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Green Rider Karigan has been through more than any other person in King Zachary’s service. Possessed of gifts that few others can aspire to, she most recently used her talents to send the vile sorcerer Mornhavon the Black forward in time, thus ending his threat to Sacoridia. But the darkness that he left in Blackveil Forest remains strong.
Now the Eletians are mounting an expedition into Blackveil to see if anything is left of the city they were forced to abandon hundreds of years ago. Karigan is one of the party of Sacoridians accompanying them. But why would the Eletians want to brave the dark forest after so many years?
On the fringes of Blackveil, Karigan’s friend Alton labors to repair the D’Yer Wall, the only thing holding Blackveil’s menace back from the lands beyond. But so far, the wall has resisted any attempts to mend it. When a bard arrives in camp, her music seems to please the Wall’s guardian spirits. But there are horrors lurking within the Wall’s towers and battlements that may prove deadly to the unwary.
I’ve enjoyed Britain’s Green Rider series ever since it first came out. I find a certain comforting familiarity in its pages. There is much in here to remind readers of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar book, from royal messengers to evil mages flung through time and space, from helpful spirits to mysical music. But Britain’s books never seem derivative. On the contrary, they combine the best of what readers love about fantasy into new and enjoyable patterns.
I’ve always liked the humanity inherent in these characters. Karigan doesn’t have all the answers, and much of the time, she can’t really control the supposed powers that she has. Rather, she muddles through situations just like any of us would do in her shoes. And it isn’t just her: most of the characters are flawed, but in the minor ways that most real-life people are. They argue with people and hurt their feelings, they’re indecisive, they make a bad choice or two. This book brought some interesting conversations between Karigan and her father, and it gives a window into Karigan’s heritage that will likely reverberate through subsequent books.
On the down side, this book does have a villain of the mustache-twirling variety. He’s not in the same league as Mornhavon, but he does some pretty despicable things. It’s his soliloquizing about his mean deeds that rubs me the wrong way. It comes across as contrived—hence the “mustache twirling” label.
This book takes a darker turn than the previous ones, and there are parts of it that made me uncomfortable. Specifically, there is a sexual situation between two characters, one in which neither participant is really doing so of their own free will. I’m presuming that the author included this scene, and wrote it the way she did, for a reason, but I’ll admit that I didn’t like its inclusion. I’m not quite sure what purpose it served within the plot, and I’m hoping that will be made clear in the next book.
Even with that scene, I still enjoy Britain’s series immensely. There’s something about them that draws me in and keeps me reading. To me, her world feels solid, very vibrant and alive, as do the characters. And it’s that solidity that keeps me coming back to her novels. I feel like I know King Zachary’s palace, Sacor City, and the towers of the D’Yer Wall. It’s a land that I’m happy to revisit again and again.
I’ve heard that Britain plans to do seven books in this series. This is book four, so if you’re just joining the tale, you have plenty of time to catch up. And I highly suggest that you do take the time to enter this lively and bustling world. I’m sure that you’ll be just as taken with the characters and places as I am.
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