What do you think?
Rate this book
Sunder #2
Fissure
He sold his soul for the illusion of power. Now he wants it back.
Born in India and raised a Muslim, Paul Canaan climbed his way to the very top of American society, serving as one of nine men who control and regulate the globe’s time travelers. All he did to attain that position—deny his faith, abandon his homeland and family, and sacrifice the love of his life—was to survive in a game that was rigged against him.
But now he knows this corrupt, theocratic version of America was created by a time traveler’s murder of a seventeenth-century English nobleman. The timeline he has fought to preserve never should have existed in the first place.
In the wake of murder, family secrets, and the imprisonment of an innocent girl, Paul must use his mastery of deception one last time to set the timeline back on its rightful course.
Born in India and raised a Muslim, Paul Canaan climbed his way to the very top of American society, serving as one of nine men who control and regulate the globe’s time travelers. All he did to attain that position—deny his faith, abandon his homeland and family, and sacrifice the love of his life—was to survive in a game that was rigged against him.
But now he knows this corrupt, theocratic version of America was created by a time traveler’s murder of a seventeenth-century English nobleman. The timeline he has fought to preserve never should have existed in the first place.
In the wake of murder, family secrets, and the imprisonment of an innocent girl, Paul must use his mastery of deception one last time to set the timeline back on its rightful course.
322 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2017
About the author
Kristin McTiernan
13 books30 followersAt 17, I had to choose between joining a convent or the Marines. The mother superior at my convent was a veteran and recommended I serve my country. Thank God for that advice because if you've read even one thing I've written, you know that #nunlife is not for me. I write about women in weird situations and my goal is to write at least one book in every spec-fic subgenre before I kick the bucket.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 3, 2018
‘Self-loathing is not an especially uncommon trait, at least among Americans.’
Kansas author Kristin McTiernan was a military brat - born the daughter of a career military father and subsequently enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17. She completed her service, earned a bachelor's degree in English from Emporia State University, Kansas and now in addition to writing she is employed as an editor. Her world travel and military experiences add to the vigor of her writing. She has published a self-help book – SELF-EDIT/PRO EDIT – and three novels – FACE DOWN, SUNDER, and now FISSURE. With the success of SUNDER she has decided to make the Sunder Series: FISSURE is Book 2.
Kristin embraces time travel, science fiction and dystopian themes and does so convincingly. To entice the reader into her mystery she opens with a Prologue that suggests without divulging the direction of the tale – ‘Diary, Shannan Fitzroy - I’m afraid. I’m so afraid, my body aches from the shaking. At first it was only when I heard him coming down the hall. But then he started coming in while I slept, and now the quaking never stops. I can’t open my mouth more than an inch, and my wrist is the size of a baseball. I’m so afraid and I don’t know what to do. I know I don’t normally talk to you; it’s nothing personal. It’s just that life, until now, has gone pretty well. Besides, Memaw told me you weren’t like Santa Claus—that you don’t care about my wishes. So no, I haven’t felt the need to pester you, or even presume you listen. Because most of the time you don’t. You said so yourself. But in case you do, I would really appreciate your help. Help me help myself. Or just send in a guy on a horse. I’m not picky. I’ll go ahead and say thank you for my accommodations, I guess. It’s a really nice house. If you’re going to be slowly beaten to death by a tattooed sociopath, this is the place to suffer it. There are more than six bedrooms, but I’m only allowed in one. He said it used to be the maid’s room. All the other doors are closed and he watches every move I make. I know he has cameras in here too. When I first found this notebook shoved behind the bed, I half expected him to burst into the room and rip it out of my hands. But so far, he hasn’t. It looks like the maid, Elizabeth, was Italian. I can’t read most of the words in the first half of the book. But Alfredo’s name appears on almost every page, and I didn’t have any trouble understanding the tear blots on the last few pages. I wonder if she died here. Just like I’m going to.’
The tale opens in the year 2114 (and yes, travels….) and Kristin supplies an outline of the plot – ‘He sold his soul for the illusion of power. Now he wants it back. Paul Canaan gave up everything to climb to the top of American society, serving as one of nine men who control and regulate the globe’s time travelers. All he did to attain that position—deny his faith, abandon his homeland and family, and sacrifice the love of his life—was to survive in a game that was rigged against him. But now that game has turned against an innocent young woman, a time traveler who knows the truth that could cause his entire civilization to crumble. Now Paul must decide once more between his position in life and doing what he knows is right. In the wake of murder, family secrets, and the imprisonment of an innocent girl, Paul must use his mastery of deception one last time to set the timeline back on its rightful course.’
