you're not reading a book..you are living the horror of wondering if the people you love will survive until daylight!! Fantastic journey that you will ever take.
October 28, 2021
It's original
This is a different apocalyptic fiction series for me. I like the characters and they were not soapy. There are also some surprises throughout the book and the storyline was unique. I have to admit I will read the next book in this series. It could go either way because I feel this book works well as a stand alone novel.
This is a different apocalyptic fiction series for me. I like the characters and they were not soapy. There are also some surprises throughout the book and the storyline was unique. I have to admit I will read the next book in this series. It could go either way because I feel this book works well as a stand alone novel.
December 21, 2021
Weather or not
It starts with a bang grabbing your interest but end's in a drizzle , I'm finding that more of the authors books seem to end too softly a bit disappointing after a big build up,shes good at writing a bit of a ditsy female character that's strong as well.
A simple read that I'll probably forget tomorrow.
It starts with a bang grabbing your interest but end's in a drizzle , I'm finding that more of the authors books seem to end too softly a bit disappointing after a big build up,shes good at writing a bit of a ditsy female character that's strong as well.
A simple read that I'll probably forget tomorrow.
March 26, 2022
Going Home
Very interesting, atypical apocalypse novel from a good author of the genre.
The theme is original and the storyline is well-planned. The main characters are well developed and the minor characters are never lost as characters. The struggles are realistic and nicely cover 2/3s of the US from Texas to West Virginia. And the small herd of Texas horses live! Yippee!
Very interesting, atypical apocalypse novel from a good author of the genre.
The theme is original and the storyline is well-planned. The main characters are well developed and the minor characters are never lost as characters. The struggles are realistic and nicely cover 2/3s of the US from Texas to West Virginia. And the small herd of Texas horses live! Yippee!
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April 27, 2021Good read
Another good book from the fantastic Jacqueline Druga. As usual, very well written, easy to read, fantastic characters and laugh out loud humour sprinkled in amongst a terrible disaster. A must read for post apocalyptic fans x
Another good book from the fantastic Jacqueline Druga. As usual, very well written, easy to read, fantastic characters and laugh out loud humour sprinkled in amongst a terrible disaster. A must read for post apocalyptic fans x
May 2, 2021
I read this book in 2 nights. I stayed up to late, but I regret nothing. I’d do it again.
I love this authors work. Her end of the world stories are terrifying because it could happen. I am telling everyone to grab this and read!!
I love this authors work. Her end of the world stories are terrifying because it could happen. I am telling everyone to grab this and read!!
May 6, 2021
Enjoyable
Fast paced, difficult to put down with a gentle ending going out like a whisper. It’s a good read without tons of character development but still quite good. Sometimes you just want a bit mindless and exciting
Fast paced, difficult to put down with a gentle ending going out like a whisper. It’s a good read without tons of character development but still quite good. Sometimes you just want a bit mindless and exciting
May 11, 2021
Weather controlling goes wrong!
Jana joins an online survival group that is being prepared to survive the upcoming climate apocalypse. Some people will believe her and join her on her journey to survival. The horse story was awesome!
Jana joins an online survival group that is being prepared to survive the upcoming climate apocalypse. Some people will believe her and join her on her journey to survival. The horse story was awesome!
May 24, 2021
Edge of my seat
I enjoyed this book very much. Plenty of action. Nature at its worst.. the zeal to survive in a almost destroyed world. People working together to live, make due with what you have and be thankful for the small things that life gives us.
Dws
I enjoyed this book very much. Plenty of action. Nature at its worst.. the zeal to survive in a almost destroyed world. People working together to live, make due with what you have and be thankful for the small things that life gives us.
Dws
May 27, 2021
Different
This book was different than most post - apocalyptic books. No roaming gangs killing everyone, no zombies, just people trying to survive. I really enjoyed it. I gave it four stars because there were some places that needed editing
This book was different than most post - apocalyptic books. No roaming gangs killing everyone, no zombies, just people trying to survive. I really enjoyed it. I gave it four stars because there were some places that needed editing
June 9, 2021
A New Beginning
Some survived. The trip was extremely hard. Many didnt survive the horrifying trip to the safe zone. Now, staying positive and rebuilding the future was going to take determination. Going back and starting over was a major decision.
Some survived. The trip was extremely hard. Many didnt survive the horrifying trip to the safe zone. Now, staying positive and rebuilding the future was going to take determination. Going back and starting over was a major decision.
July 10, 2021
I enjoyed this book!
It was really well written and the action is great! I read most of it last night because I couldn't put it down. The characters are fantastic and it is a really interesting story arc that kept me reading well into the night!
It was really well written and the action is great! I read most of it last night because I couldn't put it down. The characters are fantastic and it is a really interesting story arc that kept me reading well into the night!
August 7, 2021
Winds of Ares
Very exciting, tense filled with a rollercoaster effect. But through tornadoes,hail, hurricanes, and high waters some people would not give up. The characters were life like and tenacious.
Very exciting, tense filled with a rollercoaster effect. But through tornadoes,hail, hurricanes, and high waters some people would not give up. The characters were life like and tenacious.
August 9, 2021
Too many errors
I found that the author had limited knowledge about the geography and the highway system in this country. You can't drive across the US in under 4 days.I have been there and done that many times. myself.
I found that the author had limited knowledge about the geography and the highway system in this country. You can't drive across the US in under 4 days.I have been there and done that many times. myself.
August 18, 2021
Very good read....
Excellent take on an apocalypse triggered by a " weather weapon " and the struggles and determination of the American people to survive and then recover and rebuild. Appears to be the stat of an excellent series.....
Excellent take on an apocalypse triggered by a " weather weapon " and the struggles and determination of the American people to survive and then recover and rebuild. Appears to be the stat of an excellent series.....
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews