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juushikaTitle: Rider at the Gate (Finisterre: The Nighthorses Book 1)
Author: C.J. Cherryh
Published: New York: Warner Books, 1995
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 470
Total Page Count: 184,420
Text Number: 543
Read Because: fan of the author and trope, paperback purchased used from The Book Bin
Review: Telepathic Nighthorses are the most powerful creatures on the planet, and partnering with them enable humans to maintain settlements and trade. But a rogue Nighthorse is a fearsome threat, with the power to drive entire settlements mad. There's a lot going on here: four convergent groups of characters, a modicum of worldbuilding based around telepathic bond animals and early winter alien frontierism, and a mystery plot—all written in Cherryh's terse, minute style. Those aspects don't always coalesce—I disliked the aesthetic, rarely cared about the characters's interconnections, and, while the final tableau is effective, the plot's resolution is too simple. But I came to this book for telepathic horses companions, and there it delivers without qualification. The focus is communication: the intimacy of Rider/Nighthorse interactions played to effect against grim winter; the fallout of telepathy, how it forces some intimacies and denies others. The unforgiving and rewarding focus on the (inter)personal is precisely what I wanted from this trope by this author. Rider at the Gate is difficult to recommend, as it's hardly an essential read even for fans of Cherryh—but if you love this trope, it won't disappoint.
Author: C.J. Cherryh
Published: New York: Warner Books, 1995
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 470
Total Page Count: 184,420
Text Number: 543
Read Because: fan of the author and trope, paperback purchased used from The Book Bin
Review: Telepathic Nighthorses are the most powerful creatures on the planet, and partnering with them enable humans to maintain settlements and trade. But a rogue Nighthorse is a fearsome threat, with the power to drive entire settlements mad. There's a lot going on here: four convergent groups of characters, a modicum of worldbuilding based around telepathic bond animals and early winter alien frontierism, and a mystery plot—all written in Cherryh's terse, minute style. Those aspects don't always coalesce—I disliked the aesthetic, rarely cared about the characters's interconnections, and, while the final tableau is effective, the plot's resolution is too simple. But I came to this book for telepathic horses companions, and there it delivers without qualification. The focus is communication: the intimacy of Rider/Nighthorse interactions played to effect against grim winter; the fallout of telepathy, how it forces some intimacies and denies others. The unforgiving and rewarding focus on the (inter)personal is precisely what I wanted from this trope by this author. Rider at the Gate is difficult to recommend, as it's hardly an essential read even for fans of Cherryh—but if you love this trope, it won't disappoint.
