Rider at the Gate Book

This books could fit into so many different categories! It has suspense, horror, a big mystery to solve, a fantasy element with telepathic horses and it's an adventure story too! I never expected so much from this book as I was simply looking for a horse related book to read and wow, I'm glad I picked this one up! It has totally surpassed my expectations. And the characters are wonderfully developed too. There is really nothing to complain about which I think is very rare in a book...

So this is about a young man named Danny and his horse named Cloud. Danny feels he owes a debt of gratitude to another man named Stuart, who is much older than him and who rides Burn. Stuart knew a lady (who was also a rider) and he has heard that she and her horse had recently died due to a rogue horse, so Stuart sets off on a long journey to kill this dangerous rogue. Danny meanwhile sets out a bit later, following. And that is the beginning of a very complicated plot that really kept me entertained.

This story had turned out a lot darker than I had thought. It definitely has some real horror elements to it (which I of course totally enjoyed as I love creature tales) and the main idea behind this horror is what do you do when you can't trust your senses? For you are on an alien world and all of the native creatures including the Nighthorses can send images directly to your brain. And not just images but emotions as well. Imagine brawls breaking out among humans because horses are upset and angry. Imagine hungry predators using these abilities to hunt you. And then imagine horses that eat fried bacon and biscuits too...and watch your fingers! Some townsfolk think the horses are demons and simply don't trust them.

The author has created a very detailed world with different viewpoints from different characters. Different towns too. I kept reading as I needed to know how it would all end. My one guess was correct but even when I was about 15 pages from the end I just didn't see how it was all going to resolve itself. The plot has a lot of different plot threads that come together for the climax. Some of the things I had hoped would happen didn't. And that was ok.

I must say at the beginning I was a little bit confused until I got used to how the horses talk using the images they send. They might use phrases like or to express their emotions. The scenes near the beginning were chaotic but I quickly grew used to it.

I do think some of the ideas in here are based off of real horses. Horses do like it peaceful and quiet. And Danny's relationship with Cloud and what he learns from the older riders - that his own jittery behaviors can indeed affect the horse he is bonded to. The most successful people who work with horses are usually those who have very peaceful personalities. I was glad to see this reflected in the story and it was indeed a part of the plot. Of course this book explores what it might be like to actually talk to your horse. A horse won't understand everything you do either as they have limits.

I look forward to reading the sequel.