Cloud Riders

Cloud Riders #1

by Nick Cook

Dom lives with his mom in Tornado Alley, where twisters used to be a way of life. After a year long drought, the family diner is about to go bust and Dom feels trapped, torn between supporting his mother and the urge to escape. Even his relationship with best friend, Jules, is beginning to prickle with feelings he doesn’t want. When the first twister in months appears from nowhere and an airship emerges from the spout, Dom’s world is turned upside down. Its pilots are explorers who make Dom an offer beyond his imagination. But the pilots are hiding a terrible secret. Can Dom uncover the truth and make the right decision before everything he cares for is destroyed?

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 2014

Reviews

[Sally Melia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick Cook contacted me via Twitter about Cloud Riders. This is first novel published by Three Hares Publishing and edited by Kathryn Price of Cornerstones.

The novel is set in Twister Alley in the USA and tells the story of Dom, a seventeen-year-old geek, picked on the sport and cheerleader clique at his local high-school, whose father is dead, and left him and his mother with little money and failing business. A Diner in twister Allee makes no money when there are no twisters. So the book which starts off very much as High School Musical meets Somewhere Over the Rainbow, when an airship falls out of a twister.

I won't say very much about the story, except the pace really picks up when Dom finally plucks up his courage to break into the airship to discover its secrets.

The whole story has nice steampunk details and is an innovative take on the time travel / parallel universe genre.

The Science Fiction is less convincing, and I was particularly irritated by the all-healing Chi Stone. You rub or hold the stone above any injury and its special powers accelerate the healing. That's not science fiction, that's magic.

So all-told an interesting Steam-Punk parallel-worlds tale with a sequel to follow. A solid start from a brand new talent.

[Elan Durham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Cook combines a visionary writing style with fascinating other-world physics, and the sensibility of a YA (Young Adult) classic in 'Cloud Riders'. Set in Tornado Alley in Oklahoma, at times I felt as if I were revisiting The Wizard of Oz, Star Trek, or alternatively H.G. Wells via St. Exupery ... This is a first novel, (and as such it has a few kinks), but such gorgeous prose and ambitious plotting, through the point-of-view of his young protagonist Dom, deserves a wide readership. Especially recommended for fans of science fiction, Young Adult fiction, and the fictional possibilities of time-space continuums, adventurous readers will be repaid by Nick Cook's 'Cloud Riders' on twitter @CloudRiders or http://www.nick-cook.net/

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book (which I bought directly from the author at MCM Comic-Con earlier this year) showed a lot of promise but was marred by elements which I found overly conventional or pedestrian. The opening, with ordinary small-town life in Oklahoma's Tornado Alley being shaken up by the arrival of a mysterious airship and its passengers, harked back enjoyably to movies like ET and Flight of the Navigator (and recent homages like Super 8) about the fantastical intruding into such a mundane setting. The characters and their relationships (including the two mysterious visitors) in these opening chapters felt believable and real to me.

Unfortunately, when more of the mysteries of the plot and setting started to be revealed, I was disappointed, as I felt like I had heard a lot of this before - exiled royalty (no, Everything Is Not Better With Princesses), dimension-hopping, multiversal war, freedom fighters, random technobabble, yadda yadda. The more action-y sections follow YA/fantasy/sci-fi conventions even more rigorously to the detriment of my suspension of disbelief, with elements seemingly lifted wholesale from the original Star Wars, and moustache-twirling caricatured villains who seemed too incompetent to feel really threatening. The actual action was pretty exciting, if a bit hard to believe in places. (I'll go into more detail about these elements in the spoiler section below.) Another point in the book's favour is that it doesn't shy away from violent death and the reactions of someone not used to it.

As with seemingly every "young adult" sci-fi/fantasy novel, this also felt the need to include a love triangle. Thankfully, it does at least shake up the formula a bit (if only because the protagonist is male, which at least means some of the questionable elements of some YA romances are avoided - Angelique isn't quite a gender-flip of the stereotypical Brooding YA Hero, though she comes close, and the protagonist shows a little more sense in dealing with her than the cliched agency-less female YA protagonist) and avoids going down the most conventional routes. Admittedly, this is partly because the book ends on an obligatory cliffhanger.

The actual writing of the book I found pretty good the whole way through - the imagery of flight and storms is obviously the author's forte and area of interest, the dialogue wasn't too clunky (except for a few bits of exposition, and anything that comes out the mouth of a villain). There were, unfortunately, some problems with frequent misplaced punctuation and mixed-up words which the editor really should have caught.

All in all, a perfectly decent YA airship-punk/sci-fi book which fans of that sort of thing will enjoy (particularly if they're looking for something with a male protagonist that doesn't compromise on treating female characters fairly). I just would have liked to see a bit less formula and a bit more imagination and ambiguity to match the other positive elements.

Spoiler Section:
(This gives away quite a lot. If you have not read the book, open the spoiler tags with caution.)

