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Available
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Publication
Tor Teen (2016), 369 pages
Description
Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: A new fantasy adventure from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Veronica Rossi. For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does. Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse. Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen�??Conquest, Famine, and Death�??are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence. They fail. Now�??bound, bloodied, and drugged�??Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he's fallen for�??not to mention all of humankind�??he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger. But will anyone… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member brandileigh2003
2.5 good (enough)
I wanted to read riders because I like Rossi previous book series a whole lot the romance and action and pretty much does everything about it so I definitely wanted to give her new series a try. I liked the fact we have male narrator because that is pretty rare, and I also had a
First chapter starts after getting in had died and I guess already done some of the apocalypse horse rider stuff because he was being interrogated and he was frantic to get out and do something about the chaos outside of those walls. And I think again to tell the story to the people questioning him we go back in time a little bit and get to see him as he's just joining the Army and trying to get into the elite Rangers unit.
But man was this book SLOW for me. There were several times I thought about putting it down because it was a back and forth timeline, there were a LOT of characters, and we start out even more confused than Gideon. But I wanted to love it, and I thought the premise was good. It just wasn't what I expected.
One of the most important character development or story arcs I think was when Gideon was really struggling with himself with the question of "am I good?"
he was the horseman war and war generally brings about suffering and death and just the name of the four horsemen is death famine and conquest. it really doesn't paint a pretty picture if you think about it. but Gideon had some things in his past already that made him wonder would I have heard this person more if I haven't stopped or wrestling with scenarios like that.
Glad I got through this one, but will not continue.
Bottom Line: Too slow, but wanted to enjoy.
I wanted to read riders because I like Rossi previous book series a whole lot the romance and action and pretty much does everything about it so I definitely wanted to give her new series a try. I liked the fact we have male narrator because that is pretty rare, and I also had a
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lot of respect for the fact that he was following in his father's footsteps and not just joining the Army, but training for the elite unit. First chapter starts after getting in had died and I guess already done some of the apocalypse horse rider stuff because he was being interrogated and he was frantic to get out and do something about the chaos outside of those walls. And I think again to tell the story to the people questioning him we go back in time a little bit and get to see him as he's just joining the Army and trying to get into the elite Rangers unit.
But man was this book SLOW for me. There were several times I thought about putting it down because it was a back and forth timeline, there were a LOT of characters, and we start out even more confused than Gideon. But I wanted to love it, and I thought the premise was good. It just wasn't what I expected.
One of the most important character development or story arcs I think was when Gideon was really struggling with himself with the question of "am I good?"
he was the horseman war and war generally brings about suffering and death and just the name of the four horsemen is death famine and conquest. it really doesn't paint a pretty picture if you think about it. but Gideon had some things in his past already that made him wonder would I have heard this person more if I haven't stopped or wrestling with scenarios like that.
Glad I got through this one, but will not continue.
Bottom Line: Too slow, but wanted to enjoy.
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LibraryThing member HeidiAngell
My oldest absolutely loves this book and has been pestering me since January to read it. I wanted to love it too. It's a really cool concept! But I didn't LOVE it. And it wasn't until almost 2/3 of the way through that I really caught my stride and started to enjoy it. Why? Well, part of the
One of the other things that drove me nuts was that Gideon constantly ended sentences with blah, blah, blah, so. The author was consistent in the format, only using it with Gideon, which I appreciated because it indicated that it was an idiosyncrasy of his, not that the author didn't know better. Still, it was incredibly grating on my nerves, particularly because of the frequency. I kind of hated Gideon just because of this. Well, not just because of this, but A LOT because of this. Why else didn't I like him? Well, the insta-love/bickering/ flippity-floppity relationship he and Daryn have going on was really frustrating. 18 year old me would have given Gideon the boot for being so dang annoying. Seriously, I don't know how Daryn puts up with him.
What did I like? I liked the concept (as I said.) I absolutely love Bas. He reminds me a lot of many of my guy friends from that time in my life. Much more chill and less obnoxious. I would've liked to see more of Marcus, he felt so one-dimensional and insignificant, which Death should never be. Jode also kind of got the shaft, as far as scene time. Which is a shame, because he was my son's favorite.
The "international incident" seemed kind of lame and anticlimactic, and the twist didn't surprise me at all, which was a bit disappointing.
Would I read this again? Nah. Would I read the next book? Only if it's told from one of the other characters' perspectives. Then it might be worth reading. Shhh, don't tell my son I said this!
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struggle was the choice of storytelling format. The story starts in the present during a "debriefing" of sorts. Gideon pretty much tells most of the story. It was a bit confusing because he kept thinking about characters we haven't met in his story yet, and it was very scattered with a lot of "But I'll tell you more about that later." type scenes. One of the other things that drove me nuts was that Gideon constantly ended sentences with blah, blah, blah, so. The author was consistent in the format, only using it with Gideon, which I appreciated because it indicated that it was an idiosyncrasy of his, not that the author didn't know better. Still, it was incredibly grating on my nerves, particularly because of the frequency. I kind of hated Gideon just because of this. Well, not just because of this, but A LOT because of this. Why else didn't I like him? Well, the insta-love/bickering/ flippity-floppity relationship he and Daryn have going on was really frustrating. 18 year old me would have given Gideon the boot for being so dang annoying. Seriously, I don't know how Daryn puts up with him.
