The Rainy Season (Ghosts, #3) (2024)

James Blaylock is known as a "fabulist," that is, a fantasy writer whose world is more like magic realism than traditional fantasy, a writer who constructs a clearly marvelous reality, but one which exists underneath the quotidian appearances of our common existence. This novel, for example begins with a realistic account of the rainy season in Southern California, an area the writer obviously knows and loves well, but this California--evoked with an acute sense of place--is home to an ancient and evil tradition of water magic. It is a place where drowning a child in a well can open a time portal, a portal which may only be accessed during the rainy season. A side effect of this sacrifice is that the memory of the dead child will be preserved in a uniquely shaped crystal, and it is a fight over one of these crystals that becomes the central action of the novel. As fantastic as this may sound, Blaylock--with his mastery of description and detail--makes it a all believable.

Unfortunately, as the plot progresses, the narrative weakens. The protagonist Phil is a little too dumb, and the villains are too many and not very interesting. I found myself skimming through to the climax, which when it arrived was certainly exciting--in a superficial sort of way--but not very interesting either. The novel has potent, memorable themes--the persistence of memory, the symbolic power of water, the enormity of child sacrifice--but it does not do them justice.

The Rainy Season is, apparently book number three in a series of which I have only read book number one, being Night Relics. Obviously, I need to get hold of number two, Winter Tides. The good thing is that the three books, though part of a "trilogy" seem to be stand-alone novels, that work just fine on their own.

In The Rainy Season we get snippets of several different time periods, but, oddly, involving the same group of people. In the midst of these people, affecting their lives drastically, is a mysterious well that pulls people under, "drowning" them, and emitting small crystal "treasures" that contain their memories. As the book begins, one Hale Appleton is in the process of drowning his dying daughter in the pool, with hopes of resurrecting her later, with the crystal that is put forth. This is occurring in 1884, in Placentia, California. Meanwhile, Phil Ainsworth, our "hero," has just received a call that his sister has died, leaving a nine-year-old niece, whom he has agreed to take custody of, should her mother pass. He must travel from California to Austin, TX, to bring her home with him. Betsy, the niece, possesses a glass inkwell, which, when she holds it with her bare hands, magically transforms her to a memory of the past, where a woman is giving birth to a baby. This inkwell becomes central to the story, as Betsy's "nanny," Mrs. Darwin, tries to get her hands on both Betsy and the inkwell, claiming that it belongs to her.

There is betrayal and mayhem, along with deception galore, as people try to get their hands on one particular blue, dog-shaped crystal, that allegedly holds the memories of the Appleton daughter. The book is an exciting whirlwind of mystery, racing back and forth through time. If you don't pay close attention, it's easy to get lost.

I enjoyed this book as much as, if not more than, Night Relics, and can't wait to get my hands on Winter Tides.

This book was a chore to read for me. Many of the issues that annoyed me about it won't necessarily get under another reader's skin: the jacket promised me one story, but through the first third I had only seen that story three times, as Blaylock instead showed a historical timeline (and its history just struck me as off, somehow); too many of the viewpoint characters were Evil (as in, *just* evil, acting solely out of greed and, well, evilness); the book touched on a number of issues that are personal for me (southern California, depression, mental illness, and child care to name the biggies) and while I can't say that Blaylock gets them *wrong* I can say they felt wrong, and felt manipulative; and finally, the portrayal of women (three total innocents, two batshit crazy evil chicks, and while that could just be a product of the Good/Evil divide, the one major male antagonist had a sympathetic reason for being the antagonist) just pissed me off.

But I could probably have looked past all that if it weren't for the failings I saw as inherent to the novel itself. I was promised something atmospheric, haunting, evocative; I got a fantasy story of the most literal sort. Everything that happened plot-wise was obvious, and all the descriptions were labored (at least to a California native; maybe readers who've never seen a chapparal environment needed all the repetition). There was a fair amount of "Oooo, what shall I do next to spite the hero, muwahahaha!" internal dialogue and my least-favorite storytelling trope ever, "I can't tell so-and-so this piece of information that will save all our lives because. . . I just can't." And while I know those last two items do often work for other readers and so should maybe be in the first paragraph, they're just so bad that any writer that uses them goes on my "never read again" pile.

