Eye of the Brave

Rift Cycle #3

by Halo Scot

One of these games, you’re going to lose.

We aren’t meant to live forever,
but we are meant to die free.

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Kyder learns the cruel truth of his heritage while Rune takes a massive risk that could save or doom them all.

What? You want a teaser? You’re too far in the series to get more than a taste. There’s more of the same. Blood and sex. Death and destruction. Sobs and screams and swears. You know the drill, you greedy savages.

It’s dark. Sightless and soundless. Without sensation. The absolute void of the truth we all fear. That there is nothing after death. That we are, as we always have been, nothing.

Return to the Rift.

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CONTENT WARNING: The Rift Cycle is a highly graphic series intended for mature audiences. There is on-page murder, death, torture, mutilation, rape, child abuse, substance abuse, self-harm, and suicide ideation, as well as triggers for mental illnesses (depression, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD). This list is not comprehensive.
Please read at your own risk.

TAGS: science fiction, fantasy, grimdark, horror, LGBT, mental illness

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WELCOME BACK TO THE BREACH.

444 pages, ebook

First published January 23, 2021

About the author

Halo Scot is a dark fiction author of book monsters, many of which bite. Reviews and press are available on HaloScot.com. Halo has been featured in Publishers Weekly and BookLife. Also, as a founding member of QueerIndie.com, Scot has appeared at Brooklyn Book Festival, TBRCon, and Pop Pride Week, an event hosted by ReedPop, BookCon, and New York Comic Con.

Halo pretends to be cool, dark, and mysterious, when in reality, Scot is a clumsy and awkward creature who eats shadows and harbors a severe distrust of ladybugs. Prone to chaos, this nightmare-dwelling beast aims to achieve galactic domination through a void-screaming expertise, dormant telekinesis, and aggressive cackling. To summon this obscure and skittish writer, one must align the following items in a circle as an offering: three shots of whiskey, two bowls of jelly beans, something shiny or lit on fire, and a printed photo of Nicolas Cage as a duck.

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WEBSITE: haloscot.com
SOCIAL: @halo_scot (Twitter + Instagram)

NEWSLETTER: haloscot.com/news
Subscribe to chaos, and receive a free copy of THE HEARTBEAT OF A MILLION DREAMS.

Reviews

[M.E. Aster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scot brings us back to the edge of the breach in Eye of the Brave.

We rejoin Kyder and Rune seven years after the events of the last book and how things have changed. Seeing the two apart was difficult as a reader. The suffering they both endured separately hurt deeply, which is a mark of how amazing an author Scot is to make me feel their pain as if it was my own.

As always this world sucked me back in even though it’s been months since I finished the last book. Kyder and Rune were awaiting me and now I am eager to dive into the last installment to find out how their story ends.

Scot continues to impress me with their skill in writing such difficult topics and that along with their impeccable editing skills makes for an incredible read.

[Rory Michaelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

EYE OF THE BRAVE is a masterful interweaving of the wonderful and terrible characters we have come to love and fear so far from Scot. Perhaps a little more playful and less grizzly than its predecessors, by the halfway point I was quite sure that this was my favourite entry in the series so far. You spend much of the book catching glimpses of deeper meaning, the bones of the story shifting beneath the flesh and muscle. Before you know it, everything is turned on its head. It takes incredible talent to do this so smoothly that things don’t topple over, like a poorly executed table-cloth trick, but Scot achieves this with a flourish and a wink—even the tension and violence leave the reader feeling like fragile crockery rattling on the table’s edge. Another incredible journey into the rift cycle.

Content Warning: Please take heed of the authors content warning, this story contains shocking, disturbing, and violent events.

[Anya Pavelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book two in Halo Scot’s amazing Rift Cycle series ended on both a high note and a nerve-wracking cliffhanger. At the end of that book, Rune came into a new position of power (not something she wanted), and Kyder learned a shocking fact about his lineage. My heart sang at the end of book two, but I suspected this feeling would be short-lived at the start of book three. You see, the world in the Rift Cycle series isn’t a hospitable place for its characters. Accordingly, in the middle of a war between the gods, the reader can’t expect a cushy landing for Zawad’s humans. All of this chaos, destruction, and angst is somehow glistening, tragic, and beautiful.

