The Ninth Rain

The Winnowing Flame Trilogy #1

by Jen Williams

Jen Williams, acclaimed author of The Copper Cat trilogy, featuring The Copper Promise, The Iron Ghost and The Silver Tide, returns with the first in a blistering new trilogy.

The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold. Now its streets are stalked by wolves. Tormalin the Oathless has no taste for sitting around waiting to die while the realm of his storied ancestors falls to pieces - talk about a guilt trip. Better to be amongst the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine.

When eccentric explorer, Lady Vincenza 'Vintage' de Grazon, offers him employment, he sees an easy way out. Even when they are joined by a fugitive witch with a tendency to set things on fire, the prospect of facing down monsters and retrieving ancient artefacts is preferable to the abomination he left behind.

But not everyone is willing to let the Eboran empire collapse, and the adventurers are quickly drawn into a tangled conspiracy of magic and war. For the Jure'lia are coming, and the Ninth Rain must fall...

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Adult, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Dragons, LGBT

544 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 23, 2017

About the author

Jen Williams lives in London with her partner and their small ridiculous cat. Having been a fan of grisly fairy tales from a young age, these days Jen writes dark unsettling thrillers with strong female leads, as well as character-driven fantasy novels with plenty of adventure and magic. Her debut novel, The Copper Promise, kicked off the Copper Cat trilogy in 2014, and since then she has twice won the British Fantasy Award for her second trilogy, the Winnowing Flame. Her first thriller, Dog Rose Dirt, was published with HarperCollins in July 2021. Jen has two upcoming releases in 2023: Games for Dead Girls with Harpercollins, and Talonsister with Titan. When she’s not writing books she enjoys messing about with video games and embroidery, and also works as a part-time bookseller and a freelance copywriter.

Reviews

[Petrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

4.5/5 stars

The Ninth Rain won the Best Fantasy Novel trophy in British Fantasy Awards 2018; this is a totally well-deserved victory.

On Goodreads, you’ll see that I put my co-blogger’s name as the one who recommended this book to me; do know that for the past two years, there were actually many readers who have told/asked me to read and review not only The Winnowing Flame Trilogy, but also William’s debut series: The Copper Cat trilogy. I’ll get to reading The Copper Cat eventually, but for now I’m so into this series, and let me just say that from the experience of finishing this book alone, I already know I’ll be reading any book that Williams published. This book is approximately 550 pages long and I finished it within two days; it’s been months since I felt this compelled to read a high fantasy novel at this pace.

The Ninth Rain is the first book in The Winnowing Flame Trilogy by Jen Williams. The great city of Ebora has lost its glory and wealth, now that the city and its people are on the verge of oblivion, Tormalin the Oathless—one of the last surviving citizen of Ebora—accepts Vintage’s offer of a job as her bodyguard in her adventures. If you’re interested in knowing more of the premise, I suggest reading the official blurb on Goodreads/Amazon instead. I’ve mentioned earlier that the genre of this book is high fantasy, but I’m honestly not too sure which genre would be the most apt to classify this novel. Williams did a fantastic job in mixing sci-fi and fantasy to tell a uniquely refreshing and yet familiar tale. It took a quarter of the book for me to get into it, but once all three main characters storyline has joined, my god… I was completely hooked. I can’t remember the last time I read 300 pages in a single day and this book did it for me effortlessly.

“Any institution that claims to keep women locked up for their own good should be watched very close, in my opinion.”

A huge part—superb storytelling aside—on why this book became so addictive to read for me was due to the characters; the characterizations were tremendous and the main characters were super easy to root for. Vintage reminded me of a female version of Indiana Jones. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a fan of Indiana Jones franchise; I found them to be okay and I failed to see what’s so special about them. However, this wasn’t the case with Vintage; I found her character to be charming. Then, we have the Fell-witch, Noon. At first, I thought she would be the weakest POV to follow, but I couldn’t be more wrong. Halfway through the book, her storyline and Tormalin were hands down my favorites. As someone who’s quite obsessed with being organized and clean, I have a terrific time reading Tor’s well-placed obsession with his clothes; it was super amusing that a vampiric-elf who is extremely skilled at swordsmanship put his clothes and how he looks as his top priority. Also, I’d like that to add that Williams’s characterizations and developments for her female characters were spectacular.

“There is, it seems to me, a certain type of man who is terrified of the idea of a woman wielding power, of any sort; the type of man who is willing to dress up his terror in any sort of trappings to legitimise it.”

There’s just continuous fascination in this book which was provided through its rich world-building. Honestly speaking, I’ve been getting fatigued from reading medieval-European fantasy setting. I have nothing against it—I love it, actually—but this particular setting is everywhere; stumbling upon them more than ten times in a row can get very tiring. The intricate world-building that Williams has created in this book/series was a delightful feast for my imagination. I’m serious, the author has some morbidly vivid imagination. Creatures conjured out of nightmares, a giant tree named Ygseril—most likely inspired by Yggdrasil—that dropped fruits that became war-beasts, then giant bats as transportation, behemoths, and many more intrigues that I suggest reading firsthand. I simply need to read more of this world.

“Eboran war-beasts: dragons of all shapes and varieties, griffins with their snowy feathers flecked with black, giant bird and bat-like creatures with four legs, enormous armoured foxes, giant winged-wolves and cats.”

The Ninth Rain was an amazing and captivating start to a trilogy; simple as that. I’m putting everything on my TBR on the back-burner until I’m done binge reading this series. I have a really good feeling that The Winnowing Flame Trilogy will become a new and long-awaited addition to my list of favorite trilogies of all time.

Sidenote:
If you need any more reason to give the author’s books a go, she called herself a “100% Dragon Age trash”. As a fan of Dragon Age—especially DA: Inquisition—I’m not even ashamed to say that this awesome self-proclaimed title was one of the reason why I gave her book a go.

You can order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

REREAD to finish the trilogy and ima go read the end of the third book to decide if I want to purchase the paperbacks. People keep saying a sad ending and if she killed my fav person I might just keep the kindle editions. Just sayin!!

Also, the creatures and originality is on point!

Fantastic! Thank you my sweet murderous pea 😘

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Em Lost In Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me sometime to get into this but after a certain point, story didn't let me go. Last 10 chapters were read in a single sitting, so much happening at the same time. Very enjoyable read. RTC.

[Eon Windrunner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE tales like these. There were legendary wars many years ago where good prevailed, but no-one really remembers what really happened and now there are endless mysteries and the possibility of having to face an ancient enemy yet again.

Before you carry on reading, I feel the need to say that I have detailed most of the history leading up to the present day of the story below. I did this for two reasons:

1 - Because it is such a fascinating history and I think this serves as an excellent hook for a story by an author that is not yet widely read, but should be.
2- Because it took me a while to get into this story, but I knew the author would deliver in the end and I do not want you to start and give up if you are not familiar with the author.

So, if you prefer gathering these bits and pieces of the background that are doled out sparingly through the book as it was written, and are happy to give this book a try, skip the spoiler below.

If you are unsure though, give it a read. I do not believe it spoils any of the story. If you are like me you will likely forget most of what is in this review anyway before reading the book so this serves only as enticement for the TBR pile. It already convinced my GF to read this! BTW - the author's first series is great too and you should check that out!

The Copper Promise
The Iron Ghost
The Silver Tide

The not-that-spoilery-history-backstory-spoiler.
Well that was a mouth full! - Once, before their fall, Eborans were respected and feared by all mankind. They were the most beautiful beings on Sarn. Superior to humans in almost every way, many believed them immortal.

When the Jure’lia, a hive minded alien species, first attacked, mankind threw all their might against them for the horrors these beings brought with them were almost unimaginable. But humans had no answer to the utter destruction these invaders visited upon Sarn. These Worm People, as they would come to be known, would have consumed everything in their path unopposed were it not for the ferocious fighting of the Eborans and the assistance of their tree god Ygseril. In the hour of Sarn’s greatest need Ygseril brought forth the First Rain and delivered the mythical creatures, magnificent warbeasts of every size and shape, which would defeat the Worm People time and again.

