 | Title: The Rift Walker
Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex Rating:
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Description
Princess Adele struggles with a life of marriage and obligation as her Equatorian Empire and their American Republic allies stand on the brink of war against the vampire clans of the north. However, the alliance's horrific strategy for total victory drives Adele to abandon her duty and embark on a desperate quest to keep her nation from staining its hands with genocide. Reunited with her great love, the mysterious adventurer known to the world as the Greyfriar, Adele is pursued by her own people as well as her vengeful husband, senator Clark. With the human alliance in disarray, Prince Cesare, lord of the British vampire clan, seizes the initiative and strikes at the very heart of Equatoria.
As Adele labors to bring order to her world, she learns more about the strange powers she exhibited in the north. Her teacher, Mamoru, leads a secret cabal of geomancers who believe Adele is the one who can touch the vast power of the Earth that surges through ley lines and wells up at the rifts where the lines meet. These energies are the key to defeating the enemy of mankind, and if Princess Adele could ever bring this power under her command, she could be death to vampires. But such a victory will also cost the life of Adele's beloved Greyfriar.
The Rift Walker is the second book in a trilogy of high adventure and alternative history. Combining rousing pulp action with steampunk style, the Vampire Empire series brings epic political themes to life within a story of heartbreaking romance, sacrifice, and heroism.
Review
*Some spoilers from the previous book in this series*
THE RIFT WALKER is the follow up to one of my favorite reads of 2010 set in a frightening alternate steampunk future in which vampires have nearly taken over the world. The sequel has hundred extra pages to tell it’s story over first book in the Vampire Empire series and they are packed with more locations, more political intrigue, more vampire mythology, more romance, and the same rich characters who captivated me in THE GREYFRIAR.
The titles of both THE GREYFRIAR and now THE RIFT WALKER are very indicative of the stories they tell. THE GREYFRIAR was very much about Greyfriar and his secrets including his evolution as a human sympathizing vampire. THE RIFT WALKER is much more focused on Princess Adele and her burgeoning geomancer abilities and future role as Empress of Equatoria. There are still numerous chapters from Greyfriar’s perspective (along with several from a handful of other characters), but 80% of the story revolves around Adele.
As much as I connected with Adele, I would have preferred a more balanced narrative between the two protagonists or even have had the story skew more towards Greyfriar like the first book. I also missed the initial excitement and action that started THE GREYFRIAR. THE RIFT WALKER churns out a hundred pages of necessary plot developments before Adele and Greyfriar share page time again and I did get impatient waiting for their reunion. On the plus side, there is still plenty of action and intrigue that evokes the old pulp novels of the past, dashing and daring adventure though exotic locations, and sweeping romance between these star crossed lovers.
Overall, I was a little disappointed with the initial pacing and story development for the first hundred pages or so, but THE RIFT WALKER picked up significantly after that culminating in a shocking and exhilarating ending that has me fraught with anticipation for the third and final book in the Vampire Empire trilogy which will be published in 2012. New readers to this series will want to start with THE GREYFRIAR before jumping in to this second installment to truly appreciate this superb paranormal steampunk series.
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Loved the first book in this series. Thanks for the review, I can't wait to dig into this story.
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