Syndrie
This really felt like a breath of fresh air and was an absolute delight to read! I haven’t had a new series grab my attention so quickly in quite some time now, and I can see this series easily gaining a dedicated fan base. You can definitely feel the Studio Ghibli inspiration in the story in that it gives off a certain whimsicality despite it covering some heavier topics (e.g. classism, political corruption) as well as showing scenes of violence.
At its core, “The Rainshadow Orphans” seems to be a story that really puts a focus on the power of found family. Our main set of characters — Toshiko, Mei, and Jun — consider themselves siblings, but they aren’t actually blood related. Bonded after all being separately adopted into the care of a woman named Reiko, these three seek to find revenge for their dear adopted “aunt” who ended up being murdered by a member of a local gang. This novel starts off with an absolute bang where we’re thrown right into a scene of Toshiko attempting to complete a stealth mission that puts her face-to-face with the same man who murdered her Aunt Reiko years ago.
I’m usually a bit wary of stories that immediately start in the middle of the action as it tends to be a bit overwhelming, but “The Rainshadow Orphans” did not suffer from this at all. In fact, I found it extremely easy to fall into this novel right from the get-go. I was able to pick up the character names quickly and found the plot and character’s motivations easy to follow even with only minimal information. If anything the storytelling shown here just felt really natural. All of the plot progressions felt like they fit in and it never seemed like drama was being thrown in just for the sake of adding more drama — it all had a purpose. I also really liked how some rather advanced technology is in play here right alongside a magic system that is slowly revealed throughout the novel. The contrast between the two is very interesting and having both in play means there’s a lot of creative potential for the rest of the series!
Overall I would highly recommend this book to fantasy readers in general – especially those who enjoy stories with Japanese influence! And for people who might be new to fantasy stories and are looking to dip their toes in the water here, then I think this would also make a fantastic introduction to the genre.
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Saga Press, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)
This really felt like a breath of fresh air and was an absolute delight to read! I haven’t had a new series grab my attention so quickly in quite some time now, and I can see this series easily gaining a dedicated fan base. You can definitely feel the Studio Ghibli inspiration in the story in that it gives off a certain whimsicality despite it covering some heavier topics (e.g. classism, political corruption) as well as showing scenes of violence.
At its core, “The Rainshadow Orphans” seems to be a story that really puts a focus on the power of found family. Our main set of characters — Toshiko, Mei, and Jun — consider themselves siblings, but they aren’t actually blood related. Bonded after all being separately adopted into the care of a woman named Reiko, these three seek to find revenge for their dear adopted “aunt” who ended up being murdered by a member of a local gang. This novel starts off with an absolute bang where we’re thrown right into a scene of Toshiko attempting to complete a stealth mission that puts her face-to-face with the same man who murdered her Aunt Reiko years ago.
I’m usually a bit wary of stories that immediately start in the middle of the action as it tends to be a bit overwhelming, but “The Rainshadow Orphans” did not suffer from this at all. In fact, I found it extremely easy to fall into this novel right from the get-go. I was able to pick up the character names quickly and found the plot and character’s motivations easy to follow even with only minimal information. If anything the storytelling shown here just felt really natural. All of the plot progressions felt like they fit in and it never seemed like drama was being thrown in just for the sake of adding more drama — it all had a purpose. I also really liked how some rather advanced technology is in play here right alongside a magic system that is slowly revealed throughout the novel. The contrast between the two is very interesting and having both in play means there’s a lot of creative potential for the rest of the series!
Overall I would highly recommend this book to fantasy readers in general – especially those who enjoy stories with Japanese influence! And for people who might be new to fantasy stories and are looking to dip their toes in the water here, then I think this would also make a fantastic introduction to the genre.
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Saga Press, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)