Plot
As noted above, I thought the "we're exiled royalty from another universe (where we inexplicably use highly apropos French and Greek names) and members of a secret freedom fighter group, a big bad evil dude is trying to conquer the multiverse with superweapons" reveal was clangingly conventional. I waited in vain for a bit more ambiguity to be revealed - Bella and Angelique's family not exactly being such benevolent rulers as they claimed, General Cronus having an interesting motivation, etc., but none such was forthcoming. (Well, beyond Angelique turning out not to have simply fallen in love with Dom at first sight, which would have been head-bangingly annoying if it had been the case.) Beyond the conventionality and black-and-white morality of the conflict, the reader never sees much of it, which (as noted) raises questions about the veracity of Bella and Angelique's story. Frankly, I think the first hundred pages or so could have worked much better as setup for a much less world-shattering plot - among other things, without the clarity of life-or-death situations, Dom's choices would have felt like greater dilemmas and less forced.

Villains
Oh, dear. Hades (sorry, Hades', since the word seems to have an apostrophe all the time regardless of grammatical necessity) are a seriously incompetent bunch, not quite on the level of (say) Phantom of Krankor from Prince of Space but even worse than your average caricatured sci-fi bad guys. They're presented as this multiverse-conquering menace who would casually swat our Earth's combined militaries aside with ease, yet what we see of their technology and tactics suggests that, their dimension-hopping aside, they would struggle to beat off Somali pirates. Let me count the ways they fail:

-They repeatedly send one person at a time to apprehend two dangerous fugitives (or let individual scouts do so on their own initiative) instead of sending in entire squads.
-One of their warships is infiltrated with casual ease by an untrained teenage boy. (At least Luke Skywalker knew how to use a gun, had grown up watching out for Tusken Raiders, and had a Wookie, a Jedi Master and Han "I Shoot First" Solo to help him.)
-The guards let a supposed technician into the cliched execution chamber without any authorization (or Jedi Mind Trick).
-The supposedly sadistic commander doesn't actually watch the execution to savour his prisoner's despair (or whatever), and thus misses the fact that she's been rescued.
-Our world-conquering nuclear-missile-swatting villains are unable to shoot down an ultralight aircraft or knock out an armoured civilian vehicle (admittedly while using a captured ship, but still).

I realize these David-beats-Goliath amateurs-vs-trained-military shenanigans are par for the course in YA dystopia, sci-fi etc. (as part of the "Stick It To The Man" fantasy that's usually inherent in that sort of story) and indeed in sci-fi in general, but I felt this was a particularly blatant and avoidable example. (In particular, it would have made more sense for Angelique the kung-fu princess to bust Dom out of jail rather than the other way round, and let's not get into any gender politics tangles about that.)

[Bodicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is in the YA genre but like a lot of these type of fantasy books there is no reason why an adult can’t enjoy them too if they fancy a bit of light reading. I settled down with this one today and I wasn’t disappointed. A story of different parallel universes, an evil dictator who wants to rule on every level and a girl who is not all she seems. Dom lives in Tornado Alley and expects things to get a little windy on occasion but what he doesn’t expect are the strange flashes at the top of the one bearing down on him and his mother as they run for cover. An airship appears and looks like it is about to crash. When his deceased father’s storm chasing team turn up to investigate they find patterns in the ground rarely found where twisters touch down and, as they stick around to find out more, it becomes clear this was no ordinary twister. The airship’s occupants are fairly elusive when it comes to their reason for being there and Dom just doesn’t buy into their explanation of a Round The World race. When he and best friend Jules share their suspicions with each other they decide to find out the truth together.

I liked the way this story built satisfyingly up, with characters I felt myself caring about, especially Dom’s mother who carries a secret which surprised almost everyone around her when she revealed it. This is the first book in a series and leaves things very much on a cliffhangar ready for the next book. It has held its momentum for me and I shall look forward to reading Breaking Storm the next one in this trilogy. Well written and with a nod to steampunk and science fiction, it made for an entertaining read. Nicely done.

[Kristy Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this gripping action adventure story we experience life through Dom' s eyes. In Dom the author has created a realistic, likeable character. A young teen boy, trying to be the rock his mum needs after the loss of his father. You may think at first that this is a book about a boy that follows twisters, but the twisters are hiding something much, much more! Without giving to much away this book is brimming with action, twists, secrets, other realms, a princess, a love triangle and fantastically paced fight/flight scenes. The author has a brilliant gift for natural dialogue , realistic characters and world building. The pacing brings the ending to a nail biting cliff hanger, so now I have to read the next. A great read for teens plus. P.s. I was always team Jules.;)

[Ynah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever heard of book hangover? I am experiencing that right now. Thanks Nick Cook. I have so much love for this book! I love the relationship between the characters. Dom + Jules = Best of friends. Of course a boy and a girl can be best friends. Who said it wasn't possible? They are cute! Those things emerging from the twisters - oh, how I adore their names, the good ones at least. I would love to be a Cloud Rider and explore the universe.
This book is very captivating. I've got so much to say about it but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself from giving out spoilers so I think I might as well just stop now.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cloud Riders, new worlds to explore, a satisfying mix of present day reality, steampunk fantasy & sci-fi adventure. Dom has tough decisions to make, torn between the deep roots of home and his destiny in the sky. Just some of the strengths to this story: Cook's rich atmospheric description, a credible grasp of technology and the prospect of having much to discover in the greater world of the story. Highly recommend.

