A review by songwind
Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell

3.0

Crystal Rain was an enjoyable book with an interesting spin on an old idea. Humanity has been chased to a far off planet, and been cut off from home, and lost a lot of their tech base. The new spin comes from the depth of the "fall" and the roots from which the society sprang. Instead of the standard quasi-medieval feudalism we all know and expect, the largely Caribbean-descended survivors have managed to cling to late 19th/early 20th century tech and mostly communal government. This fact isn't a spoiler, as it becomes clear in the first handful of pages.

In addition to the fun setting, the story combines an amnesia mystery, horror elements, and an invasion story into a fun plot that hangs together believably well.

I plan to read the second book, sometime in the future.