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Charmed #25
The Brewing Storm
Earth, air, fire, water—
A child must bring them all together.
Calm the shaking, quell the slaughter
Tonight's the night—it's now or never.
Despite wacky weather threatening the San Francisco area, life for the Charmed Ones is as normal as ever. Normal, that is, until eleven-year-old Tyler Michaels shows up at their door. Tyler, a Firestarter, is on the run from demons. Though the Halliwell sisters have dealt with Tyler before, a glance at the Book of Shadows turns up new, unexpected information about the boy...and the forces for which his magic can be harnessed.
Once a century the planets align in such a way that the tides shift and the climate changes, causing unpredictable weather and earthquakes. With the world out of balance the Fire-starter is charged with gathering the other Elementals on the Night of Aeolus to perform a sacred ritual. Without this ritual the weather will eventually tear the world apart. But the demons chasing Tyler want to divert the Elemental power and channel it for a dark evil. The Charmed Ones must prevent this from happening at all costs—but the Night of Aeolus is already upon them....
A child must bring them all together.
Calm the shaking, quell the slaughter
Tonight's the night—it's now or never.
Despite wacky weather threatening the San Francisco area, life for the Charmed Ones is as normal as ever. Normal, that is, until eleven-year-old Tyler Michaels shows up at their door. Tyler, a Firestarter, is on the run from demons. Though the Halliwell sisters have dealt with Tyler before, a glance at the Book of Shadows turns up new, unexpected information about the boy...and the forces for which his magic can be harnessed.
Once a century the planets align in such a way that the tides shift and the climate changes, causing unpredictable weather and earthquakes. With the world out of balance the Fire-starter is charged with gathering the other Elementals on the Night of Aeolus to perform a sacred ritual. Without this ritual the weather will eventually tear the world apart. But the demons chasing Tyler want to divert the Elemental power and channel it for a dark evil. The Charmed Ones must prevent this from happening at all costs—but the Night of Aeolus is already upon them....
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2004
5 people are currently reading
1005 people want to read
About the author
Paul Ruditis
113 books98 followersPaul Ruditis also writes under the name P.J. Ruditis.
I was born and raised in Philadelphia where I lived a typical childhood with a far more interesting fantasy life. I mean, how many other eight year olds were sticking their Star Wars action figures in Ziploc bags filled with water and putting them in the freezer to recreate the ice planet of Hoth? (Really? That many? Never mind.)
After college, I moved to Los Angeles and was very lucky to get a job as a page at Paramount Pictures only months after I got into town. I worked as a tour guide and usher, and I performed temp office work around the lot.
Eventually, I took a position working in the studio's licensing department where I quickly worked my way up to middle management.
After a while, one of my friends in the publishing industry offered me the opportunity to write a Buffy, The Vampire Slayer short story for a collection she was editing. Well, when I heard how little money I could make as a writer, I immediately quit my job to try it full time. (Stupid, I know, but it kind of worked for me.)
I started out by writing books based on such wonderful TV shows as Star Trek, Roswell, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. I have since written over 30 books based some of the best shows on TV, adding The West Wing, Alias, and Prison Break to that ever growing list.
While I continue to work on these media tie-ins, I have also been focused more on my own original fiction, including my teen series DRAMA! and the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy Love, Hollywood Style.
- Abridged Bio - Official Website.
I was born and raised in Philadelphia where I lived a typical childhood with a far more interesting fantasy life. I mean, how many other eight year olds were sticking their Star Wars action figures in Ziploc bags filled with water and putting them in the freezer to recreate the ice planet of Hoth? (Really? That many? Never mind.)
After college, I moved to Los Angeles and was very lucky to get a job as a page at Paramount Pictures only months after I got into town. I worked as a tour guide and usher, and I performed temp office work around the lot.
Eventually, I took a position working in the studio's licensing department where I quickly worked my way up to middle management.
After a while, one of my friends in the publishing industry offered me the opportunity to write a Buffy, The Vampire Slayer short story for a collection she was editing. Well, when I heard how little money I could make as a writer, I immediately quit my job to try it full time. (Stupid, I know, but it kind of worked for me.)
I started out by writing books based on such wonderful TV shows as Star Trek, Roswell, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. I have since written over 30 books based some of the best shows on TV, adding The West Wing, Alias, and Prison Break to that ever growing list.
While I continue to work on these media tie-ins, I have also been focused more on my own original fiction, including my teen series DRAMA! and the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy Love, Hollywood Style.
- Abridged Bio - Official Website.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 20, 2019
This book is well written. It's something of a sequel to the episode where the sisters meet the Firestarter, the young man who has the power to control fire. This storyline revolves around elemental magic, and finding the three other people who control the other elements. Once found, the four must work to stop a demon bent on destroying the city. I enjoy books that further explore characters, and situations, we may only see briefly on TV or in film.
