RULKE THE GREAT BETRAYER is free at last, to use the deadly construct he has spent a thousand years perfecting. To succeed he needs just one thing - Karan's sensitive talent. Karan and her lover Llian are lost in the Nightland, in an alien palace that is collapsing around them. Only Rulke can open the gate and send them home to Santhenar, but Karan is terrified that he will corrupt Llian first. Yggur and Mendark, sworn enemies, struggle to tame the power of the rift. They must seal the gate before Rulke brings forth his construct. If they fail he will ravage the world. And if they succeed, Karan and Llian will be trapped in the Nightland for eternity. REVIEWS US Edition of The Tower on the Rift listed in Sciencefiction.com's Best of 2001. "High suspense and tense character interaction - great reading!" Van Ikin, Sydney Morning Herald BEST BOOKS OF 1998 on The Tower on the Rift. 'Irvine's evocation of landscapes tortured into strangeness by aeons of magical intervention and cities wrecked by civil strife is crisply visualised; his set pieces of action – a fight with pirates, a trek through desert, a magical duel – are involving and viscerally exciting; his characters are complex individuals who grow and change-the semi-villainous Maigraith has become almost a secondary heroine.' Roz Kaveney, Amazon UK. 'Wonderfully deep, fast-paced adventure.' Barnesandnoble.com (US). 'Dark is the Moon pulled me along like a tidal wave to its powerful ending.' Hilary Williamson, Bookloons.com (US). 'An intense story that starts slowly but becomes increasingly compelling. In a world full of epic fantasy clones, this stands out as a worldbuilding labour of love with some truly original touches.' Locus. 'Irvine's series opener promises a grand-scale epic fantasy that features a pair of unusual heroes and a complex world rich in history and variety. For most fantasy collections.' Library Journal (US) 'Ian Irvine is a great find! He writes beautifully about a vast and intricate world that seems utterly real. His characters are as well drawn as any I've come across in fantasy. Best of all, none of them are quite what they seem when first introduced: no white hats, no black hats. I found them refreshing, complicated, and compelling.' Kate Elliott, author of King's Dragon. 'As good as anything I have read in the fantasy genre.' Adelaide Advertiser. 'Irvine has built a history and wonderful culture for his vivid world. His first novel vibrates with originality.' The West Australian.