The Rift

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I thought of putting it down several times in the 180 pages of character development that precede any action. There are several story lines deftly woven together in this book and in the end I admit it was probably necessary to take up those 180 pages, so hang in there. It's worth it. The book centers around a huge 8.9 quake that takes place along the New Madrid fault in the midwest. It throws the mighty Mississippi right out of its course and generally creates havoc and mayhem. It is a successful "disaster" story with bad guys and heroes galore plus lots of ordinary folk that we can relate to as well. The nine central characters are all sufficiently unique to present a good cross-section of human show more nature so that we are treated to a well-rounded speculative look at the ramifications of the failure of our society's systems and their effects on individuals. Throughout the book there are quotations from historical documents of the last earthquake on the New Madrid that took place in 1812 which while horrible elude to even greater horrors of the impending disaster of a large scale quake in our more complex and populated world.
The story lines expose several small fractures in our own society such as fundamentalism and the malice of white supremacy that are similar in their own ways to building a nuclear power plant over a major fault line. The plot shows us how foolish our failure to pay attention is and how easily these threats can one day open up and swallow us whole. While imprisoned by crazed KKK members a black man answers the frantic querey of "Why?!" by saying "Because somebody overlooked this damn place, overlooked it for a century, probably. All it took for death to take a grip on a community was a handful of crazy people and a lot of other people who weren't paying attention."
The book is well researched and very scary in its implications. Industry and expediency have caused us to build and invest and grow our civilization right over top of one of the most unstable places on Earth with our usual short-sighted "it can't happen here" attitude and our wishful thinking. There is and has been, for a very long time, plenty of evidence that a disaster of overwhelming proportions is inevidable but we have systematically chosen not to pay attention to the facts.
This book makes for very exciting and entertaining reading. It is full of edge of the seat action and thought-provoking ideas and insights. The characters are rich in detail and the message that floats in and out between the lines is a powerful one. show less

Jason Adams is a young boy caught in a natural disaster as is everyone else along the Mississippi River and its tributary river basins.

What’s happening? Continental plates and overlying sediments are shifting to relieve stress once again just as they did in the fall of 1811…before the area was thickly settled by white settlers; before the area became the industrial axis of the United States.

The scenario is realistic and ultimately frightening. It is a stark testimony to the powerlessness of humanity to control and manipulate nature; and to mankind’s vulnerability to both natural disasters and the darker, baser, more sinister predilection for violence, prejudice and taking advantage of others who have been hurt.

Using a cast of show more complicated well-developed characters, the author paints a picture of both the good and the bad in people who are all facing a struggle to survive whether they all realize it or not.

The Rift is a great read. It should be required reading for everyone who believes that Earth will remain unchanging in its present form forever. show less

[The Rift] by [Walter J. Williams] is exactly the type of book I love to read. I enjoy dystopian that could actually happen such as the Yellowstone Volcano or, in this case, the New Madrid Fault. [Williams] does a great job describing the events that could happen if this fault slipped. Also he does a nice job creating characters both likable and ones you keep hoping will die. The way he brings all the different story lines together is predictable but works. I recommend this book.

This is the only Williams book I have read but I was astounded by his descriptions, attention to detail and depth of his characters. The historical insight to what "could be" is incredible plus the factual evidence from past quakes really transcends the "fiction" quality of the book. Very interesting read from what was, to what could be.

A dystopian look at the United States after a major earthquake in the center of the country inflicts major infrastructure damage. Less implausible than one might think, The Rift is a highly readable fictional disaster book.

I enjoyed it and would like to learn if any if the history is accurate. Great action and characters; believable plot/story

At 900 plus pages was a long read but not a bad book if you like the mass disaster type of story. Takes about 200 pages to get all the charactors in place but worth the time.

The basic story is a massive earthquake that hits the mid-west along the new Madrid fault which runs
through the Mississippi Valley (The last one happened about 150+ years ago and changed the landscape). It does give a good picture of what would happen if it were to happen today, in our modern cities, farms, Levi systems etc. Plus populations in the millions rather than a few 100 thousand that lived on the frontier.
The author does manage to keep you interested and feel for the charactors