July 3, 2017
Well the only thing why I keep reading these books is because I want to know every option that they have discussed for episodes. At one point I probably give up and start rewatching because that feels better. It has probably also to do with the Dutch version that makes it killing worthy but at least the sarcasm in still great. I hope there will a story that I will appreciate for every page but I doubt it.
July 1, 2024
It’s basically a sequel to the TV episode Lost and Bound, with firestarter Tyler Michaels knocking on the door of the charmed ones to look for help.
The concept of this story with the elementals is actually quite good. The plot is pretty solid. And I do like how it adds to the world building of the series, expanding on something the series only lightly touched upon. But this one just didn’t manage to hook me for some reason.
The concept of this story with the elementals is actually quite good. The plot is pretty solid. And I do like how it adds to the world building of the series, expanding on something the series only lightly touched upon. But this one just didn’t manage to hook me for some reason.
July 26, 2025
I'll go ahead and give it five stars.
Another "are we in season four or season five territory?" setting.
Phobe has her column, no Cole in sight and Paige is still at her social worker job. Darryl gets a major role in the plot, and we get to see his wife Shelia and have mention of Darryl Junior. Also, Tyler from the episode Lost and Bound returns, a tween who is a Firestarter, which is season four continuity.
Many vague hints at season five plot points like Paige focusing only on magic and Piper and Leo wanting to have kids to start a family. We also get some of Elise, Phoebe's boss, who got more screen time come season five as well.
The book opens with a prologue of a San Francisco weatherman running away from demons as the weather in San Francisco has been wacky with extreme heatwaves, cold and frosty fronts and raucous thunder and lightning as if hurled by Zeus in anger. Instead of getting caught and killed, he does a swan dive off the Golden Gate bridge and sets himself a flame like Johnny Storm after making a mysterious phone call.
Darryl is called in on a case of a missing eleven-year-old boy and it seems like a normal case until he learns the boy is set to be adopted by his foster parents. His social worker is Paige Matthews and Tyler has a bond with her sisters as well, so Darryl knows that something is going on with the Halliwell family involved. Tyler's last set of foster parents were actually demons getting ready to train him as a bodyguard for The Source of All Evil.
They were vanquished and Piper bound Tyler's Firestarter powers.
Tyler shows up on the manor doorstep in his pajamas and tells the sisters he was attacked by a demon in the middle of the night, but he was able to escape to keep his future parents from getting involved. Checking the book for some answers, new details pop up about Firestarters and their powers.
Once in every hundred years, the planets will align and throw the weather of Earth off balance. It is the job of a Firestarter to find those who control the other elements so they can come together to perform a ritual on the Night of Aeolus.
Not performing it will destroy the world, but demons are being sent after these Elementals to steal their powers and give them to an upper-level demon named Tempest to instead rule the world...which isn't really any better than the planet splitting in two.
Touching Tyler, Phoebe receives a vision about the weatherman from the cold opening. He was in charge of the task but now that he is dead, it is Tyler's responsibility. Piper isn't too thrilled to unbind his powers and put the boy back in danger, but Tyler insists, showing he has grown a little.
Unfortunately, demons track him to the manor once he gets them back and Darryl knows that Tyler is with the sisters. Darryl is also sure that the FBI agent called into the case, in case it turns nation-wide kidnapping story, will figure out where the boy is as well. With Leo consulting the Elders, the sisters split up to find the other elementals while Darryl is charged with keeping an eye on Tyler thus mixing his work life and home life together.
Paige locates the Windwalker, who is an elementary school teacher named Rafe while Phoebe finds the Waterbearer working as an ex-lawyer turned medical student named Gabrielle in the ER.
Those two are in the dark about their abilities but the final elemental, the Earthshaker, is well skilled in the knowledge. She is an older woman named Muriel who works as a bank manager and she and Piper get to have quite the chat before one of three demons comes after them.
Paige and Rafe have this flirting subplot while Phoebe's interactions with Gabrielle are more of trying to get Gabrielle to be a believer in her abilities but having to prioritize her career over saving the world.
It sorts of ties in all the sisters' wants and needs of family and purpose. Muriel, being an older woman, tries to get Piper to be more about living in the now. Tyler being around is pulling at those maternal instincts in Piper like they did in the show proper so lots of foreshadowing in this book.
Darryl gets his chance to have a little bit of spotlight but not steal any of it away from The Charmed Ones or Tyler either. We kind of get to see how eventually he had to get around to telling Sheila just exactly how long and why Darryl has been involved with the Halliwell sisters which also give some call backs to Andy.