The war with the Jure’lia spanned many years. Whenever they were defeated, they would disappear back to where they came from and would not be seen for many years before once again descending from the skies and attacking , bringing forth a new assault in their attempt to consume all. Ygseril would birth a new Rain with every invasion to help repel the invaders, until eventually, during the Eight Rain, the Jure’lia Queen gathered her forces and made a massive assault on the home of the Eborans and their tree god.

The Jure’lia were defeated, but through the ages all knowledge of what exactly happened was lost. What is known is that the Jure’lia all died at once, their giant ships plummeted from the sky and crashed all over Sarn.

‘The Eighth Rain, when the last war-beasts were born!’ Louis stared up at the vast breadth of the trunk looming above them, a smile on his round, honest face. ‘The last great battle. My dad said that the Eboran warriors wore armour so bright no one could look at it, that they rode on the backs of snowy white griffins, and their swords blazed with fire. The great pestilence of the Jure’lia queen and the worm people was driven back and her Behemoths were scattered to pieces.’

While a huge victory for humans and Eborans, the fallout from the battle was disastrous. Wherever the ships of the Jure’lia violently met their end, some device or other machination of the defeated force caused a sort of infection or disease that corrupted the very place these vessels found their final resting place in. This ever-spreading corruption not only tainted vegetation, but also animals, resulting in monstrous abominations.

…what it had been, or what its ancestors had been before it had been worm-touched, she did not know. Something like a bear, perhaps; it was bulky, with a thick midsection and four short but powerful legs, and a long, blocky head. But instead of fur it was covered in pale, fleshy pouches of skin, which shivered and trembled as it moved, and Noon could see four circular black eyes along its head, clustered together and oddly spider-like. Its mouth, when it opened its jaws to roar again, was pink and wet and lined with hundreds of yellow needle-like teeth.

Attempts were made to get rid of the remains of these ships, but proved mostly impossible as the death tolls from these attempts were too high. Soon after the vessels crashed, dangerous beings called parasite spirits started inhabiting the areas close to and around these wrecks and would kill anyone they came in contact with. Impervious to weapons apart from Winnow-forged steel, they would roam seemingly aimlessly and kill anyone they came in contact with, with many a victim turned inside out.

She didn’t take her eyes from the parasite spirit. ‘If we can drive it back outside of the village, perhaps we can get a proper look at it.’ But it was too late. As they arrived, the spirit was bending down over the hapless Fera, who was still thrusting his pitchfork at it. Long tapered fingers closed over him – Vintage was struck briefly by how it looked like a child peering at a new bug on the ground – and then Fera was falling apart. He screamed as his body was unzipped, and Vintage saw a gout of blood and other fluids hit the dirt. The long transparent fingers were still moving though, and her stomach twisted as the man’s skin rolled back like a carpet being peeled away from a floor.

The direst consequence however, of the defeat of the Jurelian Queen and her people, was the death of Ygseril in the final battle. The tree god had delivered his final Rain and so begun the end of the Eborans. For while the humans believed Eborans to be immortal, their everlasting youth and health was derived from drinking the sap of Ygseril which they were now denied of. Eborans started slowly wasting away, until discovering that human blood was a suitable, if not nearly as potent replacement for the sap they so needed. What followed became known as the Carrion Wars, which at the height of it saw Eborans slaughter humans and drinking blood from their still warm corpses in the middle of the battlefields. Before things could get even worse though, what the Eborans believed to be their saving grace, became their eternal curse. A terrible, incurable disease, born of the drinking of human blood, befell these Eborans. They started dying slow and agonizing deaths and before long the Eboran population was decimated, with only a few Eborans escaping this fate. Reviled by humans, and as the last of their kind, they slowly disappeared until most people had only ever heard of them in stories, first as saviors and then as villains.

The plot of the book follows three different characters whose stories are destined to be intertwined.

A rich, inquisitive adventurer, called Vintage.
A Fell-Witch, called Noon.
And one of the last living Eborans, called Tormalin.

Vintage and her hired muscle, Tormalin set out to explore and gather information about the wreckage of the downed ships left behind by the Jure’lia and along the way are joined by Noon, a fell-witch recently escaped from the Winnowery (They are a cult-like group who believe that fell-witches are evil and should be imprisoned for life in order to protect society from their powers. Yep, Noon has the gift of Winnowfire). An unlikely alliance is formed, and as they travel to these sites and start exploring the secrets of the Jure’lia, they find mysteries wrapped within deeper mysteries. Before long, they realize that things might not be as they seem and that the threat of the Jure’lia might not be as confined to the history books as they would like it to be.

As stated earlier, I really liked this book, but that page turning fever that overcomes me when a story is unputdownable did not manifest itself until I had read quite a solid chunk. (Where the three main characters start their journey together.) Once there though, I was completely immersed and had a fantastic time. As with the Copper Cat trilogy, the author’s characters are wonderfully compelling creations who were fun to journey with. The story, once it hooked me, was enthralling, and I feel it is really going to shine in the next two books as the amount of worldbuilding Jen Williams had to do in this one was significant. It was well worth it though as this is a rich and vast world that we have been gifted and I can hardly wait to get my hands on the next installment.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 5 out of 5]

🦇 Giant Pet Bats For The Win Buddy Reread (GPBFTWBR™) with the MacHalos and stuff 🦇

· Previous rating: 6.568765 stars.
· New rating: 7.5 stars. Because reasons.

➽ And the moral of this reread is: any villainous villain who says stuff like “we do not make agreements with food” when talking to puny humans is Slightly Very Awesome (SVA™), if you ask me.



Yum and stuff.

P.S. Vin + Noon + Tor + Fulcor + Vostok =



· Book 2: The Bitter Twins ★★★★★
· Book 3: The Poison Song ★★★★★



[Original Review]

🦀 Let's Keep It In The Crustacean Family Father-Daughter Buddy Read (LKIITNFFDBR™) with My Little One 🦀

Actual rating: 6.568765 stars. And a half.

⚠️ OD on adjectives and superlatives while reading this review you might. Quite welcome you are.

✉ A message from Sarah From The Future (SFTF™): I just finished reading book 2 in this trilogy and kinda sorta feel BRB dead right now. Just so you know.

Okayyyy, there is soooooo much glorious gloriousness in this book I don't know where to start. Oh wait, that's not true, I do know exactly where to start:

Hello, my name is Sarah and I'm a bloody shrimping idiot who should be slightly (if mercilessly) skewered for thinking about DNFing this book. Yes, my Little Flimsy Barnacles, it is indeed very shameful and sad and disgraceful and stuff, but it is nonetheless (and quite dramatically) true: I read the prologue and the first two chapters of this book and thought, "please kill me somebody I'm outta here puny humans to chop into pieces places to invade and all that crap," and bloody hellish fish what a complete, utter, tremendously brain-dead nitwit that makes me.



On my way, bug-boy, on my way.

To bloody shrimping think I would have bloody shrimping missed on such triumphantly incredible deliciousness, had I DNFed this bloody shrimping Piece of Dazzling Awesomeness (PoDA™) ← yes, this rhymes, I know. A poet is me and stuff.

