Claire Rudy Foster knows how to write. The prose is exceptional, world building is a masterclass. Just when you thought you've seen the depths of billionaire depravity, Foster brings it to another level in The Rain Artist, but not without a hopeful dose of humanity with our protagonists, Celine, Yochanna, and Paul. I can't wait to see what Foster brings to the table next!

I remain unsure how I feel about this book. The concept was fascinating - society in the future where climate change has impacted so significantly that it no longer rains, icebergs are privately owned, etc. I struggled to connect with the characters or their journey because the writing style is quite removed/distant. It’s a unique style of writing and not at all bad, it just didn’t give me what I needed to be invested in the book. I rarely say this (!) but I wonder if the book needed to be longer, or be planned as a series - it felt like so many concepts and worlds were included (cities that were classic science fiction, underground societies that read like CS Lewis, a danger zone, the final garden) that we spent very little time in any of them and it was hard to grasp why they mattered to the overall story

In a future where rain is a luxury enjoyed exclusively by the ultra-rich, the world’s only umbrella-maker is framed for the high-profile murder of the quadrillionaire patriarch who controls the earth’s last natural resources.

This was really cool. Weird, but in a good way. I enjoyed it.