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They’ve watched us for centuries through the Rift.
They’ve prepared.
Invasion is inevitable.
The Earth Fleet has known of the Watchers for years, unwilling to share the knowledge with humanity. Now it might be too late.
Hidden away from the Fleet, one man is creating a new colony ship destined for the other side of the Rift, but he’s missing a few pieces.
Three other people have varied paths to get there. Ace goes from the streets of Earth to the Fleet training facility on the moon. Flint, an ex-Fleet pilot, must decide if a job is worth his life, and Wren, imprisoned for a secret project years ago, is given hope as an unlikely ally whispers words of escape in her ear.
Their journeys lead to Councilman Jarden Fairbanks, who knows of the impending invasion, and has prepared. All they can do is wait for the Rift to open once again, and see what’s on the other side.
They’ve prepared.
Invasion is inevitable.
The Earth Fleet has known of the Watchers for years, unwilling to share the knowledge with humanity. Now it might be too late.
Hidden away from the Fleet, one man is creating a new colony ship destined for the other side of the Rift, but he’s missing a few pieces.
Three other people have varied paths to get there. Ace goes from the streets of Earth to the Fleet training facility on the moon. Flint, an ex-Fleet pilot, must decide if a job is worth his life, and Wren, imprisoned for a secret project years ago, is given hope as an unlikely ally whispers words of escape in her ear.
Their journeys lead to Councilman Jarden Fairbanks, who knows of the impending invasion, and has prepared. All they can do is wait for the Rift to open once again, and see what’s on the other side.
303 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 20, 2019
765 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
February 21, 2019
I actually bought the book because it was only a dollar. But wow, what a read.
An excellent start for a new series. Now i have to buy the next one. Have to find out, where it goes.
A new plot with twists and turns. Exciting.
Just bought the next one, "Revenge"
An excellent start for a new series. Now i have to buy the next one. Have to find out, where it goes.
A new plot with twists and turns. Exciting.
Just bought the next one, "Revenge"
January 20, 2019
Having recently finished Rift, my first reaction is WOW, you really get your money's worth here. This is a detailed story involving a lot of characters, groups, and locations but it feels as real as today's political headlines. There were so many that I had some trouble keeping track of Who's Who until I got about a quarter of the way in. A frequent comment I make to many authors is that a "Who's Who" [or as some authors call it, a "Dramatis Personae"] is especially important for a detailed new book and equally for the next in a series when there has been some time between books in a series. A summary of prior events is also very helpful in subsequent books to a reader like me who reads a lot of books in the same genre. This is one of the reasons why I really like Nathan Hystad's work. It's how swiftly he brings subsequent books in a series to the market; I don't have a difficult time getting "caught-up" with his next in a series.
I mentioned how this book is like today's political headlines because it's very hard to be sure whom you can trust and whether they have a hidden agenda. This is especially true as this segment of the series end and we learn a trusted associate is anything but. For the first book of Nathan's prior series, I gave it a four-star rating with all of the following books a five-star rating. This series is starting with a five-star rating so the author has a "tough-act-to-follow." After reading all of his first series, I'm confident he's up to the challenge and I look forward to his next in this exciting series.
Review by THE HOLEY ONE
I mentioned how this book is like today's political headlines because it's very hard to be sure whom you can trust and whether they have a hidden agenda. This is especially true as this segment of the series end and we learn a trusted associate is anything but. For the first book of Nathan's prior series, I gave it a four-star rating with all of the following books a five-star rating. This series is starting with a five-star rating so the author has a "tough-act-to-follow." After reading all of his first series, I'm confident he's up to the challenge and I look forward to his next in this exciting series.
Review by THE HOLEY ONE
December 24, 2020
The book starts by introducing six different characters. Each character has several pages devoted to them and just as they become slightly interesting the author moves on to another character. This was the pattern for the rest of the book, occasionally adding yet another new character. At times the author was trying so hard to be enigmatic it was almost painful trying to follow the story.
I must admit I prefer to get to know just a few main characters at the start of a new series.
The actual story or should I say stories, were a mixture of a space opera and a dystopian nightmare, there were a few moments of real interest, but because the author didn’t seem to want to tell an overall story, there was no flow and I found it quite hard work at times.
When the end finally came, not only wasn’t it very satisfactory, but it also left me feeling quite depressed.
After finishing I looked at some of the previous reviews and was surprised at the number of 5 star ratings given. Obviously I was out of step with most readers, although I’m not sure about the honesty of some of these ratings. One reviewer had professed to have read over 32,000 books and seemed to have given virtually all of them 5 stars.
I must admit I prefer to get to know just a few main characters at the start of a new series.