What exactly do I mean by PoDA™, you ask? Well, apart from "one of the best shrimping books I have read in a looooooooong time and certainly my favorite read so far this year," this, my Flailing Decapods, is what I mean:

① This world. THIS WORLD.
Never in your pathetic puny human lives bloody read anything like this, you have. It's creative. It's original. It's fresh. It's innovative. It's inventive. It's imaginative. It's Oops I Think I Just Ran Out of Synonyms oh Well (OITIJROfSoW™). Worry not though, for I have more adjectives for you: this world is fascinating and rich and super engaging and über scrumptious and oh so intriguing and Holy Stinking Fish I Want More (HSFIWM™). And stuff. I mean, magic + artifact hunting + elven-like bloodsuckers who are not lame vamps + buggeration + tree gods *waves at Glen Cook* + severed limbs + fluffy war-beasts + incurable and a teensy little bit deadly fatal diseases + not your pathetic everyday, broomstick-wielding witches + parasite spirit thingies + hahahahaha + lovely bugs galore + spoiler spoiler spoiler stuff I could tell you about but I'd have to kill you if I did so there + green fire + villainous villains aplenty + rain duh and rain duh unlike anything you've seen before, too + giant pet bats + friendly worms + invading invaders R us + Need I Say More Didn't Think So (NISMDTS™) =



② Stupendously Yummilicious Characters Poof Gone Harem Let's Go.
💕 A 40 going on 50, sarcastic, burn baby burn, tell it like it is, black, lesbian Indiana Jones wannabe-type heroine + 💕 A vain, immature, pain-in-the-exoskeleton (ergo delicious), I-went-to-sex-school-for-a-bloody-decade, wine-is-my-H2O bodyguard-type bloodsucker (who isn't a lame vamp, remember?) with layabout tendencies + 💕 A formerly enslaved/imprisoned/exploited/whatever now fugitive little kick-ass witch who casts green fire in a slightly uncontrollable way most delicate, lady-like manner by spoilering spoilering spoilering out the spoiler spoiler spoiler of spoiler spoiler spoilers = possibly the Mostest Awesomest if Somewhat Unlikely Trio that Ever Was and Ever Will Be (MAiSUTtEWaEWB™).



③ Lusciously Astonishing Plot of the Page-Turning Wickedness.
It took me less than three pathetic little days to read these somewhat glorious 540+pages, aka half a day longer than was necessary to drag my poor, miserable little shrimpy self through 179 pages worth of Guns of Avalon. This should tell you something. Yes it should indeed. What should it tell you, you ask? That this book is all fast-plotted tastiness, with much punch-packing action-packedness and non-stop mouthwatering adventurousness, all wrapped in layers upon layers of ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha and bloody shrimping HA dialogues/banter/repartee/whatever, surprisingly surprising surprises & twists & revelations & stuff, and generally marvelicious, splendidly titillating, entertaining STUFF.



➽ And the moral of this A Self-Proclaimed Idiot Like My Little Nitwitted Self Thou Shalt Not Be and the Thought of DNFing the Fish out of this Book Cross Your Puny Human Mind Better Not or Slightly Unleashed the Murderous Crustaceans Probably Shall Be Crappy Non Review (ASPILMLNSTSNBatToDtFootBCYPHMBNoSUtMCPSBCNR™) is: captivatingly sprinkled with adult stuff serious sub-themes like repression, prejudice, slavery, war, resentment, bigotry, revenge and the environment this story might be, but never ever preachy this Most Enjoyable Piece of Frolicsome Fun (MEPoFF™) is. Nope nope nope, not in Jen Williams' awesome writing world it isn't. Quite the opposite indeed, my Decrepit Arthropods. Ergo, purchase this book posthaste you must. QED and stuff.



P.S. This book is ridiculously cheap. Get it? Good.



[Pre-review nonsense]

Bloody shrimping hell of the stinking fish. THIS BOOK. To think I'd never heard of it only two months ago. To think I almost DNFed it after the first few chapters. To think I nearly bloody shrimping read another book instead of this one. To think I could have missed on so much Deliriously Awesome Wondrousness (DAW™). And on what possibly is one of my favorite bloody shrimping books of 2018 so far.



You got that right, sexey ladies of the sexey hats.

Also: I liked this book a little. Just so you know. And I'm a little excited about it. Just so you know.



➽ Full A Deliciously Sarcastic Deadpan Forty Something Black Lesbian Heroine YES PLEASE Crappy Non Review (ADSDFSBLHYPCNR™) to come.

P.S. Vintage and Tor and Noon, oh my! They're all MINE MINE MINE, oh my!

[TS Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly hard to put down and absolutely captivating, The Ninth Rain is classic high fantasy transfigured with a unique voice.

Jen Williams' debut fantasy trilogy, The Copper Cat, was a grand fun-filled adventure with great characters that I've grown to love throughout the three books. In my review of The Silver Tide, I commended the author in crafting a modern high fantasy tale that was her own instead of emulating the increasingly popular grimdark sub-genre. As much as I loved The Copper Cat trilogy by the end of it, I can put my hand to my heart now and say that without a doubt The Winnowing Flame is going to top that easily.

Williams had clearly grown by leaps and bounds as an author when she started writing The Ninth Rain. And it is more than just her ability to create a fascinating world and sympathetic characters. The world of Sarn is complex, imaginative and unique. There is deep lore and history at play here when the Prologue is dated two hundred years before the timeline of the main narrative. In this Prologue, we see the aftermath of an invasive war which occurred centuries ago, which left an Eboran god dying after it summoned The Eighth Rain, and together with it the long-lived people of Ebora.

There is so much that is alien and strange in this world; from the remnants left behind by the invaders, who are termed Jure'lia meaning worm people, to the existence of fell-witches who can conjure winnowfire by taking life energy with a single touch, and even the Eborans themselves. However, and this is why I say Williams has improved her writing skills, I slipped into her eldritch worldbuilding as easily as putting on a well-fitted silk robe. There is just something in her simple yet effective writing and how she crafted the story that was so enthralling. It lured me right from the very beginning, and I was completely hooked once I've met the primary characters.

Vintage, an Indiana Jones-like explorer who is determined to learn all she can about the Jure'lia. Tormalin the Oathless, probably the last fighting-fit Eboran who fled his dying country and people, and became Vintage's hired muscle. Noon, a fugitive fell-witch who escaped the inhuman containment and exploitation of the Winnowry, and fell into the company of Vin and Tor. These three characters form the bulk of the narrative and they are wonderfully written. You don't get your typical heroic fellowship here. They are flawed and complex individuals who formed a partnership through self-serving reasons, but eventually forged a bond of companionship through life-threatening situations. The best part of the characterisation was how their motivations and thoughts were laid bare to the readers, making the characters feel very real and relatable.

Almost every chapter was preceded by letters or an excerpt from the journal of Vintage that served as chapter epigraphs. These excerpts aided the worldbuilding exposition while avoiding the dreaded info-dumping monologues. On top of that, it also gave some insight into the character and backstory of Vintage herself. With that, I want to come back to the worldbuilding again, as I simply cannot get enough of it. The Jure'lia was the most alluring aspect as these worm people are alien invaders. Their technology is both strange and wondrous. Where did they come from? What do they want? And what are these parasite spirits which haunt the sites of the Jure'lia ships that have crashed centuries ago?

So many questions asked, and only some of these were answered, to a certain extent. At the same time, some discoveries only led to even more questions. And this is why I was so entranced by the story that Jen Williams has weaved with so much skill and agility. That tantalising trail of bread crumbs, deviously laid with bite-sized morsels, which only make you crave for more of what lies ahead and that final delicious piece.

There is an earnestness in Jen Williams' writing. An honesty and lack of pretension that I find refreshing and so enjoyable to read. I find it hard to explain as it is so intangible, but that was how I felt when I read The Copper Cat and again with this book. I am holding back from diving into the sequel immediately, bearing in mind that the concluding volume is going to be released over a month away. The Ninth Rain is such a fantastic entry that I have a strong feeling that The Winnowing Flame might end up being one of my favourite trilogies.

You can purchase a copy of this book from Amazon UK | Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide)

You can also find this, and my other reviews at Novel Notions.

[Library of a Viking · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in shock!

I read this book in April while writing my dissertation and didn’t particularly enjoy it. However, I was pretty confident the stress surrounding my dissertation affected my enjoyment of reading this book. I was so optimistic that I would love this book, but I really struggled with it the first time I read it. So, I decided to give this book a second chance, and I am in shock.

The Ninth Rain is, without a doubt, one of my favourite reads of 2022. I loved this book so much! Reading this book a second time felt like reading a new book. This just goes to show that your mental state can have a massive impact on whether you will enjoy a book. Sometimes the timing is just wrong.

