Release Date: 15/05/14
Publisher: Gollancz
SYNOPSIS:
Karigan G'ladheon is a Green Rider - a seasoned member of the royal messenger corps whose loyalty and her bravery have already been tested many times. And her final, explosive magical confrontation with Mornhavon the Black should have killed her. But rather than finding death, and peace, Karigan wakes to a darkness deeper than night. The explosion has transported her somewhere - and into a sealed stone sarcophagus - and now she must escape, somehow, before the thinning air runs out and her mysterious tomb becomes her grave. Where is she? Does a trap, laid by Mornhavon, lie beyond her prison? And if she can escape, will she find the world beyond the same - or has the magic taken her out of reach of her friends, home and King forever...? 'Kristen Britain is one of the most astonishing fantasy writers wroking today' Tess Gerritsen, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author
REVIEW:
I’ve been a huge fan of Kristen’s Green Rider series, so every time I get the chance to return to her imaginative and wonderfully developed world you’ll find me shutting out the real world to embark on the latest adventure.
So sitting back with my reading supplies, I couldn’t wait to see what the pages held in store. Yet for all this, I couldn’t help but think what the hell had happened to the principle character. She’d changed drastically and whilst I originally thought perhaps I was remembering her wrong a reread of what has come before proved to me that Kristen was trying to fit more into what’s popular within the genre rather than what the readers bought her books for in the first place.
Add to this a plotline that felt flat, a convoluted overall arc and all round I was greatly disappointed. I really hope that this will be rectified in future outings.
Release Date: 16/06/11
SYNOPSIS:
Karigan G'ladheon was a regular girl until she stumbled across a dying man. There were two arrows embedded in his back, and wherever his horse was taking him, he was going to die before they got there. He gave Karigan his horse, his cloak and his brooch - the symbol that he was one of the King's Green Riders - and, with them, his mission. To deliver a message to the King. He made her swear to do it ...even though the Shadow Man who killed him would be hot on her trail. That mission made her a Green Rider. Now, her first legendary mission is long complete. Karigan has learnt to wield the magic her Green Rider brooch allows her to access, and she's used it to defy some of the most terrifying dark magicians of the age. But while Mornhavon the Black has gone, he's not defeated. His restless spirit haunts Blackveil, the lethal, corrupt forest that stands beyond a failing magical wall at the edge of King Zachary's territory. Karigan's destiny is leading her there, and when her King asks her to join a mission to Blackveil to save the remnants of a dying race, it seems she has little choice but to follow it ...
REVIEW:
As a long standing fan of the series I was really looking forward to this title to see what would unfurl next for our intrepid heroine as events that have been long in the planning were coming to fruition. What actually unfurled was a title that was sadly lacking, don’t get me wrong, it had a lot of the right ingredients to make this a classic fantasy release but it was the execution that left this feeling a little flat.
Add to this a loss of direction, lack of character driven plot and a tale that really felt more filler than a book with any real direction and I was left feeling slightly cheated. Don’t get me wrong, Kristen is an author that I’ve enjoyed for the last three books and I hope that the next will pick up where this one went wrong. Here’s hoping…
Release Date: 14/04/11
SYNOPSIS:
Karigan G'ladheon always seemed to be getting into a fight, and today was no exception. But as she trudged through the forest, using her long walk home to contemplate her depressing future - and the expulsion it was bound to hold - a horse burst through the woodland and charged straight for her. The rider was slumped over his mount's neck with two arrows embedded in his back. Wherever his horse was taking him, he would be dead before they got there. There's nothing Karigan can do, as the young man lies dying on the road. He had sworn to carry out his mission as a Green Rider - one of the legendary messengers of the king - and he has a life or death message that must reach King Zachary. Karigan may be unable to save him, but she can deliver his message. He makes her swear to it, to keep it secret and, with his last breath, he warns her to 'beware the shadow man ...' Pursued by an unknown assassin, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, Karigan is going to become a legendary Green Rider herself. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, her simple promise to deliver a letter is about to become a race against time ...and a race for her life ...