The actual story or should I say stories, were a mixture of a space opera and a dystopian nightmare, there were a few moments of real interest, but because the author didn’t seem to want to tell an overall story, there was no flow and I found it quite hard work at times.
When the end finally came, not only wasn’t it very satisfactory, but it also left me feeling quite depressed.
After finishing I looked at some of the previous reviews and was surprised at the number of 5 star ratings given. Obviously I was out of step with most readers, although I’m not sure about the honesty of some of these ratings. One reviewer had professed to have read over 32,000 books and seemed to have given virtually all of them 5 stars.
December 21, 2020
Ever since the origins of the genre in the 1920s and 30s, American science fiction writers have imagined military conflict between humans and aliens. Amazon lists more than 60,000 books of military SF. To my mind, the best of the lot (at least among those I’ve read) is Joe Haldeman’s 1974 classic inspired by the Vietnam War, The Forever War. The blog The Best Sci Fi Books includes Haldeman’s novel but only as number sixteen in a list of twenty-three. Nathan Hystad’s Resistance Trilogy does not make that list. Nor would I place it anywhere on a list of top-flight SF. The Rift, the opening volume in the trilogy, rests on the premise that an alien invasion is coming, and we even know the date. The novel is readable and engaging to a degree, but it comes across as a rushed effort that lacks depth.
Hystad independently follows a half-dozen characters in alternating chapters through the story. Of course, we know their paths will intersect at some point. But that’s a long way off at the start.
** Grand Admiral Jish Karn commands Earth Fleet, which is effectively humanity’s military, police, and government rolled into one. She’s preparing for the expected invasion of the solar system by the Watchers, whom she is convinced will flood through the Rift when it opens on schedule in a matter of months. (Somehow, that happens precisely every thirty years and has been doing so for at least a century.)
** Ultrawealthy Councilman Jarden Fairbanks has disappeared with his immense fortune and is, in the admiral’s opinion, up to no good.
** Ace is a sixteen-year-old orphan living by his wits on the streets of Old Chicago when he chances upon an opportunity to enlist in Earth Fleet and become a spaceship pilot, as he has always dreamed of doing.
** A wealthy-seeming man turns up in a bar on Mars and offers Flint Lancaster, a former Earth Fleet marine turned smuggler, an immense sum of money to rendezvous with his boss in the outer solar system.
** Biological researcher Dr. Wren Sando is confined as a slave laborer to the Uranus Mining Prison for Women, having been arrested for treason and bioterrorism of which she is entirely innocent.
** CD6 is an android prison guard at the women’s prison who has somehow acquired an independent sense of self and is unhappy with the injustice of Wren’s imprisonment and treatment.
A fatal, built-in flaw
The Rift suffers from a built-in flaw. The trilogy is entitled Resistance, its second volume promising Revenge. So, we understand from the first that an alien invasion is coming. War between Earth Fleet and the Watchers is inevitable. Any suspense about the aliens’ intentions is lost at the outset. Which is unfortunate, given that Hystad’s characters are all themselves in suspense throughout the book. War does not break out in The Rift. (If that statement constitutes a spoiler, so be it.) Presumably, the war between humans and aliens will get underway in the second volume, which I do not intend to read.
This novel is not hard science fiction. Hystad ignores reality in three crucial ways:
1. He has repealed the law of gravity
Although the action unfolds on board spaceships, on Mars, and on numerous moons and asteroids throughout the solar system, there is never any mention of gravity. Yet we know that spacegoers will have to devote considerable resources to combat weightlessness in space and the low gravity of the inner planets, the moons of the gas giants, and the asteroids.
2. He ignores the challenges of hyperspeed in flight
Hystad also seems to assume that some miraculous but otherwise ignored technology will enable spaceships to travel from the inner planets to the outer reaches of the solar system in a matter of a few days. He ignores the fact that the Kuiper Belt (where some of the action unfolds) lies forty Astronomical Units, or about four billion miles, from Earth. (That’s roughly 16,000 times as far as the Moon, which is only about a quarter-million miles from us.)
To travel to the Kuiper Belt in, say, six days, would require a spaceship to speed outward at nearly twenty-eight million miles an hour (28,000,000). That’s a little less than seven thousand miles a second, or roughly four percent of the speed of light. At that speed, as I understand it, any spaceship would become dangerously vulnerable to even tiny particles of dust. And relativity is not my strong suit, but I’m inclined to think that at that extraordinary speed the passengers and crew on those spaceships would experience time dilation. Which, incidentally, is also ignored in this novel.
