Into the Rift

Rift Walker #2

by Clay Harmon

A fantasy world like no other. A unique magic system. The most compelling anti-hero of 2022 returns in the second thrilling book of the Riftwalker series. 

After stopping the mercenary army and saving Augustin, Jakar and Efadora set their sights on Sulian Daw, where Jakar plans to hunt down the cultists who enslaved him and save the elemental children he grew up beside. But first, that will mean crossing the Rift, the most treacherous place in Ra Thuzan. Back in Mira, Ester, fledgling smith of the Foundry must track down the smith's source of power after it goes missing. And if she fails, it will mean the death of everyone in the Foundry at the hands of the Sovereign and the child prince.

Genres: Fantasy

508 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2024

About the author

Clay Harmon got his start writing on Star Wars fanfiction sites as a kid, and as an adult, worked as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble. He lives in Austin with his wife, where they cofounded a startup that combines gaming with fitness.

Reviews

[Nick Borrelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Clay Harmon's magnificent debut Flames of Mira really captured my attention when I got a chance to read it back in 2022. Admittedly dark fantasy is probably my favorite subgenre along with portal fantasy. So I was already inclined to enjoy it but what also moved me about that book was the emotional aspect of the characters and the intriguing plot. It also had some top-notch worldbuilding, I mean what's not to love about a story that takes place in a subterranean volcanic world existing beneath a frozen wasteland. It is one of the more unique settings I've come across in fantasy to be quite honest and I was fascinated by it immediately. I was super excited to discover that Harmon was releasing his next book in the Rift Walker series in July and henceforth scrambled to try and obtain an early copy which thanks to Solaris Books I was able to do.

INTO THE RIFT takes the solid foundation laid out in the first book and expands on both the story itself and the incredible worldbuilding. Where book one had mainly a tight focus on Mira and predominantly that location, this book takes us to some new places and broadens the map if you will. The characters are split up and through their POV chapters we get to see much more of the world that Clay Harmon has invented, and what an amazing world it is. It was refreshing to have those multiple viewpoints in this one because I felt like the first book was very Jakar heavy (understandable though considering the setup to the story arc).

Another aspect that made me enjoy this entry slightly more than the first is the character development and backstory is fleshed out much more. The breakneck pace of Flames of Mira sort of gives way to a seemingly more mature and thoughtful sequel where political intrigue comes more into play and these characters are forced to make tough decisions and critically think their way through a load of travails and dangerous pitfalls. But that's not to say this book is boring because there is still quite a bit of action to satisfy and scratch that itch, I assure you.

There's just tons to love about this book and its predecessor. You get a cool history of the world, discoveries of mysterious artifacts, an evil antagonist in the enigmatic Sovereign, a setting that is constantly dazzling you as you traverse through its harsh and desolate landscape, and a tightly constructed and compelling story that is teeming with some pretty cool dark sorcery throughout. Happy to say that I'm now 100% invested after reading INTO THE RIFT as it ends with the most tantalizing of cliffhangers. I desperately need to find out how this all wraps up and the wait for the next book will seem like an eternity I'm sure. At the same time it will be more than worth the wait and I feel like when all is said and done this will stand among the best fantasy series of the past 25 years. I highly recommend jumping on board this train while it is still on its route because believe me, you are going to want to be there when it finally pulls into that last station for the thrilling climax.

[Andrew Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is such an underrated gem. Forever flesh bound to this world and these characters. A must read for those wanting a dark adventure in a wholly unique world

[Terry Rudge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really wanted to love this one like I did book 1, but this just didn't hit all the right notes for me.

As with book one, the world building is incredible and unique, and it's beautifully crafted and articulated. Harmon is bloody amazing at absorbing you into his world.

However, this moved to multi pov, and honestly, only Jakar's held me invested. I just wanted to get to his storyline and follow his journey .

