The Great Rift

The Cycle of Arawn #2

by Edward W. Robertson

Five years ago, young sorcerer Dante Galand and his friend Blays averted war against their new home, the city of Narashtovik. Ever since, they've been repaying their debts, arming and training the nomadic norren people in preparation for rebellion against the empire that enslaves them. When Dante hears a nearby norren clan is in possession of the Quivering Bow-a legendary artifact that can strike down walls with a single arrow-his course is clear. With such a weapon, he can secure independence for both the norren and Narashtovik. But the bow has been taken by the enemy. Following a trail of pirates and slavers, Dante, Blays, and a clan of norren warriors strike deep into enemy lands. Until now, their rebellion's been kept secret. But their quest for the bow leads Dante and Blays to an all-out assault on the personal manor of powerful lord Cassinder. Enraged, Cassinder will have his revenge on norren and Narashtovik alike-and this time, there will be no stopping the engines of war.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Magic, Adventure

570 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 2012

About the author

Ed is the author of the post-apocalyptic Breakers series and the epic fantasy series The Cycle of Arawn. A former New Yorker and Idaho-guy, he currently lives in the LA area. His short fiction has appeared in a whole bunch of magazines and anthologies.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this one. It was a deluded mess of a book, suffering from the same problems of the first book. I am not continuing this series.

Not recommended.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book, held back by the attempt of being epic. I absolutely enjoyed the Norren and their deadpan way of replying to questions. Dante and Blayse continue to be a fun duo, making the end extra painful.
My biggest gripe with the book is that the pacing sucks, the story makes far to little progress and is dragging on forever.

[Levi Dykstra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly better than the last one. Oddly enjoyable to see loss hit these punk kids. Why were they even friends to begin with?
Dumpster fire is apt.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent buddy banter fantasy that loses something from the first novel.

The second novel in "The Cycle of Arawn" seems to have forgotten its Arawn-iness. The first novel ended with the overthrow of the cult of Arawn and high priestess Samarand who was trying to start a war and teen protagonists Dante (budding sorcerer) and Blays (roguish warrior) assuming more responsibility within the recently freed city.

The second novel jumps forward 4+ years and Dante and Blays are trying to free the Norren people (think tall friendly tribalistic Ogres). While the overall plot is "fine" on its own -- we've got pirates and some needless courtly intrigue and an eventual battle for freedom, it seems weirdly divorced from the initial premise of "long dormant God of Death is coming back." Instead it's a rather straightforward fantasy tale that has some strong buddy banter but otherwise just kind of....exists.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 20+ hour long audiobook that could be about 10 hours shorter. Maybe more. Little chunks of exciting things happen in between long stretches of... not much.

On the other hand, the banter between Dante and Blays is still quite enjoyable, and made me laugh on a few occasions.

And listening to Tim Gerard Reynolds tell a story where not much happens is still pretty goddamn amazing. So, it wasn't too bad. Weaker than book 1. Hoping book 3 is better than both.

[Danial Khalid · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good solid book and introduction of lira and mourn was good.I liked when magic system was expanded.i wanna know more about working of ether.

At times book pacing felt slow and jarring imo it can do bit more fast pace.

Ending has brought a new dynamic for book to progress.It will be good to see what lies in future for friendship of Dante and blays.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Book! must read for people who do not go for the typical fantasy books!

[Lundos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The funny interaction between the Blays and Dante and their youthful arrogance are on par with the first book, and while I like the writing style, this was way too slow paced to a fault. I considered putting it away for good, but was rewarded towards the end where it accelerated to an incredible pace. Given the amount of characters in more than a few chapters there are quite some surprises here and there.

[Elijah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25*
Review to come!!

[Jeanne Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in this series was so good, so nearly complete, I couldn't imagine how he'd dredge up enough material for a sequel, let alone two. The main thing unresolved seemed to be the Norren and a hinted-at promise to help them... do what, I wasn't sure.

As it turns out, the Norren opened up a far bigger world and enough complex intrigue to satisfy, all culminating in a battle with horrible odds, but thankfully, the knowledge that there's another installment so you know it will turn out well.

Well... not entirely well, as the greatest rift is between our two heroes and that will clearly take another book to resolve.

And it must. Dante and Blays are brothers by now, best of friends, and utterly complementary. They seem incomplete when separated. Even with a woman between them, they are a whole. Their testosterone-laden banter is the best part of the books for me. I suspect this also makes it a solid "guy" story, but I'm proof it can also appeal to a woman. This is a fascinating view to male interaction we aren't often privy to.