So why did I love this book? Firstly, the world-building feels very unique (and weird!). The world of Sarn has humans, Eborans (another race), parasite spirits, scary worm people, witches, magic and GIANT BATS that you can ride on. How crazy does that sound? I always appreciate it when fantasy authors are willing to add some weird elements to their world-building, and Jen Williams certainly did that in this book!

Moreover, I found the overall plot and characters engaging and compelling. The Ninth Rain is a multiple POV story but mainly follows Vintage, an explorer (reminds me of Indiana Jones), and Aldasair/Hestillion, two Eborans, who are watching their empire slowly die. If you want to know more about the plot, I recommend reading the synopsis!

Consequently, The Ninth Rain utilizes many of my favourite tropes. The world of Sarn is very much dying and is slowly heading to its doom (or at least from the Eboran’s POV), which makes the stakes incredibly high. This book also has the found family trope, a unique take on a pet companion and powerful artefacts!

One mistake I made the first time I read this book was skim-reading the epigraphs. I would HIGHLY recommend taking great care and time in reading the epigraphs since most of the world-building is explained in these sections. Don’t skip the epigraphs – you’ve been warned!

However, there are two main elements that might not work for some readers. Firstly, the world-building is intricate and weird, which some readers might not appreciate. Secondly, while this is a minor nitpick, it is worth noting that this book has many epigraphs. If you don’t enjoy fantasy books with weird world-building and epigraphs, it is probably worth staying away from this book.

I am so glad I gave The Ninth Rain a second chance. I loved this book so much, and I absolutely can’t wait to continue this trilogy!

4.5 / 5 stars

Thanks to my Patreon's Erin, Peturious, Blake, Mel, Mark, Melissa and Áron Sofus.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those big, classical style fantasy books that could so easily have been lost to cliche and repetition if not for the skill and direction of the author.

Because it's an engaging read, full of action and humour, the creative and imaginative detail of this world slips so easily into the background that it feels right and natural. I found it amusing that the only thing to pull me somewhat out of the story was the use of modern swearing, not giant flying bats/parasite spirits/worm people and more. Jen Williams crammed so much into building this vivid picture, but I never felt the process of its creation. This is her talent, of course, as well as the creation of the memorable and loveable cast. Diverse, distinctive, and the kind of characters you're cheering right from the first meeting: the three leads act as symbols for larger ideas within the world of Sarn but always through the prism of their individual stories.

It's cleverly done and fun to boot, well worth a read. On top of that, the ending promises so much more for the next instalment. It made me want to step right inside the book to take a look around (despite the poor sanitation and serious potential for untimely death).

ARC via Netgalley

[Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watch my video review by clicking here.

3.5/5 stars. Incredible world and lore, but falls a bit short on the execution.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

June 2019
Reread.
I didn’t intend to reread this, but I went to start the Bitter twins and realised I couldn’t remember enough and needed a refresh. Well I’m glad I did because it was just as good as pastime. I want a giant bat like Fulcor!

June 2018
Fantabulous! Such skilled world building, this book is a marvellous mix of great characters, a complex world and with a complex history. The story builds slowly but never bores. The three main characters are all renegades of their type. Vintage, a middle aged independently wealthy female explorer, Tor, a different race, an Ebolan- and Noon, a fell witch. Together and apart, they battle against capture, parasite spirits, and giant worms who munch up the land and leave people and anything in its path covered in a hard varnish. Behemoth, the wreckages of alien organic ships birth these worms. Their queen seems to be made of black ooze. Oh yeah- and there's a dragon. Pretty cool stuff!

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4.39 ***

A very imaginative, passionate and emotive writing, the author bringing us another world of wild nature, fantastic and alien creatures, and the variety of human nature within all of its extremes. I was lost within the story from the beginning, as surprisingly cruel as it was. By the time I got to the end of the story, I had to make sure and purchase the next two books of the trilogy, because I just had to know where the author will take us! Literary life is better with Jen Williams' writing in it!!!

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ninth Rain is remarkably written book in which Jen Williams was determined to freshen up a bit fantasy worlbuilding as we know it, combining history, archeology, botany and Sci Fi elements, all while playing with - or completely dismissing - usual and existing tropes in this genre.

For thousands and thousands of years the world known as Sarn was plagued with alien invaders, monstrous Jure’lia, worm people.
Upon each invasion, Eborans, immortal, inhuman and impervious race would fight them back, with help of their Tree-God Ygseril, protecting the world and all living people in it.
The sap of their great tree, ingested orally, made Eborans what they are, and not only that. On each invasion Ygseril would respond with its own share, contributing with rain of fighting and killing beasts Eborans would rode to battle.
For each invasion – Rain.
Upon Eight Rain Tree-God Ygseril died, sacrificing itself by killing invader’s queen and finally defeating this ancient foe.
With their God dead, Eborans lost their cure for immortality. They began to grow old, week, succumbing to injuries and infections.
In time it was discovered that human blood could be used as a substitute.
Unsurprisingly, relations between Ebora and their human neighbours deteriorated rapidly.
Except that human blood turned out not to be their saviour, but their curse, for drinking blood brought incurable decease called Crimson Flux.
Ebora was decimated.
Weeds and wolves – that was all that was left of glorious Ebora. With few ghosts that still linger in it.

The main story is told through no more than six point of view characters, out of which three are most prominent:
Lady Vincenza Vintage DeGrazon – eccentric scientist and explorer, seeker for palpable answers which would bring her to greater understanding of this, now long forgotten, invaders.
Her mercenary companion and friend, Eboran, Tormalin Oathless – desperate to escape sharing same destiny that took so many of his people.
And Noon - a fell-witch. Long enslaved by Winnowry - sisterhood that imprisons anyone with ability to drain life source from all living creatures and turning it to fire - now free.
Each of them are seeking for answers for that from which they are running from, dreading that answers will hurt much more than blissful ignorance.

There is so much in which this book excels. Distance itself from others. From main plot, through characterization and worldbuilding to prose.
A recommendation for all of those who enjoy fresh take in this genre.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have seen the Ninth Rain around quite a bit but it never made it to my tbr. I'm glad it was picked as the read of the month in my book club because otherwise, I probably wouldn't have read it. It was highly entertaining and featured some solid action scenes.

I have waited too long to review this book since I finished it over 3 weeks ago so I'll be brief give you six reasons why you should read this book if you're a fantasy fan:
1- addicting plot and interesting story: not at the start but later on, I couldn't put the book down.

2- likable characters: while I can't say I loved/fully connected with them, I enjoyed reading from their perspectives. We have three main characters and we mostly follow their stories but secondary characters also had a few POVs.

3- rich world-building and history: you can think of alien attacks (and each attack is a number + rain, for example, first rain was the first raid) and a god of Ebora who intervenes and saves the people. Except he died in the 8th rain. We also had spirits and weird vegetations that made us think of a Ghibli movie. It doesn't follow your usual classic fantasy (medieval) but is a mix of bizarre creatures. Since there was some traveling, I would've preferred if we had a map because I couldn't get a clear sense of direction/where the cities and places are.

4- smooth writing: it was easy to follow and to read (not heavy). The letters at the beginning of each chapter helped give a better sense of the world ans in a way of the character writing them. Hence, there was no excessive info dump. We discover the history of the world as we go along. Jen Williams is a talented writer for sure. I'm looking forward to her future work.

5- chapters are of reasonable length and the book isn't too long. Okay, sue me but these days I avoid long chapters like plague. And sure, this book is 544 pages according to GR but it didn't feel like it. I read it fairly quickly once the story kicked on.

6- cute animal companions: we have an absolutely lovely giant bat and talking animals (I won’t say more because of spoilers, obviously).

This book isn't genrebreaking. Nor that memorable. But it was damn fun to read and sometimes that's all we need especially in a genre that is sometimes dense. And while those books aren't bad, I really can't read 5 books in a row that are like my beloved WoT or Licanius trilogy, for example. One last thing I should mention is that while the ending wasn’t jaw-dropping, there were hints along the way that made me guess part of it, it was still good enough and suitable for the book. I’m now very much looking forward to the next book and discovering how events will unfold because the stakes are high and the odds are against our characters!