At the start of book three, Rune is still in her position of power. However, Kyder isn’t by her side. He’s been missing for seven years. And the bombs are still falling. To make things worse, Rune learns some fateful inspiration. Desperate, she hatches an ambitious plan to gain necessary help and resources. I won’t specify what this plan is because I hate delivering spoilers of any kind, but I will say the reader is treated to a trip off-world. Halo Scot’s treatment and descriptions of places other than earth is nothing short of amazing. Will the plan work? Will her hopes turn out as expected? You’ll have to read to find out. Meanwhile, Kyder works to escape the situation he’s in and to get back to Rune. He’s as fucked up as ever, a delight for those of us who like carnage.

If it’s possible, Book Three is even better than the first two. Dear Ra, I need to read the next book….

[A.C. Merkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years we called M. Night Shyamalan the guy with the twists.

I crown a new champion.

Eye of the Brave carries the traditions of Edge and Echoes forward. Irreverent, sometimes incoherent in the best ways. Always on-point. Even if you only get it later... The ever-belittling nature of Kyder only grows as does the meta. Eye even more directly addresses the audience (which must be a part of the myriad voices in Kyder, and sometimes Rune’s, head) you definitely feel along for the ride. Which in this universe... is honestly scary AF.

These characters have been through the ringer. They keep fighting. They press forward.
Although, there seems to be a change.

We surprisingly open to a time jump that left me bewildered for a moment but things settle and the plot thickens. Literally thickens.
This one... is as dense as Kyder believes his unnamed companion (the reader) to be. And it’s oh so good. All the clues are there. Well. Except for the big big twist which has me scratching my head in the best way.

The decision to release both books at once makes sense. The end is sharp. Cuts deeply, leaves us wanting to know right away if this is real or a dream.

Is Kyder an unreliable narrator? We will see.

Note; again, this is brutally violent as ever and is not for the faint of heart.

We’ve been to the Edge. Shouted for Echoes, couldn’t believe it with our own Eye.
Now it’s time for the Elegy.

You know how this ends... if you’ve paid attention.

“If you haven’t paid attention, that’s your own damn fault.”

[Lali Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Riveting, Heart-Wrenching Masterpiece

The third book in the Rift Cycle Series, Eye of the Brave, has totally ravished my spirit and devoured my Soul! I simply don’t have the words to articulate my experience as I savored each page, enraptured by Rune and Kyder’s story. Author Halo Scot brilliantly showcases the emotional turmoil and chaotic existence of these incredibly mesmerizing, resilient, wounded Souls.

My heart bled for Kyder and his internal turmoil, as he Echoes his childhood wounding. The amount of suffering he endures is astounding. You can’t help but feel compassion and empathy for his broken fragments, even through the most horrific violence as he is driven to the Edge, time and time again.

The author’s creative ability to push the boundaries of darkness with her Brave and brilliant prose would captivate even the great Stephen King himself. Halo Scot’s playful humor momentarily alleviates the reader from the nail-biting plot, engrossing world-building, and emotive characters.

I love this series so much that I purchased all four paperback books for my collection. I can’t wait to dive into the fourth book, once my heart recovers from that exhilarating and emotional roller coaster ride.

Engaging, enrapturing, totally magnificent! I can’t recommend this book and the entire Rift Cycle Series enough!!

[Kimberly Morehouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT DID I JUST READ!? Holy cow! Just when I think the worst of it is over, BAM another round of insane events land. I am 3 books in to this epic world. It's been a series of hurdles and battles. Lives lost. Love lost. So much blood spilled that you just can't understand how the characters find the will to go on. I was heartbroken by the time that Rune and Kyder missed in this book, so elated when they were reunited. But, its bittersweet, because you know, it won't last. This won't end well for them. Their love is a tragic love. Once that is fierce and powerful, but they are two souls that have a much bigger purpose. I admire their strength to endure. To pick themselves up and keep fighting. To live for those you have lost. The fight the demons inside for the one you love. I was HEARTBROKEN at the end of this book. I knew it was coming in one way or another, but it killed me. I have been so deeply entrenched in this story, I feel I am there living it. It's a brutal world. One that doesn't give second chances. One that WILL rip you to shreds. I wouldn't trade a second of it. I am so sad that there is only one book left to wrap up what I suspect is coming. The author has prepared us for what is to come. While we don't know how or any details, you know it's going to hurt and be final. I am off to book 4, fingers crossed I am wrong and there will be an HEA! HA! Just kidding, I know that is NOT going to happen.

