"Ninth Rain" Discuss Everything *Spoilers*

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

A few questions to get us started:


1. What did you think of the world?
2. What did you think of the characters?
3. What worked or didn't for you?
4. Overall thoughts?

Non-spoiler thread here: First impressions

[Sarah]

Can’t wait to see what everyone thinks!

[agata]

I haven't read any fantasy in quite a while. Nothing really hooked me. This one started intriguingly strong, with an interesting world and quite a bit of desperation.

While I am reading, I am giving every chapter a word or a short expression about the feelings and impressions this chapter leaves on me.

0. Despair
1. Desolation
2. Daring
3. Opression
4. Risk
5. Connection
6. Freedom
7. Rot
8. Control
9. Company
10. Power

I am at about 1/3 of the book and enjoying it more and more. The characters and the world are growing on me.

[Sarah]

agata wrote: "While I am reading, I am giving every chapter a word or a short expression about the feelings and impressions this chapter leaves on me."

Super nifty! Can't wait to see what you think of the finale ;)

[agata]

More chapters.
11. Discovery
12. Visitor
13. Memorial
14. Inn
15. Nightmares
16. Dread
17. Hope
18. Travels
19. Tracks
20. Repast
21. Monster
22. Ambush
23. Shelter
24. Blackmail
25. Secrets

[agata]

Sarah wrote: Can't wait to see what you thin..."

The longer I read the more I get sucked into this world and the character arcs. I feel like I'm in for quite a surprise.

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

I feel like the author is trying to gloss over the fact that she wrote two different kinds of vampires into the story! I am sure this is a setup for the rest of the books but I did find that part different and interesting.

[Sarah]

I got hooked at the first chapter introducing Noon!

[agata]

I finished reading a few days ago. Thanks to everyone who suggested this book for this months read. I really enjoyed it a lot.

1. What did you think of the world?

I really liked how the world is always described through the eyes of the characters. We readers in our world would give things different names or comparisons. But the author here is very good at keeping the characters' perspective. With that the world comes to life in a far more intricate way to me.

2. What did you think of the characters?
Love how all of them have their flaws. Characters in stories - at least for me - need to make irrational decisions for the story to be fun. But I also need to understand why they behave that way.

3. What worked or didn't for you?
Vintage's and Lin's perspectives are a bit thin for me. Vintage 'feels' older than Tor or Noon but only occasionally. Lin is a desperate mother. She also falls a bit flat here.

4. Overall thoughts?
Enjoyed it. Put the second book on my to-read list.

[CJ]

I never commented on my thoughts for this book!

I really enjoyed the world, I found a lot of it pretty intriguing and creative, especially the Behemoths, the fell-witches and the parasite spirits--I really liked the twist at the end about the origins of the parasite spirits, and the whole messed up relationship Hest has with the Jure'lia queen.

Mostly I liked the characters. I liked Vintage and Noon the most--Vintage for how focused and driven she is and Noon I thought was pretty sympathetic. I like Hest also, with just how deranged and consumed she was.

One thing that I didn't like was the vampire sex stuff--it got pretty fetishy and it just didn't work for me. Another thing is some of the character arcs were a bit weirdly paced. Like we start off with Hest and then it's good while before we get back to her. And I thought Lin was a bit underdeveloped.

I enjoyed it for the world and the story and would probably read the 2nd book eventually.