"The Hunger Games on steroids" -Chris, Amazon reviewer From the ruins of what used to be North America, a new nation was forged by survivors of the Fall. They called this new nation the Covenant, and two centuries later, it is stronger than ever. The Moon people, descendants of lunar colonists who returned to Earth to rebuild it, rule with an iron fist, to ensure their dominance over the original inhabitants, the English. For the Covenant is a nation where a chosen few prosper at the cost of everyone else, and while the English are forced to serve their masters their entire lives, the Moon people have mastered the greatest secret, the secret of life itself. In the Rift Saga we follow Sue and Dave, two English teens sent off to serve, Evan, a soldier and a member of one of the most prominent families of the Moon people, and Mark, the oldest man on Earth, as they find themselves in the midst of events, uncovering conspiracies that have kept the Moon people in power ever since they left their dusty refuge behind. Sooner or later, in different ways, they will all find that lies and deception can only work for so long, and sooner or later the truth will be unveiled. What will happen once the veil of lies unravels? The Rift Saga takes place more than two centuries after the events of Exodus, in a dystopian society forged from the ashes of global disaster. The Complete Rift Saga consists of Rift (Book 1), Covenant (Book 2) and Legacy (Book 3).
Andreas Christensen is a Norwegian science fiction and fantasy author. His most recently published work is Frostfall, an epic fantasy.
His popular series the Exodus Trilogy received rave reviews in both the U.S. and the U.K. and has been compared to classics such as Heinlein and Asimov. The Rift Saga is set approximately two centuries after the events of Exodus, and a reviewer described it as "Hunger Games on steroids". In a good way...
He is currently working on new projects, including a "second generation" story set in the Aurora universe, in addition to the Legionnaire Series.
Andreas Christensen has a degree in Psychology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and his professional background is mainly from public service. He has a weakness for cats, coffee and up until recently, books so heavy he'd need a separate suitcase in order to carry them every time he traveled. Luckily, the world has changed, and the suitcase has now been replaced by an e-reader.
You can find Andreas Christensen here: Website and blog: christensenwriting.com Twitter: @achr75 Facebook: facebook.com/christensenwriting
Get your FREE copy of ALIVE, the Exodus companion novella. Just go to christensenwriting.com to get started!
The Rift Saga is a three-book post-apocalyptic series set on a future earth. Humans have, more or less, destroyed themselves and colonists from the moon have returned and taken control of a segment of the planet. On a macro level, the series is about the moon people’s attempt to consolidate and control the earth, while on the micro level, the series primarily follows the stories of Sue, Dave, and Mark. Along the way they interact with a few other individuals who end up becoming primary characters as well.
While not what I would call riveting, the story moves along at a good pace. Much of the first book lays out a world where society is deeply stratified, with the Moon people on top and regular earthlings placed into different arms of services to defend the Covenant against its enemies. Our protagonists learn that all is not what it seems. The second and third books deal with the outcome of their revelations.
In many ways, the Rift Saga is a cautionary tale. The world history is slowly drawn out, and I think this was effective worldbuilding because it doesn’t burden the reader with information they don’t really need. On the other hand, the world has been simplified to just a few nations, with the remainder of the globe filled with small independent settlements. I thought that the world was simplified too much, but would a complex world make any difference to the story? Probably not.
I found the characters fairly superficial. Even at the end of three books, we know very little about any of the main character beyond what they are physically doing in the story. Yes, they do think about things, but they seem artificial. For example, Dave loses a leg at one point, and he never describes how he feels about it. He is coincidentally patched up, and we never really hear about it again.
Overall, I found Rift: The Complete Rift Saga to be entertaining, but only on a surface level. Additionally, I found the first book the best of the three, with the others seemingly added just to complete the series. It was almost like the author had a grand idea spanning the three books but burned out during the writing of the first one. In my opinion, the final two are just descriptions of the actions that take place. I give it a mediocre three of five stars on Goodreads.
I really hour there will be more on this series! This trilogy is a follow on to the earlier Exodus Trilogy on which the story is told of humans leaving Earth to find their new home 40 light years away on Aurora.
The Rift Saga trilogy covers what happened on Earth after a collision with shards of a rogue planet. Humanity survived but the past was lost to them. I'm the North American continent two main powers arose. The nation of Buchanan, in the west, named after a far seeing senator who planned for the survival of humanity and The Covenant, ruled by the Moon People, descendants of Russian and Norwegian lunar colonists who maintained the technology needed to come back to Earth and enslave the people living east of the Rift.
