Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Green Rider

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Green Rider by Kristen Britain

5 reviews

flsim's review against another edition

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4.0

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omnombailey's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The first 30% is a slog, but when things pick up, it was hard to put down. Prose is a bit convoluted, though highlights were the character interactions and seeing all the narrative beats from early on finally connect at the end.

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itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Slight disclaimer that this is my review after reading this book for the second time a considerable number of years after my first read (and when I was getting into reading as a whole). While I still have some love for this book, I think I was able to take off my nostalgia goggles for the most part and see things in a more critical light.

Things I liked:

The majority of the side characters are still as interesting to me now as they were back then. They are by no means anybody groundbreaking but they're likeable enough that I wish the book focused more on them sometimes.
I enjoyed the Green Riders as an organisation, and seeing just how less commonplace they were than in their past due to the (assumed) peacetime. Britain left just enough room for us to speculate their scope that it felt satisfying to follow up on it in the sequel. I also really loved the way station
You can tell Britain has a real passion for the places that inspired Sacoridia from her background as a park ranger. Although the setting is nothing particularly new for high fantasy, when Britain gets the environmental details right they're spot on.

Things I didn't like:

If you weren't immediately aware this was Britain's first novel, you'd probably figure it out in terms of how this book is paced. One could argue it feels more realistic for Karigan to venture about and things happen to her rather than her actively effecting her journey, but it becomes such a slog at times. Particularly with the portion where Karrigan is kidnapped, it felt extremely repetitive to read about how she and her captors move from place to place. Some other reviews pointed out that Britain is heavily influenced by Lord of the Rings and that might be an answer to the pacing, and although I partially agree, I think there are enough differences for it to stand on its own.
Karrigan feels more like a trojan horse (horse pun not intended) for the setting and more interesting characters than being a strong main character. Again, it feels like things happen at her than rather to her. I'm not as bothered as some people are because:

a) This book came out in the 90s and I can respect that her "not like other girls; real women in fantasy settings don't wear dresses" attitude is a product of its time.
b) I've read books with way more whiny and annoying characters than Karrigan.
I feel like the treatment of sexual assault was for shock value. While Karrigan is still reminded of her attempted assault later on in the book, it seems extremely underplayed considering it is one of the most harrowing experiences someone can endure. Also the way Mel was almost raped by a random enemy guard felt gratuitous as a way to raise the stakes and show the bad guys are truly evil.
Another review also pointed this out but I can't help agree with it - the book can't decide if it wants to take an anti-monarchy stance or a pro-monarchy stance. Several characters express how they've suffered under the reign of the monarchy, and how said monarchy has allowed various lords under their service to get away with various atrocities, so you'd think this book would be taking a stance against them? Nope, apparently the problem is just one bad apple in the form of Prince Amilton and surely Zachary will fix everything if we let him. How you may ask? Don't worry about it, he'll figure it out between the love triangle that is about to unfold in the second book onwards. We even have a cartoonishly evil version of what Britain thinks anarchists look like in the form of Lorelie just in case you think abolishing the monarchy is a bad idea!
(Disclaimer that this is more of a personal grievance that goes beyond this book) Britain did my favourite character, Beryl Spencer, really dirty. I love the concept of her as a super competent, stoic spy who the reader doesn't initially know she's on the side of the protagonists but Britain falls into the same pitfall as she does with a lot of aspects in this book - telling, not showing. I would have loved to have seen more actions Beryl does on page that, when rereading the book, shows how she was undermining Mirwell the entire time. It would have made a change from having to hear the guy's inner monologue about how badly he wants to bang her. And I know from reading on Beryl just keeps getting into trouble so I have no reason to keep hoping.

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inkysplodge's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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art_books_chemistry's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I almost gave up on this book at the beginning. The storyline began sort of slow while also firehosing you with world building information. The 7-Chimneys section of the storyline was an easy way for the author to throw a lot of information at the MC Karigan so as to introduce the reader to the story. It definitely felt like a newer author that wasn't sure how to integrate a ton of world building information into her planned storyline and needed a sort of fourth wall break without it being a fourth wall break. Ok that might not be entirely fair since the ladies introduced there did send Karigan away with multiple tools that came in handle multiple times and wasn't purely an informational visit but still. This section also gave me Black Cauldron vibes (yes I was that weird kid who loved that Disney movie and no I haven't read the book).

The very first chapter I also became a little disappointed in Christopher Paolini. I LOVE the Inheritance Cycle and shake my head at the people who claim it's just stolen LotR. But dammit he must have gotten some inspiration from this because the first chapter with "The Gray One" is very similar to the first chapter of Eragon with Durza the shade. The two characters in general have several similarities.

I realized about halfway through what my favorite book trope is when normally I claim to not have any. It's absolutely the Reluctant Hero trope. Bilbo, Frodo/Sam, Daine Sarrasri, Clary Fray, Harry Potter, Eragon, Tris/Daja/Briar, Calaena Sardothien. I'd include Katniss but I hated her through the books. Karigan literally resists being a hero to the end though she becomes introspective about it which made me laugh.

I am glad I pushed through the rough beginning. I enjoyed how the magic works in this world, I enjoyed how the plot wound up in the end, and I enjoyed several of the characters. Doing this as an audiobook, I mostly read it while doing menial work tasks and driving. At some point I realized I was grinning into space for (seemingly) no reason, sitting on the edge of my car seat, and cheering when certain events happened. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series to continue to follow Karigan's adventures and recommend it for others who enjoy a richly developed world.

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