Customer Reviews

Rider at the Gate

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love the nighthorse books. I am devoted to my horses, and although we have a pretty good bond, I wish we had the same communication as these horses and riders.But I would prefer to stick with their diet of hay. I can't picture a barn full of bacon.. I bought the hardback edition of Cloud's Rider as soon as it was published. The only other author I buy in hardback is Dorothy Dunnett. I am anxiously waiting for the next nighthorse book and all of those that follow.

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 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.

What a great story! Imagine you are a colonist to America in the 16th century, and that bears can make themselves invisible. Every time you step outside you could be eaten and you'd never know until it started. That is what this snowy world is like. Another believable planet and another amazingly logically built culture that fits the enviornment. A wonderful story about courage ,honor and love. Ms. Cherryh also shows again her love for horses.

[I rate this 4.5 stars.]

C.J. Cherryh's writing, like Mozart's music, has a consistent feel that easily identifies the author after a few brief passages. In Cherryh's case there's always external conflict that's amplifying the internal conflict in the characters' minds. Anguished thoughts bouncing around inside the protagonist's skulls and inadequate words failing to bridge the gaps separating their different viewpoints are a hallmark of her novels. Usually there are mundane reasons for the communication failures such as different backgrounds, ages, and levels of maturity. In "Rider at the Gate" Cherryh provides a more intrinsic reason to throttle understanding between the people involved.

On the unnamed planet where the story is set the native fauna are telepathic. Predators sniff out the mental odor of their prey. The higher up the food chain you go, the more telepathic tricks the animals employ. At the top of the chain are the nighthorses. who can project their presence where they're not, or fabricate a completely different landscape from the one your eyes perceive. When they first encountered human colonists the nighthorses were delighted to be around humans' higher-level though processes; telepathically, humans just smelled good. And while their inability to cope with telepathic local animals quickly knocked the bulk of the colonists back to scattered fortified settlements and circa-1900 technology, those who bonded with nighthorses were able to move through the wilderness relatively easily.

The bond with nighthorses comes with a price, of course. Because humans can't transmit telepathically themselves, their nighthorse-mediated communication is filtered through the alien mindsets of their telepathic companions. Lacking much concern for past or future in their conceptual framework, the nighthorses use their human riders to remember such things and give the nighhorses a broader perspective. And while the riders have greatly improved survival prospects, they struggle to communicate with other humans. To keep from spooking the horses the riders constantly damp down their emotions, and keep their concentration strictly on present concerns. The mental conditioning that makes for a good rider also results in a human who doesn't play well with others.

"Rider at the Gate" begins with a message of great emotional impact: a rider and her horse have been killed, spooked by a rogue nighthorse. Just this single message, amplified by a camp of nighthorses, is enough to lead to near-riot conditions in the large town of Shamesey. Danny Fisher, a local boy newly bonded with a horse named Cloud, is both part of the cause and one of the victims of this panic. Feeling he has a debt to pay, Danny volunteers to help hunt down the rogue nighthorse.

I won't go into greater detail and spoil the story (which continues with "Cloud's Rider", although "Rider at the Gate" stands on its own just fine). It's a story of understanding attained with great effort and personal sacfifice -- the typical finely crafted novel that's typically Cherryh.

Cherryh is one of my favorite writers, both because of her ability to construct a realistic setting and because of her characters. This book is typical Cherryh--strong personalities facing challenges enough to wear them down to the bone--but they hang on and survive, usually gaining a new level of maturity or a new perspective. I like development in a character, and Cherryh does that well here with Fisher.
This book adds an almost gothic horror feel to the process as well. The Tarmin village scenes were incredible--really sent a chill up my back. I hope Cherryh decides to do a third installment some day--Finisterre is a great addition to her worlds.

THIS ONE THE BEST BOOKS BY CHERRYH. SHE TAKES
INTO A LOST COLONY WORLD WHERE RIDERS WHO HAVE A
TELEPATHIC LINK WITH THEIR HORSES. CHERRYH ALSO
ASKS WHAT IF ONE THESE HORSES GOES INSANE? THE
ANSWER IS A GRIPPING AND ATMOSPHERIC TALE OF MURDER AND BETRAYAL IN A WORLD THAT RESEMBLES A
NIGHTMARISH FUTURISTIC WESTERN.

I have been a reader of Fantasy/Sci Fi for a very long time and I was a bit skeptical to start something that was an old game with the telepathy and other animals.

This novel shocked me and swept me off my feet. Not only is it more realistic form of telepathy (the animals are not the heroes and Cherryh does not pretend to underline that) but the world explodes in your eyes, ears, your nose and your well being.

Cherryh's writing is unmatched as far as her style. She really plays with the words and phrases in such a way that she makes you feel everything around you.

In this book you get Cherryh's writing, great ecology, genuine charactes,impeccable plot, and a heck of a mystery with a twist.

Yeah, telepathic critters are old hat in science fiction -
way old hat. But I'm telling you, this one's different!
This book's full of all the best C.J. Cherryh has to offer;
tight plotting, excellent characterization and a page-turning
sense of immediacy that really makes this book stand out.
I haven't had so much fun reading a "horse" story since
I was a kid.

This is a combination science fiction, fantasy, and semi-horror story and a great story it is. The first thing I look for in a fiction book is a strong story and C.J. Cherryh is a first class story teller. The book almost made me feel as though I were part of the story. The characters are all well developed and mostly interesting and the interplay between humans and night horses is charming and also well done. There is a high level of suspense here and the book just really plays on the emotions.

C.J. Cherryh has created a world populated by both people and creatures that both fascinate and terrorize at the same time. Her writing style in protraying the telepathic link between humans and nighthorses as well as her world and character build up creates a novel that has the reader feeling as if they were there. While most writers would just descripe the weather in passing Cherryh makes you feel the cold blast of winter winds and snow down your collar and the strugle to put one foot in front of the other. As for the terror and suspense of the novel she delivers the same quality of writing making the reader shiver not from the cold but from the feeling that it is happening to them. Where some writers have a hard time developing just one basic plot, Cherryh gives due time and effort to all of her plot lines greatly increasing the depth of the novel as she overlays, merges and sometimes plot twits them. This is a definite must read page turning novel.