#Review - The Rift Coda by Amy S. Foster #SyFy

Series: The Rift Uprising Trilogy # 3
Format: E-Galley, 368 pages
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: SyFy / Action & Adventure

The exciting, action-packed finale to The Rift Uprising trilogy that rivals the thrills and action of The Hunger Games and Red Rising
Ryn Whittaker started an uprising. Now she has to end it.

Not long ago, Ryn knew what her future would be—as a Citadel, a genetically enhanced super-soldier, it was her job to protect her version of Earth among an infinite number of other versions in the vast Multiverse at any cost. But when Ezra Massad arrived on Ryn’s Earth, her life changed in an instant, and he pushed her to start asking why she was turned into a Citadel in the first place.

What began as merely an investigation into her origins ended up hurling Ryn, Ezra, and Ryn’s teammate Levi through the Multiverse and headlong into a conspiracy so vast and complex that Ryn can no longer merely be a soldier . . . she must now be a general. And in becoming a true leader, she must forge alliances with unpredictable species, make impossible decisions, and face deep sacrifices. She must lead not thousands, but hundreds of thousands of troops under her command and in doing so, leave any trace of her childhood behind.

Ryn always knew that she was created to fight. But now she must step forward and lead.

 

The Rift Code is the finale to The Rift Uprising Trilogy that began with The Rift Uprising and The Rift Frequency. The story picks up right where The Rift Frequency ended. This series touches on dystopian themes and features a strong female protagonist, Ryn Whittaker, who like Katniss Everdeen and Beatrice Prior, possesses the kick-ass daring and courage of Ender in Ender’s Game and Darrow in Red Rising. Wow, that was a mouthful! 

Ryn Whittaker started an uprising. Now she has to end it. Every Citadel begins with a lie. Not long ago, Ryn knew what her future would be as a Citadel, a genetically enhanced super-soldier. It was her job to protect her version of Earth among an infinite number of other versions in the vast Multiverse at any cost. From the age of 7, it was the only thing she knew. But, when Ezra Massad arrived on Ryn’s Earth, her life changed in an instant, and he pushed her to start asking why she was turned into a Citadel in the first place.

What began as merely an investigation into her origins ended up hurling Ryn, Ezra, and Ryn’s teammate Levi Branach through the Multiverse and headlong into a conspiracy so vast and complex that Ryn can no longer merely be a soldier. She must now become the leader of like minded folks who are tired of what the Roone's did to them. And in becoming a true leader, she must forge alliances with unpredictable species, make impossible decisions, and face deep sacrifices. She must lead not thousands, but hundreds of thousands of troops under her command and in doing so, leave any trace of her childhood behind. 

I am going to just say this, since I used part of the synopsis for the book itself, Holy smokes! was that an action packed finale to the series, or what?! Every author should take note of what Amy Foster did and emulate it freely. Ryn, Levi, yes, even Ezra, have pulled together an impressive collections of other Citadels to fight a very bloody war against their oppressors. This group includes genetically modified beings called Faida who look like Angels. They freed human Citadels from a drug which leads to blood lust.

Then, there's the Sen Mach's who are a group of beings who look like famous Hollywood actors who has given Ryn superior technology, including drones, that she can use to do her job. Then, she really pushes the limits of her courage when she literally gives away something in return for help from a race called who has several arms. Let's walk away from real life since there are those who call certain people oppressors. These oppressors took these children when they were 7, immediately began brain washing them, and then when the got to their teen years, they put them on the front line fighting those who came through the Rifts.

I am going to close this review before I end up spoiling something by saying, HELL YES, I recommend this series. I recommend that you find the first book, and don't stop until you get to the end of this book. If you love kickass heroines, with plenty action, suspense, and yes, a bit of romance as well, you will love this trilogy.

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Wednesday #Review - The Rift Frequency by Amy S. Foster #Science Fiction @HarperVoyagerUS

Series: The Rift Uprising Trilogy # 2
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages 
Release Date: October 31, 2017
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fiction \ Science Fiction \ Action & Adventure 

To save her love and unlock the mystery of who she is, a brave young woman must travel between alternate realities in this exciting second book in The Rift Uprising Trilogy

She didn’t mean to, but teenage super-solider Ryn Whittaker started an uprising.

For three years Ryn was stationed at The Battle Ground Rift site—one of the fourteen mysterious and unpredictable tears in the fabric of the universe that serve as doorways to alternate Earths—and then she met Ezra Massad.

Falling in love and becoming a rebel Citadel wasn’t part of Ryn’s life plan, but with Ezra there asking all the right questions, they began to decode what’s really going on, and what they discovered was enough to start a civil war.

When the base explodes with infighting and Ezra gets caught in the fray, he is accidentally pushed through the Rift, taking a stolen laptop—and the answers it could give Ryn—with him.

Now all Ryn wants is to locate Ezra and get back to her Earth. But that’s not easy when she’s traveling the multiverse with Levi, the painfully guarded Citadel who shoved Ezra through in the first place. And Ryn is quickly learning that inside the multiverse there is no normal—it’s adapt, or die—and the one weapon she really needs to win the war back home is the truth.

The Rift Frequency, by author Amy S. Foster, is the second installment in The Rift Uprising Trilogy. The Rift Frequency is an action packed, science fiction, travel through strange alternate multiverses adventure. Protagonist Ryn Whittaker is a Citadel, a super soldier who was altered by an alien race called the Roones. She's also team leader of beta team and the instigator of a rebellion against her superiors. Ryn and Levi Branach have jumped into the Rift in order to find Ezra Massad who uncovered things about what was done to them as children.

