In the Rift

Sometimes when absolutely nothing grabs me in the reading world, there’s a gem waiting in an old, tried and true author. In this case, two of them: In The Rift was written by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Holly Lisle, both authors very talented all on their own. In The Rift is the second in the Glenraven series (I don’t think there were more than two.)

In The Rift was such a wonderful find because it was an adventure, nothing too complicated, but with excellent character development, and easily enough angst to keep the pages turning. There’s a lot of both authors in here; having read many of Holly Lisle’s early works, I can see her world building and some of the dark twists and turns; having read Zimmer Bradley’s work, I am guessing that the horses, saddle work and crafts came from her. Not that anything was overdone, mind you; just an interesting blend and something that I found a great deal of fun to guess about.

In The Rift is a story of saving the world by a woman who has no real reason to care—but part of the book’s charm is that ever present question of whether humanity is worth saving—and are humans generally good, bad or just indifferent? Of course in order to be a true hero, Kate Beacham must care and must make the effort. She has more than one foe; there are those on earth that want to burn witches and then there are foes from Glenraven trying to take over that world and present day earth. Kate joins a bizarre, fun mix of creatures, which includes a sneaky traitor and a “talking” book, in her adventures. She chases the bad guys, the bad guys chase her—and all the while, she tries to smoke out the traitor. There’s enough general chaos to make the book a fun way to spend the afternoon without taking anything too seriously.

Often, this type of book is my favorite. There’s enough at stake to keep me interested; there’s philosophical points made without preaching and there’s enough world and character development to create a wonderful story.

I highly recommend it for an afternoon read—and I’d also recommend other works by Holly Lisle and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Much of Holly Lisle’s early stuff is fantasy—I loved Minerva Wakes, Sympathy for the Devil and When the Bough Breaks (written with Mercedes Lackey). Her “lately” works are more romantic suspense/romantic thriller. In that category, I enjoyed Midnight Rain, but didn’t love Last Girl Dancing.