Lives of Bitter Rain
This is a prequel to Days of Shattered Faith, which was one of my favorite reads earlier in the year. It follows the early life of one of the key characters of Days of Shattered Faith, and you can see her rise in her career from that of an orphan to being the head of diplomatic relations in Usmai.
With that said, its a spattering of vintages from her life, from her parents death, to her being accepted in the diplomatic ranks, to her first outing and so on and so forth. It ends where the beginning of Days of Shattered Faith starts and also serves to guide the reader in the psychology of the main character. I have to say she’s what made me kept going while reading the third book and getting more of her is an extra bonus.
That said, there’s nothing in this book that’s new or exciting. I think this is more of a fan service novel for the outraged fans about the treatment of this character, and in a way, its deserved. If you weren’t already a fan of the third book, this is an easy skip. For fans of the Tyrant Philosopher’s series, this is a no brainer.
And yes, throughout the whole read, just think of the Pells as basically British Colonials and everything falls into place so much easier. Its much like a Blackadder episode, where folks talk about the purging of an entire race like asking “whats for chicken”. Ok, the analogy isn’t quite there, but the feel of it is.
Either way, read it if you’re a Tchaikovsky fan.