Review of Edge of the Breach by Halo Scot

Edge of the Breach by Halo Scot
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Edge of the Breach is a deep and fascinating delve into darkness. Behold the birth of monsters and the redemption of the unredeemable.

Set far into the future in a cross-genre sci-fi/fantasy, after civilization has fallen and humanity has fled to the now-hot Antarctica, people struggle to keep society together by utilizing a brutal underbelly. At some point in the past, an interdimensional breach appeared in the heavens, introducing new gods and granting people magical powers based on the season.

The story is told from the point of view of a boy, Kyder, and a girl, Rune, who each fight their own demons and manage to survive at their wits end, both powerful in their respective magic, and both growing to adulthood and surviving on the streets to command their own groups. This is no story for the fainthearted! It is a "grimdark" story, and Halo Scot doesn't flinch from showing us the details of torture, pain, S&M, and forbidden sex. The gritty details lend a dark and realistic bent until, drawn along the current, you are pulled through the rapids of the streams of their lives until, at last, they join into a raging river.

The story is the beginning of a series that revolves around an interdimensional war. But that war only really comes into play at the end of this volume. That didn't matter to me. I was enthralled with story of the two characters and how the darkness and violence of their lives shaped them into terrifying yet relatable people just trying to climb to the top of the dogpile. Highly recommended.

Cheers and happy reading!

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