[Books with Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️
What a fun time!

[Charlotte May]

Library copy available for pick up

Needed some more high fantasy in my life so thought I’d give this one a go 😊

[Hamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

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“Don’t be afraid of who you are.”

The Ninth Rain was The Fantasy Guild book of the month for the month of August and I am so glad it was picked because I have been willing to read this book for a while and it was one of my priority reads for this year and I finally read it and I really enjoyed it.

I was initially attracted to this series because of its awesome covers and I am glad the inside reflects this beauty too. The story follows three main characters and how their paths cross to restore the glory of Ebora. In short, there were on going wars with alien like creatures in the past and the God Tree would use the help of beasts to defeat them and things have been quiet lately but not for long!

The writing is awesome, I loved William’s writing and I finished the book in three days. I was confused at the beginning and some of the basic things are only explained later but that is not unusual for an adult epic fantasy novel and I promise that things get much better the more you read. I did not read William’s previous books and I am not very interested in them but I think I could feel an experience when I read this book and I love that.

What I really loved about this book is that I enjoyed all the characters, there were no chapters that I wanted to skip and there was always something interesting happening to the characters which would leave me wanting more as a reader. I love books of this kind and I can’t wait to see more of Tor, Vintage and Noon! The witches were very interesting and all the different creatures were also out of the usual stereotypes in this kind of story.

The world building is great, It is a mix of fantasy with a bit of sci-fi, I think the word “”Weird” fits this book perfectly because I did not expect the enemies to be giant bug like creatures. At one point, I got strong Studio Ghibli vibes from this one and I started seeing it in my mind in that style and I mean this in the best possible way!

The plot is slow at first and it picks up gradually towards an explosive and cool ending. This also gave me “The Way of Kings” vibes because they did have some similarities in the story line. I wish that this book had a map and some illustrations -that were described but not shown- because it would have enhanced the experience tremendously.

“There is, it seems to me, a certain type of man who is terrified of the idea of a woman wielding power, of any sort; the type of man who is willing to dress up his terror in any sort of trappings to legitimise it.”

Summary: Really enjoyed this one with all its weirdness, it gave me Studio Ghibli * The Way of Kings vibes which I really like. I loved the writing and the characters. The plot takes some time to pick up and so does the confusion which makes getting into this a bit hard but worth it. I am most definitely continuing this series ASAP!

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Various friends from the U.S. and Canada told me that for some unfathomable reason this series is hard to get on that side of the world. Which is an utterly deplorable state of affairs, really, but we do live in a crazy, nonsensical world. Bullying your local library into buying a copy of this masterpiece might be an excellent idea, and if you've been planning a trip to the Old World, this is the perfect time for it as The Poison Song, the last installment of the trilogy, is just about to be published. Whatever you have to do to get your hands on this series, do it!

This book.

This book, friends!

Did you notice how many Goodreaders shelved The Ninth Rain as "favorite" and "best of --"? And what with all those five-star ratings?! My little black heart & I thought this was a scam for sure, that Williams enlisted family and friends all the way back to kindergarten to drop enthusiastic reviews of the book for her on unsuspecting, naive readers. I mean, what with the unanimous praise? Who did she think could fall for such an obvious scheme?! Not me, surely. *snorts*

That was before I actually started reading the book: before Williams made a psycho fangirl who may or may not be spending a considerable and totally creepy amount of time stalking her on Twitter to see how the progress for book #3 is going out of me.

Seriously, I want to buy a thousand copies of The Ninth Rain and go around tossing them to clueless people that don't know this book exists.


Read it, you fool!

I won't, obviously: because - heh! expensive. And also possibly illegal, what if I hurt someone. But seriously, guys - whether you like fantasy or you're not familiar with the genre but are open to the idea of giving it a try (it might reassure you to know that it received a nod from The Guardian, no less - even though I do wonder if this Eric Brown person read the book before writing his article: Tor crass?! Puh-lease. The man is as haughty as they get and he would not appreciate being called "crass" by a puny human, not even one writing for a famed newspaper) do yourself a favor and grab The Ninth Rain, switch off your phone, tell your family & friends that unfortunately you came down with a terrible headache and really need to be left alone for a while, toss a handful of kibbles to your cat (it's not like she'll starve in a matter of minutes, despite what she wants you to believe) curl up on your couch and get ready for an Adventure.

The Ninth Rain is fantasy at its very best - the kind that makes you look out of your window and curse your miserable life because you can't just pack a backpack, fly out on a giant, friendly bat and join Vintage for a good glass of red wine in a forest of oversized fluorescent mushrooms hunted by gelatinous spirit-thingies that will literally turn you inside-out if you get too close to them.

You can, however, read The Winnowing Flame series (its second entry, The Bitter Twins, is - dare I say it? - even better). And you really should.

Read for the 2018 MacHalo Reading Challenge (aka MMFBCE™): Can't Go Home Again with my darling .

[Lezlie The Nerdy Narrative · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I picked this one up a few days ago, I knew nothing of its premise or its author. All I knew is that several of my friends have read and adored this story and my friend Stacey was the beloved friend who finally had me reading of the marvelous world of Sarn and falling in love with its inhabitants. (Well except for the Jure'lia, but we'll get to them later.)

THE NINTH RAIN by Jen Williams is the first book in The Winnowing Flame Trilogy - and while it is also the first book I've read by this author, it most assuredly will not be the last! I am very happy to report that this is a finished trilogy and Jen Williams has another trilogy printed that I will be acquiring.

THE NINTH RAIN introduces readers to the world of Sarn and all of its many peoples. Our main characters are Lady Vincenza "Vintage" de Grazon, a scholar traversing Sarn to investigate the remains of the Jure'lia in an attempt to solve the mystery of who these "worm-people" are and where exactly they come from when they invaded Sarn in years past. Then there is Tormalin the Oathless, an Eboran who left the ruins of the Eboran Empire to live out his final years amongst the living while also serving as Vintage's bodyguard in her travels. The two stumble upon a Fell witch named Noon on the run after her escape from the Winnowry, a horrible institution which imprisons women who had the misfortune of being born with certain destructive abilities.

I honestly can't decide if I love the characters or the world building and its history more. The author did such an amazing job of developing these characters - their camaraderie with one another is endearing and was so much fun to read. Each one has an interesting past to learn of, while also seeing the impact they have on one another, how they grow and change. Beside our main group, there were a few others that I met that I took an instant liking to, even though they didn't get as much page time as our trio. I feel certain I'll see them more in later books. (I hope!)

The world building - the history of Sarn - the description of the prior invasions of the Jure'lia: all were so intriguing and at times horrifying...I loved it! The mystery of where these aliens harken from - as well as WHY they chose Sarn, will just eat you up with wanting to know the answers. Since the Jure'lia have invaded 8 previous times, why do they keep coming back? Why not give up and move on to somewhere else? (There are other worlds than these...) ((Sorry, I couldn't resist, lol!))

I had this book in my hands every chance I got. When I couldn't read physically, I was listening to the audiobook, which was narrated by Jot Davies. Jot did an outstanding job with the narration - the tone and tempo of their voice gave this story a fairy tale quality, like when you watch a Disney movie and the beginning is a narrator providing the dark backstory as to how we got to where the movie opens. If you're an audiobook lover, this is one that belongs on your list to read!

I feel that constant readers of fantasy would enjoy this book. It has a very unique and refreshingly weird world and inhabitants, characters that you'll find yourself easily invested in - but go ahead and have the whole trilogy on hand. You're going to want to dive right in to the next one...

[lookmairead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen, OF COURSE I asked Santa for Peace on Earth (and a swift and safe end to this pandemic) but...
could I also ask more retailers/libraries to stop making this series such a pain in the ass to find/track down?
(Also, Audible if you are listening - don’t attempt to pick this up unless you have SOLID talent behind it. Seriously, this series deserves the best.)

