The Ninth Rain

Jen Williams is fantasy’s best-kept secret. Is this woman a millionaire yet? New York Times Bestseller list or whatever the UK version of that is? Surely she must be winning awards left and right because her writing skills and story-telling are so bleeding good, I have no words. This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. Ever.

“Vintage” is the main character. She is about 40 (a main character who is 40, you guys, what is this madness) and a wealthy wanderer of types. She travels and studies artefacts that happen to be organic space ships from a malevolent alien race who wish to wipe out humanity and all life on Tarn. (Tarn is this world’s version of Earth.)

She also happens to have brown skin and is a lesbian (or bisexual, we don’t know for sure because it isn’t discussed; it’s no big deal; she just is who she is).

Her traveling companion is a hired sword named Tormalin the Oathless, Tor for short. He is an Eboran, a race of human-like beings who can live a thousand years, are strong, and a mix between maybe elves and vampires?

They end up taking in a fell-witch named Noon. She can summon green winnowfire. Add to the mix another Eboran, Tor’s sister, Hestillion, who is obsessed with bringing their dead tree-god back to life, their slightly crazy cousin Aldasair, a tall braided dude named Bern the Younger (who might be hooking up with Aldasair), and a psychotic fell-witch assassin after Noon.

The witches, when discovered, are claimed by the Winnowry, which is basically a prison. The fell-witches are considered an evil that must be contained and controlled.

This book was so easy to read, full of action, amazing world-building. It’s got humor, sci-fi, a bit of romance (don’t worry, it’s not a kissing book, but Tor is pretty swoon-worthy). I have not enjoyed reading a book this much in awhile. I daresay it’s a flipping masterpiece.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy and fantastical beings and worlds. Don’t worry, it’s not bogged down in fantasy-speak. You will get swept away.

There is so much more I could say, but I don’t want to spoil it! Jen Williams, remember the name. You won’t be sorry.

She also does The Copper Cat trilogy. The second book in The Winnowing Flame trilogy is The Bitter Twins and is out now!

Okay, do you think I am fangirling enough here? Well, maybe, but it’s that good.

This book was a hidden gem. The flow, the characters, the world building kept me engaged from page one and I could not put it down.

The writing made me want to turn its pages. What more need I say. Fantasy I thoroughly enjoyed. And that’s coming from a reader of plus 300 highly rated fantasy book reader.

Cover bent

Its often a tricky thing when an author decides to straddle the line between fantasy and sci-fi, but I think its fair to say that this novel is an example of how to do it right. In The Ninth Rain we are first introduced to Ebora, a dying empire that has served as the worlds main defense against the Jurelia, an ancient and mysterious enemy. The Jurelia have come in waves many years apart, and each time been driven back however, during the attack known as the Eighth Rain, victory came at the cost of the Eboran tree gods life. Without the influence of their god and the sap which extends their lives, his children have fallen into illness and despair. However, the story of the Eborans has since taken an even darker turn, leading to a ruthless and bloody war against their human allies. Now the few who remain are feared and reviled by the rest of the world, and the reasons for this are deftly explained in one of the most chilling prologues Ive had the pleasure of reading.

The novel is a little slow to get started due to the sheer amount of setup required this is a vast and complex backstory and so I can certainly forgive the heavy exposition in the early chapters. However, our cast of characters are varied and intriguing enough to make up for it, and once the pieces are in place for our main trio to meet, its smooth sailing from there. Our main character is Lady Vincenza Vintage de Grazon, a wealthy 40 year old eccentric who shuns her rich, uptight family in favor of exploration and the pursuit of knowledge. By her side is her bodyguard Tormalin, an Eboran who can no longer stand to watch his city and people crumble to ashes. Along the way they meet Fell-Noon, a witch with powers she cannot fully control she has escaped from a facility designed to both keep her kind out of the world and profit from exploiting them, and their agents are in hot pursuit. Also she rides around on a giant bat, so, you know, thats pretty awesome too.

Of the trio, Vintage in particular is a refreshing, no-nonsense main character who can cut to the heart of an issue and see a situation for what it is (also I would very much like to be her when I grow up, please). Tor is a lovable rogue in a Han Solo, in-it-for-himself sort of way, and Noons vulnerability and occasional sass rounds out the group. The dialogue and chemistry between characters is a definite strong point of the novel, and the prose is pleasantly descriptive without getting too flowery. Theres an Indiana Jones meets Aliens vibe to the exploration of the Jurelian artefacts that really scratched my itch for the lost civilization trope while putting a clever twist on it. It is an ambitious story with a truly frightening enemy in the Jurelia they are reminiscent of some of my favorite villains: Zombies, The Borg theyre an eldritch, emotionally blank nightmare who cannot be reasoned with, and their motivations remain unclear.

Above all, my leading feelings about the novel are that its wonderful fun, with a diverse and inclusive cast, creepy insectoid villains and a plot that keeps the pages turning. While Williams doesnt shy away from the gruesome, this is action-adventure with a strong sense of hope, even in the face of an overwhelming enemy. I found myself unreasonably furious when I finished that I hadnt ordered my copy of The Bitter Twins soon enough to start right away. I highly recommend picking it up it is unfortunate (not to mention baffling) that this series as yet doesnt have a US publisher, as Williams easily stands shoulder to shoulder with the best and brightest of this generations SFF authors.