The Rift Walker by Clay & Susan Griffith
The Rift Walker is Clay and Susan Griffith’s anxiously awaited sequel to The Greyfriar. The Greyfriar was a wonderful start to the Vampire Empire trilogy and left me wondering if it was going to be a flash in the pan or if the authors were able to sustain the quality of the first book. The answer is an emphatic thumbs-up.
Princess Adele’s adventures continue as she is forced to deal with the conflict between the requirement of her royal rank to marry Senator Clark from the American Republic and the feelings she has for Gareth the vampire, also known as the heroic Greyfriar. In order to save her life, Adele is swept straight from her nuptial ceremony into Gareth’s arms. Unknown to Adele, elements of her own nation are willing to commit murder in order to maintain the status quo.
In the company of Gareth, Adele races across Africa, seeking allies to support her as she attempts to find her own path forward. Instead of simply agreeing to a scorched earth war against the Vampires, Adele wants to find a way to save those people who are presently enslaved. Add to the mix Adele’s growing talents for Geomancy, the ability to harness the energies of the Earth itself, and you have a compelling plot.
Clay and Susan Griffith’s broad range of supporting characters make The Rift Walker come to life. From Adele’s tutor and mentor, Memoru, to the noble Gurkha, Colonel Anhalt, there are a number of different personalities whose motivations are not always completely in line with Adele’s. Thus, she has to deal with more than just the bad guys.
The Rift Walker is a wonderful mix of alternate history, steampunk, and romance. The accurate historical fixtures with the inclusion of intricate paranormal details, such as the way the vampires monitor and react to the weather, make this world feel real.
The Rift Walker is a worthy addition to the Vampire Empire trilogy. Clay and Susan Griffith continue to write interesting characters and to keep the story full of action, adventure and excitement — the hallmarks of good fantasy. Add to this already quality mix a strong dose of political intrigue and good old-fashioned betrayal and treachery, and you have something wonderful. I can’t wait for the final Vampire Empire book.
Vampire Empire — (2010-2015) Publisher: In the year 1870, a horrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world. Millions of humans were killed outright. Millions more died of disease and famine due to the havoc that followed. Within two years, once great cities were shrouded by the grey empire of the vampire clans. Human refugees fled south to the tropics because vampires could not tolerate the constant heat there. They brought technology and a feverish drive to reestablish their shattered societies of steam and iron amid the mosques of Alexandria, the torrid quietude of Panama, or the green temples of Malaya. It is now 2020 and a bloody reckoning is coming. Princess Adele is heir to the Empire of Equatoria, a remnant of the old tropical British Empire. She is quick with her wit as well as with a sword or gun. She is eager for an adventure before she settles into a life of duty and political marriage to man she does not know. But her quest turns black when she becomes the target of a merciless vampire clan. Her only protector is The Greyfriar, a mysterious hero who fights the vampires from deep within their territory. Their dangerous relationship plays out against an approaching war to the death between humankind and the vampire clans. The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire is the first book in a trilogy of high adventure and alternate history. Combining rousing pulp action with steampunk style, The Greyfriar brings epic political themes to life within a story of heartbreaking romance, sacrifice, and heroism.
GARETH AND ADELE
This series keeps catching my attention. Nice review John. Nice to see that the good things I’ve read elsewhere about it isn’t all hype.
My daughter really loved the first book, so that’s a teen-age girl thinking so. It’s nice to see something that keeps up from book to book.