The Choking Rain by Brian LoweMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Disclaimer first: I picked up this book because the author, who is a fellow member of a writers' forum I belong to, mentioned it in the Books for Review thread on that forum. I don't know the author well.
This is an old-school pulp adventure, set in 1932, that could almost have been written in that year, down to contemporary references and subtleties of language. That's quite an achievement, though it does border on a fault insofar as the characters are no deeper than 1930s pulp characters would be. They have a small amount of backstory and a couple of quirks and their role in the plot, and that's about it. At times I struggled to distinguish Mary from Kate, and Ted from Eric, and "Professor Death" (whose nickname was never explained) from Damian - not so much that I was confused about who was who, but they did feel very similar to one another. I also felt that some of the characters' specific skills could have been brought out more; some could have seen more use, like Damian's chemistry knowledge, while others (the mastery of disguise by one character, for example) could have been better foreshadowed.
Kate's linguistic abilities and martial arts prowess did get a good amount of use, and her prominence and agency in the plot were a good update that probably wouldn't have appeared in many 1930s pulps; even though she does get captured through being, as she herself puts it, "too stupid to live," she contributes significantly to her own escape rather than being passively rescued. While I wouldn't say that the book has 21st-century sensibilities in the way that some books being written at the moment ignore the way historical people actually thought at the time and impose current thinking and language, it also avoids the casual sexism and racism that was prevalent in many (though not all) books a century ago, and treats its female and non-western characters with respect.
The author deliberately withholds information from the reader that's available to the characters at times, and even engages in deception, though my suspicion that he'd outright lied in the narrative at one point turned out to be technically incorrect. I haven't read enough 1930s pulp to know if this is part of the genre or specific to this author. I found it mildly annoying while it was happening, though it did set up some good reveals that compensated. (I still correctly guessed the biggest reveal, though not the other two about who was a hero and who a villain.) The advantage for the author of doing this is that he can almost get away with some events early on, when the reader doesn't know what's happening, that don't make complete sense in light of the final revelations. I was left with a number of questions, though, in retrospect. (view spoiler)
The antagonists are early Nazis, always a strong choice, because you don't have to exaggerate to make them thoroughly villainous. The McGuffin is a clever idea, and more than plausible enough for pulp. While the plot does need a couple of minor Convenient Eavesdrops and at least one small Fortunate Coincidence to help it along, they're not egregious or constant, and the agency of appropriately motivated characters is the main plot driver.
While it's not without its minor flaws, anyone who enjoys 1930s pulp, which was often a lot more flawed in all the same ways and several others, should find it a fun ride; it has the strengths of that genre too, with a variety of challenges overcome by a mixture of intelligence, bravery and determination.
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