This is the third book in Halo Scot’s Rift Cycle. I’m very much invested in these tales with the first two books being very much five star affairs in my opinion. You can read how much I loved them here and here!
And although book three is more of the same (in a good way), I have to say I didn’t find this one as brutally amazing as its predecessors. I really did enjoy it, but I feel to keep up with those that came before was a very difficult task.
If you’ve not read the first two then there may be some spoilers for them here. That’s something even I can’t avoid.
When we last met Kyder (a nasty bastard psycho with a kind-of sensitive side) and Rune (a badass lady who is the only person who can ‘manage’ Kyder), they were fighting a brutal war in their city against gods and the corrupt politicians in power. There was plenty of bloodshed and grotesque killings afoot. And then we were hit with a wham of a twist!
This book begins seven years later. Rune is queen of the city of Zawad, and Kyder is offrealm somewhere, being tortured daily and forced to re-live his traumatic past by – well, that would be spoiling book two.
Both our main characters are dealing with losing each other, both unsure where exactly the other is and how life is treating them. They crave to be together but wonder, deep down, if this will ever be possible. Soon enough, though, various treacherous events transpire and Kyder is able to leave his prison and return to Rune and his/her empire.
But, get this – Rune is dying. Only Kyder can save her. The two must again reunite to battle against dark forces, where more blood is to be spilled and more annihilation is on the gore-agenda. And yet again there is a great twist at the end, all ready for the concluding book four.
Although the events here were engaging and kept me reading, there were none of the ‘woooaaahh!!!’ moments I’d become accustomed to, although maybe my expectation levels are just soaring through the Rift at this point.
One thing that also didn’t do it for me was the way that the characters (Kyder mostly) insisted upon speaking directly to the reader. I noticed this more so in the last book but it seemed to be so much more apparent here. Perhaps that’s intentional, but I felt I was distancing myself from Kyder a little because of this. Before, even though he is one horrible dude, he was still very entertaining and droll. This time he was all a bit too much ‘Oi you, reader, you’re a bit of a dick you are, go and fuck yourself.’ He put it more eloquently than that but that’s the impression I got.
Characters speaking to the reader may be great for many others, but his attitude annoyed me a little.
That being said, this was still an action-packed fun ride with plenty of guts n’ gore to keep me very happy indeed. If you’ve read the previous books then you will certainly enjoy this one, perhaps even more than me. But this certainly hasn’t put me off the final instalment.
Stay tuned for that one!!
Categories: book review
MORGAN K TANNER, Writer of Horror 
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