What is most enthralling and refreshing about Dick Francis is the ease with which he introduces myriad backdrops for his story telling, all well founded on his equine love and past as a steeplechase jockey. Second Wind is the story about a meteorologist Perry Stuart, who, along with his friend Kris Ironside, work for the BBC. He lives with and loves his grandmother, who offers clear, sensible advice from time to time – ‘If you can’t fix it, think of something else.’
The two men fly in Kris’s Piper Cherokee, a single engine low winged aeroplane, almost as old as the friends - thirty. Their destination is the Jockey Club. This camaraderie extends to the workplace as well, and the two are sent on an assignment to Trox Island, where the men are to chase a category 5 hurricane - Odin! His grandmother confesses she has a premonition which doesn’t augur well for Perry, however, against good sense prevailing, the meteorologist sets about to leave for Florida.
Kris and Perry stay with friends in the Grand Cayman, another friend offers to lend them his plane - having flown with success, Kris is confident of making the trip to and fro - with no possibility of any danger. He however, doesn’t share the details of the route - Perry finds out why when Kris sheepishly confesses that he is also running an errand for the couple they’re staying with; Stuart would have to photograph mushrooms grown on Trox Island where their hosts own a farm.
When they arrive at the Island, they are surprised when they encounter no human beings, just a whole bovine herd greets them. The weather is also taking a turn for the worse, and so they decide to head back - they set off in the middle of the storm. On the way, one of the engines stalls and as luck would have it - their plane plunges into the waters below. Kris in a life boat, and Perry in a life jacket - adrift on the waters.
Stuart is washed up on the shore of an abandoned island where most of the habitation is destroyed by Odin. In a hut, he comes across a mysterious file and a Geiger Counter (used to measure radiation). He is later rescued by a team, all of which are dressed in radiation protective gear. He learns that much of the Island’s population was wiped off by a disease caused by unpasteurized milk. Back in England, Perry finds out that there is a sinister plot to ship uranium to undisclosed parties who crave the mineral for terrorist activities; involved are the couple he stayed with on the Grand Cayman.
Armed with knowledge that seeks to harm the vested interests of the evil rich, Stuart realizes his life is in danger, as another plane he’s on is sabotaged. His 40th novel received mixed reviews, with a majority criticizing Dick for giving a miss to his usual equine based narrative. Second Wind comes in gasping for breath just like the name suggests, you could read it for sheer fondness of Francis!
+-+Authored+by+Dick+Francis,+not+about+horses.jpg "Second Wind (Published in 1999) - Authored by Dick Francis, not about horses")
The two men fly in Kris’s Piper Cherokee, a single engine low winged aeroplane, almost as old as the friends - thirty. Their destination is the Jockey Club. This camaraderie extends to the workplace as well, and the two are sent on an assignment to Trox Island, where the men are to chase a category 5 hurricane - Odin! His grandmother confesses she has a premonition which doesn’t augur well for Perry, however, against good sense prevailing, the meteorologist sets about to leave for Florida.
Kris and Perry stay with friends in the Grand Cayman, another friend offers to lend them his plane - having flown with success, Kris is confident of making the trip to and fro - with no possibility of any danger. He however, doesn’t share the details of the route - Perry finds out why when Kris sheepishly confesses that he is also running an errand for the couple they’re staying with; Stuart would have to photograph mushrooms grown on Trox Island where their hosts own a farm.
When they arrive at the Island, they are surprised when they encounter no human beings, just a whole bovine herd greets them. The weather is also taking a turn for the worse, and so they decide to head back - they set off in the middle of the storm. On the way, one of the engines stalls and as luck would have it - their plane plunges into the waters below. Kris in a life boat, and Perry in a life jacket - adrift on the waters.
Stuart is washed up on the shore of an abandoned island where most of the habitation is destroyed by Odin. In a hut, he comes across a mysterious file and a Geiger Counter (used to measure radiation). He is later rescued by a team, all of which are dressed in radiation protective gear. He learns that much of the Island’s population was wiped off by a disease caused by unpasteurized milk. Back in England, Perry finds out that there is a sinister plot to ship uranium to undisclosed parties who crave the mineral for terrorist activities; involved are the couple he stayed with on the Grand Cayman.
Armed with knowledge that seeks to harm the vested interests of the evil rich, Stuart realizes his life is in danger, as another plane he’s on is sabotaged. His 40th novel received mixed reviews, with a majority criticizing Dick for giving a miss to his usual equine based narrative. Second Wind comes in gasping for breath just like the name suggests, you could read it for sheer fondness of Francis!
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