Thursday 26 May 2011

Review: First Rider's Call - Kristen Britain

Series: Green Rider 2
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 736
Published: April 2011 Gollancz (re-published)

Karigan G'Ladheon was a Green Rider, one of the King of Sacoridia's magical messangers. With evil forces at large in the kingdom and the messenger service depleted and weakened, can Karigan reach through the veils of time to get help from the First Rider, a woman who has been dead for a thousand years?

My thoughts:
This is then book 2 and a little time has gone by since the events in book 1. Karigan felt the need to come back to the capital and become a real Green Rider and that is what she is now. And of course even if the danger was averted in book 1 there is still the danger of the wall that now is broken in the north. And of a presence that is dangerous and mad and he wants destruction. Yes a crazy bad guy, one has to love those.

Karigan has come to terms (sort of) that she now is a rider, and she is good at it. She has grown a bit since the last book but I do like the fact that she is not perfect, she still has got her fears. She is also learning how to become a better fighter. Other characters are Rider Alton who is up in the north trying to fix the wall so no evil things can get through. He may not be around a lot but I do like him. King Zachary is trying his best to hold his people together and he does not need to do much for me to really like him..a lot. Through a journal we meet Alessandros who came over with ships 1000 years ago to conquer the lands. And he was not a nice conqueror. But I sure liked learning more about the history of this land, and there are also clues what it all has to do with Karigan since her name is whispered in the win. A mystery, I can't say more.

This book is sure long but there are a lot of things happening and a lot of things explained. In book 1 we learnt about a war but here we get to learn more. And it's fascinating. The history is rich and I want more, especially about the place the evil people came from (not that all were evil but let's just call them that.)

Then we have the crazy bad guy who unleashes wild magic and things get weird. I also talked about a hint of romance in book 1 and here there is more, not romance, but looks, smiles and thoughts. Enough for me to wish with all my heart that Karigan can be with the one she loves, but alas no, for it's the king. And this is not a fairytale.

Conclusion:
Wild Magic and adventure. I liked book 1 and I enjoyed book 2 even more. Because this is why I enjoy fantasy, rich history and a world built on that history. It's a nice fantasy story that does not get too violent, sad or bleak. And it made me want to read more.

Rating:
I enjoyed it.

Cover:
yes the horse is back

Source. Publisher

33 comments:

  1. At least I could tell right away that it was part of the same series!

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  2. I think the covers for both the parts are really pretty! :)
    I had added the first book to my wishlist thanks to your review. I am glad to hear that the second part doesn't disappoint either.

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  3. I've seen this series before, but have not been tempted by them. But I'll read your review of the next one :)

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  4. I don't know why but I really like this horse on the cover...hmm, maybe it's just cuz I'm in a weird mood today. Such a great review on this book...maybe I really should look into reading this series. :-D

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  5. You would think this is a series about how to paint a horse...ok, the plot seems nice enough but I am not totally persuaded. Maybe, just maybe. Lovely review, though!

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  6. Sounds exciting! Love a crazy bad guy and love the cover with the horse!

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  7. Cover love! Fabulous review -- you've got me so curious about Britain's books!

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  8. All I saw was 736 pages! Really? OMG that's too much. ;)

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  9. Oooooh I love the cover. So pretty. And it's it fun when things get crazy?!

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  10. I'm echoing Nina here, 700+ pages is crazy! It'll probably take me a week+ to read that much.

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  11. Ooh this serie sounds better and better! You're bad for my wallet :)
    And I love the covers!

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  12. LOL the horse is black. I love just for that. Bwahahah

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  13. Hmm, I quite like the sound of this series - you've intrigued me and I like it when characters grow. Review of the third book soon? :)

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  14. Oh, I love this cover much better than the first - so dream-like and ethereal.

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  15. Oh this does sound like a good series. At least with this cover they cropped the picture better! :)

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  16. Glad youre enjoying this series. 736 pages? Its amazing how many books you read and review!

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  17. Oh this sounds more and more like a book and series I need to read. I love wild magic and adventure. :) Thank you!!!

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  18. OMG 700 + pages, I'd have to know it was the best book this year to make it worth my while :)

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  19. I'm glad to see that you are continuing to enjoy this series. I'll definitely have to give it a try.

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  20. @Chris
    The next cover has a horse too

    @Misha
    They are pretty but I just do not feel like they fit. And the 2nd part was better :D

    @Aurian
    If you are not temped then read the reviews and then you know them without reading :)

    @Deanna
    I do like the horse, so pretty! It's just like does it fit and give the right feel of the book?

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  21. @Ana
    Lol, I can totally see that. How to paint pretty horses!
    I will have more chances to tempt you with the books I hope

    @Alyssa
    I do love crazy bad guys too. They are just so crazy that I can't even hate them

    @Audra
    Everyone seems to love the cover this time around :D

    @Nina
    Lol, yes!!! It was LONG, took a while and I still read a lot each day

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  22. @Missie
    Lol, yes I love when things go all crazy. Gotta love crazy in books

    @Jenny
    Luckily the book was really easy to read so the pages just flew by. But I still did not do anything by read for a few days

    @Elysium
    Hihi, oh yes I know, bad me ;)

    @Susi
    Lol! I am happy to amuse you my lady

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  23. @Mel
    Ohh, that I can't answer. We will see ;)
    Cos there is a book 4 coming this summer too

    @Steph
    Everyone sure likes it more, but yes it is actually better even if the first was good too

    @Carrie
    I am glad you all like the horse

    @Melissa
    The horse is sure pretty

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  24. @Naida
    Hihi, trust me it was not easy. I was supposed to work on this essay but I have not done anything at all. Instead I have been reading for hours every day

    @Melissa
    It's good and omg my romantic side woke too and I want those two together. I am afraid the author will be evil *scared*

    Thanks Yvonne!

    @teddyree
    Lol, you are all so scared of the size. It's fantasy, they are huge

    @Simcha
    They are just fun and easy to read, even if they are long ;)

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  25. I am so amazed by the different series you find. This one looks really good.

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  26. @Vivienne
    Thank you :) I am happy to bring you all all sorts of books

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  27. I'll have to start out with book one since I haven't even heard of the series before. But I'm very much in love with book two's cover...or the one you posted at least. I'll have to give this a try. It sounds like it could be something up my alley =)

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  28. That's it! I just requested the first one form the library because this cover reminded me of it. I like well built worlds and a woman as the main character is always tops! Thanks B! Glad you are enjoying this series so much.

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  29. @Mishel
    The other covers are good too. I like the artist :)

    @Jenny
    Yay, I hope you will enjoy it. There is a bit of LOTR and Alice in wonderland flashback but hey it's fun :)

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  30. I liked the first cover, but it has a generic fantasy cover feel. This cover? Is stunning!

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  31. Janicu
    It is better, but I am still not sure about it..still it's good lol

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