One of my favorite dystopian works to date, all the best tones from Station Eleven, Handmaid's Tale, etc. wrapped into one. Grim, painful, disturbing, yet hopeful all at once. Nice to see something that can stand out amongst its peers and tell an original yet classic dystopian story. 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Pacific Street Publishing for the ARC. ( )

The book gives a glimpse of not so distant future...............

Rainwalkers by Matt Ritter is indeed a book giving us some insights into our future. Nice plot with a good research done by the author. Also, the book is full of action and adventure. Although, there was nothing new in the plot. But, it turned out to be interesting and worth a one time read.

I would give the book 4 stars for its climax, which I happened exactly as I thought. Thanks to Netgalley and Pacific Street Publishing for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book. ( )

I really liked the premise and storyline of this novel. It’s a cautionary tale for today’s world. It warns that if we do not change our treatment of the earth we will find ourselves in a dystopian future the likes of which will rival our worst nightmares.
The story opens onto a future world where rain, the life giving force necessary to maintain life on earth, has turned deadly to all living creatures. This is a man made disaster. In the distant past there was the hundred years drought. Scientists seeded the clouds with a bacteria and the rains came causing the land in the valley to become fertile and productive again. But soon the bacteria mutates causing any creature caught out in it to die. To complicate matters a war broke out against their neighbors years ago and continues to the present with no end in sight. Additionally the Administration of “The Valley” is becoming increasingly hawkish and paranoid about their neighbors and scared because the rains seem to becoming more frequent and deadlier. There are rumors that people are now dying while dry. Is just inhaling the foul odors that come with the rains enough to kill someone?
Our protagonist is Willie Taft a decorated war veteran who along with his wife has escaped from a government forced labor camp where they were raising crops for the war effort. They had committed no crime and were not rebels. Willie’s wife dies in the attempt to flee. Despite his grief, Willie is frantic to reunite with his daughter Helen who was left behind at her school with all the children whose parents had also been “collected”. Willie has become aware that the government has begun leaving children out in the rain to find rainwalkers, people who are rumored to be able to survive the rains.
So you see, it’s a great story. Unfortunately it’s also one that has plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. I cannot go into the holes further without adding spoilers that can ruin the story. Despite this flaw I was able to suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy the book.
I “read” this book as an audiobook. I don’t think this was the best choice for me. The audiobook is narrated by the author. I think this was a mistake on the publisher’s part. Mr. Ritter though an inventive writer is not an actor. The result was a narrative delivered in a flat monotone With very little voice differentiation between characters. With little excitement reflected in the narrator’s voice much of the tension that builds as we head to the climax is lost.
Despite the flaws I did enjoy the story. I would recommend this novel to those who like Dystopian Fiction or anyone who just enjoys a good story. I do recommend you get a print version though!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and Netgalley. This fact in no way influenced my review. ( )