3. He imagines the United States will still dominate the world in the 24th century
OK, so Hystad didn’t pretend to write hard science fiction. But he also portrays a future centuries ahead in which Earth Fleet is commanded by Americans. There are no Nigerians, Arabs, Indians, Chinese, Brazilians, or Indonesians in The Rift. It’s naive for anyone to believe that in the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth century, or whenever this book is set, the United States will still be running the show. Assuming that the human race is still around—itself a shaky assumption. At some point, we North Americans have to face the fact that “white” of European heritage people are a tiny minority in a world largely inhabited by people of color. And it is foolish in the extreme to imagine that the hegemony of the West will survive even the twenty-first century, let alone for hundreds of years into the future.
And why would we assume that an alien invasion is coming?
For a novelist it may be convenient to build a story around a war with extraterrestrials. But why would we take for granted that such a thing might happen? To my mind, it seems foolish to assume that an alien invasion might be on the way. Why would presumably intelligent and highly advanced extraterrestrials capable of interstellar flight deign to invade the solar system? Why would they pay any attention to us at all?
About the author
Canadian author Nathan Hystad has written numerous books of science fiction and horror as well as thrillers. I would like to think that other examples of his work are better than The Rift, but I’m not inclined to invest the time to find out. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife.
Hystad independently follows a half-dozen characters in alternating chapters through the story. Of course, we know their paths will intersect at some point. But that’s a long way off at the start.
** Grand Admiral Jish Karn commands Earth Fleet, which is effectively humanity’s military, police, and government rolled into one. She’s preparing for the expected invasion of the solar system by the Watchers, whom she is convinced will flood through the Rift when it opens on schedule in a matter of months. (Somehow, that happens precisely every thirty years and has been doing so for at least a century.)
** Ultrawealthy Councilman Jarden Fairbanks has disappeared with his immense fortune and is, in the admiral’s opinion, up to no good.
** Ace is a sixteen-year-old orphan living by his wits on the streets of Old Chicago when he chances upon an opportunity to enlist in Earth Fleet and become a spaceship pilot, as he has always dreamed of doing.
** A wealthy-seeming man turns up in a bar on Mars and offers Flint Lancaster, a former Earth Fleet marine turned smuggler, an immense sum of money to rendezvous with his boss in the outer solar system.
** Biological researcher Dr. Wren Sando is confined as a slave laborer to the Uranus Mining Prison for Women, having been arrested for treason and bioterrorism of which she is entirely innocent.
** CD6 is an android prison guard at the women’s prison who has somehow acquired an independent sense of self and is unhappy with the injustice of Wren’s imprisonment and treatment.
A fatal, built-in flaw
The Rift suffers from a built-in flaw. The trilogy is entitled Resistance, its second volume promising Revenge. So, we understand from the first that an alien invasion is coming. War between Earth Fleet and the Watchers is inevitable. Any suspense about the aliens’ intentions is lost at the outset. Which is unfortunate, given that Hystad’s characters are all themselves in suspense throughout the book. War does not break out in The Rift. (If that statement constitutes a spoiler, so be it.) Presumably, the war between humans and aliens will get underway in the second volume, which I do not intend to read.
This novel is not hard science fiction. Hystad ignores reality in three crucial ways:
1. He has repealed the law of gravity
Although the action unfolds on board spaceships, on Mars, and on numerous moons and asteroids throughout the solar system, there is never any mention of gravity. Yet we know that spacegoers will have to devote considerable resources to combat weightlessness in space and the low gravity of the inner planets, the moons of the gas giants, and the asteroids.
2. He ignores the challenges of hyperspeed in flight
Hystad also seems to assume that some miraculous but otherwise ignored technology will enable spaceships to travel from the inner planets to the outer reaches of the solar system in a matter of a few days. He ignores the fact that the Kuiper Belt (where some of the action unfolds) lies forty Astronomical Units, or about four billion miles, from Earth. (That’s roughly 16,000 times as far as the Moon, which is only about a quarter-million miles from us.)
To travel to the Kuiper Belt in, say, six days, would require a spaceship to speed outward at nearly twenty-eight million miles an hour (28,000,000). That’s a little less than seven thousand miles a second, or roughly four percent of the speed of light. At that speed, as I understand it, any spaceship would become dangerously vulnerable to even tiny particles of dust. And relativity is not my strong suit, but I’m inclined to think that at that extraordinary speed the passengers and crew on those spaceships would experience time dilation. Which, incidentally, is also ignored in this novel.
3. He imagines the United States will still dominate the world in the 24th century
OK, so Hystad didn’t pretend to write hard science fiction. But he also portrays a future centuries ahead in which Earth Fleet is commanded by Americans. There are no Nigerians, Arabs, Indians, Chinese, Brazilians, or Indonesians in The Rift. It’s naive for anyone to believe that in the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth century, or whenever this book is set, the United States will still be running the show. Assuming that the human race is still around—itself a shaky assumption. At some point, we North Americans have to face the fact that “white” of European heritage people are a tiny minority in a world largely inhabited by people of color. And it is foolish in the extreme to imagine that the hegemony of the West will survive even the twenty-first century, let alone for hundreds of years into the future.
