We take a look at The Rift Uprising, a YA-adult sci-fi crossover from Amy S. Foster, and see what we like and don’t like about it.
YA science fiction and dystopia has exploded as of late, pretty much since The Hunger Games and its less popular cousin that still got a movie series, Divergent, hit the scene. The furor has died down slightly, but the strain exists nevertheless. Now, here comes this newcomer, The Rift Uprising, which trades in more traditional dystopia for a multiverse and supersoldiers.
Our heroine is Ryn, a 17-year-old leader of her Citadel squad. One day, an extremely cute boy by the name of Ezra comes through the Rift, the extra-dimensional portal she and her fellow Citadels guard. His arrival causes Ryn to start asking some serious questions.
On the whole, I found The Rift Uprising intriguing conceptually, but found the execution somewhat lacking. In terms of a recommendation, I can only say that it might pass the time, but there are better reads in the genre.
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The Good
As I said, the concept of uncontrollable portals leading to a multiverse needing to be guarded by teenage soldiers chosen as children sounds quite interesting. Perhaps it doesn’t reach the same level of “choose children to fight to the death yearly” but hey, Battle Royale did that first anyway. In fact, the conspiracy that unfolds through the novel does drum up some legitimate intrigue.
Ryn and Ezra themselves waffle between fascination and irritation for a reader, but I’d have to say Ezra wins out by a hair. Foster turns the tables on typical stereotypes by having him be the genius. However, you can’t call Ryn dumb either, thanks to her Citadel alterations. Instead, Ryn’s strengths are physical.
I also enjoyed the variance of species introduced through the Rift. Though the Roones, who work with ARC to guard the Rift, end up as the most interesting due to their wildly different biology, others get moments to shine as well.
As I said, the concept of uncontrollable portals leading to a multiverse needing to be guarded by teenage soldiers chosen as children sounds quite interesting. Perhaps it doesn’t reach the same level of “choose children to fight to the death yearly” but hey, Battle Royale did that first anyway.
The Not-So-Good
The prose generally falls flat for me. At one point, I counted eight sentences in a row starting with I. At times, the typically short and somewhat choppy prose works. After all, Ryn is a super-soldier. Of course she fights, and fights do often use short sentences. Most of the time, though, I found myself being told things about how Ryn feels or how the world works. “Show, don’t tell” is pretty trite, but it’s become a trope for a reason.
Romance and desire for intimacy also play a significant role in Ryn’s motivation. We spend time digging into how to turn her “Blood Lust” (uncontrollable rage brought on by physical contact with someone you’re sexually attracted to) off so that she and Ezra can snuggle. For some, that might actually increase the interest in Ryn and the story at large. For yours truly, it does not. The writing attempts to point it out by having both of them comment at various points that they hardly know each other. However, it does not feel romantic to have that mentioned to me.
There also appears to be a looming love triangle in the novels to follow. Make of that what you will.
The Recommendation
On the whole, The Rift Uprising does have an interesting conceit at its heart. However, the characterization and prose used to convey the ideas do take the whole novel down a notch or two. If I had to give it a star rating, it would likely be a solid 2 stars. The book is simply okay for me.
Next: Review: Feedback by Mira Grant
You can find The Rift Uprising at your favorite book retailer.