What do you think?
Rate this book
Rain
John March is having a good day. He doesn't have many. Then it starts to rain. John March runs a struggling bookshop with just one regular customer - Mr. Hill. His life is defined by routine until the day he discovers he is sole beneficiary of a will worth £5 million thanks to the eccentric Mr. Hill's untimely death. But Mr. Hill also leaves behind something else - a lock of hair, a finger bone and a tooth in a jar of water. It's certainly not the worst day of John's life...until the rain comes and the dying starts. There is something in the rain and only John can give it what it wants. And yet, even when people are dying, even in the midst of terror, it's not the hardest thing John's ever faced. He faces horror every day when he locks his shop, drives to August House and opens the door to the room where his wife clings to life. But what he doesn't know could kill her, because if the rain doesn't get what it wants, his wife will serve just as well... *** Editorial 'Brilliantly imaginative and the evil contained within the rain combined with its urgent needs left me slightly staggered and more than impressed with Craig Saunders once more. John March, his wife and her carers, Smiley and Mandy will face off against the unthinkable. And you can’t help but run the gauntlet with them, every rain soaked step. This author has written some incredibly dark and gripping fiction, and it’s a complete joy to slowly work through his back catalogue. Recommended, no, more than recommended and well worth dipping your toes into this murky water.' - Scream * A survival horror novel from the author of A Stranger's Grave, Masters of Blood and Bone, and Left to Darkness.
- GenresHorror
348 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2011
11 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Craig Saunders
69 books72 followersCraig Saunders is the author of over thirty novels and novellas, including 'Masters of Blood and Bone', 'RAIN' and 'Deadlift'. He writes across many genres, but horror and fantasy (the 'Rythe' tales) are his favourites.
Craig lives in Norfolk, England, with his wife and children, likes nice people and good coffee. Find out more on Amazon, or visit:
www.craigrsaunders.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/craigrsaundersauthor
www.twitter.com/Grumblesprout
A little aside - I don't visit GR often, but I'm always available on Twitter or the FB page. I apologise in advance if it takes a while for me to answer a question here!
Craig lives in Norfolk, England, with his wife and children, likes nice people and good coffee. Find out more on Amazon, or visit:
www.craigrsaunders.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/craigrsaundersauthor
www.twitter.com/Grumblesprout
A little aside - I don't visit GR often, but I'm always available on Twitter or the FB page. I apologise in advance if it takes a while for me to answer a question here!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 14, 2015
I've been on a bit of a Craig Saunders splurge recently starting with The Estate, on to Rain and the final one being A Strangers Grave. And they just get better, dark fiction with a mixture of fascinating characters, occasionally funny moments, gripping plots but most of all just bloody good reads.
Rain starts with John March and his not too busy bookshop, in fact there's only one regular customer and he comes in attempting to sell a few books. Mr Hills last visit finished with him saying something a little odd John thinks briefly but what comes later is way past odd. Mr Hill dies that night and John is the beneficiary of two amazing things, firstly a will worth 5 million pounds.
And secondly a strange wooden box containing a lock of hair, a finger bone and a tooth in a jar of water. A simple message says. 'Blood and bone and hair and tooth'.
Then a phone call.
'You have something of mine. Give it back and I will let her live.'
Then comes the Rain.
Followed by screaming, sirens, and death, lots of it.
Smiley, Mandy and the rest of the gang aren't up to much, smoking some weed, you know the score. Until they're caught by a policeman, not your average copper, this one needs a job done and there's something not altogether right about this guy.
'Something in the man's eyes. Something cold. His eyes were black. Weird. Full-on black, like they'd been painted in by a kid. The others didn't look around. They sat silent, defeated.
Smiley looked into the policeman's eyes.
He wished he hadn't, but by then, he couldn't look away'.
The rain is alive, it has murderous intent and it’s fucking scary stuff. There's a lot going on to keep the interest alive, I have to say it's brilliantly imaginative and the evil contained within the rain combined with its urgent needs left me slightly staggered and more than impressed with Craig Saunders once more.
John March, his wife and her carers, Smiley and Mandy will face off against the unthinkable. And you can't help but run the gauntlet with them, every rain soaked step. This author has written some incredibly dark and gripping fiction, and it's a complete joy to slowly work through his back catalogue.
Recommended, no, more than Recommended and well worth dipping your toes into this murky water.
A 4.5* rating.
Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
Rain starts with John March and his not too busy bookshop, in fact there's only one regular customer and he comes in attempting to sell a few books. Mr Hills last visit finished with him saying something a little odd John thinks briefly but what comes later is way past odd. Mr Hill dies that night and John is the beneficiary of two amazing things, firstly a will worth 5 million pounds.
And secondly a strange wooden box containing a lock of hair, a finger bone and a tooth in a jar of water. A simple message says. 'Blood and bone and hair and tooth'.
Then a phone call.
'You have something of mine. Give it back and I will let her live.'
Then comes the Rain.
Followed by screaming, sirens, and death, lots of it.
Smiley, Mandy and the rest of the gang aren't up to much, smoking some weed, you know the score. Until they're caught by a policeman, not your average copper, this one needs a job done and there's something not altogether right about this guy.