There is enough in this story and ending to continue the series. Just maybe, my heights were set too high. This book will land for others, but unfortunately, it wasn't my favourite

[Dimitris Kopsidas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strong sequel to one of the best debuts (and fantasy boks in general) of 2022.
Fans of the first book will not be disappointed with this one. The great and original setting is expanded and we learn more about the history of the world. We have a new PoV (Ester) who steals the show and was the most interesting of the three PoVs we follow. It's also the only one in third person, since the other two are in first (more on that later). Some new side characters add a lot to the story and we get a few great action scenes, including a frantic end battle that's pretty epic.
So as I mentioned this is a great sequel to Flames of Mira but I must mention some issues that i had that prevent me from saying I liked it more.
Firstly the two first person perspectives although well written, were a bit confusing because the characters are traveling together and it was strange to jump from one's head to the other's chapter after chapter.
Secondly I thought the pacing was a bit uneven. The first half is slower and there is no sign of the "bad guys", In fact to make up for it Harmon, presents as the evil guy someone who doesn't feel important enough to the story. I mean he is unlikeable and a lowlife but can hardly justify being the villain that motivates our protagonists. And then in the second half the story focuses more on the real evil and the pacing goes boom. Our protagonists travel to all these places but (as opposed to the firast half) we don't get a glimpse of their travels anymore, they just reach their destination and things take on from there.
Finally there is a kind of an unenecessary miscommunication trope, but thankfully it didn't play a big role in the end.
Issues aside this is a really underrated series with a strong cast of characters, an interesting magic system and a unique world that more fantasy fans should start reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for this ARC

[Marco Landi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stelle

Ok, Clay ha sicuramente uno dei Worldbuilding più affascinanti, ben riusciti e fighi di sempre.. Meglio persino di Barker o Sanderson secondo me.. ci sono così tante cose originali, dagli animali alle città, dalle culture ai misteri.. ma tutto questo era già stato ampiamente dispiegato nel primo volume.. In questo volume centrale da questo punto di vista non aggiunge poi molto.. ci sta, allora mi aspetto che almeno la storia vada alla grande.. Ecco, nella prima metà, pur essendo scritta benissimo, la trama principale di pianta di brutto, e c'è tutto in pezzo un po' riempitivo, che mi ha aggiunto poco.. divertente, si fa divorare, ma che per tutto il tempo mi ha fatto dire: Si ma quando ripartono per la storia principale? Magari sono solo io, ma nella seconda metà, quando il tutto è tornato in carreggiata, la trama si è fatta così eccezionale e intrigante da far andare al suo posto anche la parte prima.. e il sistema magico di amplia ancora.. unico e magistrale, sistema magico che praticamente si basa su fisica, geologia, elettromagnetismo ed elementi chimici... per questo nonostante la prima parte, un po' troppo buonista, il romanzo è di altissimo livello.. non raggiunge le mie 5 stelle per quello e un po' perché la soluzione finale con Il Padre mi è sembrata un po' una sorta di Deus Ex un pochino di comodo, ma niente che abbia inficiato il tutto.. finale bello che però apre al terzo e ultimo atto risolutivo che spero esca presto!!

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The most compelling anti-hero of 2022 returns"

I was excited to return to Ra Thuzan, one of the most creative fantasy worlds I've read. And of course, one of the intriguing protagonists with Jakar.

In the second book of the Rift Walker series, Jakar, Efadora, and Ester (the young Smith from the first book) have point-of-view perspectives. New side characters emerge as complementary to our heroes- Geth, Breach, Torlo, among others. And of course, a tense plot situation unfolds. Notably, Jakar and Efadora strike out on Mira, choosing to travel east past the Rift (a collapsing set of tunnels dividing the east and west regions of Ra Thuzan) to reach Sulian Daw. Jakar has plans to take revenge upon the Ebonrock, a cult enslaving children and turning them into weapons, which was what happened to himself before the start of the series. Efadora, meanwhile, is trying to find a grand purpose after realizing the horrors of her family- namely, her sister and late father- and how much hurt they've caused throughout much of Mira. Jakar keeps the 16-year old girl along for ulterior motives, specifically how his elemental powers go away if he's away from her or anyone of her family.

We also learn more about the new locations that Jakar and Efadora travel through, notably the Rift and the eastern lands. Previously, locations such as Sulian Daw and Som Abast were only mentioned or briefly touched upon during Jakar's flashbacks in the first book. Here, they become a more emphasized part of the story, with their own cultures and history.

Ester sticks around in Mira, the lands west of the Rift. The situation from the end of Flames of Mira is still an ongoing threat- Ester and her brother assisted Jakar in slaying one of the Sovereign's primordia, and she expects retaliation. Rebels have been active throughout the ruins, places that prefer their solitude away from typical civilization. Ester finds herself in the middle of the conflict that she never asked for. But her loyalties- to the Order of the Smiths along with her blood family help establish where her loyalties lie.

