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soartfullydone 's review for:
The Ninth Rain
by Jen Williams
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Ninth Rain is a deeply weird fantasy book. It's unsettling in a skin-crawling way, downright horrific at times in a manner that swerves sharply towards horror, and it's boldly original the entire time. At least, I've yet to read anything quite like it in the genre. Its cast of characters are colorful and warm watercolors on an otherwise bleak yet interesting canvas. I loved every second of this and advocate that we need weird fantasy books now more than ever.
The Jure'lia, or worm people, have long sought to conquer the land of Sarn, consuming and destroying all living things on it. For every invasion, only the Eborans—a vampiric-esque race—their tree-god, and their war-beasts have been able to repel the Jure'lia back to wherever they originate. Except the last invasion, the Eighth Rain, did not go as the others before. The worm people were somehow defeated, but at the cost of the tree-god's death. Without the god's golden sap that preserves the Eboran's long lives, the Eborans turned to drinking human blood, but in time this, too, had a cost: the crimson flux. Now, the Eborans are dying out, their country a wasteland, and Tormalin the Oathless can no longer remain watching his fellow Eborans die of lifelessness, of the flux, until he, too, succumbs.
After leaving his homeland, he is hired into the service of Lady Vincenza "Vintage" de Grazon, an eccentric explorer who has made it her life's mission to study the Jure'lia, the Wild, and the monstrous spirits they've left behind. Soon, they are joined by Fell-Noon, a runaway witch who is labeled a fugitive and monster for the green winnowfire she has little control over. (What is she running from? Good news! It's a cult!) As they explore the truth behind the worm people—what they are, where they come from, why they invade—they and many others are haunted by a terrifying prospect. After centuries, the Jure'lia are due to return. The Ninth Rain must fall.
Haunting stuff, I love to see it. In my opinion, there's nothing so terrifying as an enemy whose motives you cannot identify and who you cannot communicate with. It means you cannot bargain or reason with them. You cannot find common ground or understanding. Peace is never an option. It's either find a way to destroy them all or be annihilated yourself. And when the only protection you've had in the past against them is literally dying off? How do you cope? Where do you find hope?
These questions are what The Ninth Rain is interested in exploring through the personal journeys and interpersonal relationships of its characters. Despite how lore-heavy the book is, despite how well the world is built, this is a character-driven novel that helps both the lore and world truly shine. Tor's vanity transforming into sincerity. Vintage's search for truth changing from an intellectual pursuit to a pursuit of the heart. Noon's fear and guilt of her power transfiguring into an otherworldly bravery. I loved following their arcs in particular, but I have to give shout outs to Hestillion and Aldasair as well. Cannot wait to see where they are all going.
The Ninth Rain is a book that is definitely a setup for a trilogy, so there's lots of introduction to be had here. It's also set up as a tragedy, one that you can see coming with increasing horror while the characters, in their blind, fragile hope, cannot. And I think that's beautiful.
I now wait impatiently for my library to obtain the sequel. Woe is me.
The Jure'lia, or worm people, have long sought to conquer the land of Sarn, consuming and destroying all living things on it. For every invasion, only the Eborans—a vampiric-esque race—their tree-god, and their war-beasts have been able to repel the Jure'lia back to wherever they originate. Except the last invasion, the Eighth Rain, did not go as the others before. The worm people were somehow defeated, but at the cost of the tree-god's death. Without the god's golden sap that preserves the Eboran's long lives, the Eborans turned to drinking human blood, but in time this, too, had a cost: the crimson flux. Now, the Eborans are dying out, their country a wasteland, and Tormalin the Oathless can no longer remain watching his fellow Eborans die of lifelessness, of the flux, until he, too, succumbs.
After leaving his homeland, he is hired into the service of Lady Vincenza "Vintage" de Grazon, an eccentric explorer who has made it her life's mission to study the Jure'lia, the Wild, and the monstrous spirits they've left behind. Soon, they are joined by Fell-Noon, a runaway witch who is labeled a fugitive and monster for the green winnowfire she has little control over. (What is she running from? Good news! It's a cult!) As they explore the truth behind the worm people—what they are, where they come from, why they invade—they and many others are haunted by a terrifying prospect. After centuries, the Jure'lia are due to return. The Ninth Rain must fall.
Haunting stuff, I love to see it. In my opinion, there's nothing so terrifying as an enemy whose motives you cannot identify and who you cannot communicate with. It means you cannot bargain or reason with them. You cannot find common ground or understanding. Peace is never an option. It's either find a way to destroy them all or be annihilated yourself. And when the only protection you've had in the past against them is literally dying off? How do you cope? Where do you find hope?
These questions are what The Ninth Rain is interested in exploring through the personal journeys and interpersonal relationships of its characters. Despite how lore-heavy the book is, despite how well the world is built, this is a character-driven novel that helps both the lore and world truly shine. Tor's vanity transforming into sincerity. Vintage's search for truth changing from an intellectual pursuit to a pursuit of the heart. Noon's fear and guilt of her power transfiguring into an otherworldly bravery. I loved following their arcs in particular, but I have to give shout outs to Hestillion and Aldasair as well. Cannot wait to see where they are all going.
The Ninth Rain is a book that is definitely a setup for a trilogy, so there's lots of introduction to be had here. It's also set up as a tragedy, one that you can see coming with increasing horror while the characters, in their blind, fragile hope, cannot. And I think that's beautiful.
I now wait impatiently for my library to obtain the sequel. Woe is me.