As Ryn and Levi journey their way through dozens of multiverses, they also come into contact with a variety of different settings as well as a variety of curious beings. From a universe where the US was conquered by Japan, to a universe that is toxic, to a universe that could be called water world, to a world where everyone looks like someone important back on Ryn's world. Let's stop a moment and chat about this universe. This is important because these are sentient machines who have reached what's called a singularity where AI's have overtaken human intelligence and a doomsday scenario followed.

Ryn and Levi are the first humans in 2,000 years. These beings are a bit overprotective about not wanting them to leave. Ever. It is also the point in the series where Ryn knows she needs all the allies and technology she can get her hands on for her fight against the Roones and their human supporters. Not only do Ryn and Levi find themselves with new technology, but perhaps a hope for a future where Ryn and the rest of the Citadel's can actually have a normal life free of protecting the Rift from aliens that arrive on Earth.

Ryn & Levi's journey brings them to an world where the Romans are still around. This is pretty interesting actually. Ryn and Levi are caught, become temporary slaves who are forced to become gladiators in order to fight for their lives and freedom. Why I mention this at all, is that this is the point where someone starts to follow the duo wherever they go. This is the point where Ryn understands that there is much, much more to her than she ever knew which is later confirmed by another alien race. She can actually feel when Rift's are created. She can feel when something in their setting is not right. 

I loved the idea of multiverse travel. I'm curious about the relationship that grows between Ryn and Levi, while Ryn's relationship with Levi cools off significantly. I will say this. I liked Levi because we know who he is and what he is capable of because Ryn is as well. He will follow Ryn because he respects her and what's she's done. Then there's Ezra who I really didn't care for this time out. Seems as though he's lost everything that made him interesting in the first installment. Instead, Ezra becomes a whiny, snot nosed douche who thinks he's better than anyone else. Meanwhile, Ryn's journey ends on a curious cliffhanger ending. The fact that these are supersoldiers with Star Trek technology, including drones, gets to the core of my geek side. Bring me the sequel now!

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Thursday #Review - The Rift Uprising by Amy S Foster (#YALIT, Science Fiction)

Series: The Rift Uprising Trilogy # 1
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: YA / Science Fiction

The first book in the fast-paced action-adventure, The Rift Uprising trilogy—an enthralling mix of speculative fiction and military thriller—in which a young soldier comes to question the monsters she’s trained to fight against . . . and the monsters she fights for

Seventeen-year-old Ryn Whittaker is a Citadel: an elite, enhanced soldier specially chosen to guard a Rift, a mysterious and dangerous portal to alternate Earths scientists cannot control or close. Trained from the age of fourteen, Ryn can run faster, jump farther, and fight better than a Navy SEAL—which is good when you’re not sure if a laser-wielding Neanderthal or an axe-wielding Viking is trying to make it through the Rift and into her world.

But the teenager’s military conditioning and education have not prepared her for the boy who crosses through—a confused young man, seemingly lost and alone. Because while there’s an immediate physical attraction, it’s his intelligence and curiosity that throws Ryn off balance. The stranger asks disturbing questions about the Rift that Ryn herself has never considered—questions that lead her to wonder if everything about her life and what she’s been told these past six years has been a lie. Are the Rifts as dangerous as her leaders say? Should her people really try to close them . . . or learn how to travel through them?

The Rift Uprising is the first installment in author Amy S. Foster's The Rift Uprising Trilogy. Set in a not too distant future, the story features 17-year old Ryn Whittaker. Ryn is the leader of Beta Team, a group of super-soldiers who have been trained since an early age to protect the world from invaders who show up through Rifts. Rifts are portals to an infinite number of other Earths. Rifts that manage to cobbler all sorts of strange and wondrous beings and animals that drop them on Ryn's world.

Ryn and her teammates are based out of Washington State (Bonneville Military Camp). At Fourteen, Ryn and her teammates chips, implanted in their heads, were activated. For 3 years Ryn has stood guard watching for what comes out of the Rift. You never know what may come out of the Rift. One day it might be the hated Karekins, the next it might be Vikings, the day after that it might be curious beings that could be Edward Cullen and his family. Or, if you are really lucky, you may see a unicorn or dinosaur come through.

Ryn and her fellow teammates Boone, Violet, and Henry have amazing abilities. They heal quicker, they have increased stamina, they can run longer and faster, they have eidetic memory, they learn languages quickly, and they share a huge secret that nobody outside of the ARC can understand. Their families actually believe they are attending a higher accelerated education. But, there is a downfall. They can pretty much never have sex for fear of hurting, or killing their partners thanks to a maddening psychosis known as Bloodlust.

Ryn has never once broken protocol for any reason. But, after a boy named Ezra is dropped through the rift, things change. Ezra's arrival triggers something in Ryn that leads her to start questioning everything about the Allied Rift Coalition (ARC), Rifts, Roones, (a highly evolved humanoid species that created certain technologies), the Village where Immigrants are sent and are never allowed to leave, and how she and the other Citadels are not allowed to touch anyone for fear of being swallowed up whole by the bloodlust. 

One could say that there is an instance of instalove between Ryn and Ezra. Yes, I've said how much I hate instalove. An author recently told me to think of instalove situations as though you are the adolescent whose hormones are just getting charged up. There you see a boy, or girl for that matter, who just gets your heart beating faster than the engine of a race car. Not like that has every happened to me. Nope. What? Don't believe me? :::evil grin:: The preoccupation of having sex in this book took away from my overall enjoyment of the story. 

This story is filled with references to movies and TV shows like Ender's Game, Twilight, Transformers, and Buffy the Vampire slayer. Ryn does get away with a whole lot of shenanigans in this book that others probably would have been court-martialed or worse. As this is the first book in the trilogy, there is a whole lot of name dropping, and background static. Some is necessary to understand what Ryn and her fellow Citadel members have been put through. The rest is just the line that crosses what makes this more of an adult themed book, than a young adult one.

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