chrssym
Written on Mar 27, 2016
Magic, danger, and adventure abound for messenger Karigan G'ladheon in author Kristen Britain's New York Times-bestselling Green Rider fantasy series • "First-rate fantasy." —Library Journal
On her long journey home from school after a fight that will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G'ladheon ponders her uncertain future. As she trudges through the immense Green Cloak forest, her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves, as a galloping horse bursts from the woods.
The rider is slumped over his mount's neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king of Sacoridia.
Before he dies, he begs Karigan to deliver the “life and death” message he bears to King Zachary. When she reluctantly he agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission, whispering with his dying breath, "Beware the shadow man...".
Taking on the golden-winged horse brooch that is the symbol of the Green Riders, Karigan is swept into a world of deadly danger and complex magic, her life forever changed. Compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is accompanied by the silent specter of the fallen messenger and hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.
- ISBN10 0886778247
- ISBN13 9780886778248
- Publish Date 1 November 1998
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 18 August 2009
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint E P Dutton & Co Inc
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 464
- Language English
Reviews
Kate (Blogging with Dragons)
Written on Jul 21, 2014
When we first meet main character Karrigan G’ladheon, she has just been kicked out of school for winning a fight against a spoiled noble classmate. Unable to face her father, she runs away with only the clothes on her back and a few precious items. But when a king’s messenger bursts onto the scene, she learns that getting kicked out of school is the very least of her problems. With two black arrows in his back, the dying messenger implores her to take up his mantle as a Green Rider and deliver the message to the king. Despite his chilling warning to “beware the shadow man,” Karrigan reluctantly swears an oath to deliver the message and sets off on his horse, which seems to know more about the mission than she does. Hunted by humans and the reemergence of an old evil, Karrigan learns that the world itself and everything she holds dear is dependent on the delivery of this mysterious letter.
I could not put this book down. Like Karrigan, I was on a mission—the only difference was that my race against time was to finish this book. To me, author Kristen Britain created a fantasy world as rich as Lord of the Rings with a more relatable Katniss Everdeen at its helm. Not bogged down by a frustrating love triangle a la The Hunger Games, the reader was able to watch Karrigan navigate impossible odds and come into her own. I could easily picture myself in her shoes and I can’t wait to see how much more she grows in the future installments.
paperbackjedi
Written on May 25, 2010