Green Rider

By: Kristen Britain

Narrated by: Ellen Archer

Karigan G’ladheon, running away from school, is traveling through a deep forest when a galloping horse pounds up to her, its rider impaled by two black-shafted arrows. With his dying breath, he tells her he is a Green Rider, one of the magical messengers of the King. Before he dies, he makes Karigan swear to deliver the message he’s carrying, and gives her his green coat, with the symbolic brooch of his office.

Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, Karigan becomes a legendary Green Rider—for when given to the right person, a Rider’s brooch awakens the magic inside.

©2008 Kristen Britain (P)2012 Penguin

Ride On, Greenie!

I very much enjoyed this book. Although obviously written to the teenage female audience, still, the storyline was pretty good, and I found the magickal principles mentioned within it to be pretty sound, for the most part. I felt that the story dragged a little at first, but the more engrossed I got into it, the more I enjoyed the details that Kristen Britain put into her work, and I found myself sorry that it ended.

I thought Ellen Archer did an excellent job in narrating this book, and I look forward to listening to more of her work. As I enjoyed the book, I could not help but notice all of the different voices she so carefully crafted for each character, and how they so smoothly flowed from her lips.

Good story

I read this book when it first came out. so happy it's on audible now

always a good read

can't remember how many times I have read this book. at least more than five. I will read it again in a year or so. always try to reread the whole series before a new book comes out. Great writing Kristen!

Instant Classic—Move Over JK Rowling

I’ll never forget my first read through of this book. Now, it is so amazing to have the audiobook available to experience the world Kristen Britain built again and again. Deceptive in its simplicity, this books is an excellent foundation for a magnificent fantasy series with eventual highlights of sci-fi and steampunk to keep things fresh.

This book is one of the best available in the realm of YA. Perfect for everyone from pre-teens to adults, the sequels do a great job of aging the subject matter without crossing over into titillation or gory violence. The author’s handling of any adult topics is expert and done with good reason. From struggling with pre-assigned gender roles, shame based puritan ideals to PTSD and depression, this series will take you on an amazing journey full of characters to love.

My all time favorite series

I have been reading these books over and over again for the past decade. The main story is action and not romance like so many mainstream fantasy. The main character is flawed and more realistic than the characters in most stories. This series will always hold a special place in my soul.

Solid story and superb narration

Medieval epic fantasy told in 3rd person POV, mainly from the perspective of the heroine, but also from a villain's POV. A solid story. Entertaining but not outstanding. Excellent narration, though! Superb performance by Archer. Family safe, too. No sex or swearing. There is a map on the Web, but it's blurry.

There is a plot to overthrow the king of Sacoridia. On her canny horse, Karigan must ride like the wild hunt to deliver a message to the beleaguered king, but first she has to deal with deadly creatures of black magic and relentless sword-masters. Thankfully, she's been given a few magical artifacts and (some) special training to help her overcome several realistically grim and painful attacks.

Characterization is okay. Karigan, a young woman in her first year at university, was a reluctant but dutiful heroine. I liked her well enough, despite some whining (with cause) and some carping about snobbish aristocrats. I grew tired of her denial: “I’m NOT a Green Rider!" Hopefully, that inner-struggle won't continue for long in book 2.

Karigan as heroine wasn't quite a Mary Sue. She suffered. Was captured. Nearly gave up. But too often, she alone won the battles, because she journeyed alone — with some good exceptions. Her learning curve was steep, but Audible authors John Flanagan (Ranger's Apprentice), Jim Butcher (Codex Alera) and Brian Fuller (Trismoon) do a better job portraying a developing skill set. Having said that, I liked how Karigan learned to wield a sword, with help from an unexpected source (but success occurred too quickly).

Good secondary characters. I liked her visit with the Berry sisters, Bay and Bunch, and with the gigantic forester, Abram. Jendara the female sword-master mercenary was quite interesting, as was another woman: Laren Mapstone the battle-scarred captain of the Green Rider organization. Then there's King Zachary, young, betrayed, but brave and wise. Also the ghosts, with arrows in their backs. I felt for them, including F'ryan, the Green Rider who charged Karigan to complete his delivery, just before he died. The villain Merwell was also interesting, and textured. The other villain (Gray One) was just a cardboard figure. No idea what motivated him to be so evil.

It bugged me that the Green Riders received minimal respect, even from the king's own guards. I compare this with the solid respect the King's Rangers (similar to Green Riders) receive in Flanagan's series, beginning with The Ruins of Gorlan.

I see that the sequels are quite long, ranging from about 650-900 pages. Not sure if I'm invested in the characters or the plot enough. Long books tend to annoy me — flaws acceptable in shorter books begin to stand out. Often times, lengthy books meander and contain filler. They frequently suffer from excessive internal dialogue, too, and irritating reiterations of events covered in the previous books (as if readers forget). But I might give it a go.

Glad I came back to it.

I had trouble getting into this one at first so I left it and came back to it a few weeks later. I started over at the beginning and after a couple of chapters I was hooked. I just bought book 2. There's nothing particularly outstanding about it but the story is interesting, the narration is excellent and the protagonist is easy to root for.. I enjoyed it enough to want to know what happens next, so that's a winner with me.

Love them.

I love the Green Rider Series. I have a hard time putting them down, especially if it is the newest book because I want to know what is going to happen next.

The way the characters interact with each other and just the way the stories are put together keep me waiting for the next book to come out.

When I was introduced to the series, the third book had just come out within the year or two that it was written, I think. Ever since then I have been waiting to find out what is going to happen next.

I don't want to go into too much detail because this review will end up being even longer than it will be, but if you like horses, magic, Kings/Queens, and spunky messengers who might tell off their King and still live, you might enjoy this series.

wonderful read

The entire book was action packed with a strong female lead! I was entranced from the beginning until the end.

Easy but Fun Listen

Any additional comments?

If you are looking for a series to take a break from detail & complex story, then "Green Rider" series is what you are look for. The story starts with a bang, and the author keep its interesting developing the unique world and characters.Story is linear, characters fun and relatable, and environment has just enough uniqueness to differ from other series. World of the Green Rider is a classic, and I would recommend it anyone.

Lets not forget the narrator, Ellen Archer, takes about 10-15mins to get use to her voice, but she does the book justice; an EXCELLENT job done, kudos!