A new novel by Patrick Gabridge,

Recent reviews and articles about Tornado Siren and Patrick:

          Word is getting out about Tornado Siren.

Tornado Siren was mentioned by the USA Today Weather Guys, on their blog. It also appeared in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) in July.
Here are some reviews:
Ink19.com says "Who wants to date the guy liked by all your friends and relatives? And would love still interest you if you had to beat off attractive supplicants? That sums up the premise of this interesting and touching story of lust and low-pressure systems set in the plains of Oklahoma. The central character Victoria picks through the storm-flattened barns and trailer parks of mid America, hoping to improve tornado predictions. Yet she's never seen a funnel until some weird data leads her to a strange man, Ben Fulgar. He travels the land with his dog, Kimat, and seems to pull a life-sustaining energy from what the rest of us consider total disaster. He may be delusional, or he may be something supernatural, but he's the seeming answer to Victoria's stunted social life. Ben takes more maintenance than most guys, however, and when it's clear he brings death and destruction to the people he loves, the relation takes a unique twist, leaving Victoria flattened.

Gabridge's novel is engaging and touching, and this love story flows along at a pleasant pace, dispensing a few odds and ends about how tornadoes form, dissipate, and kill. Victoria is not a storm chaser, but her search for Ben brings her closer to death than is healthy. He's not a bad man, but bad things seem to seek him out. Gabridge includes a few nice sex scenes, well written without becoming silly or gratuitous. It's the storm damage that you might find disturbing — the stories feel real enough, and the details brutally describe the demise of perfectly nice people who just happen to have the bad luck to stand here, now, and not 100 yards north. If nothing else, you'll have another reason to not move back home.

Tornado Siren is a fun read, suitable for the beach or the plane. The romance feels real, the storms feel oppressive, and while the ending isn’t exactly happy, it's no sadder than any real ending you might find yourself living through. But if you're headed to the Midwest, you might wait until the ride home to get this book. After all, your chance of being hit by a twister is about as likely as a winning lottery ticket. No point in worrying prematurely."


Publisher's Weekly.com wrote: "Gabridge's imaginative first novel puts a supernatural spin on twisters. Narrator Victoria Thomas researches tornadoes for the National Severe Storm Lab in Oklahoma, and, while investigating a tornado, she comes across footprints of a man and a dog that show the pair walked through it. After Victoria comes across the same pattern in a year later, she searches the Midwest for the pair and finds Ben Fulgar and his dog Kimat while chasing a tornado in Colorado. Victoria barely escapes with her life from this twister, though Ben and Kimat, standing near her, are unscathed. After Victoria learns that Ben and Kimat travel the Midwest on foot seeking out storms that might spawn tornadoes, she joins them to discover the truth behind this weather phenomenon. Scenes of Victoria's cross-country trek with the supernatural storm chasers are among the best of the book, as she teaches an innocent mystic how to ride a bicycle and how to deal with an overzealous state trooper. However, when Victoria returns home, her relationships feel flat and formulaic. Natural disaster buffs will enjoy Gabridge's paranormal take on nature's destructive powers."

RomanceJunkies.com says "Tornado Siren by Patrick Gabridge is a thrilling and interesting story about an extraordinary man and how love changes how he views the world around him and what he has to do to continue contributing to the balance of nature. Victoria is a wonderful character that is strong enough to suspend all her beliefs when confronted by a man with unusual gifts and is willing to defy all her teachings to support the man she loves. This is a story that will take you on a journey into the strange and unknown and leave you wondering about what we really know about nature and how it works. I really enjoyed this story and recommend it to everyone that enjoys a story that combines the paranormal with a whirlwind romance."

Curled Up With A Good Book says that Tornado Siren is "deftly written and one hopes it will garner much deserved attention."


Here are some links articles about Patrick and his work:


Here are reviews of Patrick's plays:

  • This review of Insomnia said it was "brilliantly imaginative and wonderfully whimsical."
  • This review of the Boston Theatre Marathon has a nice mention and photo of Den of Iniquity.
  • This review of Blinders says that “playwright Patrick Gabridge uses the scalpel of comedy to disassemble the media machine that often churns out propaganda.” and other nice things.
  • This TheatreMania review of the Boston Theatre Marathon felt that Den of Iniquity was a clear audience favorite.
  • This review from the Theatre Mirror gives much deserved kudos to the cast fro the 2005 Boston production of Blinders.