What did I like? I liked the concept (as I said.) I absolutely love Bas. He reminds me a lot of many of my guy friends from that time in my life. Much more chill and less obnoxious. I would've liked to see more of Marcus, he felt so one-dimensional and insignificant, which Death should never be. Jode also kind of got the shaft, as far as scene time. Which is a shame, because he was my son's favorite.
The "international incident" seemed kind of lame and anticlimactic, and the twist didn't surprise me at all, which was a bit disappointing.
Would I read this again? Nah. Would I read the next book? Only if it's told from one of the other characters' perspectives. Then it might be worth reading. Shhh, don't tell my son I said this!
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LibraryThing member seriesousbooks
3.5/5
I didn't enjoy the pacing of this story. The gathering of the horsemen at the start was fabulous but the plateau of drama at the 70% mark killed the momentum for me. As did the romance. That was such a mood killer.
Otherwise, I loved Gideon as a lead. His narration is witty and sarcastic and
I didn't enjoy the pacing of this story. The gathering of the horsemen at the start was fabulous but the plateau of drama at the 70% mark killed the momentum for me. As did the romance. That was such a mood killer.
Otherwise, I loved Gideon as a lead. His narration is witty and sarcastic and
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it was so easy to listen to on the audiobook. Show Less
LibraryThing member HeatherLINC
I was initially attracted to the front cover of this book and the fact that the plot was based around the Biblical apocalypse with its four horsemen - Death, Famine, War and Conquest. I just wish the author had delved deeper into this concept. However, there were demons, gorgeous horses, an evil
"Riders" was narrated by Gideon (War) and I loved his voice. He was angry, stubborn, sarcastic and funny. He certainly wasn't perfect, but he was very likeable and I enjoyed following his development. I also liked his love interest, Daryn, a seeker whose job was to bring the four horsemen together to defeat the Kindred. The other horsemen were also interesting, especially the loveable Bas (Famine), but I wish Rossi had fleshed Jode (Conquest) and Marcus (Death) out more. I would like to have known them better.
The last third of "Riders" was electrifying and I was constantly on the edge of my seat. The action was relentless as good and evil faced off. As for the ending, what a cliff-hanger! As soon as I finished this book I began searching for the second one in the series.
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dragon and cool weapons. "Riders" did start slowly and most of the book was spent finding the four horsemen, but the action certainly cranked up in the last third of the book."Riders" was narrated by Gideon (War) and I loved his voice. He was angry, stubborn, sarcastic and funny. He certainly wasn't perfect, but he was very likeable and I enjoyed following his development. I also liked his love interest, Daryn, a seeker whose job was to bring the four horsemen together to defeat the Kindred. The other horsemen were also interesting, especially the loveable Bas (Famine), but I wish Rossi had fleshed Jode (Conquest) and Marcus (Death) out more. I would like to have known them better.
The last third of "Riders" was electrifying and I was constantly on the edge of my seat. The action was relentless as good and evil faced off. As for the ending, what a cliff-hanger! As soon as I finished this book I began searching for the second one in the series.
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LibraryThing member bookbrig
Perfect for school visits this year. This is a story revolving around an 18-year-old army guy, with pretty much no swearing or sexy times and tons of action and intrigue. It's also got plenty of violence, but nothing worse or more graphic than any other YA. I really enjoyed the characters, although
Aside from that, I really enjoyed the framing device for the story, which made it almost impossible to put down once I'd started reading. It's not a perfect book, but it's hugely readable and I think will be really popular with our teens if they aren't put off by the cover. For a book written in such a realistic style, I feel like a military themed cover or a more abstract horse would have fit the story better.
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every so often I felt like some of the side characters fell into stereotypes rather than dynamic, fully fleshed people. This was particularly true with Marcus, which was frustrating since his character was such a foil to our narrator, but we get almost none of his story except bits that read like a central casting call for "young black guy with a troubled past."Aside from that, I really enjoyed the framing device for the story, which made it almost impossible to put down once I'd started reading. It's not a perfect book, but it's hugely readable and I think will be really popular with our teens if they aren't put off by the cover. For a book written in such a realistic style, I feel like a military themed cover or a more abstract horse would have fit the story better.
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LibraryThing member readingbeader
This was an engaging, action filled series starter. Even though it is told in flashback, I felt the tension building as Gideon told his story. Gideon is War, as in one of the four horsemen. The apocalypse isn't coming, but these guys are needed to protect something. As Gideon is telling his story,
This one is good for both genders.
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we are finding out as he does, what his purpose is. There feels like I could have used a big info dump. I'm sure Gideon would have liked that, too. The military man in him wants as much intel as possible. I did get frustrated with the lack of background knowledge. I feel like that was as much a device of the plot structure as it was storyline. This one is good for both genders.
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
Meh. Just could not get into it. Parking here for maybe later.
Awards
Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (Nominee — 2019)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 2018)
Great Texas Mosquito List (2017)
Language
Original publication date
2016
Local notes
While recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.