Rain Rain Go Away

The first book of Jane Lindskold's I remember reading was When the Gods Are Silent. A few years later I discovered her Firekeeper series, which I really loved (well the first three anyway). I read her book The Buried Pyramid and thought it was pretty good. Now, I've read Child of a Rainless Year.

This book is very different than the others. All of the others were more action oriented, and all of them, except Pyramid, were set in imaginary worlds. Child of a Rainless Year is more of a character-driven urban fantasy.

It's all about a woman named Mira. After her adoptive parents die, she discovers that's she's the owner of Phineas House, a mysterious building in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Phineas House belonged to Mira's birth mother, who disappeared when Mira was only nine. There is something strange about the place.

Even though Mira hasn't seen her birth mother in more than forty years, she still thinks of herself as little more than a pale reflection of her mother. This has caused her to shy away from her love of colors, though not too far away as she became an art teacher. As she stays in Phineas House she feels her true self awaken.

The characters in this book are admirably done. I really liked them. The magic is very mysterious, which is always a good thing in urban fantasy. About the only bad thing I can think to say is that the pace is a little slow. Still, It's a very good book and I give it four and a half yo-yos.