The Rain Paperback – December 31, 2013

I started this series on the advice of another reviewer and after reading some Hugh Howey. I very much enjoyed this first book.At first, I imagined that Turkot's choice of time and place, the dreariness, and the scarcity of characters would make it difficult to really draw a reader in. Right off the bat, we're floating around in a leaky boat, starving, with the occasional glimpse of patches of mud and hostiles all around. Sounds despairing. But as the story unfolds he creates a protagonist that the reader starts to care for, despite her own attempts to disown any vestige of emotion or attachment. More interestingly, as a character she is a blank slate; a child who has grown up in a new world, who lacks the "imprint" of the old world. Basic words and concepts no longer have the same definition or meaning for anyone in the post-apocalyptic world, but especially for her, as she has no point of reference, and no guidance other than her own pared-down experience and the contact she has with the people she knows and encounters.It’s an interesting exercise in limiting the human experience, of almost scientifically ‘reducing’ the influences on a human being, but allowing the test subject to tell the story of this world and its people through her own eyes. The author does a great job of staying true to her as the storyteller, in that she is the gatekeeper of the plot and how the reader experiences it. There are no multiple viewpoints, no explaining of the past or the current predicament in which the characters find themselves, other than through her observations.Very refreshing and I look forward to reading much more from Mr. Turkot.

This was a difficult story for me to read--not because of the writing style or typos. I thought it was very well-written. I just couldn't imagine the nightmare scenario of being rained on constantly. The two main characters--Tanner and Russell--do their best to survive these circumstances, but, at times, I had to wonder, "Why? What is the point?" They keep trying to find land, pretty much mountains are all that are left, but if the rain keeps falling, how long until ALL land is under water? Is the struggle they are going through worth it?This is a story about survival and holding out for that last bit of hope. To complicate things, Tanner is a teenage girl going through all the things teenage girls usually go through, but during the apocalypse. Talk about having to grow up quickly. Russell is supposedly the caretaker, but it is usually Tanner who keeps him going. Going towards what is the question?I'm not sure I believe the premise that a solar flare caused the ocean to rise up and start the rain, but the characters also don't really know why this happened.I do recommend the book if the thought of constant rain doesn't drive you crazy. The characters are compelling, especially Tanner, and I do want to know what they're going to find at the end of the rainbow, figuratively speaking.

I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic stories, and this one sounded like like it was based on a unusual and interesting premise. Unfortunately, this series is marred by several serious flaws, not the least of which is the author's inability to write dialog, both on a technical and literary level.The dialog is not put into quote marks or indicated in any way, stopping the smooth flow of the story as you try to figure out when someone is talking, who is talking, and to whom. The dialog also doesn't ring true, it does not sound like anything that any person would naturally say under the circumstances. A good test for dialog is to read it out loud. If it sounds ridiculous and/or embarrassing, you've done it wrong.The concept of endless rain and a world with almost no dry land is intriguing, but you have to set it up and explain how this could happen, or it stretches the suspension of belief to the breaking point. There isn't enough water on our planet to cover almost all the planet. This story gives no explanation of where all this extra water that is raining onto the earth is coming from; this inconsistency hangs in the back of the mind in a very distracting way.The most fleshed out character in the story is the main character, Tanner. She is a teenager who has survived the apocalypse, but she doesn't seem to have, really, the maturity or the scars that one would expect. Her actions and motivations don't seem consistent from scene to scene. Russell, her companion, is written as a too good to be true cardboard cutout of the male protector. In the course of this series, this sort of character crops up too often, the selfless male whose only function is to save the heroine and die. In a field of writing that now boasts many fantastic, strong, heroic women, this is an eye-rolling annoyance.The writing overall is good, the only reason I gave this three stars. Turkot is capable of writing powerful descriptive prose that puts you right in the landscape and weather of the series. He does tend to use descriptive writing to a flaw; at times I felt like he was tediously describing things over and over and drawing out actions to pad the word count. I often found myself doing something I almost never do, skimming to find the point where something new starts happening.This series honestly could be edited down to one long novel or two short ones, and be much better reading. Not everything has to be a trilogy. An editor also would have be useful in catching the language errors in the manuscript.In summary, I believe this writer has great raw talent that would greatly benefit from a good editor. If you have the patience for going through page after page of description and long scenes of slow action, you will get a reasonable amount of enjoyment out of these books.

I downloaded "The Rain" yesterday morning and finished it today over my breakfast coffee.That the main characters were ordinary people appealed to me. They were not scientists who just happened to be working on a project that gave them special insight into the crisis. They were not military personnel. They were simply survivors. This gave rise to myths and stories and allowed the author to explore how these impacted on both hope and despair.I must admit that I do wonder what really happened to get the world to such a state but this is just my sense of curiosity and is not necessary either for my enjoyment of the novel or for the characters who drive it forward.A very enjoyable book

I don't write reviews with spoilers.Joe Turkot's first part of Rain is relentlessly soggy, drippy, cold and miserable. I was wondering just how the main characters were going to get to the end of all five books without dissolving, but I couldn't stop reading it.I suspect that the author can see the action in his mind, like a movie. It runs at that pace, the reader can feel and see the cold and damp.It's a first person novel, rather like The Hunger Games narratives and is all the better for that. I'm glad I bought this.

This is one of the best post-apocalyptic novel I've ever read. It grabbed me from the beginning and its terrifying because it could actually happen. There wasn't a moment of boredom within this book. It keeps you intrigued with its plot, each scene increases the suspense and you don't know what will happen next. The characters are believable and you can visualise every scene as you read. It really makes me want to read The Snow and other novels from this author. It is well worth buying, you won't regret it.

Bought the full version of this after downloading part one for free as I had to know what happened next, and having read this over the weekend have now downloaded the sequel The Snow as again I have to know what's coming next. Not my usual type of book but thought I would give it a go as it was free but I was gripped from the beginning, believable characters in a horrible situation. Give it a go, well worth a read.

Ok, so here we have a relatively unknown author writing in one of my favourite genres. Wow, I didn't know that it would hook me like this from start to finish, it grabbed me straightaway and I didn't want to put it down, talk about a page turner! I wanted to finish it to start on the second book of the trilogy but I didn't want it to end either. Joseph Turkot has done a great job introducing two main characters that you "bond" with from very early on.This book is part of a trilogy - The Rain, The Snow, The Blue. Don't miss out!!