So here’s why I’m freaking out about this book:

- The structure is sound, smart and satisfying. Every time I had a question or a plot curiosity, Williams cleverly answers it by the next chapter.
- It really has all the elements I love in a story. Siblings. Underdogs. Delicious Dialogue. Complicated romance. Blood. Ridiculous Humor. Monsters. Talking animals (you wish were real). Insane, vivid scenes (where you are DARING Hollywood to attempt to bring it life).
- It’s a healthy mix of multiple categories, not just fantasy.
- This might be a future book club pick because there is so many awesome things to dig through.
- There are (thankfully) two other books to dive into.

By the roots, hands down, easy 5/5.

[Maisha Farzana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique and fascinating. A perfect blend of sci-fi and fantasy. The cast of characters is beyond amazing. I loved this book would be an understatement in this case.

The continent of Sarn has suffered from many alien invasions from an enemy known as the Jure’lia, the worm people. The Eboran empire, a once wealthy and prosperous place, for centuries has been the central defence against this formidable foe. Their tree-god, Ygseril, would deliver various war beasts that would aid the valiant Eboran warriors during the battles, and each time the Jure’lia were defeated. However, in the last assault, known as the eighth rain, a final climax between Ygseril and the Jure’lia caused the death of the sacred tree-god. Now, Ebora is in ruin and Sarn faces the ever terrifying prospect of another invasion, but this time without their defenders.

Eborans are on the verge of extinction following the death of their tree-like god Ysegril but Hestillion is doing all she can to keep him alive. In fact she'll go to any lengths to save him… any lengths at all. Hest's brother Tormalin can't sit around and wait for the end. So he's engaged by Lady Vincenza (Vintage) de Grazon to be her factotum and hired sword during her quest for knowledge. It's turning into more of an adventure than they'd planned, even before Fell witch and fugitive Noon joins them. Now the trio must work together, putting prejudices and passions aside (others' as well as their own). The Ninth Rain is coming and more than Ebora is in danger.

The synopsis of this book is really really confusing. I read it several times yet couldn't grasp on what it's supposed to mean...Therefore, you can say I started it blindly, knowing almost nothing about the trilogy. I only knew that our main character is 40 years old and possibly queer. That's it. And I really had no difficulties getting into it. The writing is very accessible. The book is fast paced. Explains the vast world and the magic system thoroughly. Just be patient and enjoy the company of the characters. The information will come to you by themselves.

I loved the inimitable world Jen Williams has created. It's epic in scope, full of magic and magical creatures. The world building has the perfect blend of Sci-fi and Fantasy. In this world, an inhuman species called Eborans reside alongside the humans. They have a very long life span. The Eborans are graceful warriors, the sole protectors of the land. These Eborans are like an unison of human, vampire and elf. Then we have Eboran war beasts. Very fascinating creatures. However we don't get to see them much in the first book. We also have witches in this world. The witches posses fire magic that's called Winnow flame. Then there are these worm pe0ple who wants to destroy the land.....

[Milda Page Runner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkably good read. The rewards and praise for this book are certainly deserved.

4.5*
An unusual blend of fantasy and sci-fi. Original and fascinating world and masterful worldbuilding that I can only compare to Martha’s Wells Raksura books. Mature characters, great characterisation, flowing prose, engaging story with plenty of action and humour. Honestly, I can’t come up with any flaws even when I’m trying to.

Normally I’m not fond of multiple Povs but here all the characters are so interesting that I didn’t mind the change of perspective.

Lady Vincenza for example - nickname Vintage – over 40, owner of successful vine manufacturing business, adventurer and explorer with a special interest in artefacts and sites of alien invasion. Where the Behemoths (massive biological alien ships) have fallen all life is infected, both plants and animals twisted, floating parasites with pulsing lights can turn humans inside out with merely a touch. These infected zones are spreading and humans have no means or knowledge how to stop them.

Other two main characters: Eboran (around 400 years) and fell-witch prisoner of the Winnowry (20+) are compelling characters too, but I don’t want to give away too much. Uncovering this wonderful rich world and getting to know these characters - is part of the fun.

Highly recommended to all fantasy readers

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 Stars
This might be a case of going into a book with unfair expectations, but this one left me underwhelmed. This book has been touted in my corners of Booktube as a brilliant hidden gem. I will acknowledge that the book is underrated but I felt the story was not special. The writing, characters and worldbuilding were fine, but just fine. I feel like I'm being unfairly hard on a book that was otherwise fine.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

an immortal man with red eyes who thirsts for answers as he clings to the past, a peculiar lesbian explorer obsessed with exploring ancient ruins and the dangerous wild, and an imprisoned witch who will do anything to retain her freedom. truly an iconic trio

also the romances in this?? i’m barking like a dog

Bookstagram | Blog

[Deborah Obida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book for two reasons.
-The beautiful cover
-Petrik recommended it on his BookTube.

Ninth Rain is one of the most unique books I've read. It's like a combination of science fiction and fantasy; I love the execution; the author made these aspects blend seamlessly.

My favourite thing about this book is the relationship between the characters, they are so different, but somehow, they work well together. The fight scenes were well depicted, and the same goes for the magic system.

World Building and Writing
The book is set in a world recovering from an invasion stopped some hundred years ago. The after-effects of the war are still all over the place.

The author took her time to describe it so well; some places in the world look like a dystopian world while some are your typical epic fantasy.

The book is written in the third person, with multiple POVs, the writing is fun and easy to get through, and the POV switch was very well done.

Characters
The three protagonists in this book were so well-written that I can't even pick a favourite.

Lady Vincenza, popularly known as Vintage, is an eccentric scholar that will go to great lengths to understand what made the Jurelia(the invaders) invade Sarn(their world).
She is extremely smart and optimistic even when her life is in danger.

Tormalin the Oathless is an Eboran(a nonhuman race) warrior and Vintage’s guard/companion. He is extremely vain and selfish. He wants to drink good wine, wear fashionable clothes and enjoy life.

Fell Noon is a winnow witch(a witch that can conjure green flames by taking energy from living things). She recently escaped from the winnorry, where they imprison women with magic. She ran into Vintage, who hired her to work with her.

There are other interesting characters in this book, like Bern, Alasdair, Hestillion, and many others.

Plot

Once upon a time, the mighty city of Ebora shone with the gleam of gold. Wolf packs now prowl its streets.

Tormalin the Oathless does not enjoy the idea of waiting to die while the land of his legendary ancestors is destroyed. It's preferable to be among the living, where bars brim with drink and beautiful ladies.

A way out appears when the eccentric adventurer Lady Vincenza 'Vintage' de Grazon offers him a job. The idea of fighting monsters and reclaiming ancient artifacts is preferable to the abomination he left behind, even when they are joined by a fugitive witch with a tendency to set things on fire.

However, not everyone is content to see the Eboran empire crumble, and the adventurers soon find themselves embroiled in a web of magical and military intrigue. Because the Jure'lia are on their way and the Ninth Rain has to fall.

[Nils | nilsreviewsit · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Noon felt her heart begin to beat faster in her chest. The ancient city of Ebora, for centuries largely forbidden to humans, was now passing beneath her feet. Here were the homes of the rich and important; pale marble glinted in the peach fire of the sunset, and she saw pieces of richly carved architecture, cracked or covered in ivy. Once armies had marched from this place and swept down across the plains, massacring her people as they went, drinking their blood and worse, according to the stories. Here she was, flying into this place...’
~
The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams is the first book in The Winnowing Flame trilogy. This was my first novel by Williams, and I dived into it with high expectations, as many friends of mine have expressed much love for her books. I can firmly say, I will now be joining other reviewers in singing Jen Williams’ praises too, as this book was simply spectacular. The Ninth Rain skilfully blends fantasy with sci-fi and mystery, it contains a grand Tolkien-esque world, and characters that feel incredibly real and fresh. This is very much high fantasy at the top of it’s game.

