The Wind Guardian

By: Frank Scozzari

Narrated by: Tim Harper

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

With the help of three inside men, a group of extremists targets a nuclear power center with the intent to spread deadly radiation to the world.

This harsh reality is lost on security guards Cameron and Grace, who have temporarily deserted their posts for a romantic tryst. When they realize what's happening in the power plant, the two rally to thwart the terrorists' plans.

But has their renewed commitment to duty come too late?

©2015 Frank Scozzari (P)2019 Frank Scozzari

Critic Reviews

“A powerful novel that accurately and incisively destroys the myth that American power plants are safe from terrorist attack.” (John Loftus, Pulitzer Prize Nominee) 

“Chilling, riveting, timely. Scozzari's terrorists bring the fight to us - and we're not ready.” (Lt. Colonel Rick Francona, CNN and NBC Military Analyst)

“A real, riveting page-turner. If you like Tom Clancy, you will love The Wind Guardian.” (Richard Miniter, NY Times best-selling author)

Fast paced thriller with excellent narration

This novel of a takeover of a nuclear plant by terrorists gets the listener's attention from the first page and never lets up. The author keeps the action and the characters moving along and it is a compelling listening experience. It is believable and scary in the execution, I got an idea of the security protocols of the plant the detail was essential - but did not slow the story. I really enjoy Tim Harper's narration - his diction is precise and his rendering of the story adds to the tension. It is so crucial to have narration that is understandable - even when it is brisk. I'd like to hear more titles from Mr. Harper and Mr. Scozzari - thank you gentlemen and Thank You Audible!

Chilling look at what could happen

This is a fascinating deep dive into the rigorous security protocols at nuclear power plants, and a frightening treatise on how they might be defeated. The author does an excellent job of setting up an impenetrable fortress, then systematically taking it down piece by piece. He also does an excellent job of putting his hero in impossible situations, then getting him out. A wonderful story ensues wherein the protagonist's character flaw is mirrored by the opposite flaw in the antagonist. Will the hero overcome his character flaw to save thousands of lives? Will the antagonist's character flaw be his undoing? Listen to find out! The narration is excellent, well paced and properly chilling. He handles the technical details quite well. It's important to the story for the listener to understand the mechanics of the plant and its security protocols. The narrator goes through these with finesse and I was never once lost in the details. Great job all around, looking forward to more from this narrator.

Entertaining, Educational, and a Nice Listen

I have to say first that this was not what I expected after reading prior reviews. I expected some serious issue with narration and the Middle Eastern accent that has been mentioned so much. To my surprise that was maybe 1% of the audio, and that might be an exaggeration. While I agree that it was certainly not a true accent it was such a small part of the book it really didn’t matter. I rather enjoyed the narration. It wasn’t perfect, but it was pleasant and appropriate to the story.

My biggest complaint would be that the story didn’t really seem to know what it wanted to be. Am I a thriller? A documentary? A love story? Or, am I about Native Americans and spiritualism? It was never really completely any of those things. That isn’t a big complaint. They did all fit together. But, it felt like there were opportunities missed by not exploring some of these paths more fully. One reviewer found the story sexist. It is just my opinion but I find that to be not true at all.

While a bit slow at times with technical and procedural details this information was necessary to tell the story and it was probably handled as well as possible. These sections are written and narrated in a manner that is easy to follow even if the material is a little dry. This is primarily early in the story and later sections have plenty of action and suspense.

I thought the ending seemed a little rushed and, for my taste, left a little too much to the imagination. Other listeners may prefer that type ending. Personally I was a little disappointed, but again not a big complaint. Stories do not always end the way I would prefer.

Overall I would recommend this audiobook. It is not going to win awards, but it is enjoyable, entertaining, and has a little bit of something for everyone.

Security guard vs terrorists

This novel of a coordinated attack on a nuclear power-plant is told form different perspectives: security guards and terrorist/mercenary adversaries. Anyone who has worked a monotonous job will connect with Taylor and his colleagues working the midnight shift and Scozzari does a solid job explaining different procedures which build anticipation of the siege. Also, he sets the plant within the landscape and history of California, which sets this thriller apart from the competition. Once the action heats up, weapons are well described although it does feel like the final act is a bit brief in contrast to the build-up. Harper's neutral narration is clear, although his voices for the foreigners did not match their description as from the Middle East. Overall, if you have an interest in military thrillers or nuclear power-plants, then this is a scarily realistic and engaging read.
I was given this free review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

A slow burn story

The Wind Guardian. .
I found this audiobook to be intriguing and wanted the story to hurry up.
I found the book to be a little bit slow and the ending to be vague. Maybe that's just the style and authors aim.
None the less it is a good read and will keep you turning pages. I enjoyed the audiobook and would recommend it . I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this honest review.

Good story

Caught my attention from the beginning and held it all the way through. I like the narrator but speaking in accents wasn’t a strength, needs more work in that area.

Great plot, weird characters, not great narrator

Overall I really liked this book, I liked the plot, and it was unexpected. That being said, the characters were weirdly sexist, and the women were pretty much cardboard cutouts who only existed to either think non stop about their significant other even while facing death, to ask questions so that the main character could come to the rescue with an answer, or to go home to take care of their kids, letting down their team. I initially hated the main character for his way of describing every woman he met as either attractive or not attractive, and found myself rolling my eyes at the dialog, and the characters inner voices.
I think it wouldn't have grated on me as much if the narrator hadn't used the weirdest voices imaginable. His middle eastern accent went in and out of Scottish, Russian, German, and occasionally what I think is Indian, which was weird and took me out of the story pretty often. His woman's voice was one of the weirdest ones I've heard.
If you can deal with the casual sexism of every characters thoughts, and the casual sexism with which every female character is written, it's a good plot.

Same old thing; just a different night.

The security job at the nuclear reactor plant was boring, staring into nothing much, a voice check from control every hour. But Cameron needed the job, and there was Grace, the rookie guard, to make the night pass more amicably. In fact, although he hadn't known it, Grace intended to make this night special, to take the relationship to an higher level.
And it was this same night that a terrorist plan to attack the plant was coming to fruition, the intention to flood the area with radioactivity, creating fear and death. Starting slowly, meticulously following different protagonists as their trajectories slowly converge, the tension gathers momentum as the reader gets to know both the individual characters and their motivations your by hour. Cleverly presented, the reader knows what the protagonists do not: this is not an ordinary night at all.

Narrator, Tim Harper, has a pleasant voice and reads with good intonation ad provides individual, appropriate voicing s for each protagonist. The monotonous aspect of the job is even reinforced in the early stages, increasing in intensity as the plot begins to unravel.. A good performance.

This book is a slow burn rather than fast paced thriller and is all the more diverting because of this. Seeing everything from all perspectives heightens the tension from the beginning and provides a very satisfying, solid picture of events as they occur. My thanks to the rights holder of The Wind Guardian, who, at my request freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. The implications behind this story are terrifying, and the book is an excellent thriller, one that the reader will want to stay with from beginning to the very end. Recommended