In The Rift (Glenraven II) [Hardcover]

Bradley & lisle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

"In the Rift Glenraven II".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since her family's refusal to accept her as a pagan, and her lover's suicide from depression, Kate Beacham has been trying to rebuild an independent life for herself as a fine craftsman. Now that life is threatened not only by the religious rightists who have killed her horse but also by a magical book that has deposited four nonhumans and a large monster from a magical land (detailed in the first book in this series, Glenravan) literally on her doorstep. The magical book claims that Kate and these unusual allies must work together both to close the rift that has brought monsters into Glenraven (and is now threatening our world) and to prevent Kate from being killed by her human enemies. But there is a traitor among the outworlders, an evil wizard in Fort Lauderdale and, to further complicate matters, Kate is blind to the workings of her own explosively powerful magic. The bonding between Kate and the outworld woman, Rhiana, is touching, but the authors spend too much time preaching to the converted against sexism, racism and religious intolerance. This and inconsistent plotting render an otherwise entertaining adventure less compelling than it ought to be.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A second in the Glenraven series by Bradley (Lady of Avalon, 1997, etc.) and paperback author Lisle. Kate, a young woman in a small North Carolina town, comes into possession of a magical book that links her to the alternate world of Glenraven. Four denizens of that world, only one really human in appearance, arrive in her front yard. Kate kills the monster pursuing them, then learns that both Earth and Glenraven are in danger and must unite against the enemy. The Glenraven exiles help Kate defeat local thugs who attack because of her Wiccan religion; at the same time, she and Rhiana, the most human of the visitors, explore her latent magical talents. Meanwhile, in Florida, Callion, an exiled wizard from Glenraven, plots his takeover of Earth. Kate and the exiles travel to confront him, with the more alien-looking Glenraveners pretending to be costumed science fiction fans. (This, plus comparisons of our world and the quasi-medieval society of Glenraven, provides a fair amount of humor.) Callion, we learn, has an evil entity in captivityone that feeds on human flesh. We also learn that one of the exiles is a traitor, seeking to make common cause with Callion to return to Glenraven and seize power. With each of the aliens having a separate agenda, and with Kate becoming more and more alienated from her own society, the tension builds until the confrontation with the wizard. There are a few satisfactory twists of plot before Kate manages to defeat the evil wizarda triumph that is as much a victory over herself as over the external enemy. A smoothly plotted fantasy, with a strong woman protagonist, that should appeal to fans of both authors. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Baen; 1ST edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671878700
• ISBN-13: 978-0671878702
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,440,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars decent but not spectacular, February 18, 2000

By 

Omar Siddique (Ellicott City, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In The Rift: Glenraven book 2 (Mass Market Paperback)

This isn't up to MZB's usual level of writing, but it's decent for a quick read (it was an airplane flight read for me). It suffers from being a bit preachy at times, from the 'good guys' being overly trusting and unable to look about critically, and from being somewhat unoriginal (too many 'alternate earth' books out there these days). On the positive side, the story moves along smoothly and the imagery and types of magic used/described are fairly original. -omar

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glenraven II, November 1, 2002

By 

"gothiccuddles" (Gainesville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In The Rift (Glenraven II) (Hardcover)

This book was fairly good. The action was appealing and the characters were pretty well-developed. But I have to say that if you hadn't read "Glenraven" first you would have been lost. This book deals with two seperate worlds: the one we're used to, and Glenraven. Glenraven is a little province in Italy that hasn't advanced along with the rest of the world- in fact, Glenraven appears to have hidden in a fold of time. Somehow creatures from Glenraven escape into the real world. They wreak havoc upon the already upside down world of Kate Beacham, an alleged witch. And everything turns into a whirlwind from there. The plot is pretty well-laid, and there are some intriguing tensions between characters that enhance the quality of the book. You want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

The only majorly disappointing thing I found in this book was the fact that MZB didn't really bring in characters from "Glenraven." She had developed some really strong personalities in JayJay and Matthiall. MZB only mentioned those two about two times, maybe three, in "In the Rift."

If you read "In the Rift" before "Glenraven" you should take the time to read "Glenraven." It'll clear up a lot of misconceptions you might have.

Sorry if I was confusing to you. "In the Rift" is a very good book. I just think maybe MZB should have tied in the characters more.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun, Quick Read, March 2, 2001

By 

AllieKat - See all my reviews

This review is from: In The Rift: Glenraven book 2 (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed this book and breezed through it rather quickly. If you are looking for something in depth, try somewhere else. But if you're looking for something fun and light-hearted pick up this book. The main character, Kate Beacham, is a Wiccan who is being harassed and threatened by close-minded people in her small town. She was assaulted in the alley behind her work by three masked men, and when she came home she found her horse dead in the drive with a note through his head saying that she would be next. When she loaded her shotgun and went to bed, she found a Fodor's guide book to a place called Glenraven on her nightstand that she was positive she had not seen before. When she opened the book to take a look at it, words magically appeared in it telling her to get out of the house fast. Being a practitioner of magick, she obeyed the book and went outside just in time to see a large hole open in the air and group of people on horseback gallop out being pursued by a monster. After killing the thing with her shotgun, Kate finds these strangers in her yard and in her house without a way home. The book tells her that she has to help them, otherwise both their worlds are in jeopardy. She has to learn to trust and be trusted by these strangers from another world in order to save them all.