And why would we assume that an alien invasion is coming?
For a novelist it may be convenient to build a story around a war with extraterrestrials. But why would we take for granted that such a thing might happen? To my mind, it seems foolish to assume that an alien invasion might be on the way. Why would presumably intelligent and highly advanced extraterrestrials capable of interstellar flight deign to invade the solar system? Why would they pay any attention to us at all?
About the author
Canadian author Nathan Hystad has written numerous books of science fiction and horror as well as thrillers. I would like to think that other examples of his work are better than The Rift, but I’m not inclined to invest the time to find out. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife.
May 9, 2019
This book begins describing events in the life of 3 or 4 characters and there is nothing to tell how each is related to the story line. Its like reading 3 or 4 separate story lines and only finding our the people are all in the same place at the end of the book. The book flips continually from on person to the next. Then the book builds up to an event happening on August 2 after 30 years of waiting and when that event happens people go through the "rift" in a space ship and then the book just ends, leaving everything hanging. You have to reed the second book in the series to see what happens next. NOT ME!!
August 28, 2019
Good
Enjoyable reading. Engaging characters in an intriguing plot. Word word word word word word word word word word word word
Enjoyable reading. Engaging characters in an intriguing plot. Word word word word word word word word word word word word
June 28, 2024
Received as an ARC, this is an honest review. Set far into the future, where humans have ventured beyond Earth. A once grand empire is now collapsing into ruin. Through multiple characters' perspectives, we only begin to learn the secrets and lies that are awash in this story. An excellent series beginning.
October 31, 2024
Very enjoyable
February 20, 2019
This was a pretty good story, but very predictable for the most part. The Earth Fleet is pretty much in charge of the Solar System. Humanity has moved out from Earth to settle on Mars and various moons of our other planets. There’s not much danger in our system, except for a few space pirates and the occasional planet uprising for which the local government can’t handle. Once the Earth Fleet is sent in, everything comes to a screeching halt.
Grand Admiral Jish Karn has been leading the Earth Fleet for well over thirty years and she is driving it to become much, much larger than you would think necessary. Still, thirty years ago, something happened in our solar system that has scared her almost to death. She knows something that only a very few people know and has kept her secret for the last thirty years. The only other person that knows her secret is Councilman Jarden Fairbanks.
Jarden Fairbanks disappeared almost two years ago. Some say he died, but others are not so sure. Either way he’s not around to discuss Grand Admiral Jish Karn’s plans which he wouldn’t have liked anyway. Truth is, Councilman Fairbanks has been very busy over the last thirty years and has become a hugely wealth man. He’s taken that wealth to develop his own plan and is soon going to execute it. Everything is coming to a head in just a few short days.
Another part of the story involves a former Earth Fleet Marine and his co-pilot, Kat. Flint Lancaster is the pilot of a pretty rough looking freighter that he and Kat pilot through the solar system delivering “things” to his clients. He’s not going to say what he delivers other than he doesn’t do human trafficking even if asked and paid a lot of money. An independent freight hauler can’t really make a living just doing “legal” hauling, so he’s taken on his share of questionable cargo and delivered it as directed. Kat is pretty young to be a co-pilot. She and Flint met after one of the worst terrorist attacks which killed both her parents and left her with no one. These two have had a pretty good time together although they aren’t getting wealthy, that’s for sure. Then they come to the attention of Councilman Jarden Fairbanks. He has sent his personal assistant, Benson, to collect Flint and Kat for a job they can’t refuse.
Then there’s Ace. He’s a very young kid on the streets of Old Chicago barely living any kind of life. He’s not wanted by the authorities, just one of many that has no life and nothing to look forward to. He then comes across and alley where he hears two toughs talking to someone who turns out to be a young recruit from Earth Fleet. The young guy is drunk and really doesn’t know what’s happening. Ace doesn’t usually get involved so he waits to see what happens when the two punks shoot the Earth Fleet Recruit and then high-tail it out of the alley. Ace goes to the dying kid and watches as the life goes out of him. Now Ace is afraid that if the authorities find him near the body, they’ll think he did the killing. Ace has always dreamed of joining the Earth Fleet and now he might have a way. He takes the ID chip out of the recruits wrist and his identity card and hustles away from the seen. He also found a wad of credits on the dead recruit and finds a man that can change out his chip for the dead Recruit. So, it looks like ACE will get his chance to joint the Earth Fleet and realize his dream of becoming a star-fighter pilot! Maybe!
