Firestorm

Jack learns that he is different, that he has special powers and abilities, and that he is from the future and has been sent back to save the planet. This sci-fi thriller is filled with thrilling, death-defying situations and breakneck chase scenes. The fast-paced, gripping plot is an excellent vehicle for presenting a significant environmental message to an audience that might not hear it otherwise. The book touches upon issues of ecology, time travel, and self-identity. Jack is an appealing hero who comes off as a regular guy. He narrates the story with a nonstop run of fragmentary sentences that keeps the pace going at lightning speed. The cliff-hanger ending will make readers anxious to pick up book two of the trilogy, "Whirlwind", show more which was published on March 18, 2008. show less

A 16-year old athlete meets a telepathic dog, gets trained by a ninja babe and finds out that he is actually the son of future prophets in this poorly written mishmash of science fiction, thriller and environmental themes. Book One of the Caretaker Trilogy.

Jack Danielson's parents have always encouraged him to be average, to blend in, not to try to hard or do to much. This doesn't make much sense until Jack breaks the rushing record at his school, attracts the attention of strange dark clad killers, and winds up parentless, homeless and adrift in NYC. After being captured by a shape-shifting bounty hunter, Jack meets up with Gisco, a telepathic dog who seems to know about the people hunting Jack, and who leads him to Eco, a sultry show more "Ninja Babe" who trains Jack. Why she is training Jack remains fuzzy, but as it is ultimately revealed that he has been sent from the environmentally ravaged future to find a mystical weapon known as Firestorm, one hopes it will come in handy later. Somehow or another, Jack winds up on a fishing trawler, and ultimately in the hands of his enemies, who seek to stop him from stopping the destruction of the planet. Or something like that, it honestly never made much sense to me.

This book is what you might get if Al Gore, Philip K. Dick and a 14 year old kid who's read too much Shonen manga had an intellectual love child. Its badly written with short, choppy sentences, an incomprehensible plot, gadgetry for the sake of gadgetry, and sex scenes shoehorned in for good measure. In a shorter form, this book might appeal to teenage boys, but at 289 pages, only the most dedicated readers will stick with it. The first in a planned trilogy, the lack of a satisfying, or even understandable, conclusion is simply the nail in the coffin. (cross-posted from MeriJenBen) show less

A 16-year old athlete meets a telepathic dog, gets trained by a ninja babe and finds out that he is actually the son of future prophets in this poorly written mishmash of science fiction, thriller and environmental themes. Book One of the Caretaker Trilogy.

Jack Danielson's parents have always encouraged him to be average, to blend in, not to try to hard or do to much. This doesn't make much sense until Jack breaks the rushing record at his school, attracts the attention of strange dark clad killers, and winds up parentless, homeless and adrift in NYC. After being captured by a shape-shifting bounty hunter, Jack meets up with Gisco, a telepathic dog who seems to know about the people hunting Jack, and who leads him to Eco, a sultry show more "Ninja Babe" who trains Jack. Why she is training Jack remains fuzzy, but as it is ultimately revealed that he has been sent from the environmentally ravaged future to find a mystical weapon known as Firestorm, one hopes it will come in handy later. Somehow or another, Jack winds up on a fishing trawler, and ultimately in the hands of his enemies, who seek to stop him from stopping the destruction of the planet. Or something like that, it honestly never made much sense to me.

This book is what you might get if Al Gore, Philip K. Dick and a 14 year old kid who's read too much Shonen manga had an intellectual love child. Its badly written with short, choppy sentences, an incomprehensible plot, gadgetry for the sake of gadgetry, and sex scenes shoehorned in for good measure. In a shorter form, this book might appeal to teenage boys, but at 289 pages, only the most dedicated readers will stick with it. The first in a planned trilogy, the lack of a satisfying, or even understandable, conclusion is simply the nail in the coffin. show less

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

It's always interesting to read the blurbs on the front of a book. You know the ones I mean; the recommendations from fellow authors about why you should pick up a copy of the book in question. What's even more interesting is when the blurb comes from someone other than an author. In the case of FIRESTORM, the first in The Caretaker Trilogy by author David Klass, the recommendation comes from Greenpeace. Yes, the same Greenpeace International that is dedicated to protecting and saving the Earth from the harmful practices that threaten to destroy it. If that isn't enough to get your attention, then maybe you should turn your ear towards Jack Danielson, the hero of FIRESTORM:

