Tales From The Rift

Book excerpt: Four short stories set in the Riftmaster universe. This collection of four short stories set in the universe of Miles’ 2021 bestselling novel Riftmaster, revisit some readers’ favourite characters and shed some light on others. Like Father, Like Son follows Ari and Oliver’s son, Toby, as he accompanies his father on a hunting trip. We see a little more of Oliver and Ari’s fraught relationship and the struggle that Toby has bonding with his narrow-minded father. Those that Came First takes place during chapter 9 of Riftmaster, with Bailey and Ari attempting to survive a world by delving into the ruins of its fallen civilisation. Bailey sees a little of Earth’s future in its ruins and struggles to balance the need to find out what happened to them, with his own mental health. In War Dance, we venture to Flora’s home planet and meet her race, the Valis, who communicate by changing the colour of their skin. As a result, every conversation is a work of art. This story is a short interaction between two of the species, but it features 6 pieces of art which work alongside the highly visual nature of the story. Child of the Mountain is a coming of age story which delves deeper into Mountain-dweller society. A young Mountain-dweller is born in the coldest winter anyone has ever known, and we see it grow up and learn the intricacies of Mountain-dweller culture. At the end of its second year of life, the mountain-dweller finally gives itself a name: First-horn Speaker. Cover art: Miles Nelson