Ok, just a few more characters starting with Wren. She’s a young woman barely in her thirties. In her former life, she was an accomplished biotechnologist with her own lab and everything. She was engaged to another scientist and everything was looking great for her. Then her boyfriend was killed and she got framed for the death. So now she finds herself on a desolate moon in a prison for women; one that no one every comes back from.
The prison is ran by androids; seemingly mindless, programmed androids. They have no feelings for their prisoners, but the know the rules of the prison and enforce them vigorously. That is except for one android labeled CD6. He’s definitely not like the other androids and he’s known this for over thirty years. He has a strong feeling that Wren is not guilty of the crime she’s accused. So, he makes a plan to get her out of prison and in so doing will also set himself free.
So that’s the cast of characters and each story-line. They all will merge in a few days at the same spot and await the revel the secret that Jish Karn and Jarden Fairbanks have kept for over thirty years to the day. The Rift is about to open!
Grand Admiral Jish Karn has been leading the Earth Fleet for well over thirty years and she is driving it to become much, much larger than you would think necessary. Still, thirty years ago, something happened in our solar system that has scared her almost to death. She knows something that only a very few people know and has kept her secret for the last thirty years. The only other person that knows her secret is Councilman Jarden Fairbanks.
Jarden Fairbanks disappeared almost two years ago. Some say he died, but others are not so sure. Either way he’s not around to discuss Grand Admiral Jish Karn’s plans which he wouldn’t have liked anyway. Truth is, Councilman Fairbanks has been very busy over the last thirty years and has become a hugely wealth man. He’s taken that wealth to develop his own plan and is soon going to execute it. Everything is coming to a head in just a few short days.
Another part of the story involves a former Earth Fleet Marine and his co-pilot, Kat. Flint Lancaster is the pilot of a pretty rough looking freighter that he and Kat pilot through the solar system delivering “things” to his clients. He’s not going to say what he delivers other than he doesn’t do human trafficking even if asked and paid a lot of money. An independent freight hauler can’t really make a living just doing “legal” hauling, so he’s taken on his share of questionable cargo and delivered it as directed. Kat is pretty young to be a co-pilot. She and Flint met after one of the worst terrorist attacks which killed both her parents and left her with no one. These two have had a pretty good time together although they aren’t getting wealthy, that’s for sure. Then they come to the attention of Councilman Jarden Fairbanks. He has sent his personal assistant, Benson, to collect Flint and Kat for a job they can’t refuse.
Then there’s Ace. He’s a very young kid on the streets of Old Chicago barely living any kind of life. He’s not wanted by the authorities, just one of many that has no life and nothing to look forward to. He then comes across and alley where he hears two toughs talking to someone who turns out to be a young recruit from Earth Fleet. The young guy is drunk and really doesn’t know what’s happening. Ace doesn’t usually get involved so he waits to see what happens when the two punks shoot the Earth Fleet Recruit and then high-tail it out of the alley. Ace goes to the dying kid and watches as the life goes out of him. Now Ace is afraid that if the authorities find him near the body, they’ll think he did the killing. Ace has always dreamed of joining the Earth Fleet and now he might have a way. He takes the ID chip out of the recruits wrist and his identity card and hustles away from the seen. He also found a wad of credits on the dead recruit and finds a man that can change out his chip for the dead Recruit. So, it looks like ACE will get his chance to joint the Earth Fleet and realize his dream of becoming a star-fighter pilot! Maybe!
Ok, just a few more characters starting with Wren. She’s a young woman barely in her thirties. In her former life, she was an accomplished biotechnologist with her own lab and everything. She was engaged to another scientist and everything was looking great for her. Then her boyfriend was killed and she got framed for the death. So now she finds herself on a desolate moon in a prison for women; one that no one every comes back from.
The prison is ran by androids; seemingly mindless, programmed androids. They have no feelings for their prisoners, but the know the rules of the prison and enforce them vigorously. That is except for one android labeled CD6. He’s definitely not like the other androids and he’s known this for over thirty years. He has a strong feeling that Wren is not guilty of the crime she’s accused. So, he makes a plan to get her out of prison and in so doing will also set himself free.
So that’s the cast of characters and each story-line. They all will merge in a few days at the same spot and await the revel the secret that Jish Karn and Jarden Fairbanks have kept for over thirty years to the day. The Rift is about to open!
September 19, 2021
With humanity dominating the Solar System, a rift is detected on the out fringes. It’s periodic, opening for a short period every thirty years. With aliens having been spotted, and a hostile encounter during a prior rift opening, speculation is rampant that an invasion is imminent. This book follows several characters as their story lines converge on the next opening of the rift. Earth’s fleet has grown, and they are ready for whatever might appear.
