Hollywood resurrects a twister chasing legend
4.5 out of 5 stars
Chuck might be one of the best storm chasers of his time. But his chasing is cut short when people on one of his tornado watching tours were cut down by lightning. Bankrupt, divorced, and down on his luck – Chuck is given a second chance. One that he is reluctant to take because he doesn’t want to re-live the things that happened in his past. He signs a 2-week contract with a Hollywood director to find him the biggest and baddest twister, either an EF-4 or EF-5. Along the way, Chuck’s values, life, and friendships will be put to the test.
The narration for Supercell was done by Drew Commins, who does a really nice job. Drew gave Chuck and everyone else involved in the story different voices allowing for the listener to follow along almost effortlessly. The quality of the recording and of this audiobook was perfect. I will definitely be looking for other work by Collins in the future (and it looks like he narrates at least one other Bernard book!)
I love extreme weather, I’ve always wanted to go out storm chasing. But, at the same time, I utterly terrified of it. This book has been on my “to read’ list for quite some time. I actually owned the ebook version of it for almost 2 years. I don’t know why I never took the chance to read it. Well, now the audiobook comes along and I’m extremely excited that I got to finally finish this book.
Chuck was a really different main character for me. He was a down on his luck “loser” who really had nothing going for him. He used to be top dog, but now he just seemed to have nothing go his way. Supercell really allowed Chuck to shine as the main character and allowed a lot of growth in his character along the way.
The only problems I had with this book was the biblical stuff pepper throughout. Not that I’m against the bible — no I was raised Catholic. Just Chuck’s character is the exact type of religious person that I disliked. He basically disowned his son for “choosing” to be gay. Now, with that being said and my personal views on this — the character arc for him (and even for his son) really added a unique dynamic to this story. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if there wasn’t the animosity — but I would have been okay with less “angry religious Chuck” in the book.
The story definitely reminded me of Twister and of the amazing storms I’ve watched on the news and in different documentaries. Everything in this book felt real. Even the way that the Hollywood film producer acted throughout felt believable.
Overall, Supercell was one of those books that I was pleased to have read when I finished it. It also made me really want to dive into the other books the Buzz has written. I see that a few of them are available in audiobook format, and I hope to get the chance to review those soon!
If you were a fan of the movie Twister, like extreme weather, or really enjoy a well-written story with well thought out characters and a twisting, turning (tornado-like) plot — this book is for you. I was… blown away by the story. (Sorry, I had to).
I was given a free copy of this book.
Written by: H.W. “Buzz” Bernard
Narrated by: Drew Commins
Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:12-03-14
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
They’ll pay him a fortune to find a killer tornado for their movie.
He knows the risks all too well, but he never imagined just how dangerous the perfect storm could be.
Chuck Rittenburg was one of the most intrepid storm chasers in the country until a bad decision resulted in the death of a young couple who’d paid to ride along. A decade later–broke, divorced, and estranged from his college-age children–he’s got nothing left to lose. When a film producer offers Chuck one-million dollars to help find and photograph a deadly tornado in Oklahoma, Chuck sees a chance to earn his kids’ respect again–and maybe his own.
The situation quickly becomes about more than tracking a monster tornado for Hollywood. FBI Agent Gabi Medeiros insists on riding along. A burglary ring is targeting tornado-ravaged neighborhoods, and their tactics now include murder.
With the stage set for a major heist, a deadly supercell, and a confrontation between Man and Nature on an epic scale, Chuck and his crew will be lucky to escape in one piece.
H. W. “Buzz” Bernard is a best-selling, award-winning novelist.
His debut novel, EYEWALL, which one reviewer called a “perfect summer read,” was released in May 2011 and went on to become a number-one best-seller in Amazon’s Kindle Store.
His second novel, PLAGUE (“One of the best thrillers of 2012″–novelist Al Leverone), came out in September 2012, and won the 2014 EPIC eBook Award in the suspense/thriller category.
His third novel, SUPERCELL (“Races along with the speed of a twister”–novelist Michael Wallace) was published in late 2013 and became a best seller on Kindle as well as the winner of the 2015 EPIC eBook Award in the suspense thriller/category.
His most recent novel and the third in his “weather trilogy,” BLIZZARD (“A terrific book”–novelist Deborah Smith) was released in February 2015.
Before becoming a novelist, Buzz worked at The Weather Channel as a senior meteorologist for 13 years. Prior to that, he served as a weather officer in the U.S. Air Force for over three decades. He attained the rank of colonel and received, among other awards, the Legion of Merit.
His “airborne” experiences include a mission with the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, air drops over the Arctic Ocean and Turkey, and a stint as a weather officer aboard a Tactical Air Command airborne command post (C-135).
In the past, he’s provided field support to forest fire fighting operations in the Pacific Northwest, spent a summer working on Alaska’s arctic slope, and served two tours in Vietnam. Various other jobs, both civilian and military, have taken him to Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Panama.
He’s a native Oregonian and attended the University of Washington in Seattle where he earned a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science; he also studied creative writing.
Buzz currently is vice president of the Southeastern Writers Association. He’s a member of International Thriller Writers, the Atlanta Writers Club, and Willamette Writers.
He and his wife Christina live in Roswell, Georgia, along with their fuzzy and sometimes over-active Shih-Tzu, Stormy. Buzz is represented by Jeanie Loiacano of the Loiacano Literary Agency.
Buzz’s Website can be found at www.buzzbernard.com.
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I love watching the storm chasers too but wouldn’t ever do it myself!!! I have this for review and can’t wait to listen 🙂