[Pheebee · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

This is such a different sort of story I have really enjoyed reading and am in a hurry to see what happens next

[Rebecca Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whirlwind of discovery, adventures and emotions awaits you in Nick Cook’s Cloud Riders. An excellent read for teens and adults alike, the author writes his compelling story with a well-balanced combination of steampunk fantasy, sci-fi, and real-life moral quandaries. I loved the way Cook handled the delicate issues and questions we all face as human beings with tough choices to make, revealing the internal struggles of the protagonist, Dom, as he is met with conflicting desires between home and adventure.

Admittedly, I was expecting to be thrown near-immediately into high-flying adventures in other worlds, so the ‘slower’ pace came as a surprise to me – though far from an unpleasant one! I enjoyed the character building and scene-setting, becoming familiar with Dom and how he thinks, the surroundings he lives in. It sets the reader up well to be intrigued by the somewhat unexpected appearance of an airship in Tornado Valley with its two gallivanting beauties that are Angelique and her mother Bella. There is far more than meets the eye to these ‘travellers’, a strong element of suspicion surrounding them – and surprising plot twists throughout – kept me page turning to see what happens next and how things will pan out. Unexpected revelations and decisions abound!

Finally, a note on Cook’s fantasy… I was very impressed at the level of thought and workings/explanation behind the surreal abilities of the characters, the weaponry and otherworldly gadgetry. It’s always wonderful to be presented with convincing fresh ideas on fantastical elements that make you believe, or want to believe, that these things can work, so for that Nick well done!

Thank you for a stimulating, interesting and exciting read. Can’t wait for more adventures in Breaking Storm!

[Keeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the description of this novel I was drawn in. Cloud Riders is book one in the Cloud Rider series and begins the story of Dom. Dom lives with his mom in Tornado Alley and helps out at their family diner. His father disappeared in the last tornado that they had and since then they have had an insane drought.

Finally, a storm appears in the middle of the night. But with it comes something unexpected, an airship. After helping them land their ship, Dom embarks on a crazy journey to uncover his heritage and what happened to his father.

This book was utterly fantastic. I expected to enjoy it, but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. The author is amazing and sent me a copy to review and I could not be more grateful. I haven't read many steampunk type novels and am now completely hooked on Nick Cook's Cloud Riders series. I am highly anticipating book two and will be following this author for hopefully the rest of his writing career. His world building was one of my favorites of 2014 and I can't recommend this novel enough to anyone that loves sci/fi or adventure stories. Cloud Riders absolutely deserves the 5/5 that I gave it.

[Terry Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have about as much interest in YA Sci-Fi, generally, as I have in football and cars, so this was a strange choice of book for me, and I'm also not much of a one for serials (having almost given up on ever finding out what happens in Game of Thrones) - but I fancied this book because I love anything about twisters, have a bit of a thing about alternative dimensions, and I am also strangely fascinated by ordinary life in small town America.

I loved the parts of Cloud Riders that took place in the rundown diner where hero Dom lives with his Mum. Nick Cook writes delightfully, simply, in a way that puts over an atmosphere perfectly. It's such a talent, that; you can't learn it. He's got a great gift for dialogue and I loved the idea of a young teenage boy in possession of a 'gift' he never knew about!

If you're particularly into SciFi/Fantasy, you will LOVE this. I am sure the continuing series will become very popular ~ it SHOULD!

[A Colleen Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about a young 17-year old yearning for adventure but torn between following his heart and loyally remaining by his widowed mother's side. There's a great set of strong, well-developed female characters around Dom, and the pace really moves at a good pace. There was a nice balance between the action and adventure, interactions between characters, internal turmoil as Dom debates over what to do and deals with his self-doubt, fears, and dreams.

Somebody referred to this as steampunk, but that's incorrect because steampunk is always set in Victorian times. It reminds me more of an old serial, like Flash Gordon, but with a more believable hero, suddenly finding out there's more to the world than he ever knew, and he's a part of it. Lots going on but it doesn't drag or get confusing, and you can suspend your disbelief and totally get into the world that Nick Cook has created. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy!

[S. Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just really loved this book. There is a certain sweetness, a certain nostalgia (or maybe it's just the Oklahoma setting) which comes across quite vividly in the first pages and really lures the reader in. The characters are strong and quirky, which I love, and the steampunk elements are fabulous. Highly recommended.

[Emma Donnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book to read at any age. Great characters and an original and well thought out theme. Some seriously brilliant imagination has gone into this.
A real whirlwind of a read, that sucks you in, literally!

[Ken Durham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light Reading with Character

An imaginative imagination of parallel planets. Same space, different dimensions, with various sub-plots. Who is who and what does each hide. It will keep your interest until the end. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Vincent Ripley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review to follow on blog first http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/

[Wozzey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book for all ages. Excellent.

[Shelley]

Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2018/11...