The story is captivating from the very first chapter, where we learn that Grand Admiral Jish Karn has a captive alien in a secret cell aboard her ship. Flint’s character has a Han Solo flair to him, and the street rat, Ace, provides that Tom Cruise snappiness from Top Gun.
There are a couple of spots where the science seems to falter. With the moon having a sixth of Earth’s gravity, the training that occurs there is surprisingly Earth-like. And the scene where the Earth Fleet marines enter Flint’s ship uninvited seems a bit loose with the perils of maneuvering in a vacuum. While these might seem a bit odd on the surface, they definitely do not detract from the riveting story.
Another interesting facet is how Hystad describes the evolution of Earth’s colonies. They are far from the bastions of high tech paradises, and are instead dusty outposts where the old sins of exploitation resurface and death is but a crack in a dome or a failure in an energy shield away. From the brutal conditions in the Caliban prison to the shady slums of Mars to the wealthy retreats on Europa, the world building is fantastic.
With tight scenes and gripping action, the plot lines progress at a fast pace and pull you forward. A great read for fans of military sci fi space operas!
The story is captivating from the very first chapter, where we learn that Grand Admiral Jish Karn has a captive alien in a secret cell aboard her ship. Flint’s character has a Han Solo flair to him, and the street rat, Ace, provides that Tom Cruise snappiness from Top Gun.
There are a couple of spots where the science seems to falter. With the moon having a sixth of Earth’s gravity, the training that occurs there is surprisingly Earth-like. And the scene where the Earth Fleet marines enter Flint’s ship uninvited seems a bit loose with the perils of maneuvering in a vacuum. While these might seem a bit odd on the surface, they definitely do not detract from the riveting story.
Another interesting facet is how Hystad describes the evolution of Earth’s colonies. They are far from the bastions of high tech paradises, and are instead dusty outposts where the old sins of exploitation resurface and death is but a crack in a dome or a failure in an energy shield away. From the brutal conditions in the Caliban prison to the shady slums of Mars to the wealthy retreats on Europa, the world building is fantastic.
With tight scenes and gripping action, the plot lines progress at a fast pace and pull you forward. A great read for fans of military sci fi space operas!
March 16, 2019
I really enjoyed these characters, and the plot, though the writing at times seemed lack luster. This made it a bit difficult to really get into, but when I did, I went all in.
We've got Flint, a smuggler, and his co-hort Kat. Ace, a homeless street kid. Wren, a wrongly imprisoned woman, and CD-6, a very odd android prison guard. A series of events, some planned, some not, brings them all together on Eureka, a ship built entirely in secret by the very rich and powerful Councilman Fairbanks.
Then there's Grand Admiral Jish Karn, commander of Earth Fleet.
Every thirty years a rift briefly opens in the solar system, and the Watchers enter, and leave before it closes. The last time it was opened a colony ship was sent through, and the next time it opens both Fairbanks and the Grand Admiral believe it will be an invasion. Needless to say they have different views on the matter.
This is the first of three books, and I do plan on continuing the series.
We've got Flint, a smuggler, and his co-hort Kat. Ace, a homeless street kid. Wren, a wrongly imprisoned woman, and CD-6, a very odd android prison guard. A series of events, some planned, some not, brings them all together on Eureka, a ship built entirely in secret by the very rich and powerful Councilman Fairbanks.
Then there's Grand Admiral Jish Karn, commander of Earth Fleet.
Every thirty years a rift briefly opens in the solar system, and the Watchers enter, and leave before it closes. The last time it was opened a colony ship was sent through, and the next time it opens both Fairbanks and the Grand Admiral believe it will be an invasion. Needless to say they have different views on the matter.
This is the first of three books, and I do plan on continuing the series.
February 18, 2022
this was in interesting story. A lot of readers didn't like it because it was separated sections with each one about someone different. There wasn't really any battles but the stories about each person was worth reading, especially; Wren, Charles, Flint and Ace. I mean everyone was interesting but some more than others. The Rift was a small opening in space that opened every 30 years and this time the Eureka went through it and the Watchers came to out space, by the thousands.
No romance and no swearing to speak of.
As for the narrators: Mostly they all were all terrible. The women were the worst though. Every person, man and woman alike, sounded like a woman. And there's nothing worse than a man with a feminine voice. As for the male narrators, every one who spoke sounded just like a man. BUT, at least I can stand a woman with a deep voice more than I can stand a girly voice on a man. This should never had more than ONE narrator. IMO
No romance and no swearing to speak of.
