Solar Rift 2120

The Prologue Novel

By: Steve Rivers

Narrated by: Steve Rivers

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Raz takes care of the physical, Namazu takes care of the digital.
But Namazu isn't like any hacker you've seen before....

Together, they are Namaraz Solutions Ltd—freelance infiltration experts and corporate spies.

Pilot. Geek. Ambitious. Zarina Verma is one of three crew members aboard the Emergency Response Vehicle Xiangu, a patrolling spaceship belonging to the TKR Corporation.

Her job is protecting people and property...and getting her crew home alive.

Solar Rift 2120 tells two thrilling and interconnected tales of realistic science-fiction and cyberpunk espionage, set in the asteroid belt and on Earth a century into the future.

On Earth, the private investigator and infiltration expert, Raz Kadir, and his business partner, the flamboyant Japanese hacker Namazu, take a job for the up-and-coming Viator Engineering and Logistics company. With their first job ending up as a bumpy ride, things start spiraling out of control when they’re asked to blur the boundaries of legality and morality. Before long, the pair are lost in the murky and deadly world of inter-corporate warfare and need to use all of their cunning in order to keep their freedom.

In the asteroid belt beyond Mars, pilot and navigator Zarina Verma and her two fellow crew-mates are coming to the end of their two-year tour of duty. Responding to problems that automated droneships fail to take care of, the crew encounters a destroyed mining station belonging to their employers, the TKR Corporation. As the mystery unfolds, the mission not only begins to strain their friendship but tests their mettle against an ever-increasing threat.

©2020 Steve Rivers (P)2022 Steve Rivers

An auspicious beginning - Worth a credit

Solar Rift 2120 is billed as a prologue novel, and that it is. There's no beginning-to-end epic saga here. What there is, is a great opening to a story I am now very much looking forward to hearing the rest of. This is not to say there's no satisfaction at the conclusion of this book. Just keep in mind when you get there, that this is the prologue.

There are two separate story lines at play here, and Rivers creates two equally engaging plots, braiding together a high-stakes action tale in space and an anti-hero spycraft story back on Earth.

I'm no cyber-punk buff, but I do know that Solar Rift is fun sci-fi. There's adventure, espionage and highly imaginative tech, no dour dystopia or dismal post-apocalypse deathscape. It manages to be smart and engaging without dragging you through an existential nightmare. It does deal with a major class struggle that's integral to both stories. I have no doubt it will be a bigger focus later and might even get dark for all I know. For now though, it's more world-building and character motivation than focal point.

Speaking of world-building, this book is immersive for its size. There's just the right amount of mythology. It's intriguing and easy to imagine as a possible future.

I apologize for burying this lead here, but I have to say, the stars of this show are, well, the stars. I loved the characters. They were unique and quirky and imperfect enough to add a great deal of verisimilitude to the reality of the book. Namazu is destined to be every reader's favorite. She's just fantastic, and I want more.

As to the performances, color me impressed. I've listened to a dozen full-cast audiobooks, if not twice that. When they're good, they're good, but when they're bad, they're abysmal. An untalented cast or sub-par editing can absolutely ruin a novel, so I was apprehensive going in. According to the afterword, Rivers auditioned a ton of voice actors for each character, and it shows. He chose wisely. I don't know if the actors are actually from the same countries as the multi-national cast of characters, but it was definitely believable. Again, you'll love Namazu, and Rivers does a great job as narrator. The performances as well as the seamless timing between the narration and the dialog reminded me of listening to the His Dark Materials trilogy. It was well done.

Rivers also mentions in the afterword that he's an independent author, making this production all the more impressive. As I'm only the second person to review this audiobook, I imagine at the time of writing this, that it has not been heard by many listeners yet. Support independent art and spend a credit on this audiobook. You won't be sorry.