Lyle's balls, I'm just glad I discovered this series after it was completed so I don't have to wait to jump into the finale.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Rift is the second book in the series, and although it starts off a little slow, this was an incredible read and I couldn't put it down!
The style of writing doesn't change from the first book, and there were several words that I added to my vocabulary builder on my kindle. It was easy to understand what they meant in the context of the sentence, but I like building my vocabulary.
The story continues a few years after when the first book left off, and things have settled in Narashtovik and Dante has a place in the council with Blays still at his side. Narashtovik has been aiding the norren people for the last few years (From the first book, Cally had made a promise to Gabe, the norren monk, to help his people) by supplying weapons to these people who tend to be captured as slaves by humans. The unfolding of the story, like I said, is a bit slow at first. But after reading on, seems most appropriate for the times they live in.
After finishing this book, I dived right into the first one. I can not wait to see what Edward W. Robertson has in store for these characters.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the Norren are very interesting people, I find the sudden focus shift from learning about the ins and outs of the Magic system to "Let's single-handedly start and end a war" a bit disappointing. It's also getting tedious following so many characters who have an almost identical sense of humour as the base of their whole personality. It is starting to feel like the main 4 are the same people with slightly different twists to them. Dark Guy, Proud Guy, Tough Girl, and Old Guy aren't doing enough to define them when they all interact the same way. Even though I wish the Norren weren't the main focus, they ended up being the more interesting part of the story, seeing as they have more diverse personalities than "Sarcastic jerk with 1 other trait"

[Ian Yarington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think for the second book I found myself more accustom to Dante and Blays and really came to enjoy their youthful banter, they have really grown on me as characters, and I've come to appreciate their quick wit and sharp tongues. Another aspect of the second book that I really liked was the expansion of the world and the introduction of the Norren people. I felt like it made the world much wider and gave a larger perspective of the world. If I was going to complain about something I suppose it would be the abrupt switch from themes or missions in the book, we jumped right into the Norren people and problems about five years after the events in book one, and I suppose I would like to have known more about those five years. But over all I feel it was a solid second edition.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018 Reread

I am shocked to come back and read my reviews and see how little I liked these books the first time. Over the last two years they have ripened and aged in my memory until I just had to read them again. This time around I loved them. Some of my original comments are true, there is a lot of sarcasm and unnecessary f-bombs, but overall, they're awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed them and can't understand why I didn't like them the first time. I'm so glad I gave them a second try and now I'm off to read the next series with these characters.

[Cordell Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

This was fantastic. As much as I loved the first book, this one was even better. If the third one improves as much as the second one did, then I’ve got a new favorite series on my hands!!

Dante and Blayse are the funniest two dudes ever. Reading about them makes me feel like I’m reading about me and my best friends. We’d probably make most of the same decisions and the same jokes in their world. It is rare for an author to capture both the surface and the deepness of a true friendship the way this friendship is captured.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series and when the first was good, but this was even better, full of action, you are transported to another world when you read this book, it is one you do not want to put down but real life dictates that you have too, it took me some time to get through the 500 plus pages, but worth every minute of it.

Lots of humour in this book too.


Just starting the 3rd book which i am hoping will be as good or better.

[Melissa Drespling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me laughing out loud so many times. Blays and Dante are so funny together. Book 1 and Book 2 shared the witty banter and easy comeraderie between the two men and had me nestled into this cozy haven of comfort. And then Mr. Robertson ripped the rug out from under me. Not once, but twice. It was absolutely heartbreaking.

I'm moving on to Book 3 nursing this need for something to happen. IYKYK.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the 1st book! I really struggled to finish listening to the first book, but kept at it because I could see that there were good bones to the book. And I’m so glad I did! The author seems to have honed his skills because book 2 was well worth the time. I imagine that book 3 is even better.

[Eugene Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid follow up to the first book. The story really gets cooking by about halfway through and I couldn't put it down by the final battle. The world and the people in it are getting really interesting, and the characters are starting to develop. I'm reading these at the recommendation of a friend (who's actually lending me his spare kindle) and I'm glad he encouraged me to stick with it.

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the full trilogy so will just say that book two is filled with adventure, action and well-developed characters set in a fantasy yet realistic world. It extremely detailed, which again adds to its authenticity.

I absolutely love the humour, especially from Blays, Dante and that dry sense of wit from Mourn.

A marathon read but worth it.

Highly recommended.

[Bill Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hmm, well first off this book contains foul language. I feel like I've been kidnapped by a good writer with a toilet tongue and a dark sense of humor. No I will not recommend this to anyone, if you wish to subject yourself go ahead.

[Scott Voyles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

What an interesting sequel,the villain keeps popping up and our heroes keep gathering more friends . This one undoubtedly topped the first one and now I'm looking forward to the last book

[Clay Schock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the writing style. The sarcasm is great. The combat is gritty and brutal. The story is compelling. The only issue I have is that sometimes it hard to tell the characters apart. A lot of them are very similar.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start left me a little wondering, but soon I fell into the story and had no wish to come out of it. Some descriptions seemed a bit too lengthy, but in the end, they worked out. I felt like I got a real feel for the places and people that inhabit them.

[Kai Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried so hard, which should be a sign that the characters are so well written. It shows a multitude of topics in true colors, such as war and it's effects on those involved from civilians to warriors. I'm on the next one now

[Scott Mcdaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. Longer than the first and had many turns.

[Joshua Tamayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried at the end

[Levi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good, but with a sad ending.

[Emily at Reaching While Rooted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death magic and dark humor round 2. Fantastic combination

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suffers from typical middle book issues: Very long, not as much gets accomplished. Still, these are interesting characters with some nice worldbuilding so I will finish out the series.