The Ninth Rain (The Winnowing Flame Trilogy #1)
Jen Williams
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Synopsis:
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...
Review
The Cover
There's just something fresh and different about these covers from Headline. It fits in with the new line of contemporary resurgence of classic fantasy covers, but still manages to enthral and enrapture me. I am in love with the cover illustration and have spent many an hour staring at the detail of line work in its shading.
Simply gorgeous!
The Content
What was once a stale and cliched genre, Jen Williams brings fresh ideas and direction to classic, and sword and sorcery fantasy. The Ninth Rain is deep rooted in a history, all of which you only get a glimmer of, is vastly interesting and will captivate you from the off-set.
From its history, we encounter a world that has been left broken and a shadow of what it once was, and that's what it felt like to read Vintage, Tor and Noon's adventure in this world. A shadow of what it was and what it may be again, that just had me captured in the pages.
We all know that I am one for a good bit of angst, a good hate-to-love sub-plot, and boy, does Jen Williams deliver. I won't say who, I won't say when, just read the Gods-be-damned book. Just take note in that I thought I lost by ability to feel the emotions I felt whilst reading the 'romances' in this.
I became so invested in Vintage's motivation to keep exploring and studying the Jure'lia, in her manirism as well as Tor and Noon's. I can't wait to see where they end up at the end of The Ninth Rain takes them into their journey throughout book two- The Bitter Twins.
Not to toot my own horn, but the one thing I get compliments on with my writing is dialogue. Instead of replying with the normal "oh gush, thank you", the words that usually escapes my lips is: "yeah, but have you read Jen Williams' dialogue". She just manages to build these rhythms, mannerisms of speech that helps build a character and shape them just that little bit further.
JUST AMAZING.
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| WATERSTONES | AMAZON UK | BDP |
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