This is a fine mixture of terror, time travel, and strange characters, all of which we can only hope the author will continue with the series!
Kansas author Kristin McTiernan was a military brat - born the daughter of a career military father and subsequently enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17. She completed her service, earned a bachelor's degree in English from Emporia State University, Kansas and now in addition to writing she is employed as an editor. Her world travel and military experiences add to the vigor of her writing. She has published a self-help book – SELF-EDIT/PRO EDIT – and three novels – FACE DOWN, SUNDER, and now FISSURE. With the success of SUNDER she has decided to make the Sunder Series: FISSURE is Book 2.
Kristin embraces time travel, science fiction and dystopian themes and does so convincingly. To entice the reader into her mystery she opens with a Prologue that suggests without divulging the direction of the tale – ‘Diary, Shannan Fitzroy - I’m afraid. I’m so afraid, my body aches from the shaking. At first it was only when I heard him coming down the hall. But then he started coming in while I slept, and now the quaking never stops. I can’t open my mouth more than an inch, and my wrist is the size of a baseball. I’m so afraid and I don’t know what to do. I know I don’t normally talk to you; it’s nothing personal. It’s just that life, until now, has gone pretty well. Besides, Memaw told me you weren’t like Santa Claus—that you don’t care about my wishes. So no, I haven’t felt the need to pester you, or even presume you listen. Because most of the time you don’t. You said so yourself. But in case you do, I would really appreciate your help. Help me help myself. Or just send in a guy on a horse. I’m not picky. I’ll go ahead and say thank you for my accommodations, I guess. It’s a really nice house. If you’re going to be slowly beaten to death by a tattooed sociopath, this is the place to suffer it. There are more than six bedrooms, but I’m only allowed in one. He said it used to be the maid’s room. All the other doors are closed and he watches every move I make. I know he has cameras in here too. When I first found this notebook shoved behind the bed, I half expected him to burst into the room and rip it out of my hands. But so far, he hasn’t. It looks like the maid, Elizabeth, was Italian. I can’t read most of the words in the first half of the book. But Alfredo’s name appears on almost every page, and I didn’t have any trouble understanding the tear blots on the last few pages. I wonder if she died here. Just like I’m going to.’
The tale opens in the year 2114 (and yes, travels….) and Kristin supplies an outline of the plot – ‘He sold his soul for the illusion of power. Now he wants it back. Paul Canaan gave up everything to climb to the top of American society, serving as one of nine men who control and regulate the globe’s time travelers. All he did to attain that position—deny his faith, abandon his homeland and family, and sacrifice the love of his life—was to survive in a game that was rigged against him. But now that game has turned against an innocent young woman, a time traveler who knows the truth that could cause his entire civilization to crumble. Now Paul must decide once more between his position in life and doing what he knows is right. In the wake of murder, family secrets, and the imprisonment of an innocent girl, Paul must use his mastery of deception one last time to set the timeline back on its rightful course.’
This is a fine mixture of terror, time travel, and strange characters, all of which we can only hope the author will continue with the series!
November 20, 2017
Compelling, heartbreaking, and relentless.
When you’ve given up everything for a purpose that turns out to be false, do you have the right to ask others to do the same? This is the dilemma Paul Canaan finds himself in during the course of events in “Fissure”, Kristin McTiernan’s second book in the “Sunder” series.
Switching focus from "Sunder", and Isabella Jaramillo’s predicament in Middle Ages captivity and her father’s attempts to rescue her, to the revelations of the false timeline and how it came to be, the author never lets up, building tension, suspense, and the terror Paul Canaan carries every moment of his life.
What of Shannan, the innocent girl, the harbinger of the truth that could topple everything and everyone in existence?
Or Julio, Shannan’s “handler”, in more horrific ways than one?
Gabriel and his wife Reyna, trying desperately to hold on to their lives and their love for each other, while knowing the truth themselves?
And Monica, the woman who witnessed it all, then returns from the dead to see it happen again?