REVIEW:
It’s been a while since I originally heard of this series and whilst I hadn’t started with the original I thought that with the forthcoming release of book four in the series, Blackveil that it was high time I worked my way through them.
What you get with Kristen’s first novel is a book that takes the time to carefully build a world that is full of magic, of intrigue and double dealing where the fate of the kingdom can depend upon a single messenger. It’s beautifully written, the characters rounded and definitely a batch of people that you’d like to get to know better. Add to this some great prose alongside a great set of pace and it was a real joy to read.
Release Date: 14/04/11
SYNOPSIS:
Karigan may have heard the First Rider's call, but she's not about to let it take over her life ...or at least that's what she thinks. She swore to complete a dying man's mission - to deliver a sealed letter to King Zachary. Now that task, more dangerous than she could have imagined, is complete and her work is done, Karigan wants to leave the dangerous world of tainted magic and ancient magicians behind her and return home. Exhausted in both body and spirit, she plans to return to her quiet life and her father's business. But it proves no match for the Rider's call; ghostly hoofbeats sounding in her mind, visions of the freedom of the open road, all calling her back to the king's service as a Green Rider. Karigan resists it, but when she wakes up to find herself - in her nightdress - on horseback and halfway across the country, her destiny is clear: she is a Green Rider. As she discovers, it's not a good time to be called to serve. For a thousand years the D'Yer Wall, a physical and magical barrier protecting the land from the ancient, corrupted Blackveil Forest, has held. For a thousand years the forest, an arboreal prison containing one of Sacoridia's greatest enemies, has been quiet. Not any more. The wall has been breached, unnatural, lethal creatures are finding their way into Sacoridia, a dark sentience is stirring, and the Green Rider magic itself is failing. And in the midst of it all, Karigan is about to be called to her duty ...
REVIEW:
With many authors, the second book is often the one that causes not only the most problems but can be the one that causes many a writer to fall flat on their backside. What occurs within this book allows the characters that e met in the original not only the chance to grow emotionally as well as spiritually but also with the readers connection. The plot outline is fascinating and when you realise the bigger threat alongside long term goals of the principle villain, it’s a title that will hold on to you to the last page. A wonderful addition to the series.
Release Date: 14/04/11
SYNOPSIS:
With the ghostly help of the First Rider, Karigan G'ladheon had transported the corrupt spirit of Mornhavon the Black into the future, buying valuable time for her king and country. But how far in the future is Mornhavon now? A hundred years? Ten years? Only one year? There's no way to tell. So though the immediate threat has passed, Mornhavon's shadow still lies heavily on the land, and on their minds ...although there are threats closer to home as well. The D'Yer Wall, protecting Sacoridia from the dark, corrupted Blackveil forest, remains breached despite Karigan and her fellow Riders best efforts. They've scoured the land searching for lost documents and magical clues to help mend the breach, fend off any incursions from Blackveil Forest and, more pressingly, protect them from Mornhavon's return. Nor is the breach in the wall the only danger. Mornhavon may have gone, but the descendants of his people remain and they're ready to claim the land that their forefathers failed to conquer. These vengeful enemies, hidden within the peaceful borders of Sacoridia, have spent generations honing their dark magic ready to strike - and ensuring that their blow, when it comes, will be one that Karigan and the Sacordians have no defence against ...
REVIEW:
The third part in this epic series and one that really demonstrates when an authors idea’s allow the series to not only grow but expand in an organic pace so that the reader is not only satisfied with what they get but that they know that things won’t be rushed or quickly packed up in a neat little bow in the final few pages.
What Kristen does in this title is allow the world to expand, generates new characters to help replace not only those who have been lost but fulfil some of the gaps and also brings great pace as well as dialogue to the series that has been a pure joy to read. Back this up with a great overall plot, some wonderful sleight of hand and a whole host of wicked twists and the reader really has a treat in store. Whilst you can read this title having missed out on the others, I’d recommend starting with Green Rider, after all you’ll get the most out of it and by the time you’ve finished this book you’ll be all ready for the fourth book (released June 2011) which many a reader has been waiting for since 2008.
