The Rain Heron

Robbie Arnott's 2nd Novel is, as his first, a Tasmanian Goth fantasy that had me listening to the audio at every opportunity.

Australia, though unnamed, has suffered a military coup and during these troubled times a band of soldiers is sent by the authorities on a mission to capture the mythical Rain Heron for what can be only to see if they can control the weather. The telling of the story forces us, as a species, to face our own inhumanity to each other and to the ecology of the world around us. One's imagination has to confront all the flaws that each of the characters has, as nature exposes us as just another doomed species. When we respect nature, it assists us. Times are plentiful on the farm and in the sea until........? As a species, can we be blind until coerced by forces out of our control not to be?

I said of Robbie Arnott's very good debut that it was recommended to all us that know and enjoy Tassie Literature. Nothing changes with this thought-provoking and parable like second.