[Morgan Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

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!!

[Evelyn Chartres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye of the Brave is the third book in the Rift Cycle series written by independent author Halo Scot. This post-apocalyptic fantasy starts off seven years after the events of Echoes of Blood.

Like the preceding books, Eye of the Brave focuses on Rune and Kyer, with alternating chapters covering their perspectives. By now, readers are familiar with the rich world and characters that Zawad offers.

This is where Scot dives into the unknown, introducing us to the realm of Digard, home of the patron gods. This is a world alien to our own and eternal, which leaves certain characters wholly unprepared for the experience.

Throughout the first part of the book, there is a lingering sense that we are approaching the bitter end. The fires cool, the spirit weakens, their strength wanes and affairs are settled.

That changed in tone, causing us to wonder if Scot has rewarded us with a fairy tale ending. Of course, we should know better by now.

Eye of the Brave is a fast read that further delves into the dark portrait the author painted for us. With a rich assortment of characters and tragic backstories, Scot sets the stage perfectly for the last book in the series, Elegy of the Void.

[N.T. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

More maniacal, succulent prose. More of taking a battering ram to the 4th wall. More mysteries to solve. Some questions answered…more questions asked. This is what you should be used to by now with The Rift Cycle series. It isn’t an adventure. It isn’t a journey. It’s a trip. A trip more intense than whatever it was you dropped when you listened to Pink Floyd.

By the end of Echoes of Blood, you should have realized that everything you thought you knew was only a fraction of the story. This is where you question if that fraction is even true. That’s what Kyder would tell you, anyway. And he wouldn’t be wrong, although he’s definitely blind to a key piece of information. This is where we find ourselves in Eye of the Brave.

However broken things were before. However screwed up, messed up, and convoluted, you’ll wish you had it all back the way it was as Halo Scot prepares to throw you, mangled and battered, over the cliff.

It’s a genius plan, really. One that only gods could conjure and manipulate. Prepare to finally travel through the Eye of the Brave. To see the distant realms. To be schooled about their true nature and hierarchy. That’s before you fall back to Antarctica with a loud splat.

Rune and Apolli. Rune and Kyder. Rune and Julian. A Tribe. The Apolli. A community in need becomes healed, then…reliant.

Cryptic enough for you? Yeah, go buy the book. But don’t look back at what was lost.

[W. Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Eye of the Brave is everything I had hoped it would be. Five stars are simply not enough!”

I have completed my pass through the EYE OF THE BRAVE. This third book of the Rift Cycle series had me squirming in what I thought was my favorite and most comfortable reading chair. Book three is no kiddy ride. The violence is detailed and harsh at times but it offers excitement on a grand scale. Kyder still suffers from his demons and at times the results are quite shocking. Rune is there to help but you get the sense that she is changing. There are a several drastic turn of events and unexpected revelations that I found well written. I won’t spoil the surprises. New characters are introduced and some you will hate from the very start, which is obviously intentional. I especially enjoyed the off world segments. Although somewhat brief they linked together the events to come. Kyder reminds the reader that “this will not end well”. I am inclined to agree but the compelling story begs to be followed closely. Details should not be dismissed because in the end, they matter. Halo Scot doesn’t fail to deliver a gut punch and keep readers deeply entrenched in the story line. I found it to be an exciting and fascinating read.

[Jacob Klop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye of the Brave, Book 3 in the Rift Cycle, pulls us into the realm of the gods, then back again, and it’s just as great as the first two books in the series.

For much of this novel Kyder is trying to escape the gods, while Rune is trying to save her broken planet from dying. They’re both taking individual journeys, but as usual, their thoughts are anchored to one another. Kyder and Rune are the most powerful people on the planet, yet they have serious demons and issues with loss.

Kyder often brags that he never forgets anything and he’s always one step ahead of everyone else, yet there’s an undertone that he have fallen behind. I enjoyed wondering whether this would be the one time that he would really be out-foxed.

I enjoyed that we were taken to more locations and that the world continued to expand. I’m really intrigued about what’s going to happen in the finale.

Fair warning, the Rift Cycle is a very dark series and Eye of the Brave is no different than the first two. If graphic sex and violence will offend or turn you off, then it would be best if you looked elsewhere for your next read.

