Customer Reviews

The High King's Tomb (Green Rider, Book 3)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

From early on in The High King's Tomb, alarm bells started going off in my head. It doesn't take very long, if you've read the other two books (and you should have), to realize that a "grab the reader by the throat" event is conspicuously absent from the beginning of the story. There's one in the first book, there's one in the second book, but The High King's Tomb starts out on a noticeably meandering path.

And it continues to meander, without a great deal of urgency, for a long time. A lot of events happen, some of them interesting in relation to the world Britain has created, but overall none of them seem hugely relevant to solving the tensions of the main plot arc. In fact, they just seem to add in a bunch of new tensions without solving any old ones. Uh oh.
It takes a long time for the reader to understand why this book is called The High King's Tomb. By then, a lot of the elements of the book are coming together and making more sense for the plot of this book, but no amount of smoke and mirrors can distract the reader from the fact that it didn't really offer any resolution on the plot of the series as a whole. With almost 700 pages, more should have been resolved. I reiterate: Uh oh.

Britain has always gotten away with certain things (like Deus Ex Machina solutions) in part due to the strength of her characters. This time I'm not sure it'll be enough to pull some readers through. Main character Karigan mostly annoys me in this book. She doesn't get off on a good foot, with her diatribe about brothels early on. Pages of inner monologue about how wrong it is to sell your body, you should only be with the one you love, blah blah blah, oh! oh! oh! how terrible...I want to scream. Eventually I started to feel like Britain is trying way too hard to keep Karigan from being perfect that she's sliding towards backwards and unlikable instead.
Other returning characters are a mixed bag. Estora, who had struck me in the previous books as being a strong, elegant young woman with a lot of bravery, hits romance heroine levels of stupidity in this books. She redeems herself a little by realizing that she's being stupid, but her demeanor here just seems like an excuse to make the book's storyline work. Alton and Merdigen, at the wall, both retain fairly high levels of interest, though. And then there are a number minor characters whom you'll likely wish had had slightly larger rolls.

New characters play out similar. You have Damien Frost and Lady who are interesting, in spite of being quite obviously based on Tom Bombadil and Goldberry from LotR. Yet you also have Fergal, a Green Rider trainee with an abusive past, who does things so cruel and idiotic that his "redemption" feels forced. And there's Amberhill, who has two aspects, the first being that he's dumb as a brick. This makes him unbelievable in the role of a mysterious, charming thief ala Zorro...not to mention sad evidence that Britain seems to think it's necessary to stuff in every fantasy staple possible.

Though in a lot of ways I enjoyed the book and the alarm bells quieted some, they didn't go away completely. And Britain saying that she will "let the needs of the story dictate its own length" scares the bejeebus out of me. If the series ends at four books then fine, I can deal with the transition book that The High King's Tomb obviously is. But if it doesn't? Fantasy writers need to put a tighter rein on themselves, need to plan better before jumping into their works, or we're going to end up with a whole slew of unfinished Wheel of Time type series on the shelves. Three and a half stars.

I love this series. The fact that there is a normal, healthy woman as the main character is refreshing. I originally read the Green Rider as a stand alone book. I throughly enjoyed it. This present book was wonderful because we were able to re-meet many of the characters. However what isn't so exciting is that there is another book in the series. Don't get me wrong, I love this series and there definitely needs to be another book, but I don't want to wait any longer. The waits in between the books are massive. I know it takes time to get books written, edited, and published but sometimes the interim seems a bit ridiculous. That and I thought this was going to be a trilogy, similar to Lord of the Rings.

All complaining aside this was an excellent book, there was more down time throughout the adventures but this isn't a bad thing. It allows for more character development. We don't get to see Zachary as much as I would have liked, but his cousin offers us a new treat. Overall this is an excellent addition to the series. Hopefully it won't take another 3 years for the next book in the series.

After waiting four years for a follow-up to Britain's strong First Rider's Call, the second in the Green Rider sequence, I was thrilled to finally get my hands on The High King's Tomb. Details from previous books which had slipped away were reinforced as I returned to Sacoridia, relishing my reunion with Karigan G'ladheon, Alton D'Yer, Estora Coutre, and others.

To Britain's credit, the antagonists in this book are complex. None can be taken at face value, especially Grandmother, whose strange knot-magic threatens to unravel the land. While some old baddies return, new threats and situations arise, feeding off of previous conflicts while remaining innovative enough to be interesting.

The same can be said of the protagonists. Karigan displays greater strength (physical and emotional) and a harsher view of her shifting world. I never had much in common with the courageous heroine, but I like and respect her as much as ever. I particularly enjoyed Lady Estora's development. Unlike other reviewers, I did not find her a clichéd romance heroine. She deals with issues of love and confinement, true, but does not lose her individuality. Laren Mapstone, a longtime favorite, attempts to thwart the romance between Karigan and King Zachary without coming off as callous or cruel. The ambiguous Xandis Amberhill adds spark and spice to several ladies' lives. Yes, Britain's characters remain strong -- and for readers who, like myself, prize characterization above all else, this book is a gem.

On the downside, it takes the action a long time to heat up. Sometimes it seems that not only Alton, but every returning character is pounding on a stone wall, unable to get past it. The first 200 pages are hijacked by the newly introduced Raven Mask and Fergel. The middle is chock-full of more delicious characters and intriguing revelations, but some subplots slow the book's momentum. Other reviewers have expressed displeasure over Rider Dale Littlepage's numerous appearances, and I agree with them. Over a hundred pages are devoted to her, but I have little idea of who she is as a person, and I found her interactions with Alton and the tower guardians too lengthy. Britain would have done well to pare down this story line and stick more closely to what was happening to Karigan.

The best parts of this installment are its character development and its fast-paced ending. Although there is no closure on some major plotlines, which were clearly created to carry the next book as well as this one, others are resolved nicely. Karigan's foray into the tombs with the Weapons is a tense affair that had me hooked well into the night. To conclude, despite some faults, this is an eminently enjoyable book with textured characters. Four stars.

I have NO idea how I got the idea into my head that this story was a trilogy, but imagine my surprise when I reached the end of this volume and realized ... this is NOT the end! Oh, dear me. And no sign of the next one, either. Oh, dear me ... how long will we have to wait for the love triangles to un-tangle? Will young what's-his-face overcome the training from his knacker "da" and learn to love horses again? What sort of horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day will poor Karigan have next? Will the King go through with the marriage to Lady Estora? These are just a few of the questions that are NOT answered in this book.

Then again, that's just the sort of thing to leave us wanting MORE!!

When Karigan is paired off with a new, young rider named Fergal and sent on a routine errand for the King, things start out badly right away. Fergal is young, impulsive and has no idea how to behave as a Rider. Plus he hates horses. To make matters worse, he decides to try to test out his "Rider magic" by throwing himself into a river and seeing if that will make it manifest. Which only serves to delay them that much more.

By the D'Yer wall, Lord Alton is slowly going insane because of his obsession with fixing the wall, and as a result he is pushing Dale - injured by a horrible avian of some kind that escaped from Blackveil forest in the 2nd book - too hard to find answers, since she CAN get into the Tower to question Merdigan, one of the minders who are supposed to assist with maintaining the wall. The wall, on the other hand, is also going insane because of the unstable element introduced by Alton's hate-filled cousin Pendric, who gave himself to the wall in the 2nd book.

Meanwhile, up in the mountains, a group of people descended from Mornhaven the Black's followers plot to bring down Sacoridia with the help of Grandmother, a kindly older woman who can do ... REALLY NASTY things with magic.

I may sound like I'm being a bit sarcastic here, and it is true that it seems that each book tries to one-up the other in ways of punishing Karigan - this one, with her having to ride Salvistar, the horse of their death God, is particularly stringent, since she believes she'll probably end up dead herself from doing so - and, as well, amplifying her power. Nonetheless, this is a very well-created fantasy world and each book builds upon the others nicely, creating a finely-crafted plot and revealing intricacies and layers like peeling an onion as the reader continues. I know I will certainly be watching for more books from this very talented author.

Two hours ago, I had a headache blooming. I had started the book early today and, though I hadn't reread the earlier novels, I was caught up in the blossoming story, waiting for more of the Karigan love story subplot.

**May be some spoilers after this point**

Then around page 200, the narrative started to crawl. The view points were too spread out between the main characters and, instead of fleshing them out, just simply detracted from the story. I didn't feel that Estora was any more realized at the end of the book than at the beginning. I didn't think Amberhill, since he was given some writing time to begin with, was given enough time to shine. Fergal, Dale - just some more examples of yet more characters popping up with their own side-stories. And though Karigan is the protagonist, there was not enough writing dedicated to her. It was kind of frustrating.

There were also parts that *really* should have been chucked or glossed over. Karigan's whole conversations with Estral and her friends at the school accomplished nothing but to ask Karigan what had been happening in her life since previous novels. I even dreaded every time the perspective went back to Alton at the wall which, when he still accomplished nothing, only served to dwell on his lack of progress.

My headache started to wear off by page 400 when action started to pick up again. I was happy to find some resolution at the end (there were some things that were also introduced at the end for the next novel to deal with), though unsatisfied with some of the major issues I really cared about (namely the love story aspect that really did not *at all* move along). Hopefully the following books will be more cohesive and less cluttered with side-stories that in no way help the book move forward or develop the characters.

*from my blog at http://www.marikris.com

This is the third book in the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain. I honestly think it was the weakest of the three books.

In this book Karigan is struggling with the King's wedding to Lady Estora and, when the Captain Mapstone askes her to go on a seemingly boring mission, Karigan is thrilled to leave the castle. The only downer is that she has to bring along a new Green Rider (Fergal) and train him in on the mission. The D'Yer wall continues to crumble and Alton struggles to find a way to repair it. Of course all is not what it seems to be and Karigan's simple mission goes awry.

The beginning of this book was slow and meandering. The only excitement was Karigan's duel with Amberhill in the museum before she left on her mission. I thought Karigan was strangely morose and immature in the beginning of the book; especially with how she treated Lady Estora.

I don't think that Fergal really added much to the book; I started getting flashbacks to Mercedes Lackey's Valedmar series when I read about Fergal. The introduction of Amberhill as the destitute noble/rogue was fun. Amberhill is an entertaining character but I struggled to get him to fit into the story. His role in the story seemed forced and a bit unnatural; althought I think this character has promise for the future. Unfortunately I was getting the feeling that Amberhill's only purpose in this novel is to set him up as a future love interest for Karigan (I guess time will tell).

Damien and Lady Frost were very interesting characters that didn't get enough page space. It was also nice to see the Berry sisters again; although the role they played was tiny.

The story overall was disappointing. Both Karigan and Alton did a lot of hemming and hawing. There were a lot of issues brought up in the book that were left unresolved (Karigan's problem with her father trying to foist her off for marriage, etc). I think people who have previously reviewed this book and described it as a transition novel are right. There was a lot of shuffling people around and setting up stuff but not a lot of meaningful action taking place.

At the end of this book I had more questions than answers. I also started to despair that this is going to be a long un-ending series. I think it would have been good as a trilogy; I am worried that it will drag itself down if too many books are slapped onto this series.

So in summary, it was okay. I read it at a pretty good clip for a while and then had trouble finishing it. Hopefully the next book is more meaningful and hopefully it concludes this series!
karissabooks.blogspot.com

Yes yes, I know...everyone (including myself) is upset about the horribly LONG wait between the 2nd and 3rd book. However..I'm crossing my fingers that the 4th one will be done sooner!
As for THKT, it was amazing. I love Kristen Britains Green Rider series! Karigan has finally ACCEPTED and EMBRACED her role as a green rider, and in this book, takes on the position of a trainer for one of the newest Riders. While the long errand was supposed to remain boring and uneventful...nothing Karigan does seems to turn out that way. There WAS a certain level of downtime as I read someone mention in another post, and I think that the character development in these sections is excellent. Also,as Capt. Mapstone has figured out the relationship between Karigan and King Zachary, she is determined to keep them apart for as long as possible, so there isnt a whole lot of interaction between them in this book. *sniff*
This book mainly focuses on the 2nd Empire and the steps they are taking to achieve their goals. There is a wicked magic user in their midst known as Grandmother who stirs up some nasty concoctions and tortures a few people. Karigan seems to skirt along the outside of things until the end, and does quite a bit of traveling, even managing to run into her old nemesis Timas Mirwell.
The Berry Sisters make another appearance, and King Zachary's estranged cousin makes quite a interesting stir throughout.
All in all, I cannot WAIT until the next book. I loved how this one worked out and I will be waiting impatiently for the 4th one!!