I picked up this book because the cover intrigued me, I'd heard the author's name and was curious, and mostly decided to buy it because it boasted a recommendation from William Gibson so I assumed it would be AMAZING, highly detailed, etc. While the concept was great/imaginative and there were many nice things about the book, it was just a step above your typical mass market paperback. Even with the cool concept it just didn't hold my interest but for some reason I *wanted* to like it and finish it so I tried bringing it in the car to read while we were on the ferry; it just sat on the dashboard while I chose to read something else. I tried bringing it into the bathroom to read while I was on the toilet; it was worth it for the page or paragraph it took to get things done but I was happy to leave it in there until next time. Overall a pleasant read but I'm glad I'm finally done with it.

A ghost story of sorts, The Rainy Season is a delicate novel through which the protagonist (and, consequently, the reader) meanders, encountering weirdness, villainy and obsession. As with Stephen King, quotidian horrors rub shoulders with the supernatural variety, and, although I wouldn't describe this as a scary book, it is often unsettling. And even though the protagonist meanders and there is an ethereal quality to the whole affair, it is, upon reflection, extremely well plotted.

In summary: warm, intriguing and imaginative.

Enjoyed this ghost story. Light in the romance dept., but constant plot acceleration. A bit frantic @ times. Mrs. Darwin's character made me nervous. Sketchy from the get-go.

2.5 Ooof. This isn't Blaylock's best effort. Over the top villains, a passive protagonist (who should never ever be left responsible for a child) and an ending that could be predicted at the halfway point, if not sooner. Points for one of the villain's inner monologues that made me laugh out loud and for the showdown between two of the baddies that I actually wish had ended worse. Sigh. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself; what a pity the gun jammed. Why did I reread this? I honestly didn't remember it and now I want to forget it again.

A ghost story centered around a crystal that contains memories of children who were ritually drowned. The crystal attracts many people, living and dead, who want it for their purposes. The main character has recently adopted his niece . Set in California's rainy season, the book's strong point is its ability to put all of the above in a realistic setting, no mean feat. I enjoyed the book, but it is probably for sci/fi or fantasy folks only.

A little confusing, characters don't always act the way I think they should and I can't get over the fact that one character marries his aunt in the end. Everything tied up neatly but when does life actually happen that way?

This book is hard to categorize; it’s not really horror, it’s not really science fiction, it’s not what I would think of when someone said ‘fantasy, and it’s got some elements of a thriller. It does have a unique premise: that certain wells in Southern California only fill up during a rainy season (which does not occur every year there) and have the ability to suck people into them. That’s not the odd bit; the odd bit is that some people can come back out of them years later, looking just as they did when they went in. And the well creates a glass talisman containing some of the person’s memory.

Widower Phil Aisworth has his quiet world on his property turned upside down when first his twin sister, Marianne, dies and leaves him as guardian of her preteen daughter, Betsy. With that comes some strife with Hannah Darwin, an older woman who was Marianne’s friend and who helped bring Betsy up- she wants to be Betsy’s guardian. Around this same time a sexy woman appears at Phil’s door in the middle of the night, claiming that her car broke down. She’s very fetching- and also incredibly nosy and pushing. Meanwhile we have a backstory from 1884; several people back then fell into the well while fighting over things. Phil has to sort out who is telling the truth, who is after what- and do it before any of the villains (there are several!) hurt or kill anyone else.

The author does a good job of building tension; that Phil & Betsy can’t trust anyone, the semi-remote location, the constant rain and flooding, all add up to a creepy atmosphere. There are constant surprises cropping up. Phil and Betsy are good, strong characters - I did find it odd that Betsy did not mourn her mother more visibly, although I have to admit she really didn’t have time to mourn with everything that happened. There are an amazing number of characters from both past and present, which I found confusing in the beginning of the book, but it resolved in the end. I enjoyed this book a lot, in part because of its novel premise.

The story takes place in the dry regions of Arizona and California over a period of rather more than 100 years. Occasionally there is a wet season which fills the underground aquifers and the water in the wells, springs and ponds rises. Some of these water sources have been made magical with rites and sacrifices. People can get lost (rather than drowned) in these wells and lakes and may turn up anywhen, but only in a year with enough water.