The Brewing Storm is one of the better Charmed tie-ins with focus on the past and future of the show proper and all of the characters are portrayed positively so that everything comes together with some laughs and some tears.
Highly recommended to any Charmed fan or avid reader.
Another "are we in season four or season five territory?" setting.
Phobe has her column, no Cole in sight and Paige is still at her social worker job. Darryl gets a major role in the plot, and we get to see his wife Shelia and have mention of Darryl Junior. Also, Tyler from the episode Lost and Bound returns, a tween who is a Firestarter, which is season four continuity.
Many vague hints at season five plot points like Paige focusing only on magic and Piper and Leo wanting to have kids to start a family. We also get some of Elise, Phoebe's boss, who got more screen time come season five as well.
The book opens with a prologue of a San Francisco weatherman running away from demons as the weather in San Francisco has been wacky with extreme heatwaves, cold and frosty fronts and raucous thunder and lightning as if hurled by Zeus in anger. Instead of getting caught and killed, he does a swan dive off the Golden Gate bridge and sets himself a flame like Johnny Storm after making a mysterious phone call.
Darryl is called in on a case of a missing eleven-year-old boy and it seems like a normal case until he learns the boy is set to be adopted by his foster parents. His social worker is Paige Matthews and Tyler has a bond with her sisters as well, so Darryl knows that something is going on with the Halliwell family involved. Tyler's last set of foster parents were actually demons getting ready to train him as a bodyguard for The Source of All Evil.
They were vanquished and Piper bound Tyler's Firestarter powers.
Tyler shows up on the manor doorstep in his pajamas and tells the sisters he was attacked by a demon in the middle of the night, but he was able to escape to keep his future parents from getting involved. Checking the book for some answers, new details pop up about Firestarters and their powers.
Once in every hundred years, the planets will align and throw the weather of Earth off balance. It is the job of a Firestarter to find those who control the other elements so they can come together to perform a ritual on the Night of Aeolus.
Not performing it will destroy the world, but demons are being sent after these Elementals to steal their powers and give them to an upper-level demon named Tempest to instead rule the world...which isn't really any better than the planet splitting in two.
Touching Tyler, Phoebe receives a vision about the weatherman from the cold opening. He was in charge of the task but now that he is dead, it is Tyler's responsibility. Piper isn't too thrilled to unbind his powers and put the boy back in danger, but Tyler insists, showing he has grown a little.
Unfortunately, demons track him to the manor once he gets them back and Darryl knows that Tyler is with the sisters. Darryl is also sure that the FBI agent called into the case, in case it turns nation-wide kidnapping story, will figure out where the boy is as well. With Leo consulting the Elders, the sisters split up to find the other elementals while Darryl is charged with keeping an eye on Tyler thus mixing his work life and home life together.
Paige locates the Windwalker, who is an elementary school teacher named Rafe while Phoebe finds the Waterbearer working as an ex-lawyer turned medical student named Gabrielle in the ER.
Those two are in the dark about their abilities but the final elemental, the Earthshaker, is well skilled in the knowledge. She is an older woman named Muriel who works as a bank manager and she and Piper get to have quite the chat before one of three demons comes after them.
Paige and Rafe have this flirting subplot while Phoebe's interactions with Gabrielle are more of trying to get Gabrielle to be a believer in her abilities but having to prioritize her career over saving the world.
It sorts of ties in all the sisters' wants and needs of family and purpose. Muriel, being an older woman, tries to get Piper to be more about living in the now. Tyler being around is pulling at those maternal instincts in Piper like they did in the show proper so lots of foreshadowing in this book.
Darryl gets his chance to have a little bit of spotlight but not steal any of it away from The Charmed Ones or Tyler either. We kind of get to see how eventually he had to get around to telling Sheila just exactly how long and why Darryl has been involved with the Halliwell sisters which also give some call backs to Andy.
The Brewing Storm is one of the better Charmed tie-ins with focus on the past and future of the show proper and all of the characters are portrayed positively so that everything comes together with some laughs and some tears.
Highly recommended to any Charmed fan or avid reader.
August 10, 2025
Für das, was es ist, fand ich es nicht schlecht :) Ich habe keine hohe Literatur erwartet bei einem aus dem Englischen übersetzten Buch basierend auf einer Fernsehserie. Die Figuren waren gut getroffen, zeitweise war es sehr witzig, die Handlung könnte eine echte Folge sein. Allerdings hat der Hauptbösewicht am Ende nur ~3 Seiten bekommen und generell war viel Aufbau für wenig Finale. Und dadurch, dass es zwischen echten Folgen angesiedelt ist, weiß man natürlich von Anfang an, dass nichts wirklich Wichtiges passieren wird...