I've sat on this book for almost a year now, as I picked it up and then promptly forgot I had it. That should have been my first clue about the ambivalence I feel toward this series. But, soldiering on, I decided to go ahead and plow on through it.

What I like about Britain's world is that magic has a price, and it is not a cure-all. When Riders use their magical abilities, it takes a toll. This is what magic should be.

What I dislike about Britain's world is that magic use by other beings has little or no ramifications for the non-human users. There's a disparity there that's just a little too pat, a little too convenient for an author to rely on. Instead of allowing events to unfold, one can just conjure up some good old immortal to whisk characters away and save the day. Bleh.

The writing in this installment continues along the same vein as the other books. Sometimes it's brilliant in its descriptive quality and texture, and sometimes it's anachronistic and pedestrian. This is a problem with almost all of these types of phone-book-sized series. This particular one starts very slowly, and I almost put it down as a lost cause. But the action begins to pick up, and the book finds direction when the queen-to-be finally gets abducted. Everything else is just set-up that could have been handled more succinctly.

Interestingly, the most compelling characters in this book are those of the antagonists -- the characters of the Second Empire. Grandmother is not likable (a good thing), and yet her inner dialog and thought processes are much more compelling than those of the protagonist, Karigan. Likewise, the child, a parallel to Karigan's Fergal, is developed to the extent that the reader wants to know more about her. These are all good things.

I'm giving this a three and a half, deducting for "Dues Ex Machina"-style magical crutches, and plodding, unnecessary morality rants that seem gratuitous and add nothing to Karigan's character. Yes, I'm going to read the next one in the hopes that all of what seems superfluous in this one might bear fruit. A disappointing continuation of what is otherwise a decent series to while away a cold evening.

bw
3 1/2
10/2008

I have really enjoyed Kristen Britain's series and eagerly awaited this latest book. It was a good read and I thought the inner conflict of a less than perfect human reality, at the cost of shattering a childhood ideal, brought the story even more into the realm of the believable. Kristen is dogged in presenting quite a few human realities of the protagonist's father. Realities that shake the idyllic view a young girl had built of her father. However, what I thought unnessary was bringing one of those conflicts up within the realm of prostitution. Indeed Kristen seems to spend altogether too much of the story's time dwelling on the subject all the while blithely addressing the various moral, social and health (mental and physical) issues that surround that most tragic profession. For me it was a tragic development and this series went from one I was pleased to share with my children to one where I will have to wait until they are quite a few years older before we can share the tale together.

Contains no major spoilers.

So many other reviewers seem to be so up in arms about the pace and content of #3, but I found the whole book to be quite enjoyable. Having read several reviews prior to my purchase, I was fully prepared to be lulled by inactivty in the first few hundred pages. But that didn't happen for me. I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters again. I laughed hysterically during the theft at the museum. Fergal drove me nuts with his idiocy at the beginning of their mission, so I felt so much sympathy for Karigan having to deal with him. And I'm so glad the author has answered why the messenger horses are so special.

Another reviewer mentioned Karigan's horror at her father frequenting a brothel and her diatribe about saving yourself for someone special. I don't feel the author was trying to get preachy with her readers. I think Karigan's little internal monologue actually served the purpose of explaining to the reader why she feels so strongly about not giving herself to the king when so many others would have in her place. She is one of the fortunate few who was a product of a true and loving union. When she's seen that type of love up close, why should she settle for anything less.

I am not concerned about the author letting the needs of the story dictate it's length, as some others are. While I don't want the plot to become overly drawn out and riddled with minor characters, I don't want an unaturally quick closing to the series. I would love for Zachary and Karigan to end up together, but I don't see that feasibly happening in the next novel without Estora commanding their union as her deathbed wish (mostly because that would be way too deus ex machina and I don't want Estora to die). My point is that I'm with Karigan until the end, because I just have to know what happens. If it takes a couple more books - so be it.