What Paul must do is not a hero’s work. Who must he trust and who must he defeat to set the world right and make amends for all the mistakes the world has endured at the hands of The Council of the Nine?
An outstanding followup to "Sunder", "Fissure" will immerse you in a whirlwind of intrigue, compassion, and the age-old question; do the ends justify the means?
When you’ve given up everything for a purpose that turns out to be false, do you have the right to ask others to do the same? This is the dilemma Paul Canaan finds himself in during the course of events in “Fissure”, Kristin McTiernan’s second book in the “Sunder” series.
Switching focus from "Sunder", and Isabella Jaramillo’s predicament in Middle Ages captivity and her father’s attempts to rescue her, to the revelations of the false timeline and how it came to be, the author never lets up, building tension, suspense, and the terror Paul Canaan carries every moment of his life.
What of Shannan, the innocent girl, the harbinger of the truth that could topple everything and everyone in existence?
Or Julio, Shannan’s “handler”, in more horrific ways than one?
Gabriel and his wife Reyna, trying desperately to hold on to their lives and their love for each other, while knowing the truth themselves?
And Monica, the woman who witnessed it all, then returns from the dead to see it happen again?
What Paul must do is not a hero’s work. Who must he trust and who must he defeat to set the world right and make amends for all the mistakes the world has endured at the hands of The Council of the Nine?
An outstanding followup to "Sunder", "Fissure" will immerse you in a whirlwind of intrigue, compassion, and the age-old question; do the ends justify the means?
July 3, 2018
As a follow up to Asunder-A Time Travel Book, Kristin McTiernan has done it again in book two of the series, Fissure. Paul Canaan is the main protagonist here, battling his personal demons, and must do what he knows is right. With fully fleshed out characters like Shannan, Monica, and Gabriel and his wife, Reyna, the author successfully pulls you in to everyone's individual story, and wraps them all together in a compelling, and eminently readable book. Issues like trust and compassion run at you full force, making you question the motivations of several characters involved in this tangled plot. For those who love time travel literature, and all that the genre offers, this is a formidable offering, one that goes beyond generic stereotypes, to engage and enthrall the reader. Highly recommend for a twisty, thrilling read that will hold your attention until the satisfying ending.
July 6, 2018
Fissure is the second book from Sunder series, by Kristin McTiernan. I have to say that I’ve read this without reading the first one and it works perfectly as a stand-alone book. I was able to navigate through the story and the characters without feeling that I don’t have all the information I needed or that something is missing. Great job from the author there!
I quite enjoyed this time-travel thriller. It’s an action-packed book with some interesting twists and definitely not your normal sci-fi novel. It deals with some interesting ideas, revolving around human emotions and interactions. The characters are complicated, with lots of layers that offer an interesting take. They grow on you, that’s for sure. You can really understand their backstory, their motivations, and their ambitions and even connect with them, at some point. To me, this is the strongest point of the novel.
I quite enjoyed this time-travel thriller. It’s an action-packed book with some interesting twists and definitely not your normal sci-fi novel. It deals with some interesting ideas, revolving around human emotions and interactions. The characters are complicated, with lots of layers that offer an interesting take. They grow on you, that’s for sure. You can really understand their backstory, their motivations, and their ambitions and even connect with them, at some point. To me, this is the strongest point of the novel.
July 3, 2018
Fun action packed time traveling journey
I found this book Fissure to be a fun read with a good storyline and a pace that kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. In our busy day to day lives, it is always nice to be able to take a break and relax. I found this story met that need extremely well. I found myself lost in the story relating to the emotion and feelings of we developed characters. This story is about Paul Canaan, a man who gave up everything for the success he has achieved. He now finds that success threatened when a young woman is falsely restrained. Will Paul do what is right or what is best for his future. Great journey to take with the characters in this story. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.
I found this book Fissure to be a fun read with a good storyline and a pace that kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. In our busy day to day lives, it is always nice to be able to take a break and relax. I found this story met that need extremely well. I found myself lost in the story relating to the emotion and feelings of we developed characters. This story is about Paul Canaan, a man who gave up everything for the success he has achieved. He now finds that success threatened when a young woman is falsely restrained. Will Paul do what is right or what is best for his future. Great journey to take with the characters in this story. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.
October 16, 2017
Kristin continues to blow me away with this story. Book 2 is even better than Book 1. A twist, a turn, and very definitely a page turner!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews