I am back with another review, Riders by Veronica Rossi.
Going into this book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had read the chapter sampler a couple years ago when the book was first released and it sounded interesting, but there's only so much you can get in 14 pages. I am happy to say that after reading the entire thing, I enjoyed this book!
This story mainly follows Gideon Blake, fresh out of high school and into the training program to become a U.S. Army Ranger like his dad. On one day, when Gideon is doing a practice skydive, his parachute doesn't open. Neither does his backup chute. He eventually gets the chute to open but by that point, it's too late. He bounces the landing and wakes up in the hospital having broken pretty much everything. Doesn't seem too crazy, except, a couple days later, he is literally running from a dog. He heals at a rate that isn't normal or even human. He is eventually found by Daryn, a seeker sent to collect him and the others, the Four Horsemen.
The story is told in a frame narrative, we begin the book at the end of Gideon's story, being interviewed by some sort of official. He tells her the story of what happened, and every now and then we get a bit of the interview. I haven't read many stories that are set up this way, but I think it was interesting to see a first-hand account, as well as the reactions of people who don't really believe the whole Horseman thing.
I don't have a lot of knowledge of the Four Horsemen, I mean I watched Supernatural and they did a bit with the Horsemen for a couple episodes but my knowledge is fairly general. I liked the way Rossi explained them, they weren't the Horsemen specifically, just incarnations with the same powers. Perhaps we'll see the 'real' Horsemen in book two? Either way, I thought she portrayed the story well. My only issue was that when I think "Four Horsemen," I think End of Days. There was a great battle going on, but it didn't feel as apocalyptic as I thought it would.
I thought the pacing of the story was good, the beginning hooked me in and it really picked up towards the end of the book, I couldn't believe what was going on in the last few chapters! It sets things up nicely for book two, but I didn't feel like it was trying to force it on me. The writing style was pretty to the point and it made for a quick read, quicker than I thought a 350+ page book normally goes.
I wasn't a huge fan of the romance in the book, I didn't really think it lent anything to the story. The relationship between Daryn and Gideon just seemed to cause more problems than it was worth and it felt a little forced at times. That being said, I didn't hate it - it just didn't add anything.
This book is very male dominated if nothing other than the fact that there are four MALE HorseMEN and one female seeker. I didn't really feel like this book was lacking a female presence, Daryn was pretty strong and the boys knew who was in charge. I would love to see more of her in book two, and more of her development. Even though the book had a lot of maleness, Gideon was respectful of Daryn and had no problems taking orders from a woman.
There was a bit of a road trip situation - which, if you know me, always scores a couple extra points.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to book two.