As for the narrators: Mostly they all were all terrible. The women were the worst though. Every person, man and woman alike, sounded like a woman. And there's nothing worse than a man with a feminine voice. As for the male narrators, every one who spoke sounded just like a man. BUT, at least I can stand a woman with a deep voice more than I can stand a girly voice on a man. This should never had more than ONE narrator. IMO
February 3, 2019
Excellent jaunt
Another corker from Nathan Hystad! I really hope he is planning a third, because I only felt like I was just getting into the meat of the story when it ended. Exciting build up as we meet the characters and the separate stories slowly converge onto each other.
So glad I only have to wait another 15 days for the second book!
I enjoy Nathan's transparent way of writing, you know where you are and as a result you really get into the story.
I found the separate story lines a little frustrating, knowing they were going to come together, but I didn't realise it would be right at the end of the book, so like I said it feels like a prequel at the moment and the second book is where it will really get going.
Nevertheless I enjoyed it and was disappointed when I turned the page to discover it was the last!
Another corker from Nathan Hystad! I really hope he is planning a third, because I only felt like I was just getting into the meat of the story when it ended. Exciting build up as we meet the characters and the separate stories slowly converge onto each other.
So glad I only have to wait another 15 days for the second book!
I enjoy Nathan's transparent way of writing, you know where you are and as a result you really get into the story.
I found the separate story lines a little frustrating, knowing they were going to come together, but I didn't realise it would be right at the end of the book, so like I said it feels like a prequel at the moment and the second book is where it will really get going.
Nevertheless I enjoyed it and was disappointed when I turned the page to discover it was the last!
March 13, 2019
A NH. SYFY. Novel (TRB. - 1)/Earth/A Rift to Another Universe/The Answer
NH. has. penned a SYFY. Novel, which contains numerous human character and one Alien. The Visitors came, thr e the rift, every thirty years for 90 years. One of of the Aliens was captured and held prisoner. The side characters were introduced because each and everyone would interrelated to the Alien. The forces of Earth copied the Aliens space ship and built one of their own because they feared an invasion. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
NH. has. penned a SYFY. Novel, which contains numerous human character and one Alien. The Visitors came, thr e the rift, every thirty years for 90 years. One of of the Aliens was captured and held prisoner. The side characters were introduced because each and everyone would interrelated to the Alien. The forces of Earth copied the Aliens space ship and built one of their own because they feared an invasion. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
May 12, 2019
Good story but...
The writing is high quality, smooth story-telling with virtually no errors. The characters are interesting and well developed, and the plot has enough twists and turns to make a very good work of fiction. But if you’re looking for science, look elsewhere. The author not only fails to bring any new topics or perspectives on recent scientific discoveries, he seems to ignore some of the basic issues and difficulties of well-established scientific facts. A marathon-style race on the moon? Pretty difficult to pull off I’m sure, given that you cannot run normally in the low gravity of the moon. And weight-training, too? How about being in a vacuum for several minutes with only a face mask to provide you oxygen? Not something you live to tell about. My interest didn’t survive long enough to go on to the next book, either.
The writing is high quality, smooth story-telling with virtually no errors. The characters are interesting and well developed, and the plot has enough twists and turns to make a very good work of fiction. But if you’re looking for science, look elsewhere. The author not only fails to bring any new topics or perspectives on recent scientific discoveries, he seems to ignore some of the basic issues and difficulties of well-established scientific facts. A marathon-style race on the moon? Pretty difficult to pull off I’m sure, given that you cannot run normally in the low gravity of the moon. And weight-training, too? How about being in a vacuum for several minutes with only a face mask to provide you oxygen? Not something you live to tell about. My interest didn’t survive long enough to go on to the next book, either.
October 21, 2022
A new series should always start with a book that grabs you from the start. The Resistance is a bit more complicated than that. A bit of misdirection would be the easiest way to put it. We get pulled in one direction to setup the continuing series. Some might not fancy such a long prologue. While I found it interesting I did feel it lagged at times. Having said that its entertaining enough that sampling is good and it will make you wonder.
October 9, 2025
This is a great start to the series. A whole lot of world building and I was tempted to give up in the first chapter. I just didn't care for Chish (I listen so don't know the spelling).
But when we got to Ace and Wren, things definitely picked up. The way the story is told from several points of view was really good. The build up to when they all came together was worth it. I'm anxious to see how the whole thing turns out.
And the cast of narrators was great!
But when we got to Ace and Wren, things definitely picked up. The way the story is told from several points of view was really good. The build up to when they all came together was worth it. I'm anxious to see how the whole thing turns out.
And the cast of narrators was great!
January 28, 2019
Good characters and an interesting premise.
I enjoyed the book and found the characters interesting and engaging. The premise for the story was good but there seemed to be some inconsistencies in places and things resolved too easily in others without too much hard work by the characters. May read more.
