Cloud's Rider [Mass Market Paperback]

C.J. Cherryh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

On a distant planet, all the native creatures communicate telepathically, projecting images which drive humans to madness. As a result, the people live in walled cities and owe their lives to the nighthorses, equines who can bond with certain riders and provide a telepathic "buffer". But one savage winter, young Danny Fisher and his nighthorse Cloud lead the survivors of a deadly telepathic attack to shelter high in the snowbound mountains--only to discover their "sanctuary" threatened by a vicious predator never before known to humans. Sequel to "Rider at the Gate".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The sequel to Rider at the Gate continues as a seamless narrative on the unrivaled partnership forged between human colonists stranded on a planet whose only native life forms are linked by telepathy, and the native nighthorses, who fiercely guard the humans against the planet's mind-clouding predators. The hero of this story is Danny Fisher, a young rider whose will is tested through fateful confrontations with an older rider named Guil Stewart and a miscreant horse, whose incongruous telepathic sendings drive entire villages to madness and death. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

On the planet that backdrops this excellent sequel to last year's Rider at the Gate, the native wildlife is dangerously telepathic, able to project its own emotions or to amplify human ones. Human settlements survive only in valleys protected by the riders of nighthorses, equine-like animals who have bonded with people. But sometimes nighthorses go rogue, the planet is rugged and its winters are lethal. The narrative tells of a young rider escorting two brothers and their sister, who has been driven mad by the rogue nighthorse that is following the little company as it races for shelter from winter storms. Nor is the nighthorse the only pursuer?something else is on their trail, hungry and apparently intelligent. The pacing is occasionally slow, but Cherryh tosses in plenty of well-handled action to compensate. The world-building is up to her highest level and, as a bonus, the story ends on a cliffhanger that indicates at least one more Rider novel to come.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446604240
• ISBN-13: 978-0446604246
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,375,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've written sf and fantasy for publication since 1975...but I've written a lot longer than that. I have a background in Mediterranean archaeology, Latin, Greek, that sort of thing; my hobbies are travel, photography, planetary geology, physics, pond-building for koi...I run a marine tank, can plumb most anything, and I figure-skate.

I believe in the future: I'm an optimist for good reason---I've studied a lot of history, in which, yes, there is climate change, and our species has been through it. We've never faced it fully armed with what we now know, and if we play our cards right, we'll use it as a technological springboard and carry on in very interesting ways.

I also believe a writer owes a reader a book that has more than general despair to spread about: I write about clever, determined people who don't put up with situations, not for long, anyway: people who find solutions inspire me.

My personal websites and blog: http://www.cherryh.com
http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore
http://www.closed-circle.net

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but didn't live up to its potential, November 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cloud's Rider (Mass Market Paperback)

Cherryh is one of the best writers in the genre. Her worst work usually beats the best work of lots of other SF writers. I wasn't thrilled with this book, but that doesn't mean it's unreadable. It just isn't the best thing she's ever done. First, the good parts. The nighthorses are wonderful. Psychic steeds have already been done to excess by other writers. I usually find them pretty bland and saccharine. Cherryh, however, does a great job of endowing her beasts with believable animal personalities. They get jealous of other nighthorses. They throw tantrums. They mooch treats. They do the sorts of things that real critters do. The male characters are pretty well developed as well. Some are noble; some are creeps. All have normal human flaws, and they act like I'd expect people in their circumstances to behave. The female characters, unfortunately, are much more two-dimensional. I didn't really get a feeling for what makes them tick. The problem with "Cloud's Rider" is that the plot and the character development don't go together. The setup for the story is that an adolescent girl hooks up with a crazy nighthorse, causing all sorts of trouble. The story ends when the girl's attraction to the nighthorse is resolved. Alas, you don't really care what happens to the girl. Cherryh spends too little effort exploring her motivations. The girl doesn't have real presence in the story. Ending the story when her troubles are dealt with just doesn't work. The interesting characters still have growing to do, and you don't get to see it happen.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Horse-Opera than Space-Opera, October 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Cloud's Rider (Mass Market Paperback)

Humans have become stranded on a planet where the wildlife through telepathic projection stalk and confuse their prey into thinking they are safe, when in fact they are in danger of being attacked and devoured. Only the night-horses that are compatible with a chosen human companion can prevent this. The night-horse's telepathic - sending - abilities offering protection.

There is a real sense of the wild-west frontier in this book. Danny fisher's parents scraping by on mechanical, and furniture restoration work, behind the safety of the town's walls. Greed, jealousy, and lots of other grubby things.

Cloud's Rider along with its stablemate and precursor - Rider at the Gate, don't cover a lot of ground as far as plot is cocerned, both depending on a huge amount of fine detail, mostly to do with survival in the harsh and deadly environment. And this is the main weakness of the books. Yes, the whole story works as well as any of Ms Cherryh's other works, but I feel it would have been more agreeable had Rider at the Gate and Cloud's Rider been trimmed to about two thirds of current length, by condensing the rather long descriptive passages, brilliantly written though they are. Even so, for sheer overall effectivenes I would recommend that these books be read and in the correct order, since they are directly head-to-head with respect to each other. Rider at the Gate and then Cloud's Rider.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! I impatiently await the next book., July 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Cloud's Rider (Mass Market Paperback)

This seems a very underrated series to me. I am reading several series that I am eager to continue: Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin, Terry Goodkind, and THIS SERIES. Believe it or not, I am perhaps the most impatient for this series. I have a read couple of C. J. Cherryh's books ... so far, this is my favorite (along with "Rider at the Gate"). The human-nighthorse relationship is fascinating. The possibilities for this mysterious planet where humans are trying to fit in are very intriguing. I feel like I know Danny Fisher and Cloud ....