This was a marvelous set of stories with some wonderful characters. I'd really like to see what happens next. I do hope there will be more books to come..
Is ignorance is bliss or is Bliss is ignorance in a pill.
The author Andreas Christensen have an amazing imagination, even so his penmanship getting it all on paper is even tougher and he makes it seem simple.
Great story, Action, Science, Twists, and all creating a beautiful science fiction book.
Michael Goldstrom narration for each of the characters is absolutely perfect.
I have read all 3 of the RIFT series books as they came out, and enjoyed them immensely. When the omnibus was released, I thought, why not? I loved the books anyway, so why not get all 3 together? And it was worth it. Reading them individually was great, but reading them back to back was exciting! It drew me back into the lives of Sue, Dave, Evan, and Mark as they try to find the truth of the RIFT. Great story lines, engaging characters, plots so exciting you want to keep reading until you're done. So even if you already have the separate books, it'll be worth it for you to get the omnibus!
This was such an intriguing way to look at civilization from two different cultures: those thought superior and those forced into servitude. Historical reference could include elements from the Jewish holocaust in Nazi Germany and American slavery. Imagine how chance meetings and shared experiences can shape future reality. This series explores interactions among individuals and groups for ultimate power and how others struggle for survival. I found this a very hard read to put down.
Read all three together. The flow between the books is extremely good. I could actually see something like this happening after such a devastating event. Those that come from space would be consider to be masters or gods..
Thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think I have found a bug author to follow...
Fast paced and adventurous is how I would describe this trilogy. It's not too far out there to be believable. Going to check out other offerings from this author.
Love the variation in characters, I think I’ve bumped into a few of them. The book keeps you on the edge but l was looking for a better end. Then again there could be a sequel.
It is wonderful to find a book that gives you unexpected twists. The characters are so well developed and the story line keeps you completely involved so that the reader wants to just keep reading.
What a great series. I love the way the characters narrative is introduced with their names all the way through. Well written and always hanging on to see what's next
The story starts 200 years after an event known as the Fall. Two nations foresaw the danger and migrated to the Moon. Years later, the next generation decided to come back to Earth and protect it from any other environmental disaster, using the few 'English' left to build their empire, creating new history and deleting the old one from the books and the memories of the survivors. The saying that 'History is written by the victors' cannot be more true than here. When reaching the age of eighteen, the English are 'enlisted' in one of the several jobs where they should serve for the next seven years and maybe gain the status of citizen. Many of them, the less lucky ones, will go to the Corps, where they will be enslaved and most probably will not survive the seven years. Sue and Dave are two of this enlisted people, but to two different services. Each one on their part of the Covenant will discover that the Moon people have told them lies, but they will need to find the depth of them, and if it is even possible to discover the truth and act upon it.
The first thing that caught my eye was the word 'Rift' in the title of the book. I have a soft spot for the mentioned word in a science-fiction context. And I love dystopian novels, it is something I cannot resist. They usually present a society which, in principle, does not make a lot of sense, and we need to discover, along with the main characters, the truth behind it all. It is like solving a mystery in a way, in which the pieces finally fall into place. And The Rift Saga is one of these stories. It caught my attention from the start, with well developed characters with real motivations in an upside down world. We slowly discover parts of the truth, but at the end of book one there is a twist that gives a lot more depth to it, allowing for more development in books two and three, and opens the possibility to other books.
Something that I would have liked when listening to the story were maps. I ignore if they are included in the eBook or paper editions, but I think it would have been a nice addition. I would just include one of the Covenant for the first book and a broader one for books two and three.
Michael Goldstrom did a superb job with the narration of this book, not only transmitting emotions but also giving distinctive voices and accents to the characters, and they were quite some. I liked that René's accent was very very subtle, contrary to the other French's. I really enjoyed the narration and the characters portraits by Goldstrom, and I think it was an added value to the book.
There is another series related to this one, 'Exodus', which I would love to listen too. I think Christensen has created a very interesting world, and his books are a must listen for any dystopian fan.
Started off with book one and realized I was going to be reading the complete series. so purchased the complete set copy and pretty much devoured it up. I've read all kinds of post apocalyptic books and this one was better than most. Charecters were believable people and you just want to know what they do next or what happens to them next.