Book Review – Crystal Rain

Author: Tobias S. Buckell
Publisher: Tor
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: 2006

Believe the hype. Tobias S. Buckell’s debut Crystal Rain contains fun, engaging characters in a vivid Caribbean-modeled world filled with dangerous enemies and yes, airships. The story takes on a couple of different view points, but the main line follows John deBrun, a man with a hook for an arm and amnesia, who goes on a journey to find a forgotten artifact that can help save his planet Nanaganda from the Azteca. John is not alone during his journeys though the line between who is there to help and who is there to hinder is thinly drawn. War is coming, and all lives hang in the balance.

Buckell’s writing is fast, action-oriented, and lush with details. His chapters are kept short, but they always have meaning or a captivating scene. While the amnesia factor of deBrun kept the reader in the dark, it was worth it come the last third of Crystal Rain. I found the character of Pepper to be more interesting than deBrun throughout the novel, but that’s just me. He’s the character you hate to love, but keep on doing it even through the worst of his flaws. I’d suggest reading Crystal Rain simply to witness the fighting skills that is the dreadlock-haired warrior named Pepper.

My one gripe with the novel is that the title has close to nothing to do with the main plot. To me, it was a bit misleading, but not too detrimental to ruin the reading experience. My pick for a better title would have been “Old-fathers.”

In a recent interview, Buckell expressed interest in continuing to work in the realm of Nanaganda, but allowing the series to be less connected and more open to readers such as the works of Terry Prachett’s Discworld. This would be the best decision for I’d love to see novels following Pepper or even deBrun’s little boy Jerome. It’s a breath of fresh air to experience a novel debut that isn’t part one in a ten book epic following, and soars magnificently among the clouds along side its fantastical airships.

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