I have been a huge fan of Dick Francis for a long time; and have read most of his work; always enjoying the consistent quality of his work. Second Wind unfortunately, breaks the trend. The main characters are well fleshed-out as always - the mild Englishman central character; the love interest; the eccentrics etc are all there. The central plot with its horse racing link is tenuous at best. Surprisingly for a Dick Francis novel; most of the villains are revealed early on - leaving only one mystery to be solved - who is the boss behind the good guys? All in all, a disappointing outing. If you had to pick just one Dick Francis book to read this is not that book.

I’ve got some questions about the plotting but enjoyable as always.

Spring Read finally posting all my read books.

Weather-forecasting the basis of this one, plus aeroplanes and uranium, but somehow a little shallower, less believable, less easy to become involved.
Nevertheless, stuck with it until the end.

Not one of Francis' best, though the scene with the hurricane is very effective. The hero is a weather-forecaster, which means, as so often with Francis, that you learn a good deal about what this sort of job entails...more than just reading the weather on the TV each night.
As always, the main character manages to survive all manner of beatings-up, though in this instance it's a bit of a mystery why the baddies don't just dispose of him completely, and be done with it.

Not Dick Francis' usual horse story. This a post Cold War spy story. Different but still enjoyable.

"Second Wind" is an interesting read for us die-hard Francis fans. I keep thinking it's not as good as his absolute best works, and it's not, but I've still managed to read it several times, and there's lots that's good about it. So why isn't it as quite as good as some of the books that came a few years before?

There are lots of things that Francis fans will recognize and enjoy. There's lots about flying, and lots about meteorology, and a super-exciting action sequence in which the main characters fly into the teeth of a hurricane, and all kinds of shady doings, this time in Florida and the nearby islands. Basically it has all the action and adventure, and all the meticulously researched background that somehow manages to turn info dumps into fascinating lectures on obscure topics. There's also a suitably tortured hero, although he isn't the actual hero, he's the hero's best friend, which is an interesting twist, although that may be one of the reasons why "Second Wind" more of a pleasant read than a gut-wrenching nail-biter in the vein of "Longshot" or "Straight" (more about those later, I promise).

In fact, the real problem--if you want to call it that, since "Second Wind" is still a perfectly respectable thriller--is the way the book skips lightly over the emotional stuff, blithely allowing Perry to have casual relationships of all sorts and moving briskly through some pro forma romance and so on without really digging into them. This is something that Francis's books have a tendency to do at times, especially during his lighter periods; e.g., the mid-1970s, the late 1990s, and it's something he himself seems to have been aware of, since his artist characters all struggle with the tension between light entertainment and wrenching revelations of the terror of the human condition. Even the hero of "Longshot" (more about that later, no, seriously, I cannot leave it unreviewed, I just have to work up the strength) aims to write light reading, only to find himself plunged into life-and-death conflict. Perry of "Second Wind" does too, it just doesn't seem to affect him in quite the same way.

So if you're looking for a fun, light adventure story, "Second Wind" is probably for you. Just don't take it as the acme and omega of what Francis could produce.

Not the best novel by Francis. I learnt a lot about hurricanes and radioactive materials. The plot is all over the place. Kris who is Perry’s friend has a history of depression and suicidal thoughts who also is a pilot. They decide to take up the offer of a plan to fly through the eye of a Caribbean and pick up some package from a remote island. Of course it all goes wrong.

I struggled with the baddies, inept espionage services relying on a BBC meteorologist weather reader and the extreme measures to hide a folder with a secret list. This is a late Francis with minimal horse involvement and while readable also mediocre.

Another fast moving Dick Frances novel, this time *not* about the race-course. If you like learning about hurricanes, flight, weather, and physics, this is the book for you. Suspenseful, it will keep you guessing until the end (and I guessed wrong! won't be the first time).

Meteorologist Perry Stuart gets the chance of a lifetime when offered a seat on the plane his friend Kris is piloting -- through the eye of a hurricane in the Caribbean islands. Sent on a mysterious errand that Kris decides to keep silent about, Perry ends up in a precarious position unraveling the motives of a close circle of questionable acquaintances. Like every hero in the Frances mystery series, though, Perry is well suited for the job.

Lucky for Perry he has a doting grandmother who doesn't give up on him and thoughts of her keep him going. Stranded on a deserted island after the plane crashes, Perry is able to call on resources he never knew he had. "I still had no impression of hours. Day was light, night was dark. When day began fading again I finally put some resolution into things and with more effort than normal struggled to my bare feet and very slowly trudged up from sea level to the village..."

Perry will realize that his adventures have just begun.

For the most part I enjoyed this novel. The passage descriptions on physics and weather patterns for me were interesting at first but they do become a little involved (just a small warning), but the the plot as usual, is fast-paced and the characters as believable as always! It was refreshing to read a Francis novel that wasn't centered on racing (as most of his are. Although they are still well-done), "Second Wind" is multi-layered. Whether the layers mesh well or not is a decision best left with the reader.

Francis being Francis

I read all Sick Francis novels I get my hands on. His story is fascinating, his characters are superb and the action is believable. Francis never disappoints. GREAT READ. If You are not a fan, read all toucan by one of the masters. Thanks.
KenB

Weird Book.
Well written as ever by Dick Francis, full of intrigue and adventure, and worth reading just for the fun of it.
But nothing really made any sense.

Gleich zu Beginn wird es spannend. Der Held, ein sympathischer TV-Wetterexperte, fliegt mit seinem Kumpel quer durch einen Hurrikan und macht eine Bruchlandung. Das Buch hat aber leider auch Längen und nicht alles, was geschieht, erscheint logisch.
Warum ich trotzdem ein ausgesprochener Fan von Dick Francis bin?
Die Facts sind aufwendig recherchiert.
Wie immer ist der Held sehr sympathisch, die Personen gut gezeichnet. Eine minimale Liebesgeschichte ist drin. Besonders schätze ich den dezenten britischen Humor. Wenn es auch nicht das beste Buch von Dick Francis ist, dann lese ich halt all die anderen noch mal.