Tower on the Rift (View from the Mirror 2) [Paperback]

Ian Irvine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2000 | Series: View from the Mirror 2

War rages across Santhenar as the quest for the Mirror of Aachan continues. In desperation, Tensor, leader of the Aachims, flees with the Mirror into the wilderness, taking the chronicler Llian with him. Only Karan can locate them, but it will be a perilous journey. Tensor wants her dead, other powers are hunting her down, and Rulke the Charon broods over them all from his Nightland prison ...'The complex cultures, detailed geography, and the palpable weight of history provide a solid background to an intense story ...this stands out as a worldbuilding labour of love with some truly original touches' LOCUS Look out for more information on this book and others on the Orbit website at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ian Irvine lives in the mountains of NSW, Australia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Orbit (November 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841490059
• ISBN-13: 978-1841490052
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 6.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,573,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Improving, May 10, 2003

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Tower on the Rift (The View from the Mirror, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read the first book in the series with a slightly jaundiced eye. While passably written, it lacked freshness and I felt too bogged down in the details of the differences between the different human races.

Things improved noticably in this second book for me. There was less exposition and more focus on the characters. Particularly intriguing is the Yggur/Maigraith relationship-- I am genuinely curious to see where that goes.

I still did not like Karan (the main character), which makes it more challenging to like the book. Still, I am in more of a hurry to buy the third book then I was to buy the second.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great continuation, January 12, 2002

By 

Marcus Griep "neoeinstein" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tower on the Rift (The View from the Mirror, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a great sequel to a great book. The story draws you in from the first page. Even though it had been five months since I read the first book, the authour refreshed my memory with a good synopsis of his first book, A Shadow on the Glass. This series will be one that I will be hard pressed to wait for the next six months in order to read the next book in the series. Over all, a great buy.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars powerful epic fantasy, January 17, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tower on the Rift (The View from the Mirror, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Tensor of the Aachim blames the other three human species for the woes suffered by his people actually caused by his leadership. His desire is pandemic destruction at a level never seen in known history. His scheme gels when Yggur the Sorcerer destroys Thurkad, forcing the Great Conclave attendees to flee for their safety. Tensor abducts Lilan the Chronicler and steals the magical Mirror of Aachan that a millennium ago belonged to his race and reflects all it has seen. Through the Twisted Mirror, Tensor plans to eradicate all he loathes.

Karan borders on lunacy without Lilan to anchor her, but only she can find Tensor, Lilan, and the mirror, that is if her mind remains sane long enough to hold a rationale thought. She and the likes of Yggor and Shand the hermit magician will meet in a desperate gathering of the magic at a bastion long lost to time in the midst of the Dry Sea Desert with the fate of Santhenar and probably the other two orbs at stake.

THE TOWER ON THE RIFT, volume two of the "View From the Mirror", is a powerful epic fantasy loaded with numerous threads and sidebars that ultimately merge into a complex cohesive story line. An introductory synopsis of the first novel (see A SHADOW ON THE GLASS) helps provide perspective, but reading the debut volume would enhance perusing this extremely complicated book. Ian Irvine's vividly descriptive universe should go to the head of the reading lists of the sub-genre audience because the characters are multiple-dimensional, the worlds and its species feel real, and the outstanding plots majestic in scope.

Harriet Klausner