An Opinionated Look At:Kristen Britain's Green RiderBy Eric AllenI'm a proud member of the Science Fiction Book Club, and I have been for many years. I have bought and read the featured selections, two books that the club is really excited about and send to every member each month unless they indicate otherwise, almost every single month since I joined. Yes, I am that big of a geek. So sue me. If I remember correctly, both Green Rider and A Game of Thrones came out the same month. Now THAT was an epic pairing for featured selections. I remember reading Green Rider back then, and loving it, but I somehow managed to miss the book's four sequels. Shame on me, I know, but that is a problem I plan to rectify right now. So, welcome to my new retrospective series on Green Rider.After being suspended from school Karigan G'ladheon, heir to the G'ladheon Merchant Clan, runs away, deciding to make her way home alone, with thoughts that it might be an adventure. But along the way she happens upon a dying man, a Green Rider, one of the king's messengers. The man makes her swear to deliver his message to the king for him before dying. Karigan takes up the message and his quest to get it to the king, becoming a Green Rider herself. Chased by mercenaries, dark creatures of old, black magic, and a mysterious Gray Rider (Not black, because all of the Black Riders got lost on the way to the Shire by way of the Two Rivers) with dark powers, she finds herself at the center of a plot to assassinate the king and place his brother on the throne.The Good? Britain has created a very interesting world with a long and deep history that she never goes over the edge into infodumping to describe to us. She does an excellent job of working the history, and the different factions within the kingdom, character relationships, and little tidbits of lore into the story as it progresses rather than lecturing us for pages on it in a wall of text--I'm looking at YOU, Goodkind!!!--giving just enough here and there to paint a beautiful picture, rather than overdoing it and making it boring instead. This is a skill that many writers try to employ, but never really succeed very well at.Britain is very good with creating a dark and creepy atmosphere through most of Karigan's adventures, and has a clever eye for irony. She does very well with building up tension and drama within the story, and getting the emotions of the characters across to the reader. Again, something many writers try to do, but that few really succeed at. The book is very well written, especially considering that it is Britain's first published novel. (And no, I'm not counting the children's book she published when she was a teen.) If only all authors would be so skilled when publishing their first book.The Bad? There's really only one thing that I can complain about in this book, and that's that the main character, Karigan, is kind of useless throughout most of the book. Now, I'm not saying that I don't like her personality, I found it quite entertaining. What I'm saying is that Karigan is a character type often called either a Blank Slate, or an Every(wo)man. This type of character is used in one of two situations, when the writer simply wishes to create a stand in for the reader, or to make it easier for the reader to identify with the character. This type of character usually comes from a humble background, is naive in the ways of the world, and usually must be mentored in some way by another character to teach him/her what they will need to know to complete their quest. A good example of this type of character would be Frodo from Lord of the Rings. He must carry the ring to Mordor because literally every other character has told him that they are too important to be corrupted by its power, and he, the unimportant one, must carry it for them. Frodo is able to bear its burden so long because he has absolutely nothing that the ring can use to tempt him. He's a blank slate. He exists as a stand in for the reader. Now, this type of character can be used well. I'm not saying that it can't. However, the problem arises when you remove all intelligence and capability from the character. You see, Frodo wasn't just a complete nobody with no knowledge or skills whatsoever. He was rather intelligent, able to see and recognize danger and the significance of important events where no other Hobbit could. He was able to think or talk his way out of a lot of bad situations, and he had his friend Sam there to lean on when things got rough and he needed a helping hand. Karigan on the other hand, has absolutely nothing. She comes off as rather dull-witted, having to be told how to do EVERYTHING by people she meets along her journey. I can think of one single instance where she did something on her own initiative, and that's in the climax. And even then she did it with a magic sword given to her by someone else. Every other time she got into trouble, some other character showed up to bail her out of it. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Random characters pop up all over the place to give her aid. To give her knowledge that she lacks. To give her magical items that she can use. It seems almost as though the writer plays a lot of fantasy video games where you go to town A to find NPC B and obtain Item C to be able to cross section D of the dark and dreary forest. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Karigan has almost zero common sense, and extraordinarily little knowledge of the world around her, especially for someone who has been in training to be a merchant in the area for as long as she can remember. Don't you think she should be at least passingly familiar with the land in which she grew up and plans to do business in? She is traveling the land between her home and her school. Land that she has traveled before. And she has no idea where to go, what to do, where anything is, what direction she needs to go to get to the king, and any other number of things that she, as a character who lives in, often travels, and does business in this place, should already know. She literally cannot do ANYTHING on her own, all the way up to the end. Every single time she is in danger, some other character does all the work for her, because she is just so incapable and dumbed down in order to make her more identifiable to the readers. At many times her HORSE is more capable than she is. Which was something of a rather entertaining running gag in the story. I would really have liked Karigan to have been a little more capable, and a little more knowledgeable. There's naive and in need of guidance, and then there is someone who basically needs to be carried by other characters throughout the entire story. The protagonist of a story should be able to do things for herself, and by doing, learn something vital about herself or her enemy that helps her to triumph in the end. Karigan didn't. She basically got lucky in the end the one time she decided to do something on her own. It's all right for her to be naive, and to need help from time to time. Everyone needs a helping hand at one time or another. But this is kind of ridiculous. There comes a certain point where a character just starts to look too dumb to tie her own shoes, and Karigan passed over that point frequently. I mean, who wants to read the adventures of a character who has no idea what she's doing, no idea where she's going, and never once figures anything out on her own, instead relying on others to show her the entire way, and to come rescue her when her incapability gets her in trouble? Those aren't really HER adventures. They're the adventures of the ones who did all the work for her. I mean, the character is clearly not an idiot, but the writer keeps treating her as if she is, stripping her of all the knowledge and skills that she should have as a person who lives, works and travels often in this area in the name of making her relatable to the reader, and having an excuse to explain aspects of the story and the world to us. Fish out of water stories are fine, but when the fish is actually in waters she knows well and acts like she isn't just to fulfill a need in the story, maybe things need to be rethought just a bit. This is the HERO of the story, and it's other people who do all of the heroic things for her while she stands by and watches, completely clueless. The hero and the dumbass in distress are not supposed to be the same person.In conclusion, this book is a great read. It's exciting, and tense, with a very good creepy atmosphere that hangs over most of the story. Though the main protagonist relies far too much upon the strength and knowledge of others to squeak by, and the Deus Ex Machina is turned up to eleven throughout the majority of the book, she is still a rather entertaining character. The quality of the writing, and the wonderfully crafted world in which it all takes place more than makes up for the deficiencies in the main character. It's a fun little fantasy novel that many people may have missed or overlooked at the time of its release, but it is well worth the time to read. Check out my other reviews.
I picked up this book because of an eye-catching cover followed by a few good reviews I ran across while browsing around. I'm glad I did!This is a fairly standard fantasy work in a lot of ways: Karigan is practically shoved into the role of heroine when circumstances lead her to come across a man, dying with two black arrows in his back, who pleads with her to carry his urgent message to the king. She is quickly thrust into life-or-death situations, meeting all sorts of strange people along her way, narrowly escaping trouble - especially as she evades the mysterious Shadow Man. Her race to the King is aided by The Horse, who was the steed of the dying messenger... and who seems to know just the right way to go, or when something bad is approaching. She discovers that the use of magic is alive and well in the world, both good and evil, while most people have thought it long gone. She encounters evil people and terrible creatures, and she stretches herself to the limit, using what few resources she has, finding friends where she can, and thinking on her toes. Karigan's growth as a person is apparent by the end.A lot of elements in this story seem very familiar (I could draw a lot of Tolkien similarities, if I wanted to), but the writing style and strong feminine protagonist make the story feel fresh. There's just enough world background/history included to make the story feel rich without being overwhelming. There's political intrigue to complicate matters. There's enough foreshadowing that a second read would be well worth my while, to see what elements I may have missed or glanced over the first time through. I was happily impressed by the number of strong women characters included in the story, in a genre where men usually take the dangerous, action-packed roles. My bottom line is that it was a very engaging fantasy, an entertaining read, and just enough of the right elements to make it a good story. While the first book in a series, the plot of this story is self-contained and makes this book stand on its own, if the reader wants to stop there. Myself, I'll be checking out the second book soon.
What do You think about Green Rider (2000)?
This is a good beginning to a good trilogy*(Update...the "trilogy" has gone 4 volumes now, oh well). This is a mainly character driven book. The "courier" is in fact an interesting historical character in "his or her" own right. Traditionally given special consideration (passing through enemy lines in battle, traveling enemy territory allowing communication between hostile powers etc.) they are fascinating. Of course what I mention above is the "ideal" in reality a lot of messengers didn't actually manage to make it to their assigned destination....Placed in a fantasy world and given a more pivotal role in the operation and indeed the survival of the kingdom an absorbing story emerges. Leaving "school" in "disgrace" after besting an aristocrat (apparently shamed by her expulsion) Karigan G'ladheon travels into Green Cloak Forest and encounters dying Green Rider (an elite messenger in the King's service). Shot with a pair of black arrows he lays the "duty" (as she loves her Kingdom) making her swear to deliver a message directly into the hands of Laren, the Captain of the Green Riders or the King himself.Thus the adventure starts, and it's a good one. Enjoy.
—Mike (the Paladin)
Swords and sorcery, coming of age, adventure, action, magic, creatures of myth and legend, dark magic, evil power-hungry bad guys, magical horses, kidnappings, betrayals, triumphs, defeats. Any of that sound good? Then you should read this book!It truly had a bit of everything. It's quite a long story but the pacing was pretty consistent and fast throughout. I instantly felt comfortable in the world-building, it was very easy to acclimate to. I have read a few swords and sorcery type books but not so many as to become complacent with them so I put this feeling of easing into the world-building so effortlessly firmly in Britain's hands. At the start of the book it almost felt as if we were coming into a story midway through, due to the fact that Karigan, the main character, is on the run because of something bad that happened. At the time you just had to go with it and trust that all would become clear later. Which of course it did, and it all linked nicely together to combine characters and plots and all the various points of view into one excellent story of an ordinary young girl being put on an extraordinary path.In the first chapter Karigan crashes headlong into a rider coming the opposite way with two black arrows protruding from his back. She quickly identifies him as a Green Rider- a type of royal messenger with rumoured magical abilities- and accepts his dying wish that she continue his mission to deliver an urgent message to the King of Sacoridia. She accepts, and fearing that whoever shot those arrows may be nearby, heads off swiftly to complete her new mission, taking the now dead Green Rider's horse and message with her. And so starts Kari's journey, and it soon becomes evident that simple timing and a chance encounter may not have been the only reason the rider found Karigan that day, for Green Riders are called to their professions through magic, and the rider's broach has accepted her. “Caving in to fear will be your death,” he once said. “There is no room for it on the battlefield. Being afraid is healthy, but fear is an enemy.”All in all a great fantasy-filled adventure story. Suitable in content for younger readers but not written specifically for them. There is a definite sense that Kari's story has only just begun even though this book's story is completely wrapped up and could be read as a stand alone. There are clues throughout to Kari's specialness. I get a bit annoyed when people complain about books whose main characters have that "the chosen one" thing about them. I mean, okay, if it's bordering on ridiculous and they can all of a sudden do EVERYTHING without any training or previous knowledge, then that's one thing, but other than that, I want my main characters to be special. Otherwise why would I be reading their story?Frivolous side note: I hope I'm right in my suspicions about a possible romantic sub-plot to come, that would be very welcome please thank you.My only negative would be that there was very little detail given on the characters in terms of ages, physical descriptions etc and I like details to help me build up my mental image. It said things like "character x looked only around 5 years older than Karigan" but since I don't know how old she is, other than that she was at school/university and is considered a "young woman" so, that's what? 16-21 then? That wasn't much help. And there's quite a difference in maturity levels in those ages. So, yeah that was a bit annoying but that's about the only thing I can think of.Recommended to Fantasy adventure fans!4 Stars! ★★★★
—Lynsey • The Demon Librarian
This is a perfectly serviceable little fantasy. The references to The Lord of the Rings, and even Star Wars are prevalent, but that in itself doesn’t really bother me. There are many successful novels out there that owe allegiance to the classics of fantasy (Harry Potter, anyone?). The only problem is, the constant LOTR references led me to compulsorily compare this book to its older, more experienced, more complex, better grandfather. And I say compulsorily, because I really didn’t want to. I tried very hard to just take this book for what it was, which is an appealing, light story, aimed at a young audience. But I just couldn’t. I kept wishing that the story was darker, that the characters were more complex, and that the conclusions weren’t so obvious.The heroine of the story is Karigan, who has just run away from her boarding school after being suspended for offending the young son of a prominent family. On her rash journey home, she falls upon a dying Green Rider, who compels her to take up the important message that he carries and continue on his mission to the King. What she doesn’t realize is that she has been called there to take up the office of Green Rider herself, and begin a life of intrigue and adventure (not to mention, many close calls). There are plenty of good characters in this story – Jendara the embittered mercenary, or Captain Mapstone the scarred Green Rider who has survived against all odds – just for a couple of examples. Unfortunately, Karigan just isn’t that exciting. She seems to succeed mainly because of extreme luck, or with lots of help, and not so much due to her own skills. There are just too many instantly available magical aids for my liking, with not enough elbow grease. Also, I got pretty tired of her constant denial by the end of the story. If I had to see her stamp her foot and say, “I’m NOT a Green Rider!” like a five year old one more time, I would have given up. I think that’s the main thing holding me back from reading the second book (for now, anyway). I just don’t think that I can stand to see her hem and haw and go through her little “inner struggle” and then finally admit that she’s a Green Rider. Just accept it Karigan!Even with the above gripes, I would recommend this to fans of very light fantasy, and readers from ages 12-18 (and people who are young at heart). If you are a snarky adult like me, I would steer clear.
—Catie
