'The Rift' by Walter Jon Williams is a disaster novel set in the United States, focusing on a series of devastating earthquakes that lead to widespread flooding, the threat of nuclear meltdown, and civil disturbance. The plot follows various groups of characters as they navigate the aftermath of the natural disaster, including themes of survival, social consequences, and dealing with extreme situations. The author incorporates historical letters from the 1800s earthquake, technical details about earthquakes and nuclear reactors, and explores the interactions between characters amidst the chaos.

Characters:

Characters in the novel often lack depth and complexity, leading to a predictable storyline, though some relationships provide moments of interest.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is heavily detailed and incorporates extensive research but suffers from being excessively descriptive and repetitive.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around a massive earthquake impacting the New Madrid fault, emphasizing the chaos and survival challenges that arise from such a disaster, yet it becomes muddled with many subplots and characters.

Setting:

The setting spans the contemporary 1990s in the New Madrid fault region, drawing on historical earthquakes to enrich the narrative.

Pacing:

The pacing suffers from inconsistency, sometimes meandering due to excessive detail, requiring readers to skim through sections.

It is a remarkable fact, that there is a chain of low, level and marshy lands, commencing at the City of Cape Girardeau, in Missouri, and extending to the Gulf of Mexico; and between these two points ...

Notes:

The Rift is set during a massive earthquake on the New Madrid Fault in the 1990s.

The book features many subplots and characters, but many are criticized for lacking depth.

The earthquake is described as a major character in the story, but it does not vary much in its portrayal.

Nick and Jason's journey down the Mississippi River is highlighted as a strong part of the narrative.

The author included historical letters from past earthquakes in the 1800s, but some readers found them repetitive.

The novel attempts to explore themes like race relations and survivalism, but it was seen as superficial.

The book was well-researched, but the amount of technical detail was seen as excessive by some readers.

Characters like Nick and Jason were well-developed, while others were viewed as uninteresting or expendable.

The plot is sometimes predictable, with familiar disaster novel tropes utilized.

The book was praised for being engaging and a good read despite its flaws.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The Rift contains themes of violence, including natural disaster chaos, socio-political unrest, and racially charged tensions, warranting medium content warnings.

From The Publisher:

"The Rift would be a very good beach book, if you could put it down long enough to get into the water." —— The San Diego Union Tribune FRACTURE LINES PERMEATE THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES. Some comprise the New Madrid fault, the most dangerous earthquake zone in the world.

Other fracture lines are social—— economic, religious, racial, and ethnic. What happens when they all crack at once? Caught in the disaster as cities burn and bridges tumble, young Jason Adams finds himself adrift on the Mississippi with African-American engineer Nick Ruford.

A modern-day Huck and Jim, they spin helplessly down the river and into the widening faults in American society, encountering violence and hope, compassion and despair, and the primal wilderness that threatens to engulf not only them, but all they love...

" A breakout book that you'll swear the author lived" —— SF Age "I don't like disaster novels. I would not have even glanced at The Rift if it weren't backed by Walter Jon Williams' reputation for excellence.

And I definitely would not have kept reading if Williams hadn't demonstrated on every page that he deserves his reputation. The result? I was so engrossed in—— and engaged by ——The Rift that I forgot that I don't like disaster novels.

This book is an impressive achievement.” —— Stephen R. Donaldson, New York Times bestselling author of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant "The Rift is bloody wonderful! Williams brings an historic disaster back for an encore and metaphorically flattens it again.

This is the stuff for which sleep is lost--and awards are made." —— Dean Ing "The Rift shakes up the world like it's never been shaken before." —— Fred Saberhagen "[For fans of the disaster novel] Williams delivers the requisite thrills and setpieces—— but he also, to paraphrase Conrad, offers a bit of that truth for which they forgot to ask." —— Locus

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The Rift

Walter Jon Williams