"Name's Jack Danielson. show more Eighteen. As of right now, not quite sure I'll live to see nineteen. Always been a pretty good guy, easy-going, laid back, friend to all and enemy to none. Smart, but not too smart. Athletically inclined, but never enough to be the best. Now my whole world is falling apart. Seems my father isn't my father. My mother isn't my mother. The fact that my dad who isn't my dad shot off his own foot to prove his point should be strange enough. It isn't. There are weird bat-like creatures chasing me, and things called Gorms. I've somehow ended up on a motorcycle with a humongous mongrel dog named Gisco, who happens to be telepathic, riding in a sidecar. Now there's a woman named Eko kicking my a** on a daily basis to make me stronger. Why? Because I have to find Firestorm so that I can save the Earth. And no, I have no idea what that is. And yes, I'm a fan of sentence fragments. Look it up, my friend, but not right now. Right now I have to save the world, before there's no future on Earth for me to come back from."

FIRESTORM is Jack's story, but it's also the story of what could very well happen. It's a fantasy that could be truth, if the destruction of Earth by mankind continues on its current course. After reading this wonderful book, I clearly understand why it's endorsed by Greenpeace. One of the best things of the book, besides its underlying message of taking care of the planet, is Gisco, the telepathic dog. He adds an element of humor, such as his devotion to the O Great Dog God, that lightens up a story that could come across as preachy, but never does. It's very hard to categorize FIRESTORM into one category, but if I had to I would call it a coming-of-age, contemporary fantasy, science-fiction, paranormal adventure story.

If that doesn't catch your attention, I don't know what will. Let me just say that once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. And when you're finished, you'll want to read more. FIRESTORM is, luckily, the first book in The Caretaker Trilogy, so maybe if we hound Mr. Klass night and day he'll give us what we want--and sooner rather than later. show less

You wouldn't think that winning a game would be a life-altering event, but Jack's life comes crashing down after he wins his high school football game and is featured on the local news. He notices a man staring at him in a restaurant, and then flashing his eyes at him in a very science fictionish kind of way. Suddenly he is being hunted by strange creatures, who kill his parents just after his dad reveals that they aren't really his parents, and saves his life. After nearly being killed again in New York, he takes up with a large, telepathic dog, Gisco, and flees down the Eastern Seaboard, pursued all the way and never knowing whom to trust. He meets a ninja girl, Eko, who teaches him how to fight. Gradually he discovers that he is from show more 1000 years in the future, when the earth is an ecological wasteland; that the Turning Point, beyond which the disaster can't be stopped, is coming up; and that he has been sent back according to a prophecy to find something called Firestorm, which can stop the coming catastrophe. If only he knew what it is, or where. Although other readers have criticized the heavy handed environmental message in the book and the extreme overuse of sentence fragments, I think reluctant readers will LOVE this book. I'll definitely buy book two just to see what happens with Cisco and Eko. show less

When his life starts to fall apart, Jack Danielson starts to realize his life is not what it seemed. He is, in fact, from 1000 years in the future and sent back to contemporary America because of a prophecy that he is the "beacon of hope", the person who will be able to find the mysterious firestorm and save the earth from the destruction that humans will do to the environment before reaching the point of no return.
There is lots of action and many twists and turns. Along with Gisco, a dog from the future, and Echo, the high priestess of Dan, Jack Danielson tries his best to save the world.
The writing style included lots of sentence fragments, which annoyed me at times. At times things got a bit preachy about the destruction of the show more environment. But all in all, I enjoyed the book and liked it enough to think about picking up book two. show less

The first title in the Caretaker Trilogy. Seventeen-year-old Jack lives a relatively normal life with his parents. He has exceptional abilities both in sports and academically but his parents encourage him not to try too hard but instead blend in as much as possible. Jack resents this as he has never had to try hard to excel and dislikes hiding his abilities and letting others win. One night after he performs exceptionally well during a football match which appears on the news, he notices a strange man following him. He tells his parents and immediately his world changes. His Dad piles him into their car and starts driving, telling him that they are not his real parents and their enemies have found them. They are ambushed and his father show more killed. Jack must run for his life and during so try to find out what is going on and who he can trust.

This fast paced science fiction survival story has a strong environmental theme. The future world has suffered from terrible ecological disasters and the earth is dying. Jack has been sent back in time in order to try and save the planet. It is a very sobering and well written story. Highly recommended. show less