Cloud's Rider

C.J. Cherryh is well known for her ability to develop wonderful ecosystems for the worlds she creates. Even though her worlds are fantastical, they always speak to what is most human. In Rider at the Gate and its sequel Cloud's Rider, Cherryh does not disappoint. We get a mostly recognizable landscape inhabited by previously starfaring humans and the native telepathic fauna. Among the native fauna of this unnamed planet is the fierce and intelligent nighthorse. Nighthorses are curious and addicted to the thoughts and emotions of the human mind and often choose a particular human to be a "rider." The symbiotic relationship that develops between nighthorse and rider is a strong connection meant to be mutually beneficial but sometimes show more results in a pairing of devastating proportions. Within this alien system Cherryh builds a beautiful coming of age story that captures the often painful and baffling aspects that accompany the human journey to adulthood -- desparate feelings of longing, loneliness and a desire to be independent yet "fit in."

Cherryh is known to take quite a bit of time developing her story and I suggest patience when starting this set. I didn't feel completely drawn into the story until about page 150 of the first book, but after that point couldn't put the books down. show less

This follow-up to 'Rider at the Gate' follows on almost immediately where the first novel leaves off. The winter is now setting in fully, and Dan Fisher, the young "greenhorn" rider of the first novel is maturing fast under the weight of responsibility thrust upon him, though still making mistakes. He and his nighthorse, Cloud, have to escort two teenage boys and their comatose sister to the next shelter up the mountain - because a nighthorse, whose rider was shot in the first book, is following them, and Dan dreads what might happen if the girl, Brionne, wakes up and bonds with the horse. In the first book, she did so with a rogue animal driven mad by its rider's death and in doing so, destroyed her whole village community.

I won't say show more too much about the setup of this alien planet and its telepathic life, as I covered that in my review of book one. Suffice to say, this is much more the story of Dan and the older of the two boys, Carlo, and both are anxious not to let on too much about what happened previously when they finally have to shelter in the next village up the mountain, a place called Evergreen. But the various villagers have their own agendas, and Dan is torn this way and that, trying to protect the boys but also trying to shield the villagers from what might happen if another rogue horse has followed them there. All complicated by the fact that anyone near a nighthorse has enormous difficulty in keeping secrets.

I enjoyed this book more than book one because it seemed to have less of the chopping and changing around between characters and the almost stream of consciousness writing which attempted to characterise nighthorse communication. There are still words shown in pointy brackets, but the narrative is far easier to follow. The characters of Dan and the boys are well developed, and there are other interesting minor characters such as the riders at Evergreen, and the doctor who takes in Brionne and has her own hangups.

The main thing that let down the story for me towards the end was the focus on another menace in the 'Ambient' - the general telepathic background generated by the native lifeforms. Certain storylines had been set up through most of the story to do with the villagers' plan to decamp to the boys' village as soon as the weather allows so that they can start claiming it before the other villages find out. That was shaping up to be an interesting story of mixed motives and plain all-out greed - the lost village needs to be resettled because it is low enough down the mountain to be the HQ for all trade in and out of the mountains and without it, the other villages will face enormous difficulties with trade and hiked up prices - but people can also see the personal benefits of settling there, such as a milder climate, control of the re-established trade, opportunities for enlarged businesses and an escape from having to put up with the problems caused by miners, among other motives. But that all comes to nothing in the end because the story veers off to deal with the renewed problems caused by Brionne, plus an out-of-left-field bonding with a nighthorse.

There was presumably meant to be a sequel that might have delivered some of what was promised, but the events towards the end of the story wreck key elements of that, as certain characters are removed from the narrative one way or another and would no longer be part of the migration to the first village. For example, certain characters scheme to take over the property that the boys have inherited, but this comes to nothing because they are killed off. The book didn't need the mcguffin introduced at the end - there would have been enough interest in the various human conflicts. I also found it difficult to believe that Carlo could be allowed to benefit from his "crime" in the way suggested despite the mitigating circumstances. So for these reasons, the book loses a star in rating and I can only give it a 4 rating. show less

Cloud’s Rider (sequel to Rider at the Gate) (see more about the world and characters at Rider at the Gate) is interesting and compelling… if you can get past the set-up of the story, which drove me crazy.

me: “What? Don’t do that! You know what will happen if you do that! Oh, well…”

That kills me. That is why I can’t watch horror movies.

me: "No, DON’T go investigate that growling sound outside your window on the full moon, carrying nothing but a plastic flashlight and/or a fly swatter. Hello??? Recent slayings in the neighborhood???”

But the rest of the story is so good… I think I’d give it a 3.5. (It's still almost a 4, even with that caveat.)