The continent of Sarn where our story is set, has suffered from many alien invasions from an enemy known as the Jure’lia, the worm people. The Eboran empire, a once wealthy and prosperous place, for centuries has been the central defence against this formidable foe. Their tree-god, Ygersil, would deliver various war beasts that would aid the valiant Eboran warriors during the battles, and each time the Jure’lia were defeated. However, in the last assault, known as the eighth rain, a final climax between Ygersil and the Jure’lia caused the death of the sacred tree-god. Now, Ebora is in ruin, the race is slowly dying, and Sarn faces the ever terrifying prospect of another invasion, but this time without their defenders.

Have you ever read a book where you love so much about it, you don’t even know where to begin explaining? Where you simply want to endlessly gush? If so, then you’ll know exactly how I feel right now. So, bear with me whilst I try to be coherent, and not keep on repeating, ‘I loved this book, now go read it, folks!!’, which basically sums up this entire review.

Where to begin? Okay, let me start by discussing the narrative style and world building, because this was exactly what drew me into the novel. Williams’ writing feels instantly like a classic fantasy; it’s elaborate, sophisticated and richly atmospheric, and I have always found this style comforting to read. So, naturally I became immersed from the onset. For example, throughout the book, almost every chapter begins with an extract from the character, Vintage’s, journal or private letters. Through these mini preludes the reader is slowly given pieces to the puzzle regarding the history of the Eboran race, the Jure’lia, the Winnowry and Ygersil. We discover, we question and make presumptions, much in the fashion of Vintage. Personally, this style reminded me of an Indiana Jones type of plot, mixed with a Victorian-esque setting and elegant prose and mystery, which I found was similar to Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft. I loved the way tension was slowly built up throughout The Ninth Rain and the sense of foreboding. This was fascinating, captivating and truly made the book unputdownable!

Then there was the top notch world building. As I said before, the world felt as grand in scope as that of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and The Ninth Rain is quintessentially the age old tale of good vs evil, of a quest to save the world. However, Williams’ doesn’t allow this novel to become a cliche; instead she adds her own refreshing take into the mix. For example, the Eboran Empire felt very reminiscent of Rivendale, and the Eboran’s were akin to the elven race in Lord of the Rings. There was a significant difference in this book though, as the Eborans became more vampire-like than elf... and if you want to know why, well then you’ll just have to read the book!

The cities and lands within Sarn were full of culture, history, and even detailed the traditions of different races. Williams skilfully includes a diverse and imaginative cast with the inclusion of; Fell Witches that could wield Winnowfire, and ride around on giant bats, parasite spirits, dream walkers, behemoths, and many more. I was continually impressed by how visually striking each scene was, and although there is a lot of details, Williams never allows any of it to become tedious.

I’ve deliberately saved the best until last, because now I’m going to discuss the characters, but fair warning, I’m about to get gushier!

At it’s heart, I feel that The Ninth Rain’s excels in its wondrous characters. The three main protagonists significantly felt human; they each had flaws, vulnerabilities and complexities. Vintage was perhaps my favourite. Her lust for adventure; to learn all that she could, her obsessions, even though they often blindsided her, they were qualities to admire. Her sweet mannerisms and affectionate phrases, also made her extremely charming. She’s the kind of character that I just wanted as a best friend! Then we meet Fell-Noon, who was heartbreakingly vulnerable. Denied all human touch for most of her life, the mere hint of affection and kindness was something alien to her but something she treasured too. I wanted to hug her so badly. Tormalin, our more aristocratic, lighthearted character, was also a delight to read. His inability to watch his race slowly wither away, catalysts his journey away from Ebora, and consequently Tor grows in leaps and bounds. I could easily see myself bantering with Tor!
~
‘What a miserable place,’ he said, cheerily enough. ‘Vintage, I do hope you have rented their very best rooms.’

‘Be quiet, Tormalin, my darling, or I will waste one of my precious quarrels ventilating your beautiful throat.’
~
Lastly, I’d just like to mention how much I would love to see an illustrated edition of this trilogy being published. A few of Vintage’s sketches perhaps would have enhanced the experience greatly, and made it clearer to visualise this unique world.

So, as you can see I pretty much loved everything about this book. After only reading one novel by Jen Williams, I know that’s she’s going to become a favourite author of mine, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this trilogy has to offer!

[Serge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was The Fantasy Guild Book Club pick for August 2021!

4/5

The days of Ebora's glory have long passed, and after the mysterious death of their tree god during the last war with Jure'lia, the Eborians, magically touched creatures who were once endowed with god-like features and very long lifespans, were reduced to less than a shadow of their former selves, having to invade nearby settlements and brutally drink human blood to give them a portion of the rejuvenation their tree god used to give. However, the temporary euphoria human blood gave them came at the cost of triggering a terrible disease that decimated their bodies and led to a slow and painful death. Therefore, the Eborians were left with two options, either choose to bask in the temporary benefits of human blood only to succumb to the terrible disease it eventually brought, or slowly wither away to old age. Tormalin the Oathless, one of the few Eborians still surviving, decides to leave this dying world behind and spend the last years of his life exploring the world alongside its sensual pleasures. He eventually meets up with an eccentric explorer, Lady Vincenza 'Vintage' de Grazon, who is on a mission to discover the secrets left behind by the Jure'lia, particularly, their flying transports called Behemoths, which attract mysterious glowing spirits all around them, spirits that brutally kill any human they touch by turning their flesh inside-out. A third member eventually joins their party, a girl called Noon, who is a Fel-Witch, considered to be an abomination by society and imprisoned on an island by an organization called the Winnowry, who make use of Fel-Witch magic to create dreamless sleep inducing drugs. After a horrifying nightmare showing the return of the Jure'lia, Noon manages to escape and joins the party.

The world here is complex, and the stakes are always high. The armed conflicts that take place between characters feel raw and dangerous, and Jen Williams is an expert in making the reader stay on their toes, worried about the well-being of the protagonists. Fighting the luminous spirits that haunt the Behemoths carries the risk of their bodies being turned inside out, using Fel-magic to save the day carries the consequence of deforming innocent characters with Winnowfire, and exploring the broken remains of the Behemoths involves meeting your demise within. The stakes are never low in this story, so there is a constant sense of danger and excitement that keeps the reader wanting to rush through the pages, just to find out what happens next.

What about the slow parts of the story? Even these pages keep the reader hanging on to every word, because when the characters aren't fighting off wolves, blighted animals, spirits and swarms of alien insects, they are uncovering the fascinating aspects of the vividly complex world the author so magnificently built. From the interesting backstories of the characters, to the tragic history surrounding the Jure'lia invasion, I was itching to learn more about the nooks and crannies of this universe. The insect civilization of Jure'lia definitely succeeded in acting as terrifying antagonists and the graphic representation of the atrocities they commit was surprisingly gruesome. I felt itchy while reading about how swarms of insects made their way down people's throats, ate away their organs from the inside and controlled their bodies as vassals.

Characterization was mostly decent, and I was personally pretty intrigued by the more intense and controversial characters like Hestillion and Lin. Tormalin wasn't really someone I cared too much for, and his character was romanticized as some version of a vampire who's really good with women in bed, which isn't wrong but I didn't see much more depth to his character, just a hedonist who tends to escape from his problems. Noon was fun to read because of her impressive powers, but I felt disconnected from her and didn't feel that same investment I felt while reading about Hestillion and Lin, though her hate/love dynamic with Tormalin was amusing, although some developments felt a bit rushed. Vintage, their leader, felt inaccessible for most of the book and I was left questioning her motives, which was what I assume the author's intention. Interestingly enough, the characters who had a lot of action and plot going on, with all their questing, felt the least interesting to me character wise, while the ones who didn't have much action, felt really well developed and interesting as characters. A positive spin on this would be the fact that where there is no character depth that intrigues me, the plot would captivate me, and where there isn't much active plot, the characters are interesting to read about regardless.

