The Weather Vane


Fiction - Fantasy - General
341 Pages
Reviewed on 03/20/2020
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

The Weather Vane by Gedalia Gershon is a well-written adventure with a strong appeal to both fans of science fiction and fantasy. I enjoyed how the author merges worlds, creating unique settings and obstacles that characters have to face, hence augmenting the pulse of the narrative. Readers encounter a group of ascended and skilled masters who have just discovered they have a new mission: join the phenomenal battle between good and evil. But before they even get started on their new mission in the afterlife, they are shipwrecked. They are stranded in an unreachable reality and must find the path out of this magical world.

This is an engrossing story that shouts out loud in its originality. While the author builds the plot on the legendary struggle between good and evil, it is in the details that the originality of the story lies. The characters are phenomenal, extraordinary humans entrusted with a mission, who find themselves stuck in a place no one knows. Like a chess game, they have to play around and uncover clues. Their humanity is real as they get frustrated with their fate and long for answers. The prose is impeccable, filled with vivid descriptions and imagery. There is a strong sense of unpredictability in the plot which makes it exciting. It is hard to guess what could happen next and the author uses premonition to create interest in readers. Gedalia Gershon has created a spellbinding story in The Weather Vane with memorable characters like Bosun Bicklesworth and Rosalie, and readers won’t forget the unique way these characters speak. They belong to their own world, and their language captures it so well.

Liz Konkel

The Weather Vane by Gedalia Gershon is an action-packed adventure that brings to life a variety of characters tackling a fight between good and evil in a colorful world. A prisoner wakes up in a strange reality aboard an even stranger ship with a crew that has one peculiar commonality. A shocking turn of events finds them shipwrecked and lost within the ether where they encounter a magical world that goes beyond what they could imagine.

Gedalia Gershon delivers a unique and unusual plot that opens with a prisoner finding himself aboard a mysterious ship and with little memory about how he got there. He quickly learns about the Ascendant and this pushes him to understand more about his path in this afterlife. The dialogue that Gershon weaves throughout is very specific to the types of characters, with the crew having a language that fits with the ship's atmosphere while the prisoner and Rosalie have more modern speech. As the characters evolve along their journey, so does the setting and the overall theme of good and evil. The action is fast-paced with several twists thrown into their journey and the characters face an unusual world where they become stuck.

The relationship between the prisoner and Rosalie goes through an extensive change. Their relationship is quick to evolve into a passionate connection that draws the two characters together. The story has a tone that is reflective of literary styles that follow themes of humanity and perseverance with a certain lightness in the writing that adds some fun to the adventure. The Weather Vane will appeal to those who enjoy literary influences, blending of genres, unusual worlds, action-adventure tales, and fights between good and evil.

Rabia Tanveer

The Weather Vane by Gedalia Gershon is an adventure fantasy novel where a group of characters is trying to make sense of their purpose in the afterlife. The story follows a man called Prisoner who has no idea where he is. He woke up on a ship that is home to some very colorful characters. Apparently he is one of the Ascendants who come to the Port of Higher Calls. From there they hop onto the ferry and are taken to where they are needed. The issue is Prisoner doesn’t know why he ascended and what his next purpose is. Things aren’t making sense, he doesn’t know what his purpose is and things aren’t really going in favor of this group of people. Suddenly, things take a chaotic turn when the ferry is shipwrecked and they are lost. Now not only Prisoner has to try to remember what his purpose is in the afterlife, but he also has to work with this strange group of people to get out of trouble in this magical land.

The Weather Vane by Gedalia Gershon is an exciting story, one that will confuse you a little in the beginning but as the story progresses, you will fall into it headfirst. I think the author has done an incredible job of expressing the protagonist’s emotions really well. You will feel confused when Prisoner does, you will feel happy when he does, and you will feel encouraged when he does. The concept is original; it is interesting and very well executed. Each character is fleshed out and detailed, which makes the story rich and deep. I enjoyed the dialogues (and how unique they were to each character) and how every character had a purpose to fulfill. This is a really interesting story that I enjoyed immensely.

Christian Sia

The Weather Vane by Gedalia Gershon is a compelling, fast-paced, and beautifully written fantasy that combines the elements of science fiction with adventure to make a gorgeous offering for readers. Readers are introduced to a cast of sophisticated characters, an interesting mix of ordinary characters and gifted ones. In the afterlife, a group of ascended masters discovers that they are new recruits in a phenomenal battle between good and evil. But they haven’t yet had the time to get ready for the battle when their ship is wrecked and they find themselves in dire straits in the ether. They are lost in a magical world that is hidden from everything else, and it is interesting to follow them as they struggle to get back on track, to find out what happened, and where they are. But can they find their way back and in time to save the universe?

From the very start of the story, I was intrigued. Gedalia Gershon allows readers to get very clear insights into the characters right from the very moment they encounter them. I enjoyed how she writes the dialogues, letting the accents of the characters reveal their background and social status. The story is a breezy read, comprising just a few chapters, but the entertainment is strong, the adventure exhilarating and the characters real and memorable. The Weather Vane stands out in its originality and the strong imagery is an additional layer to the beauty of the writing. The descriptive nature of the writing is transporting and gives readers clear visuals of the setting and the scenes. This is a novel that takes the proverbial conflict of good versus evil and transforms it into an exciting tale of adventure and intrigue. A delightful read, indeed.

Asher Syed

The Weather Vane by Gedalia Gershon is a fantasy science fiction adventure story that follows a group of survivors after the destruction of their vessel, The Sea Star. The book begins with a prisoner on the Sea Star who wakes up without any knowledge or recollection of why he is there. It is soon revealed by a witch on board that they are Ascendants, a group ascending to join the Guild of the Greater Good in the fight against the Eternal Enemy. Shipwrecked shortly after that, the group forges through the magical island where they've been cast ashore in search of a shipwright, who can build the crew a new ship so they can get back on course. Along the way, they encounter a multitude of fantasy hybrid pig creatures, adversaries, and a string of setbacks

The Weather Vane is a fun fantasy adventure that blends a wildly different group of characters, all with hilarious, tongue-in-cheek names and a narrative that is as creative as it is entertaining. I admit I was initially put off by the writing, which is choppy and often has uncomfortable syntax and dialogue tags, but the story is unique and lively enough to push a reader past this. The captain and the bosun are hilarious, and I really liked Rosalie. There is a crossover between historical times and themes with modern themes and of course, with the science fiction aspects, the future. Overall, this is a book that readers who enjoy the genre will get a kick out of, with Gedalia Gershon leading the charge of wit and humor.