May 16, 2022
Blending disquieting climate fiction and subtle magic, Lebbon’s latest (after Eden) plumbs the possibilities of a dystopian future in which the effects of climate change forever alter North America. Skyrocketing heat and droughts have turned large stretches of the Great Plains into nearly uninhabitable desert. Reclusive Jesse has magic that can summon rain, but the one time he used it, his warped powers also brought a scourge of scorpions and venomous snakes, and he’s sworn off ever trying again. He passed on his abilities to his daughter, Ash, whom he believes to have died in his efforts to teach her to control her power. But when his estranged wife, Karina, informs him that Ash is alive and attempting to conjure a storm herself, the pair set out to stop her before she rains down peril on the already struggling population of the desert. Meanwhile, Ash’s efforts to understand the full extent of her powers puts some clever twists on classic coming-of-age-story arcs. Lebbon suffuses the tale with atmospheric detail to create a believable dystopian future. The taut prose and high stakes make for a powerful outing.
June 1, 2022
Global warming has turned most of North America into a desert. Twenty years ago, Jesse, a Rainmaker, brought down a deadly storm containing more than water. Now, living alone and off the grid, Jesse is punishing himself, but not only for the harm he caused that day: when he realized that his young daughter, Ash, held even more danger inside of her and tried to halt her training, he may have caused her death. For ten years, Katrina, Jesse's estranged wife, has been searching for Ash, and when she hears of a young Rainmaker, Katrina convinces Jesse to join the search and save their daughter. But Jesse and Katrina are not the only ones looking for Ash. Lebbon's latest climate change-fueled horror novel uses multiple points of view to allow the characters to develop and the suspense to intensify, racing to a climactic, stormy battle. Thought-provoking, disturbing, and family-centered, this tale will appeal to readers of stories as varied as The Violence, by Delilah S. Dawson (2022), The Changeling, by Victor LaValle (2017), or The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015).
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