Authentic selves and a sealed rift
The Call of the Rift: Fuse
by Jae Waller
Toronto: ECW Press, 2026
$23.95 / 9781770417137
Reviewed by Myshara McMyn
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Jae Waller’s final book in the Call of the Rift series is almost here. On the heels of Wake, Fuse hits shelves on April 28, 2026, and with it comes the epic conclusion to an action-packed, magic-filled saga of love, loss, and becoming who you were meant to be.
The Call of the Rift series lands somewhere between fantasy and faux-history. The relationships between the Aikoto Confederacy and the nations of Sverba and Ferland feel very familiar those between the Indigenous peoples of North America and many of the settler nations that came to North America. Magic runs rampant through the world as well, from Kateiko’s water magic and Tiernan’s fire spells to portals between worlds. This combination creates a world of ancient lore and complex political situations that require solutions both magical and not.
Two worlds. One chance to save them all.
A rift has finally opened and Kateiko slips through, finding the world she knew must exist—the copy of her own. Soon, she’s recognized and brought from the rift to Ingdanrad to meet… herself.
The first decision the characters must make is regarding names. Thankfully, northern BC-born Waller has already thought of this and set both Kateikos up with different nicknames. The Kateiko who slips through the rift becomes K, while the one from this world goes by Katja. For the sake of less confusion, I’ll also refer to them by these names throughout this review. I’ll also state here that K is from the first two books in the series, while Katja is from the third and fourth books.
It’s important to note the reason K came through the rift and how it differs from Katja’s motivation. Suriel passed through the rift first and began fighting Ainu-Seru. Ainu-Seru is stronger with Akohin as his companion and won the fight, causing Suriel to flee. Before the rift opened, K had done the unthinkable: she cut off her braid—her spirit—and presented it to Suriel as an offer to become his companion. When Suriel ran off into Katja’s world, K found herself devoid of her spirit and needed to follow in order to reclaim it.
On the other hand, Katja’s main concern is the rifts and saving both worlds from bleeding into one another. K’s world is fraught with droughts and the other with floods. Both are headed towards total collapse as neither world was built to withstand the increasing level of damage from the natural disasters. Katja wants to preserve both worlds, for the sake of all who live in each, while K seems completely wrapped up in retrieving her spirit so that once the worlds are saved, she can be with her Iyo-boy again.
K and Katja are set up for these motivations by the ways in which they grew up, fell in love, and had to fight. They had different lovers, fought in different wars, and watched different friends and family members die. All of these events helped to shape them, and with each differentiating event, they moved further and further away from being the same Kateiko.
It became so much clearer how differently they are treated when placed in juxtaposition to one another. Every single person they know has a different meaning to them and getting to see K react to the ghosts of her past in the flesh saddened Katja. She felt so much sympathy for K and the things she’s lost.
The main differences that seem to have changed the development of each Kateiko is who raised them. Katja was raised by her Temal and Tema (her parents). She grew up to be a healer, training in Ingdanrad and learning through therapy about her mistakes of falling in love with the wrong people.
In contrast, K was raised by her aunt, who disapproves of a great many things and treats K terribly. After K leaves her jouyen, Falwen becomes a father figure to her. Falwen is the Aikoto ambassador in Caladheå, which unfortunately places him in a position of power of the Aikoto people who ask for his help. K continues on a path of fighting, both for herself and against the Rúonbattai. The further she travels down her path, the less parenting and mentorship she receives.
Tiernan is another important person in both Kateiko’s lives. K’s Tiernan is not employed by the military because of his unpredictability and that he’s willing to do anything to get back to his own timeline (a third version of this world). He’s violent and self-serving, seeming to string K along until he simply tosses her away for Marijka, who he then marries.
Katja’s Tiernan is kind, more of a scholar than the violent man who lost his wife. Before he leaves to Sverba to escape the wrongful price on his head, he proposes to Katja. He’s sweet and patient, presenting as a good match for Katja. If it wasn’t for the fact he would be arrested on sight, Katja would have probably said yes. K’s Tiernan comes through the rift, however. How will Katja react to seeing the man she loves so soon after saying goodbye to him? What will she do when she finds out he’s not quite the same?
All these and more lead our two Kateikos here—to their worlds falling apart and everyone they love in danger. Fuse is a complex finale, but one that is well worth reading after the other book in the Call of the Rift series. Waller has done a fantastic job wrapping up her series and leaving me satisfied and without any remaining questions.
Closing the rifts and saving two worlds is a monumental task, and even with all the help from their friends, K and Katja may not be able to pull it off. Between fraught battle scenes, fast-paced danger, and tricky emotional navigation, Fuse is the conclusion you won’t want to miss.
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Myshara McMyn runs the blog Lit&Leta and is a marketing coordinator, social media manager, and aspiring writer in the Shuswap. She spends her time teaching Dungeons & Dragons, reading as much as she can, and helping out on her family’s farm. She holds a BA in English and Creative Writing. [Editor’s note: Myshara has reviewed recent books by Natalie Porter, Jae Waller, Sebastien de Castell, Judith Lepore, Courtney Shepard, Kate Gateley, and Elle Tesch for BCR.]
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The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors: Trevor Marc Hughes (nonfiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction and poetry)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an online book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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