The Rift A Novel by Larry W. Phillips � eBook Larry W. Phillips
Download As PDF : The Rift A Novel by Larry W. Phillips � eBook Larry W. Phillips 
ALTERNATE HISTORY...
On the day following the 2017 inauguration of Jack Stenhouse as President of the United States, a mysterious Rift appears in the center of the Atlantic Ocean. The mystery takes a more ominous turn when it is discovered that on the other side of the Rift it is 1943. World War II is in progress. On top of the usual range of modern problems, fate now deals the new President the task of dealing with the German war machine.
A cast of characters including Special Forces, spies, historians, forgers, weapons experts, German cabaret singers, Navy SEALs (who are tasked with the mission of kidnapping Hitler), and frontline GI's are soon using modern technology to fight WWII with the high tech weaponry of the 21st century alongside Allied historical figures from the past.
The Rift is a literary-themed novel told through interrelated stories which connect around the globe to different points of the larger story. At times historical, and other times humorous and satirical, the action is seen through the eyes and points of view of participants in different parts of the conflict. It is a comparative look at the military might of Germany in 1943 versus the U.S. military of 2017, and is also an allegory, a reference to modern "rifts" which are occurring, from political to cultural to high tech and VR (virtual reality). Not an explosive, slam-bang, action-packed adventure story, but more of a psychological portrait of different participants whose fates are intertwined and paths cross - men and women caught up in different parts of the sinister web created by Hitler's reappearance on the world scene.
The Rift A Novel by Larry W. Phillips � eBook Larry W. Phillips
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The Rift A Novel by Larry W. Phillips � eBook Larry W. Phillips Reviews
There is little real adventure in this book. The author skips around with dim short chapters that are hard to connect to the theme. The action packed novel you expect about the US Military might crushing the Nazis just does not come to life.
There's a TV channel on cable today devoted to great old TV series such as Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits" ("We control the horizontal. We control the vertical...") that used to explore the unusual or fantastic and employed great writers like Asimov or Anderson or even Serling himself that provided a thrill a minute, especially for an 8-year-old (as well as keeping him up all night worrying about whether it will happen).
We remember one episode that showed an old salt on a late 1950s destroyer who was the only survivor of a sunken World War II sub. As the destroyer neared the spot of the sinking the crew could hear the clanging of crewman for help. At the same time, the old salt sees his former - now drowned - crewmen in the mirror beckoning him to "where he belongs as he knows he should have been lost with the sub." He races off the destroyer and dives in and no one sees him again, that is, until divers get into the sub and there with a large spanner in hand is the now long-dead old salt. That was scary enough but it set the tone for novels like it where people travel back and forth in time with the ease of getting on New York's subway.
Larry W. Phillips' "The Rift" is part of that genre. The basic premise is an American president is sworn in and on the day after a mysterious rift appears in the middle of the Atlantic with its beginning in Brazil and ending off Greenland. Phillips could have done something with this and he did really try to do it, but, the rift just appears there with no explanation except that on one side today exists and on the other it's the middle of World War II.
He almost starts things off excitingly early with craft or planes going through the rift from 1943 to today end up in small pieces while those going the other way somehow get through. That's the high point, from there it falls into a series of high and lows. The high includes trying to help the Allies win the war using today's technology flown to the past or put into the past. The lows include a comic opera kidnapping of Hitler, whose mattress is too thin and who is written as a cowardly hysterical madman by the author; the president's mother suffering from what appear to be the early stages of Alzheimer's walking into a turning vehicle (the driver and husband are, believe it or not, exonerated of any fault and invited to the White House for a small dinner of 500).
Meantime, they put together a team of generals and historians who bring the future and future technology with them and hints of who is going to win - never thinking of how this might figure into modern history and how it may change the time line; a virtual no-no in most science fiction. One of the historians, it turns out, also has the cloud of scandal over his head and is forced to resign. And, others of various tactical groups are told they can say they are from the "future" and tell the soldiers and citizens what will happen.