As for me, I loved this book and will soon read the final one of the series.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third in the Rift Cycle books, Eye of the Brave ramps up the drama and leads the reader deeper into the psyche of the main characters. The line between hero and villain is blurred such that one roots for them in their quest to overpower the gods that oppress them using any means necessary. What is evil? What is good? How does one determine the correct path forward? I am struck by the unconditional devotion between Rune and Kyder despite their diametrically opposing approaches to their dystopian world. Eye of the Brave is a psychologically thrilling dive into mental health and human struggle. Halo Scot brings us deep into the minds of her characters, laying bare their hearts and minds. Her writing is addictive, and her prose is filled with imagery and symbolism. I felt as if I were battling alongside Rune and Kyder until the very end. But there was no rest for the weary warrior. The final plot twist left me with my mouth agape and itching to read the final book in the series. Bravo, Halo Scot! Another winner!

[M.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Halo Scot knocks it out of the park! So many emotions ran through me as I read about Kyder and Rune! Mostly I was just anxious to see what happened next. I had to keep a box of tissue beside me for parts of it. If I didn't already have the next book, I would be losing my mind waiting for it to come out! It always amazes me when reading the Ryft Cycle, where does all this come from? What an imagination! I especially love the way Kyder speaks to the reader. At times I found myself getting mad at him, but then I had to remind myself, he's not real. He doesn't really know me. But...wow! I'm anxious to read the next book, but at the same time I don't want to. What if it's the last book? Then what will I do?

[J. Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, Halo delivers an awesome book that's packed with action, suspense, and world building. However, the setting up with descriptions seemed a little lacklaster when compared to book one and two. This didn't affect the story all that much, but definitely made many conversations dialogue only. Other than that, the plot thickens in an otherworldy experience that shapes the loops that are prominent in this story. And as all things head toward an end, the loops and plot thickens. Although the cyclic uses are a little more prominent in the characters and plot when compared to the previous stories, you, the reader, still get to see how all the characters shape and define their lives as turmoil continues. I look forward to the final book.

[Steve Vimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear gods, these books are dark and amazing! After the thrill ride that was Echoes of Blood, the third book in the Rift Cycle series, Eye of the Brave, is even better!

Once more Halo Scot takes us on another dark journey through the lives of Rune and Kyder as we find out what happened to them and where their lives are now, using her beautiful writing style that captures you as you read,

Building brilliantly on the previous release, we are taken on another amazing ride throughout the worlds built by the author and it leaves us set up for what promises to be an amazing next book, one I can’t wait to read!

[Ross Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delivers all the mayhem you could hope for

The third installment tears a new hole, metaphorically, through the world of the rift cycle. Opening up the world built in the first books by expanding the reach of our journey with the twisted Kyder and the ever darkening Rune. Scot delivers gut punch and gut punch of emotional and violent story throwing out snippets of hope like tantalising morsels just to reveal their smothered in horrific horror sauce at every turn. Bigger, bolder, and more tumultuous than ever! Phenomenal...

[M.J. Falke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant chapter

I should be asleep but instead I'm screaming internally and diving right into Book 4. I cannot get enough of these characters or the way the author pulls me into this world like it's happening right outside my door. The characters, while not typically sympathetic, are so relatable that it hurts. I can't wait to see what happens next but I also don't want it to end. 5/5 stars and I'd give it twice that if I could.

[Jonica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another heart thumping, body thrummig joy ride at the Edge of the Breach

Body trumming in all the right places, I read the Edge of the Breach on the edge of my seat. Scot never disappoints. Always creative with the profane and deliberate with profanity, Scot manages to imbue this series and theses characters with intelligence and wit. Perhaps more importantly just the right amount of shut, sap, love, and violence.Another 5 stars!

[Lee C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally when reading a series l do stars until last book but just finished #3 and just had to say l absolutely love Halo's style. I will be so sad when the 4th book is finished. I must be a sadistic person because those are my favorite parts but just 1 of many..l highly recommend this series. Ty Halo for a great series.

[Samantha Kroese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking page turner!

Halo Scot is a master at writing gritty dark characters in horrifying worlds. This book storms forward at a furious pace and is hard to put down. Absolutely recommended!

[Laura Parkinson Klaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

This, the third novel, is as exciting as the first two. Please keep writing! If you like sci-fi, this series is for you!