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A review by mojopie
The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams
5.0
I loved absolutely everything about this book. It hooked me from the very beginning with that brutal opening scene, and I didn't want to stop reading it. Williams does everything in this book so well, from the world to the plot to the characters. It's all so well done and I highly recommend picking this book up.
One of the things that shines brightest in this book is the world building. It is imaginative and unique, whilst still pulling on aspects of fantasy that are recognisable. It is such a strange mashup of so many things that it could have easily gone wrong, but Jen Williams executes it perfectly. This book somehow mixes high fantasy, aliens, witches, and vampiric creatures, so so well; it's so vivid and cool and exactly the type of fantasy world I want more of. Many aspects of the world are also a mystery, both to the characters and the reader, and it's fascinating trying to figure everything out and going on the journey with the characters to learn the truth. The mystery and the remnants of past invasions also created a sinister atmophere; it leaves us wondering what happened in the past, while the threat that another invasion might come is always lurking and builds as the story progresses, keeping you reading. I think the way that Williams built the story around the unknown aspects of the world was genius and made for a story that felt fresh and intriguing.
The Eborans and their history was so interesting; Ygseril, the cirmson flux, the war beasts, I loved it all and was desperate to know more. I really enjoyed how Williams took this idea of these vampiric creatues and made it her own. They felt completely new and unique but also fed right into my love of vampires. I really liked Williams' creation of this great civilisation that has slowly been destroyed by disease, while all of their knowledge has died with their people and left the rest of the world in danger, creating a creepy and sinister atmosphere in Ebora.The Winnowry and the Fell-witches were also a really cool aspect of the world; I hated the Winnowry for what they did to the witches, but I always enjoy when fantasy explores the idea of twisted, religious, cultlike groups like this. Also, I liked their giant bats. Exploring the Wilds was also great, and the parasite spirit were creepy but also really cool; and I love what we learned about them at the end.
I loved the characters as well. Vintage is just such a cool character and I loved her inquisitivness and passion. She is a true scholar and explorer, and her determination to uncover things made me even more interested in the answers myself. She's also super loyal and caring which was nice to see, and the fact that she clearly likes to collect strays (especially when they can be useful) also made me love her even more. Tor is grumpy, but he clearly has a good heart and is hiding from his trauma, which he acquires plenty more of in this book. I loved his attitude and sarcasm. Noon was amazing, seeing her come into her power was also so fun. She was conditioned to despise herself and see her power as something evil, but watching her as she learned to control it and to gain confidence in herself made me love her. The dynamic between Vintage, Noon, and Tor was great, and I liked how each of them needed the companionship of the others for different reasons and how they all relied on each other. I also loved the romance; the dream walking scenes were really sweet and I liked the dynamic between Noon and Tor in them. I also liked how she looked after him and refused to give up on him, taking responsibility for her actions in the process, even if he didn't thank her for it straight away. There was tension between them but also a loyalty that grew throughout the book as thry both realised how much they need and can help each other.
Aldasair was a cinnamon roll, and I really felt for him in the way that he forced himself to recover after so many years in confinement, pushing himself for the good of his people; I'm excited to see more of him in the mext books. Bern was also a sweetheart, especially in the kindness he showed towards Aldasair. I also enjoyed Hestillion's perspective a lot, there is a brutality in her character that I really like, but also a softness that just wants to see her people survive and I think the rest of her story is going to be really interesting.
There were twists and turns in this book, great action and intrigue that kept me turning the pages. The ending was superb and made me want to pick the next book up straight away.
For how much I loved this book, I feel like there should be more for me to say, but I'm afraid all I could do is just list every little thing about it and say I loved it. Just trust me and pick this up.
The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that I wish it had a map. Fantasy books should ALWAYS have maps.
One of the things that shines brightest in this book is the world building. It is imaginative and unique, whilst still pulling on aspects of fantasy that are recognisable. It is such a strange mashup of so many things that it could have easily gone wrong, but Jen Williams executes it perfectly. This book somehow mixes high fantasy, aliens, witches, and vampiric creatures, so so well; it's so vivid and cool and exactly the type of fantasy world I want more of. Many aspects of the world are also a mystery, both to the characters and the reader, and it's fascinating trying to figure everything out and going on the journey with the characters to learn the truth. The mystery and the remnants of past invasions also created a sinister atmophere; it leaves us wondering what happened in the past, while the threat that another invasion might come is always lurking and builds as the story progresses, keeping you reading. I think the way that Williams built the story around the unknown aspects of the world was genius and made for a story that felt fresh and intriguing.
The Eborans and their history was so interesting; Ygseril, the cirmson flux, the war beasts, I loved it all and was desperate to know more. I really enjoyed how Williams took this idea of these vampiric creatues and made it her own. They felt completely new and unique but also fed right into my love of vampires. I really liked Williams' creation of this great civilisation that has slowly been destroyed by disease, while all of their knowledge has died with their people and left the rest of the world in danger, creating a creepy and sinister atmosphere in Ebora.The Winnowry and the Fell-witches were also a really cool aspect of the world; I hated the Winnowry for what they did to the witches, but I always enjoy when fantasy explores the idea of twisted, religious, cultlike groups like this. Also, I liked their giant bats. Exploring the Wilds was also great, and the parasite spirit were creepy but also really cool; and I love what we learned about them at the end.
I loved the characters as well. Vintage is just such a cool character and I loved her inquisitivness and passion. She is a true scholar and explorer, and her determination to uncover things made me even more interested in the answers myself. She's also super loyal and caring which was nice to see, and the fact that she clearly likes to collect strays (especially when they can be useful) also made me love her even more. Tor is grumpy, but he clearly has a good heart and is hiding from his trauma, which he acquires plenty more of in this book. I loved his attitude and sarcasm. Noon was amazing, seeing her come into her power was also so fun. She was conditioned to despise herself and see her power as something evil, but watching her as she learned to control it and to gain confidence in herself made me love her. The dynamic between Vintage, Noon, and Tor was great, and I liked how each of them needed the companionship of the others for different reasons and how they all relied on each other. I also loved the romance; the dream walking scenes were really sweet and I liked the dynamic between Noon and Tor in them. I also liked how she looked after him and refused to give up on him, taking responsibility for her actions in the process, even if he didn't thank her for it straight away. There was tension between them but also a loyalty that grew throughout the book as thry both realised how much they need and can help each other.
Aldasair was a cinnamon roll, and I really felt for him in the way that he forced himself to recover after so many years in confinement, pushing himself for the good of his people; I'm excited to see more of him in the mext books. Bern was also a sweetheart, especially in the kindness he showed towards Aldasair. I also enjoyed Hestillion's perspective a lot, there is a brutality in her character that I really like, but also a softness that just wants to see her people survive and I think the rest of her story is going to be really interesting.
There were twists and turns in this book, great action and intrigue that kept me turning the pages. The ending was superb and made me want to pick the next book up straight away.
For how much I loved this book, I feel like there should be more for me to say, but I'm afraid all I could do is just list every little thing about it and say I loved it. Just trust me and pick this up.
The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that I wish it had a map. Fantasy books should ALWAYS have maps.