The creativity of his book and series is terrific. What seems like a hundred different cults, with their unique culture. Various cities and their traditions. Lovecraft style horror. And, of course, a known world consisting of tunnels, caves, and sinkholes under a frigid world. The political situation of Mira is quite interesting too, learning about how the Sovereign maintains power and how he manages the primordia.

Solid book, solid series, solid ending that has me wanting more. I give this 4/5 stars.

(Received an ARC from Rebellion/Solaris Publishing from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

[Justin Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

I do have a couple minor things to mention first. While book one was tightly focused, book two was a bit more meandering, and although I appreciated the extra POV characters and the more philosophical/interpersonal types of conflict, I also felt that the narrative wandered a little in the first third. There were certainly glimpses along the road of fascinating topics—an ancient extinct civilization with advanced weapons and some kind of contact with the "gods"?—but overall it started slower than I expected and often felt like the characters were just moving from one bad situation or decision to the next. Their angst was understandable but a little repetitive as well.

As a result, some of the really impactful plot points in the first third felt a little overshadowed by everything else that was transpiring, and I wasn't entirely sure what kind of story I was reading for some of that time. I liked the characters and persevered, but it took a little while for the plot threads to really come together.

Also—and I think I'm the only review to mention this so far?—but I noticed a couple of particularly egregious errors in terms of editing/continuity. There were a few instances of the wrong word being used, and ordinarily I wouldn't hold that against anyone; but they stuck in my mind because of one other main issue that really threw me. We have three POV characters in this book: Jakar, Efadora, and Ester. Jakar's and Efadora's sections are told in first person, whereas Ester's is told in third person.

Mostly.

There are half a dozen instances where Ester's narrative slips into first person—something like "Ester recoiled from his touch. "Why did you do that?" I demanded. He didn't answer Ester, but instead..." where it seems like perhaps Ester's section was previously written in first person and then was changed to third, but not all of the first-person language was caught? Whatever the reason, this does bespeak a lapse in editing attention that threw me for a little while, and I thought it worth mentioning.

HOWEVER. All that said—this is easily a 5-star read just for the sheer inventiveness of the world and the plot. The characters are interesting, the worldbuilding is excellent, and the overall plot hits every single note that I love in a fantasy adventure story. Without giving away too much, the underlying lore and backstory of the main conflicts of the series are awesome, and the climax/final third of the book was absolutely enthralling. I really loved what happened in this book and the revelations for the world as a whole.

Really glad to have read this one, and I'm incredibly excited to see what's coming next.

[James Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is 3.5 stars but I rounded down as it feels closer to 3 than 4, but it's still better than the first book.

Into the Rift is the second entry in the Rift Walker series. The story centers around Jakar wanting to take down Ebonrock for turning him into a weapon and saving other children from enduring the same. He's accompanied primarily by Efadora, who is trying to find herself after learning how awful her family is.

Along with Jakar and Efadora, we do have a few other characters along for the journey, mainly Ester from the first book, and new characters Torlo, Geth, and Breach. Most of these are serviceable characters but not too great or memorable.

The story itself suffers from some severe pacing issues. The first third or so is very slow, almost to the point of boredom. But once you get past that, then everything starts to pick up and is full of excitement by the end.

Another thing that hurts the first part of the story is the different POVs. Unlike the first book, this one is told from three different POVs: Jakar, Efadora, and Ester. Unfortunately, I didn't find the latter two as interesting as Jakar. Adding to this is that both Jakar and Efadora are together at the beginning of their journey when their POV changes, which makes things a little weird and hard to separate who's who from time to time.

The real star of the book is the world-building. Harmon laid the groundwork for a pretty great and rich world in the first book, and he expands on it here. From the vast underground cities and their cultures to the political machinations and the Sovereign, this world is dripping with so much lore that it's quite amazing it all fits into this short a book.

