Week 23 ~ Into the Rift

Week 23 ~ June 4-10, 2007

Into the Rift - Glenraven #2
by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Holly Lisle

(fantasy)

This is the sequel to Glenraven, a good fantasy novel about a world of magic that co-exists with our world (the "Machine World") and needs a hero(ine) from our world to come save it. Into the Rift takes place afterwards, but the focus stays mostly in our world, with both the heroes and the villains of the story gating from Glenraven and into the Machine World.

There is a little romance (but not the modern sex-heavy type) and some betrayal (but not super-angsty) and some major mass destruction (but not super gory). There are well developed characters and plot twists and complexities. It is a well written and enjoyable to read book.

That said, however, it wasn't the best book in the world. It's good, yes. But I saw the major plot twist coming way before the characters did, and so I wanted to smack one of them for a while there. The characters are nicely developed, but coming right after Talyn they don't seem nearly as well fleshed out. (Probably not the best reading order for this one... many books pale in comparison to Talyn.)

It is a good read, and certainly worth the time. It is a collaboration that uses the best parts of both writers' styles, and blends them seamlessly so that you can't tell who wrote/edited/decided on which part. Definitely a fun read.