'Something in the man's eyes. Something cold. His eyes were black. Weird. Full-on black, like they'd been painted in by a kid. The others didn't look around. They sat silent, defeated.
Smiley looked into the policeman's eyes.
He wished he hadn't, but by then, he couldn't look away'.
The rain is alive, it has murderous intent and it’s fucking scary stuff. There's a lot going on to keep the interest alive, I have to say it's brilliantly imaginative and the evil contained within the rain combined with its urgent needs left me slightly staggered and more than impressed with Craig Saunders once more.
John March, his wife and her carers, Smiley and Mandy will face off against the unthinkable. And you can't help but run the gauntlet with them, every rain soaked step. This author has written some incredibly dark and gripping fiction, and it's a complete joy to slowly work through his back catalogue.
Recommended, no, more than Recommended and well worth dipping your toes into this murky water.
A 4.5* rating.
Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
January 19, 2012
Rain is a book that could only be written by an Englishman. John Marsh is a bookseller tormented by the tragic accident that enfeebled his wife and left her in a semi-vegetative state in a home. When an old patron leaves a message for him, little does he know his life is about to change; because the rain is coming.
Rain is a dark, disturbing, and violent supernatural horror novel with superb moments of suspense and terror. The characters are memorable and dynamic, faced with a power that is truly terrible and unremitting. Any fan of Stephen King will love this dark jaunt.
Normally, I'd give four stars to a novel that so thoroughly frightened me and gave me a glimpse at the dark side of reality, but there is a real reason why I would give any novel five stars: the book marked me.
At its core, Mr. Saunders has intuitively placed a metaphor that resonates throughout the darkness and despair of the work: Rain. Bad times, like rain happen to each of us. Why? Sometimes, it is just because we were there. Tragedy strikes us, we were born to the wrong parents, or old age creeps up upon us. It is what seems elemental about our existence and the evil in the novel. The characters navigate this inner and outer-darkness to persevere, survive, and turn their eyes to the hope that the rain will pass, and that a new day will dawn. Such is all our hope, and it is a rare thing to read a book that reminds us of this in such a way that we truly taste the depth of human suffering and also the human hope that, also, seems elemental to our existence. Rain is a great first novel, from a writer who, one senses, has tasted that darkness, and reaches out to guide us through it in a novel with real literary merit.
Rain is a dark, disturbing, and violent supernatural horror novel with superb moments of suspense and terror. The characters are memorable and dynamic, faced with a power that is truly terrible and unremitting. Any fan of Stephen King will love this dark jaunt.
Normally, I'd give four stars to a novel that so thoroughly frightened me and gave me a glimpse at the dark side of reality, but there is a real reason why I would give any novel five stars: the book marked me.
At its core, Mr. Saunders has intuitively placed a metaphor that resonates throughout the darkness and despair of the work: Rain. Bad times, like rain happen to each of us. Why? Sometimes, it is just because we were there. Tragedy strikes us, we were born to the wrong parents, or old age creeps up upon us. It is what seems elemental about our existence and the evil in the novel. The characters navigate this inner and outer-darkness to persevere, survive, and turn their eyes to the hope that the rain will pass, and that a new day will dawn. Such is all our hope, and it is a rare thing to read a book that reminds us of this in such a way that we truly taste the depth of human suffering and also the human hope that, also, seems elemental to our existence. Rain is a great first novel, from a writer who, one senses, has tasted that darkness, and reaches out to guide us through it in a novel with real literary merit.
January 31, 2014
Excellent. This is what horror was before zombies took over the genre. Not to be missed.
February 4, 2014
I used to like rain. Now.. I don't know anymore.
Frightening and dark. Highly recommended to horror fans.
Frightening and dark. Highly recommended to horror fans.
August 17, 2017
Great Book
Very well-written. Very similar style to Neil Gaiman although this writer is formidable in his own right.
Very interesting and unique story line.
Very well-written. Very similar style to Neil Gaiman although this writer is formidable in his own right.
Very interesting and unique story line.
March 6, 2012
Rain is a tremendous debut novel. As a writer myself, it left me feeling envious of Mr. Saunders' considerable talent.
Rain is the rare supernatural horror that manages to come across as completely plausible. The characters are top shelf and demand that you care about their fate and feel what they feel. The story line is original and straddles the fence of horror and mainstream fiction.
I went into this book expecting the clunky prose and clunkier plot of the muddled waters of midlist horror, but came away feeling as if I had finished a NY Times best seller more on par with a King novel. Craig Saunders, with Rain, is hands down the best 'small press' writer I've read.
Rain is the rare supernatural horror that manages to come across as completely plausible. The characters are top shelf and demand that you care about their fate and feel what they feel. The story line is original and straddles the fence of horror and mainstream fiction.
I went into this book expecting the clunky prose and clunkier plot of the muddled waters of midlist horror, but came away feeling as if I had finished a NY Times best seller more on par with a King novel. Craig Saunders, with Rain, is hands down the best 'small press' writer I've read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews