72nd out of 310 books
—
451 voters
The Holy Road (Rifter #5)
by
Ginn Hale (Goodreads Author)
When John opens a letter addressed to his missing roommate, Kyle, he expects to find a house key, but instead he is swept into a strange realm of magic, mysticism, revolutionaries and assassins. Though he struggles to escape, John is drawn steadily closer to a fate he share with Kyle—to wake the destroyer god, the Rifter, and shatter a world.
ebook, 1st Edition
Published
July 2011
by Blind Eye Books
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I finally figured out what this series reminds me of: P. C. Hodgell's Godstalk series. Hodgell has more black comedy and flamboyant worldbuilding, and Hale concentrates much more on weaving a highly intricate story. But both series seem to have evolved from the same roots: bypassing Tolkien's high fantasy tradition in favor of the swords and sorcery of Fritz Lieber, Jack Vance, C. L. Moore, even Robert E. Howard.
It's interesting that while the overall plots and details of the two series have ve...more
It's interesting that while the overall plots and details of the two series have ve...more
This installment continues in John's pov and time. I think I can understand why the story is told as it is, that we know how things are in twenty some years; Now instead of needing to look back afterwards to understand why John did what he did, its easy to see as we go his growing disillusionment with the Payshmura institution.
I also think it's neat how the narrative never condemns Dayyid outright, despite his holding up the oppressive theocracy that John doesn't agree with; it is still pointed...more
I also think it's neat how the narrative never condemns Dayyid outright, despite his holding up the oppressive theocracy that John doesn't agree with; it is still pointed...more
Another book that solely focuses on John in Basawar. Things are really picking up in this book and discoveries readers may have had suspicions about in the previous book concerning Ravishan come to light. Although the detailed provided in this installment was a bit contradicting to the other info pieced together in the story, I found I loved mulling out how they all fit. I'm excited to pickup the next installment.
While reading I thought up 2 scenario's of where this story could be going:
1) The s...more
While reading I thought up 2 scenario's of where this story could be going:
1) The s...more
5+ Stars
I am, by turns, frightened and fascinated at this point in the saga, which sums things up pretty concisely and accurately.
The Holy Road is darkness defined. This is the point in the journey where John discovers everything there is to be discovered about who he is and the purpose he will serve in the future of Basawar, and how it connects to Ravishan, who is, indeed, a man John knows as another, not the least of which is lover and savior.
It’s impossible to have made your way to the end o...more
I am, by turns, frightened and fascinated at this point in the saga, which sums things up pretty concisely and accurately.
The Holy Road is darkness defined. This is the point in the journey where John discovers everything there is to be discovered about who he is and the purpose he will serve in the future of Basawar, and how it connects to Ravishan, who is, indeed, a man John knows as another, not the least of which is lover and savior.
It’s impossible to have made your way to the end o...more
3.5 stars
Rifter #5, The Holy Road, is a vicious and dark installment of the epic fantasy. It also holds a touch of romance and hope between Jahn and Ravishan. It’s perhaps the darkest of the novellas so far and I’ll admit I was pretty disturbed by the end of it. There is a lot of death, destruction, and mayhem offered in graphic and vivid detail. While that’s not my favorite part of fantasy, the problem here is that the story ends on a bloody note without further action to help alleviate the dep...more
Rifter #5, The Holy Road, is a vicious and dark installment of the epic fantasy. It also holds a touch of romance and hope between Jahn and Ravishan. It’s perhaps the darkest of the novellas so far and I’ll admit I was pretty disturbed by the end of it. There is a lot of death, destruction, and mayhem offered in graphic and vivid detail. While that’s not my favorite part of fantasy, the problem here is that the story ends on a bloody note without further action to help alleviate the dep...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
4.5 stars
This is very dark and violent installment of Rifter, but not as dark as I feared. The action was remarkable, some of the revelations about Rifter crucial for Josh and Kyle. The Holy Road made a very satisfying midpoint of the series.
(view spoiler)...more
This is very dark and violent installment of Rifter, but not as dark as I feared. The action was remarkable, some of the revelations about Rifter crucial for Josh and Kyle. The Holy Road made a very satisfying midpoint of the series.
(view spoiler)...more
This review can also be found at the DIK blog.
We're half way through this serialised novel now, and things are really hotting up! Like Part 4, this section focuses entirely on John and his time at Rathal’pesha. The story has once again jumped ahead in time, and is now a year on from Part 4. It's the harvest fair and Ravishan has drank himself into astuporover what he knows he has to do come sundown. This year, instead of burning a witch, they have captured a Fai’daum rebel and, like last year, i...more
We're half way through this serialised novel now, and things are really hotting up! Like Part 4, this section focuses entirely on John and his time at Rathal’pesha. The story has once again jumped ahead in time, and is now a year on from Part 4. It's the harvest fair and Ravishan has drank himself into astuporover what he knows he has to do come sundown. This year, instead of burning a witch, they have captured a Fai’daum rebel and, like last year, i...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
1) TIMEY-WIMEYNESS!!
2) OH! I see. John is Harry Potter. See, that actually makes a whole lot more sense.
3) I think I'm finally starting to get it:
This story is a semi-realistic approximation of what it would be like to actually be thrown into a fantasy world, with minimum preparation. That's why I feel uncomfortable about it. That's why I can't say they're good books. That's why I can't say they're bad books. If it actually happened to you (even if you'd read every fantasy book in existence), it...more
2) OH! I see. John is Harry Potter. See, that actually makes a whole lot more sense.
3) I think I'm finally starting to get it:
This story is a semi-realistic approximation of what it would be like to actually be thrown into a fantasy world, with minimum preparation. That's why I feel uncomfortable about it. That's why I can't say they're good books. That's why I can't say they're bad books. If it actually happened to you (even if you'd read every fantasy book in existence), it...more
This installment of the Rifter was definitely the most traumatic, especially the last section where everything goes horribly wrong, for everyone it would seem. I did however LOVE the ending and had a teary grin on my face when Ravishan arrived, right at the last moment. Luckily Broken Fortress is ready and waiting for me to get stuck into.
... so far this series has fulfilled every damn expectation I could have had. Seriously. This is so incredibly good and addictive and simply mind-blowing. I have no idea how all of this will (or even CAN) be resolved to at least some sort of happy ending (I'm not sure what a happy ending would be), but I'm more than excited to find that out. ... there will be a happy ending, right? Right? ... pretty please?
This series was comprised of 10 novella length books. I read all the books before I came back to review, so my reviews are more of the series as a whole.
Kahlil is starting to remember bits of his shattered past and he now knows that (view spoiler)I found this plot device to be extremely well-written and kept me very engaged in the series as a whole.
Ka...more
Kahlil is starting to remember bits of his shattered past and he now knows that (view spoiler)I found this plot device to be extremely well-written and kept me very engaged in the series as a whole.
Ka...more
Can't put this series down.
May 20, 2013
Gwen
marked it as to-read
May 17, 2013
Buttercup
marked it as dnf
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Apr 14, 2013 09:31am