October 12, 2025
2.25⭐️
Manche Entscheidungen die im Verlauf der Handlung getroffen wurden fand ich... fragwürdig.
Darryl tut mir richtig leid, wie er sein Doppelleben balancieren muss. Das hat man in der Serie gar nie so richtig mitbekommen oder ich konnte mich zumindest nicht daran erinnern, dass er mehr Screentime als für den Polizisten des Vertrauens der Halliwells nötig wäre, gehabt hätte...
Es war ein dunkler und stürmischer Nachmittag...
- Sturm der Götter, S. 1
Manche Entscheidungen die im Verlauf der Handlung getroffen wurden fand ich... fragwürdig.
Darryl tut mir richtig leid, wie er sein Doppelleben balancieren muss. Das hat man in der Serie gar nie so richtig mitbekommen oder ich konnte mich zumindest nicht daran erinnern, dass er mehr Screentime als für den Polizisten des Vertrauens der Halliwells nötig wäre, gehabt hätte...
November 3, 2019
I suddenly felt like reading the remaining tie-in Charmed novels that I own, and so here we go. It's not really my favourite, because the plot felt very repetitive, but it was an okay read. I also read somewhere that apparently all of these novels were once episode ideas, and I think it's really interesting to look at them in that perspective. (And I do wish some of them were actually filmed :) )
July 10, 2022
I really enjoyed this one. It was nice to have some new characters brought in that were integral to the storyline and even more so than the sisters. The return of Tyler was great but even better to see Darryl play such a pivotal role in a book. Only thing for me was that the final battle was kind of rushed, felt a bit anticlimactic but other than that, a great story
May 10, 2022
One can easily see why Paul Ruditis was given the reins for "season 9".
October 7, 2024
Cute story. Fun and well paced.
October 27, 2013
It's hard to hate a story that starts, “It was a dark and stormy midafternoon.”
Of course, there is a supernatural reason behind all this unseasonable bad weather in San Francisco, though the Halliwell sisters don't know it yet. They weren't supposed to be involved in it at all, but a pack of demons got too close to Christopher Young, one of the local TV meteorologists. Unbeknown too all but a handful of people, Christopher has a special gift that he was willing to die to keep from the demons at his heels. With nowhere else to go, he climbs the barriers at the Golden Gate Bridge and jumps, hoping the kid can take his place. Just before he hits the water, he bursts into flames.
Of course, there is a supernatural reason behind all this unseasonable bad weather in San Francisco, though the Halliwell sisters don't know it yet. They weren't supposed to be involved in it at all, but a pack of demons got too close to Christopher Young, one of the local TV meteorologists. Unbeknown too all but a handful of people, Christopher has a special gift that he was willing to die to keep from the demons at his heels. With nowhere else to go, he climbs the barriers at the Golden Gate Bridge and jumps, hoping the kid can take his place. Just before he hits the water, he bursts into flames.
March 14, 2025
This is such a good book. The story, bringing back the old fire starter boy (Tyler) made this feel even more connected. Tyler was a fun single episode character and bringing him back prior to his return in the comics was very fun.
The story would have worked very well outside of the Charmed universe and inside it still feels just as good. It's fun, fresh with a little ATLA kind feel at times with the elementals. This is probably one of the best Charmed tie ins. It might even be one of the best tie ins period.
It pays homage to Charmed while being its own thing. It's clear Paul loves the show and tries his best to have his story fit in with the established universe.
The story would have worked very well outside of the Charmed universe and inside it still feels just as good. It's fun, fresh with a little ATLA kind feel at times with the elementals. This is probably one of the best Charmed tie ins. It might even be one of the best tie ins period.
It pays homage to Charmed while being its own thing. It's clear Paul loves the show and tries his best to have his story fit in with the established universe.
August 6, 2013
I love watching Charmed so reading the books are even that much better. This book was really good,I like how all the sisters have to find their innocents and then come back together to save the world...I would recommend this book to anyone.
January 2, 2015
Like all the other Charmed novels, a great book, and just as good as the actual show.
Read
March 22, 2010F CHA
Fantasy
Fantasy
July 27, 2011
The story of the elemenatls was great and a good message about the humen spirit and a great addtion to continue the story of the charmed ones i could not put it down
January 14, 2013
Another action packed Charmed book that explored the strength of the sisters and their relationships with other characters. I liked it for the action and suspense.
Read
June 16, 2014I can't read anything
July 31, 2015
3.5 Stars
Charmed fans are going to love these books. I can't wait to read more of these someday.
Charmed fans are going to love these books. I can't wait to read more of these someday.
November 21, 2015
Loved how the story shows how important Daryl is to the sisters as a friend and as a human.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews