471 pages, Fantasy I decided I needed a good, healthy dose of fantasy to get out of my reading rut and The Green Rider certainly delivered the dose I needed. The Green Rider is set in the realm of Sacoridia, a land steeped in magic but where 'magic' is a dirty word, and magic users are scorned by most society.
Karigan G'ladheon is the brassy, young adult daughter of a wealthy merchant. She has just been in a fight at school with the son of a nobleman, and is going home to explain to her father why she has been expelled. As she worries over what she will tell her father, one of the fabled Green Riders, pierced by two arrows bursts through the woods and onto the road. Karigan goes to help the man who is clearly dying. He tells her that he carries a life or death message for King Zachary, and begs her to accept the responsibility to deliver the message to him. Karigan reluctantly agrees to the behest, the rider makes her swear to never read the message and finally bestows upon her his brooch depicting a golden winged horse. When Karigan grasps the brooch in her hand, she has no idea that by accepting and being accepted by this token, she has awakened in herself the ancient magic of the Green Riders.
With his dying breath, the rider warns Karigan to "Beware the Shadow Man", an ancient agent of evil who has seized the chance to use his forgotten magic to bend the world to his will. In addition to magic, the Shadow Man has tantalized lesser nobles and the passed-over older brother of King Zachary with his gifts of power. He, in addition to the Weapons controlled by the nobles and the wicked would-be king pursue Karigan on her wild flight to deliver her message in time to save her land.
When I read the Aknowledgements page of The Green Rider (yes, I always read them), I was delighted that Kristen Britain thanked, among others, Terry and Jeri Goodkind (see my first entry for more about Terry Goodkind). I took this as a good sign. Britain also thanked a friend for exposing her to The Lord of the Rings books, and I can certainly see their influence in The Green Rider.
Perhaps the mention of Terry Goodkind in the beginning of the book made me have unrealistic expectations of what the story would be like. Goodkind's work has so many different levels, and tends to be quite complex. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy The Green Rider, the story was just much less complicated than I anticipated. Still a thoroughly delightful tale, The Green Rider would be acceptable for a younger audience as well. I would rank this one a 4 out of 5. I already checked out the second book in the series - I can't wait to find out what happens next!
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