I enjoyed the book and found the characters interesting and engaging. The premise for the story was good but there seemed to be some inconsistencies in places and things resolved too easily in others without too much hard work by the characters. May read more.
September 21, 2020
I really liked the characters and loved the way the book and characters came together. I found the first half of the book a bit slow, but obviously setting the scene for several characters.
I completely loved the last 10 % of the book , with the ending a cliff hanger omg moment.
Can't wait to read the next in the series.
I completely loved the last 10 % of the book , with the ending a cliff hanger omg moment.
Can't wait to read the next in the series.
December 26, 2020
This was a thoughtful take on the first alien contact genre. Every thirty years, the Watchers show up as they come through a mysterious rift in space. As the name suggests, they have always watched... until they become the Invaders.
Told through the eyes of half a dozen or so main characters, the various threads eventually come together in what is an entertaining and twisting story.
Told through the eyes of half a dozen or so main characters, the various threads eventually come together in what is an entertaining and twisting story.
March 12, 2023
Back to my childhood
This is the stuff of my childhood reading - space battles, Earth under threat and unexpected twists. It's a good story and I found it difficult to put down. I do have some difficulty believing that aliens from another galaxy have genetic material (DNA) that is amenable to analysis and modification by human scientists, but that's a minor issue.
This is the stuff of my childhood reading - space battles, Earth under threat and unexpected twists. It's a good story and I found it difficult to put down. I do have some difficulty believing that aliens from another galaxy have genetic material (DNA) that is amenable to analysis and modification by human scientists, but that's a minor issue.
June 14, 2025
4.5 stars
This book reminds me of Baldwin's Legacy series, which I really liked. I find I like sci-fi novels taking place on spaceships and those with AI. This has multiple POV's, and I love that one is an android that has gained sentience. I'm already halfway through the 2nd book, and it's just as good as the first.
This book reminds me of Baldwin's Legacy series, which I really liked. I find I like sci-fi novels taking place on spaceships and those with AI. This has multiple POV's, and I love that one is an android that has gained sentience. I'm already halfway through the 2nd book, and it's just as good as the first.
February 1, 2019
Ace read
The book got me at the very first pages I could not stop reading this book now I have finished it I can not wait till February 2019 to get the second book time goes so slow when you just want to get on and read it
The book got me at the very first pages I could not stop reading this book now I have finished it I can not wait till February 2019 to get the second book time goes so slow when you just want to get on and read it
February 12, 2019
Excellent story.
I am waiting for the second novel in this series. Please hurry my patience is quickly unraveling. This was a great book. It had excellent characters that were easy to relate to. Good action and drama.
I am waiting for the second novel in this series. Please hurry my patience is quickly unraveling. This was a great book. It had excellent characters that were easy to relate to. Good action and drama.
March 17, 2019
Good beginning to this trilogy
I was immediately impressed by the pace of this first book of the Rift trilogy. They were solid enough to be believable yet vulnerable to the vagaries of the fast moving elements of this drama. I hope the second book (Revenge) is as compelling.
I was immediately impressed by the pace of this first book of the Rift trilogy. They were solid enough to be believable yet vulnerable to the vagaries of the fast moving elements of this drama. I hope the second book (Revenge) is as compelling.
April 1, 2019
There are a great many things going on in this book and it's hard to describe. I really enjoyed it and am sure you will also if you are interested in aliens, new recruits, old commanders, battles, etc.
April 7, 2019
Twists
I found the book to be interesting with some twists that were not expected. It does leave one wanting more and the next in series is available. Good editing. No sex or foul language.
I found the book to be interesting with some twists that were not expected. It does leave one wanting more and the next in series is available. Good editing. No sex or foul language.
May 3, 2019
Read it you may enjoy it
Read it you may enjoy it. I was surprised shifting between different character views at first confused me but soon I found myself reading more and more trying to find out what was happening to each character. Read and enjoy
Read it you may enjoy it. I was surprised shifting between different character views at first confused me but soon I found myself reading more and more trying to find out what was happening to each character. Read and enjoy
June 27, 2019
Excellent, fun reading
It's been a while since I last read sci-fi which wasn't hard, and I have picked a great one to get back into it. A good old-fashioned storyline which is told well. Loved it and I am about to start on the next book in the series.
It's been a while since I last read sci-fi which wasn't hard, and I have picked a great one to get back into it. A good old-fashioned storyline which is told well. Loved it and I am about to start on the next book in the series.
September 6, 2019
Good character profiles
The character setups are very good for the start of the series. It has drawn me in to the story and has me wanting to find out more about these people see what is to happens to them.
The character setups are very good for the start of the series. It has drawn me in to the story and has me wanting to find out more about these people see what is to happens to them.
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