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"Great fantasy epic"

Tensor of the Aachim blames the other three human species for the woes suffered by his people actually caused by his leadership. His desire is pandemic destruction at a level never seen in known history. His scheme gels when Yggur the Sorcerer destroys Thurkad, forcing the Great Conclave attendees to flee for their safety. Tensor abducts Lilan the Chronicler and steals the magical Mirror of Aachan that a millennium ago belonged to his race and reflects all it has seen. Through the Twisted Mirror, Tensor plans to eradicate all he loathes.

Karan borders on lunacy without Lilan to anchor her, but only she can find Tensor, Lilan, and the mirror, that is if her mind remains sane long enough to hold a rationale thought. She and the likes of Yggor and Shand the hermit magician will meet in a desperate gathering of the magic at a bastion long lost to time in the midst of the Dry Sea Desert with the fate of Santhenar and probably the other two orbs at stake.

THE TOWER ON THE RIFT, volume two of the "View From the Mirror", is a powerful epic fantasy loaded with numerous threads and sidebars that ultimately merge into a complex cohesive story line. An introductory synopsis of the first novel (see A SHADOW ON THE GLASS) helps provide perspective, but reading the debut volume would enhance perusing this extremely complicated book. Ian Irvine's vividly descriptive universe should go to the head of the reading lists of the sub-genre audience because the characters are multiple-dimensional, the worlds and its species feel real, and the outstanding plots majestic in scope.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted December 15, 2002

Once there were three Worlds, each with its own human species. Then, fleeing out of the void came a fourth species, the Charon. Desperate and on the edge of extinction, they shifted the balance between the Worlds forever. Now Karan, a young Sensitive who carries the blood of all three Worlds, has come into possession of the Mirror of Aachen, which holds the power to heal-or destroy-World relations. But as war rages, Tensor, the leader of the Aachim people, steals the mirror and flees into the wilderness with the lovely young Chronicler, Llian, leaving all to wonder how they plan to use their powerful new magic.