The Quartern is a harsh, unforgiving desert where water means life.  It is home to Shale, a poor village outcast with nothing, although he does know some powerful secrets, if only he knew what to do about them.  Meanwhile, Terelle is about to discover how life is different when you go upstairs to be a handmaiden instead of waiting tables below.  The stormlords bring the all-important rain, but there is only one left and he is dying.  Life in the Quartern is about to change, and not for the better...

Fantasy has come a long way from the Tolkeinesque, D&D world of the past two decades.  Mainly it has come to places like the one described so vividly in this book, and can be described more accurately as dark fantasy because of the dreadful (and very realistic) events that occur.  It is certainly an exciting book. Ms Larke shows once again how skilled she is at world building, and how carefully she has thought out what would happen in a desert environment full of people when the water runs out.  This is a book with a powerful message in these times of climate change, and one that tends to stay in the mind afterwards for a number of reasons, few of which amount to a cheerful tale but all of which add up to a potent, page-turner of a novel.  There is a large cast, but in the main the focus is on a handful of people we therefore get to know better as we see events unfold through their eyes and quickly get pulled into the narrative.  At times I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic for the days when fantasy tended to deliver a more upbeat experience, but this is very much a novel for today, and tomorrow.