I enjoyed this book. I liked how Karigan gradually learned about her role in the fight for the kingdom of sacordia between Zachary and his brother Amilton. I also liked the interactions between the characters Karigan and the friends she makes. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, First Rider's Call. ( )

Green Rider by Kristen Britain was another book loaned to me by a friend and another fantasy author new to me. I believe this is Britain's first novel, but the sequel was already in production at time of publication because advertising blurbs for it were in the end pages.

It was a charming story that moved quickly right from the beginning and kept up the action to the end, which made it hard to put down and cost me a good night's sleep. It was well-written in terms of prose, dialogue, pacing, etc. The downside is that the characters are two-dimensional at best: the bad guys are all very bad, except for the one woman who might be redeemable, and the good guys are all very good, and you can tell because the bad guys are generally unattractive in various ways (physically, morally, etc.) and the good guys are all attractive and forceful. The story is also very formulaic: girl gets in trouble at school, on her way home she stumbles across a dying messenger, she takes up his quest to deliver the all-important dispatch to the king, and the forces of evil plotting against the king make repeated efforts to stop her, kill her, destroy the message. However, she wins through against overwhelming odds surprising everyone--bad guys, good guys, herself. But wait, there's more--nobody appears to take her apparently trivial message and warnings of evil on the loose seriously, and so the bad guys come in and try to overthrow the king. Once again, she's johnny-on-the-spot and saves the day. So this essentially high-school girl defeats incredibly skilled swordsmen, incredibly powerful magicians, and incredibly determined run-of-the-mill bad guys over and over through her force of character and useful objects found or given along the way. It is very reminiscent of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Elfstones of Shannara. It could be considered an homage to the former, since Britain acknowledges the profound influence of early exposure to Tolkein.

This book would be very good for a young adult: the young protagonist trying to find her way at school and purpose in life, the heroic quest, the relatively straightforward plot with few twists or extensive exposition or complicated politics. And because the characters are very simple, there isn't much push to explore motivations, the only point where this occurs is with the one woman on the evil team, and the treatment is not very deep. The only potential issue is the size--it is easily over 400 pages, which may deter young readers, but it does go quickly and is very entertaining. I don't regret the time or the lost sleep, but I don't know whether I will look for the sequel. ( )

I read this book a few years ago, along with the second book. The third just came out this year so I decided to read them again. This book is full of adventure and struggle. I love the main character Karigan and how she struggles against becoming a Green Rider but always ends up helping her kingdom by taking on the role without meaning to. It is a great series and I will hopefully get onto the second book so I can read the newest edition of Karigan's adventures. ( )

Karigan, a young woman, finds herself kicked out of school and running away to get home. Little did she know that running away would bring her so much adventure. It starts with her meeting a dying messenger bound to deliver a message to the king, whose lasts words employ Karigan to take the message to the king. Along the way she meets up with strange creatures, people who speak of magic, traitors, and the mysterious ‘Gray One’.
I purchased this book a while ago based on the recommendation from a friend who knows my taste in books well. When I started reading, I will admit I was a bit put off by the slowness of the story and a lack of any sort of love interest for the main character. Once I told myself to get over no love intrigue in the book and to enjoy the story, that’s exactly what happened. I enjoyed the book! The author’s attention to a fantasy world was done very well and to its history. Many scenes I thought were reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, only with her own style. Karigan, the main character, was convincing as a young woman unsure of where life will lead her. The many trials she faced and the courage she showed in persevering made the story even more enjoyable. At times the story got a bit too predictable, however, in a way it helped to keep me reading more to see if all my predication were correct. There was a very slit hint at a developing love interest toward the end (so don’t give up on it completely). I look forward to the author’s sequel. I’m sure it will be even better. ( )

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