The ending was very well written, and does a good job in hooking the reader to the series, even though some aspects of the final climax were a bit fuzzy. For example, during the final battle, we didn't see what became of Mother Fast after Tor's initial attempts to save her, unless I missed that part. Also, during the Jure'lia invasion, the insects seemed to conveniently stop whenever an important conversation was happening, while I had expected them to be more aggressive and unrelenting. Regardless, these minor questions and concerns I had didn't severely impact my enjoyment of the story.

Overall, this book is really good, and it is definitely a hidden gem in the fantasy genre and I am grateful for the opportunity to have discovered it! Will definitely be continuing this series.

Highly recommended!

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#2. The Bitter Twins (The Winnowing Flame Trilogy, #2) by Jen Williams
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[Chris Berko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to buy a beer for whatever author first started putting those little clips at the beginnings of chapters that are like letters or diary excerpts that add or fill in background or history to the overall story or explain things, that shit is like literary cocaine injected right into my veins. I love that shit. I bring that up because as I started reading it was those little snippets that made me first fall for this book. I usually lean towards stuff that is a little more on the dark side, a little more dreary, but hot damn if this book isn't a ton of fun and it is also a perfect blend of complexity and lightheartedness. The main story itself is pretty straightforward but the world and the history, what history the author has so far seen fit to reveal, add so much and is so clearly defined that it just adds layer upon layer of enjoyment. And speaking of revealing I know that this book has only scratched the surface of what is really going on and I have only caught tiny glimpses of the real depth of things to come, I mean the potential is staggering. I know this won't make sense but the author's voice is as old school as it is fresh, like you've heard these stories before but just not quite this same way. Like there's an impressive level of newness to it but it still manages to sound mature and assured and comfortable. Totally awesome first book of a trilogy, highly recommended.

[Kitty G Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I meant to get to this book a long time ago but, after reading The Copper Promise by Jen Williams a while back, I really wasn’t sure if her writing was for me. Little did I know that this series is totally different to the Copper Cat one and much more epic, ticking so many of my boxes. I’m glad I did finally make time for this. I can see it being a very easy-to-binge series :)

We follow a world which is currently at peace but has been through many battles over time. There are two main peoples, the humans and the Eborans. The Eborans are essentially like elves, they’re stunning and live for hundreds of years unless killed. The two people have not always worked well together, but in the past they have come together to fight back a common invasive enemy.

The point that we pick up the story is a long long time after the last big war, known as the Eighth Rain, and the Eborans have largely died off from a nasty illness known as Crimson Flux. The humans are the main ones populating the world, and Ebora has been mostly abandoned to its fate away from the rest of the world.

We also have the Winnowry, a kind of prison for Fell-Witches, girls who are born with a fire within them which usually manifests in very dangerous ways. The girls are caught and sent to the Winnowry where they cannot harm the rest of the world, and one of our main characters is called Noon, and she is a Fell-Witch. I found Noon to be a likeable character although she is a little bit of an oddball at times as she’s been cooped up in a prison most of her life. She’s wilful and determined and she has a definite spark to her as she gains confidence, and I liked seeing her do that.

Hest and Tor are two Eboran siblings and we follow each of their storylines separately. Hest is one of the few who lives in Ebora still and doesn’t yet show signs of the Crimson Flux, but she is lonely and desperate to find a way to bring the God of the Eborans (a giant tree who used to grow gold sap which could heal anything) back from the brink of death. Hest is single-minded in her determination to live the Eboran life still, tending to those who need her and trying anything she can to help their God, even when it seems hopeless.

Tor, on the other hand, fled from Ebora a long time ago and has been largely making his money as a mercenary with particularly frequent missions for an older lady called Vintage. He is clearly very talented at fighting, being Eboran, and he is a loyal and honest man.

Vintage is probably my favourite character as she’s an older lady with a distinct passion for discovery and treasure-hunting on the form of old artefacts. She is determined to find out the source of the Wild, massively overgrown or warped plants which seem to be spreading through their world, and she needs Tor to help her defend against the nasties in the world as she does so. She reminded me of a natural historian and I very much liked her sass, her entitlement, and her kind streak. She was easy to enjoy as a character and I really wish there were more like her shown in more fantasy books.

The magic of this world is in various forms. We have the tree-god and his magic, the magical races of eborans and fell-witches, the magic of the Wilds, and the magic of the Enemy who have always torn the world apart when they came. The different facets of magic I really liked discovering and later on we also get magical spirits and beasts too which was awesome.

The world here is a fascinating one and I found the Eboran lands and the world of Sarn to be a great place to imagine. I definitely feel like I could visualise bits of this story and I am keen to see what other parts of the world or the world beyond we may uncover as we continue the series.

Definitely a series I’m keen to keep going with soon and I look forward to what happens next as the ending was very pacy and dramatic in so many ways! 4*s

[Fabiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oggi vi parlo del romanzo "La Nona Pioggia" di Jen Williams, primo libro della trilogia "La Catarsi di Fuoco".

"La Nona Pioggia" è una delle uscite più interessanti e peculiari degli ultimi anni, una pubblicazione che mancava tra gli scaffali delle nostre librerie. Perché affermo ciò? Perché Jen Williams ha rielaborato i classici canoni del Fantasy dando vita a un quadro originale.

Il worldbuilding è eccezionale, la punta di diamante del romanzo. Sarn è un mondo millenario, oscuro e misterioso; religione, magia e mitologia affondano le proprie radici in un passato ormai antico e nebuloso. L'autrice ha costruito un palcoscenico profondo e complesso fatto da guerre, rovine archeologiche, specie aliene e popoli immortali decaduti. "La Nona Pioggia" è un ottimo esempio di Fantasy che incontra la Fantascienza, infatti i nemici che secolarmente flagellano i territori di Sarn sono esseri insettoidi che si avvalgono dell'uso di strane tecnologie di natura biologica. L'organizzazione sociale di questa razza è incredibile, una civiltà matriarcale divisa in caste, guidata da una mente regina implacabile, i cui chitinosi sudditi si diversificano dal punto di vista organico in base alle funzioni da svolgere.
I vari elementi del worldbuilding si presentano inizialmente come enigmi sommersi dalla sabbie del tempo, ogni dettaglio è pensato per instillare curiosità nel lettore e spingerlo a voltare pagina.

I personaggi mi sono piaciuti tantissimo. Abbiamo Vintage, una sorta di Indiana Jones al femminile, Tormalin il Rinnegato, nobile in fuga dal declino della sua stirpe, Sesta, una giovane ragazza imprigionata e sfruttata a causa del suo devastante potere. Il trio funziona alla grande, insieme esplorano Sarn e la sua storia alla ricerca di verità e segreti, intraprendendo un viaggio ricco di scoperte, fughe e combattimenti. Un viaggio che non si limiterà all'avventura, ma anche alla conoscenza reciproca, al confronto, alla crescita e all'introspezione. I tre protagonisti sono dinamici, sfaccettati e tridimensionali, unici nei loro punti di forza e nelle loro deblozze. I loro percorsi e le loro voci vi conquisteranno.

"La Nona Pioggia" è un libro che lascia il segno, narrato con una voce raffinata e scorrevole, capace di sorprendere in tutto e per tutto. Da leggere.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than anything in a fantasy story I love the worldbuilding. I want it to be rich, immersing, alive, to draw me in completely. And this book has plenty of it.

I wasn't hooked from the beginning - the characterization and choice of names are not the author's strongest skill. Also, their actions and dialogues seem factitious, and I thought I see too many similarities to other fantasy stories: Ygseril, the god-tree versus Yggdrasil from Norse mythology, Fulcor, the bat, with his name too close to Falcor, from the Neverending Story, the dreamwalking too close to WoT's Tel'aran'rhiod, the Eborans a mix between Elves and vampires, the parasite spirits like Brett's demons, the human drones too similar to Robin Hobb's forged ones.. But as the story goes further, they gain their own voice in the turmoil, and some are much more than I thought them to be.

The mystery at the center of it is compelling as hell, and the more is revealed, the more questions arise, and there are so many puzzle pieces yet to be put in place. Can't wait to see what happens further.