War of Rain
Author: H.W. Vivian
Release date: January 9th 2015
Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
Source: Sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review
Genre: YA high-fantasy
Rating: 3.5 stars
Website: http://www.h-w-vivian.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vhwang7
Fifteen year-old Miri lives in a desert village called Boreala, which competes with the city of Stratos for Rain – the equivalent of Holy Water. During a confrontation while gathering Rain, Miri accidentally kills a citizen of Stratos, and unintentionally starts a heinous war. Now it is up to her to find the God of Rain, Kalono, and ask Him for an invention that can bring both peace and war before Boreala is destroyed.
"In going on with these Experiments, how many pretty systems do we build, which we soon find ourselves obliged to destroy!" - Benjamin Franklin
My review of this book...
I was so excited to read War of Rain, mainly because it's not something I would ever pick up on my own but the author contacted me and thought it would be a good fit for me. Boy was she right!
Imagine a future in which the Earth has moved closer to the sun, causing a very large portion of all living beings to die out. Humans have managed to survive, they salvage whatever they can scrounge up of plant life and livestock for food, not to mention they use primitive technology to do it. Now picture looking up into the sky, no more blue sky, it's brown. I think at one point it was compared to the color of coffee beans, by the way coffee is extinct, unable to thrive on a too hot planet.
If that isn't bad enough imagine going to war when your village is ill prepared and unskilled in combat. Miri is the protagonist in this story, she lives in Boreala. Boreala's meager population is a sparse 103 people.
The citizens who live in this village are rain gatherers. They use rain as currency, nourishment and religion. Their only valuable commodity is rain, without it they will perish. The premise of the story in which H.W. Vivian has created is stunning. I am especially fascinated with the concept of rain. Rain is their holy water. What's really astonishing is they collect their rain while it's frozen, it will not melt from heat, only prayers will melt the rain.
On the way back to their village after a morning of rain gathering they are ambushed by barbarians (citizens of Stratos), in the fray Miri accidentally murders one of them, in turn starting a war. Stratos enacts their revenge by taking Miri hostage & by decimating her village.
Join Miri as she embarks on an epic journey to find Kalona, the God of Rain. She must find an invention that brings both war & peace in order to save her people. During her journey she discovers a tribe called Troposians. I don't want to give too much away, but this tribe brings enlightenment to Miri and helps her find what she's looking for.
This is an amazing coming of age story of faith and self discovery! My favorite part of this story is the realization that knowledge is power, without knowledge you have nothing. This book is unlike any book I have ever read, it will stay with me, in my heart for many years to come!
Note from the author...
"Not sure what to do in September? Check out H. W. Vivian's books at Imaginarium 2015 in Louisville, KY fromSeptember 11-13! She will be there to meet readers and sign her books. Hope to see you there!"
About the author...
H. W. Vivian is the author of the YA fictions, Chasers and War of Rain, as well as the adult humor fiction, Days of Amber, and the mystery/thriller fiction, Monarchs, written under her second pseudonym, Alex Chu.
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