Strange glass-like trinkets can be found by these wells sometimes that contain memories. This is the story of a child's memories trapped in a crystal, of loves lost and found, of a father who will stop at nothing to save his daughter and of the young orphaned girl and her uncle.

Blaylock intertwines the stories of the characters and builds a web of involvement which draws in the reader and keeps the pages turning. I found the story evocative and involving and the characters well rounded and intriquing.

Well, after my other Blaylock experience, I'm almost surprised I even started this one. In fact, I almost didn't — the description of the story sounded a bit too "magical realism" to me.

But I've been on a reading tear lately and have blazed through my most recent stockpile, so I decided to read the first few pages just to see...

And, I liked it. It wasn't amazing or anything, but it was a good summer page-turner, and unlike Lord Kelvin's Machine, it had the kind of time travel I *do* like, wherein the paradox-foo isn't just handled adroitly, but rather neatly sidestepped altogether.

The characters were a bit two-dimensional and clichéd at times, and there were a few minor narrative inconsistencies, but otherwise it was a fine tale and leads me to believe that his specifically recommended novels will probably live up to the hype.

A satisfying, exciting fantasy/thriller set in Southern California. Phil Ainsworth is a photographer and a bit of a hermit, until his sister's death brings him sole custody of his niece, Amy. Despite his grief and uncertainty about his talents as a parent, Phil welcomes Amy into his home and they quickly begin to form a bond. Less welcome are the prowlers that the rainy season brings to his property, all lurking about the old well as though waiting for something -- or someone -- to appear...

My only quibble with this novel is that Blaylock introduces a lot of characters into the plot, and I didn't always feel clear on their motivations or what was driving them, exactly. The ending of the book also felt a bit abrupt. But overall this was a good one -- a perfect summer read.

This was tough to finish. The characters were wooden, one had to imagine a lot about how the characters travelled through time and the dramatic moments were ho-hum. The book never seemed to reach a peak of tension. While the book seeks to be in the fantasy/ghost genre it at times reads like a romantic cross-generational novel. The main male character seemed to be blown in every direction without ever having any of his own strength.

I'm pleased only in picking up a free second-hand copy of this book from a library, http://smsa.org.au/library/ , that was disposing of the book as deleted stock.

As other reviews have noted, an interesting concept, difficult to follow at first, characters lacked depth and I don't know that I ever really understood the way in which the crystals/wells worked. Or perhaps I do understand and just found it-- unsatisfying. I found two of the characters to be particularly annoying (Elizabeth and Hannah) and couldn't relate to any of the others enough to compensate.

I really enjoyed this book when I read it, although I think if I were to reread it I might find the characters too one-dimensional.

Another reviewer mention that the characters were either good or evil with no in between, and even though it's been years since I read this book, I could see what she meant.

The book was recommended to me. I'd never read Blaylock, so I thought I'd give it a go. I was left with one or two little questions that I thought the author was going to get back to, but he never did. Those one or two little things don't diminish the story for me though. It was an enjoyable story, not the horror or deep mysticism I was expecting, but a good read overall.

The idea was great. The characterization not so much. They were too broadly and unbelieveably drawn in places and given too little distinctiveness in others. I wanted more character detail and plot than I got and less time on the landscape.

I feel like there was a good story trapped in this book. Interesting concept drowned in a too choppy tale with insincere and unbelievable characters. It began to get good more than halfway through, but by then it was too little too late.

This wasn't a very good book. It jumped around too much, it had frustratingly illogical parts to the plot and characters, and the ending was terrible.

Not bad. Kind of weird in places (though I don't think it really qualifies as magical realism), it was enjoyable to read.

Too confusing in the beginning. About the middle of the book everything in the beginning started to make sense; hard to put down after that.

Great suspense, magical realism, and history in a SoCal setting.

I did not care for this novel. It seemed to jump around and was very foggy.

Loved the atmosphere in this story. Not a ground-breaking story line, but I cared for the characters, had a good sense of the setting, and loved the imagery. Well worth the time.

First read in 2000.

Obsessively well detailed and delicately crafted. It's a movie that you don't watch but read.

3.5

I thought this was a really well written book.

So good.