At times this book can get downright confusing and what it really needs is a good re-editing with the editor asking the right questions. And, at other times, the characters are fully developed and the characterization and plot line work well.
This is a book of "could have beens" had it been edited more tightly and had the writer taken his time to look at other similar works to see how the authors of those works use the past-present gamut. He likely would have found that there would have been something like "Star Trek's" Prime Directive which forbid bringing technology or even knowledge of the existence of the Enterprise to a lesser civilization. It is a work that could have been more tensely and intensely written had Phillips chosen to focus on one character beside a president who doesn't seem to be in charge.
On the other hand, the dialogue is excellently written and where there is a need for tension as the "The Rift" collapses (with no explanation) it is put there. The ending is somewhat formulaic.
Altogether "The Rift" has a lot going for it - unfortunately too much is left either unexplained or unfulfilled - however, if Phillips and company commit to a complete rewrite and edit, they will have one good book on their hands.
This novel took me a long time to get through. It was hard to follow what was going on and as a result I found myself have a hard time picking it up and reading it. In short, “The Rift†is a historic fiction/sci-fi hybrid novel that introduces a lot of new concepts but does little to nothing with them. If I could compare this novel to anything it would have to be the twilight zone. It gave off that kind of “off†feeling that I normally feel when I watch that show.
The writing in is novel is solid I liked the illustrations, however great writing cannot hold up bad story boarding on its own. This novel is lacking some serious direction, and it honestly just needs some more editing. 2/5 stars.
Wisconsin native Larry W. Phillips is the author of numerous books, including `Ernest Hemingway On Writing', `Zen and the Art of Poker', `F Scott Fitzgerald on Writing', `Covering the Second Coming', `The Tao of Poker', `Madison Retro' He began his writing career as a reporter for the United Country Courier newspaper. Before focusing upon books, he authored many magazine and newspaper articles. From this collection of titles it would seem that though well informed about writing and gaming there is little to suggest that his interest move into the fantasy form. THE RIFT takes us places we cannot go and it is this implausible fact that makes the novel so interesting in concept.
A Prologue opens the story - a man of means named Cassidy and his girlfriend Jenelle sailed out on the ocean with a Mariachi band on January 14, 2017 - ten days later the boat is found dismembered, after the news of Chapter One sinks in. `USA Today A rift occurred in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, running straight up and down, north to south, Arctic to Antarctic, in the shape of a five foot wide fault-line, and nobody knows why.' `Oh, and by the way. On one side of the line it is 1943' where as the story is taking place in 2017. It is this disjointing line of thought that opens Larry W. Phillips' newest book THE RIFT. While some readers are having difficulty with this concept - two timeframes separated by a rift in the ocean - the concept works well for Phillips' tale. WW II with all the accoutrements including the ominous Adolph Hitler's moves are on one side of the rift whereas the newly elected President Stenhouse is on the other side, facing those who are clouded with confusion as to the meaning of the rift and holding Stenhouse responsible. How those on the 2017 side respond to the war on the 1943 side, the goal being to dismantle the machinations of Hitler's atrocities brings contemporary technology to alter history involves a strange cast of characters - Navy SEALs ordered to kidnap Hitler (and the at times comical response to that postulate), Special Forces, spies, forgers, weapons experts on the war front, the Presidents Alzheimer's Disease mother, historians, and scientists on the US side makes for a fascinating reconstruction of the biggest `What If' game that has entered contemporary literature.
Phillips' ideas are entertaining and challenging and the story is inherently a fascinating alternative history tale. All the elements of a fine book are present a really fine editor is needed to clean the playing table and help Phillips' novel work. But it is a very good start. Grady Harp, April 14
The Rift by Larry Philips is a war and military fiction novel. Larry told the adventurous story of the newly elected American president-Jack Stenhouse. The following day after his inauguration, while on the sea, a mysterious rift occurred on the Atlantic Ocean. The rift began in Brazil and ended in Greenland. As the story developed, Mr President was left with the task of having to figure how to deal with the German military and its forces. This is really an adventurous novel and its very interesting. Lots of dramas and actions. I recommend!
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