Green Rider (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This fat fantasy is the author's first published novel. Although the typical back cover quotes from Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley overpraise it somewhat--"stunning," "terrific," "classic"--it's a good, highly readable debut. Kristen Britain tells her story at a headlong pace and with considerable charm. Young heroine Karigan hardly has time to regret being expelled from school (for dueling) before finding herself committed to the desperate errand of a murdered Green Rider. The Riders are an elite messenger corps using both horses and magic; the message is a terrible warning. Bad things from bad places are invading this fantasyland, their presence being only part of a devious, sorcery-aided human struggle for the throne. Karigan's wild ride is beset by a variety of enemies, but aided by her own developing talents plus certain strange allies. These include the tormented ghost of the dead Green Rider himself--still pierced by and trying to resist the chief villain's black arrows that ensnare the soul. Delivering the message to a suspicious court is only half Karigan's job: can it be interpreted in time? The pages turn fast, the heroine is likeable and the villains hissable, and all ends as it should. Nice one. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Britain's first novel is a classic quest tale set in a standardized medieval fantasy world. It begins when protagonist Karigan G'ladheon is expelled from an exclusive school. In a forest on the way home, she encounters one of the magically bound Green Riders, who carries a vital message for King Zachary. The messenger is dying with assassins' arrows in his back, so with more loyalty than caution, Karigan takes over his magic brooch. This also means taking over his mission and becoming a Green Rider herself, an act that flings Karigan into a cesspool of intrigues both magical and mundane, some of them well-handled by the author, some not. Karigan is an engaging protagonist, although the feisty female is now a penny a cartload in high fantasy, and some of the scenes of magic and/or combat rise to a high standard. Britain also makes notable use of class distinctions as motivators, a tact not often seen in fantasy. But, overall, her plot lacks originality; most of her characters (other than Karigan) are, at best, archetypes; and her pacing may be sufficiently uneven to deter readers from coping with the book's standard plot and considerable length. This is a respectable, not outstanding, debut, although Britain shows enough talent to warrant a follow-up. (Nov.) FYI: In its 25 years, DAW has published only one previous first novel in hardcover: Tad Williams's Tailchaser's Song.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: DAW (April 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886778581
• ISBN-13: 978-0886778583
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (306 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #250,129 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Progression of Events., May 6, 2000

By	Michael Weber "fairportfan" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let's say you (or a Young Person of your acquaintance) have finished all the Harry Potter books.

After which you read "Half Magic" and its sequels.

And then you did all five of Lloyd Alexander's "Prydain" books.

And now, though those were very good indeed, you want something aimed at a just slightly older audience, though not necessarily with graphic bloody violence and panting sex scenes.

Well, you've come to the right place -- i have just the thing, my friend. Step right up and cast your eyes on this little beauty.

While somewhat derivative in detail (but what modern fantasy isn't at least a little derivative somewhere?), the elements are stirred nicely into a fairly original story line that avoids the pitfalls of following your examples too closely with nothing new to say that we see all too often in first novels, while still telling a briskly-moving story that the casual reader will have no trouble following but that will not insult the intelligence of a somewhat more analytical reader.

Familiar elements:

(1) The elite messenger/diplomatic/spy cadre, the King's Riders, who wear distinctively-coloured outfits (green in this case).

(2) The young person of Good Family who has, thru impetuosity and rash disregard of consequence, gotten into some minor scrape that seems to loom huge in her life.

(3)The scheming nobleman with the Pretender to the Throne in hand who plots against the Crown.

(4) The mysterious grey-cloaked figure who appears to aid the Villains, but actually has Plans Of His Own.

And So On.

Subversions of Familiar Elements:

(1) & (2) The young person of Good Family encounters a dying Rider in the wood; he passes on his horse, sword, Rider brooch and his message to her, makes her swear to carry out the mission, then dies, leaving her stuck.

(3) He's not as smart as he thinks.

(4) By some clever footwork early in the story (at least, i *hope* it was intentional) the author diverts attention longer than i might have thought possible.

Oddly enough, while i certainly caught echoes of Lackey's Heralds in the Green Riders, Tolkien's (and most everyone else's) elves in the Eletians and so on, the author i most found myself thinking of a lot of the time was vintage Andre Norton -- the plucky young (wo)man who suddenly finds herself the focus of Great Events, gradually discovering in himself abilities (s)he never knew (s)he posessed, generally involving some innocent seeming but puissant object or device that comes into her posession apparently innocently...

I must say that my favourite part of the book is fairly early on, when Karigan finds herself taken in and succored by the Misses Berry at their family home, Seven Chimneys (which has nine). Misses Bay and Bunch look and sound like slightly dotty old ladies like your favourite old-maid aunt, but i strongly suspect that future volumes (which i hope to see) may well reveal that they're something a bit more.

An excellent light fantasy read; i'd give it about a PG rating -- there are two brief sequences in which rape is obviously intended, but both are short and non-specific; and while violence (including some rather nasty but not too detailed magical violence) is an essential part of such a story, it is handled well and is not lovingly dwelt-upon in detail.

If you like Tolkien, Lackey, Eddings or Dave Duncan (particularly his "Man of His Word" series; though Karigan is nothing like Rap, there is some of the same sense of see-it-through because it's the Right Thing To Do about her adventures), you need to at least give thei ons a look.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Entertainment in a Classical Style!, May 2, 2000

By	Chris Rosvold "rhodon" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fun and fast read. Yes, there are quite a few predictable elements, but Britain's style is enjoyable, descriptive, and leads you from one page to the next - no dragger here! It reminds me of some of the best fantasy I've read with a Tolkienesqe quality - plenty of behind the scenes history that could be explored with a heroine of some quality. I hope that Ms. Britain is up to the task of doing it. I look forward to a sequel. The typos complained of in the hard cover I did not notice in the paperback. If you're a critic, you'll probably not like this book - it is somewhat formulaic (ie, good does triumph over the bad, and truly new fantasy character types are hard to come up with), and the descriptive overkill that some critics seem to like is absent. I recommend this to any reader over 13; it has some violence, none of the obligatory sex scenes, some romance, and colorful but tasteful dialogue. This is Entertainment!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended - but not great, April 25, 2000

By	A. C. H. Bergh - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

On the front cover of my edition of this book, there's a quote from Terry Goodkind: "(...) a truly enjoyable read."

That sums it up nicely. There's a certain warmth, perhaps almost an engaging simplicity, to this debut. And as far as I'm concerned, it's very welcome. Britain might well tackle the same subjects as just about everyone else in modern day fantasy, but she does so - for the moment at least! - in a refreshingly unpretentious style. And she does it with undeniable charm.

The best example of the latter comes early in the book, when the protagonist, Karigan, finds herself in a house inhabited by a couple of sisters, Bayberry and Bunchberry (along with a few servants invisible due to the unfortunate dablings in magic by the sisters' father). This is whimsical stuff, more reminiscent of 19th century pastiche than medieval fantasy. Incongruous, perhaps, when compared to the rest of the story - but very welcome nevertheless. And perhaps Britain will be confident enough in the future to add upon such embelishments. (Frankly, she doesn't seem entirely comfortable within the restrictions medieval fantasy imposes anyway: her castles have glass windows, she has cities with plumbing, and people sometimes wear spectacles...)

And with regard to the lack of pretention: Britain shirks the all too common shifting between too many lead characters, the dozens of plots and subplots thrown at you every which way and, in general, the "here's my bigger than big new epic fantasy" approach adopted by a great number of Jordan wannabees. She tells a good (not a very original, as yet, but good) story without clutter.

Bottom line: you could far worse than buying this book. And: this is certainly a writer to watch.