This is a strong book to a very good series so far. I'm excited to see how it all ends.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clay Harmon continues his tale about a frozen world heated by the volcanoes of the Flames Of Mira (paper). It is a place where people can bond to elements and shape or move that element. Metalsmiths bond to iron allowing hard steel. Navigators bond to silica to help map the tunnels where people live. The Sovereign has united the area with his ability to shape humans, and in an effort to keep the peace, is becoming evil. This time the characters go Into The Rift(paper from Solaris). Jakar, who was bonded to six elements, is trying to find the people enslaved by a cult and discovers a strange water being who can control people. Ester sets off to locate stolen rhidium that allows bonding to elements and returns to the forge to discover horrible things had happened to her friends. I’ve really enjoyed this saga so far and look eagerly to the next, and probably final book.

[Bookish_mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Into The Rift expands in terms of characters, locations and worldbuilding. The world building, history and setting is amazing. The separate storylines of our characters are well developed and interesting. The story ends in a way that will make it impossible for readers not to be invested in the 3rd book of the series
Strong and enjoyable sequel but I had some issues, which made me rate it lower than its predecessor.
- Into The Rift was more plot driven than Flames of Mira
- Pace was somewhat slow, particularly in the first half
- Two POVs are in first person "Which was abit confusing" and one is in 3rd person
- Flames of Mira focused alot on Jakar, his characterization and emotions was the main attraction for me. I loved reading about his conflicts and struggles. Into The Rift the focus expands to 3 POVs and it lacked the emotional depth from book 1. The world building is wonderful but I think I wanted more of the story to be in Jakar’s voice. I wasn’t as invested in the storyline as book 1 because i couldn’t connect to the characters but i have to say the world building and plot is amazing.
I will for sure be reading the 3rd book in the series

[Nicholas Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely strong sequel to Flames of Mira, and starts to include some Lovecraftian horror, which was AWESOME.

It reminded me of the Empire of the Wolf trilogy in those efforts to blend a dark, cosmic horror with a more grounded Fantasy universe. Overall, however, the characters continue to be strongly written, with their motivations apparent and their actions matching their beliefs. The magic system is intricate, but not overwhelming, and the pace is just fast enough to not lead to bloat, but not so fast you feel you can't connect with the characters.

I am really, really looking forward to the 3rd book and imagine this series will be in my top 10 lists for years to come!

[Mindy'sBookJourney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second installment in The Rift Walker Series follows Jakar and Efadora as they leave Augustin to save his elemental friends he was enslaved with as a child. Also Smith Ester is tasked with finding the rhidium that was stolen by a group of rebels fighting against the Sovereign.

This is a really fantasy series with a unique magic system and world building. All of the characters are interesting and complex. The characters do a lot of growing and changing. The plot is dark and propulsive.

I highly recommend The Rift Walker Series starting with The Flames of Mira to fans of dark fantasy. This series has so much to love.

I received a copy for review through NetGalley.

[Kelsey Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars! This is the second book in the Rift Walker series and cannot be read as a standalone. I continued to be impressed with the magic system in this world. The setting is amazing with both ice and fire elements and we get to follow three storylines before they bisect.

[Nate Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

explores the world further in entertaining ways and sets up for a surely epic third book. i really didn't love how Ester's POV switched from first person to third person and also in general felt a tad disconnected but by the end I got it.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Great continuation of the series, the world building and magic system continues to be expanded on and a new POV is introduced. Had a great time reading this and god damn some of the things that happen!! I need book 3 yesterday please! If you've been on the fence about this series, go and read it immediately! 🔥🌋❄️

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Into the Rift is second book from a very unique debut epic fantasy series I love so much. I never know much about Mira's frozen top land and why people choose to life underground among caves cities with tunnels and boiling volcanos. But this unique world not only one thing make me awestruck. The magic system that allows human to bond with powerful elements maybe isnt new. But chemistry elements? The possibilty, the dangers, the effects all together to human bodies make this book very intriguing to try.

The author is new name for me and I truly enjoys his writing style. It is flow smoothly and balance. It describe the surrounding details enough without felt like info dumping. I still want deeper exploration into this amazing world. The characters are okay, they are not supposed be likeable but I found my self deeply care for one of two. I am not sure with the effectiveness multiple POVs but I need them more flesh out and have depths.

The pace are fast and perfect for reader who love fantasy with alot action/duel scenes. The multiple time jump, back forward maybe will confusing some readers but for me it is perfect to keep the plot interesting. Book two offer new exploration to other cities/countries and some lore from childhood MMC. I truly enjoy this book and cant wait for get my hands on next installment.

Thank you Netgalley and Solaris from Rebellion Publishing for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date: 2 July 2024