Riders by Veronica Rossi

Riders, Book 1

Synopsis: Nothing but death can keep eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

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.

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 believe him?

Review: I was really eager to discover this story! In fact I had already heard a lot about Veronica Rossi without ever having read one of her books. Then with the release of this new series, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to discover one of her books. Moreover, I admit that I’m always really intrigued when I find a story regarding the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, so how not to succumb to the story?

I admit that by starting the novel, I did not expect at all to such a format that is ultimately as different as destabilizing. This is a very good idea too because we really want to read more and learn what happened. Indeed, we are finally beginning the story with the end, with the questions asked to Gideon on all that has happened before. And so, the young man tells us about his life, and that throughout the novel, explaining how he came to enter the Rangers, the impact of the death of his father, how he became War, the consequences of this change, his meeting with Daryn who helped him understand what he became, and finally his search of the other riders, but also his clashes with the demons who are determined to recover what he is protecting.

This mode of operation was very interesting, narrated in an unusual way with the inter-cut of the questions of the person who questions him and tries to understand all the details of this rather impressive history. I took great pleasure in discovering the whole and as the chapters are very short it allows to have a particular rhythm in the narration of this story. We remain eager to understand what happened, how Gideon managed to finish like that. I did not know that the novel was part of a duology, but I discovered it by reading this first part and I admit that I’m curious to see what will happen now, given the number of things initiated here. It was an interesting book with many ideas brought by the author and I am intrigued to read more. It is easy to get into the story of a boy who had to face a lot of things to get where he is now and who does not know how to continue to live up! Besides, I think you will be just as curious as I discover their horses! A very interesting experience!

 

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19 thoughts on “Riders by Veronica Rossi

  1. Well, this is interesting. I have to say that I tried Veronica Rossi, her previous series, but only book one, which has failed to convince me. I wouldn’t normally buy another one of her books again, but I’m very intrigued by your description of this inverted narration device she uses here. Really good review! 🙂

  2. I’ve read her dystopian series and loved it. I have to give this a shot especially as it’s only a duology. It sounds unique unlike anything I’ve ever read as far as the YA genre is concerned.

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