Robbie Arnott: This novel is set in an unnamed country, a couple of years after a military coup has taken over the government and essentially ravaged the life of everyone within the country.

Why has she gone to the mountains, and what do the soldiers want from her? Rob Wolf: One of your key characters, Ren, goes to the mountains to live like a hermit, but a group of soldiers find her. I tried living in a big city for a while and I just I just couldn’t do it.” There’s lots of descriptions of natural places because that’s generally where I’ve been and what I’m interested in. “It always comes through in my writing a lot. Set in an unnamed country following a military coup, The Rain Heron is a story of survivors searching for peace but finding violence-in both nature and society.Īrnott’s descriptions of nature are inspired by the beauty of his Australian home state of Tasmania, where he has spent long stretches hiking in the bush and fishing in the cold waters. Unlike the first three mythical birds, whose legends are hundreds or thousands of years old, the rain heron is a new entry in the library of imaginary beasts, introduced in the novel bearing its name by Tasmanian author Robbie Arnott. The rain heron can take the form of steam, liquid, or ice and controls the climate around it. The caladrius absorbs disease, curing the ill.

The roc is large enough to carry an elephant in its claws. At the end of its life, the phoenix bursts into flames and a younger bird rises from the ashes.

The rain heron by robbie arnott