The sequel to Rider at the Gate continues as a seamless narrative on the unrivaled partnership forged between human colonists stranded on a planet whose only native life forms are linked by telepathy, and the native nighthorses, who fiercely guard the humans against the planet's mind-clouding predators. The hero of this story is Danny Fisher, a young rider whose will is tested through fateful confrontations with an older rider named Guil Stewart and a miscreant horse, whose incongruous telepathic sendings drive entire villages to madness and death.
From Publishers Weekly
On the planet that backdrops this excellent sequel to last year's Rider at the Gate, the native wildlife is dangerously telepathic, able to project its own emotions or to amplify human ones. Human settlements survive only in valleys protected by the riders of nighthorses, equine-like animals who have bonded with people. But sometimes nighthorses go rogue, the planet is rugged and its winters are lethal. The narrative tells of a young rider escorting two brothers and their sister, who has been driven mad by the rogue nighthorse that is following the little company as it races for shelter from winter storms. Nor is the nighthorse the only pursuer?something else is on their trail, hungry and apparently intelligent. The pacing is occasionally slow, but Cherryh tosses in plenty of well-handled action to compensate. The world-building is up to her highest level and, as a bonus, the story ends on a cliffhanger that indicates at least one more Rider novel to come. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
Amazon.com Review
The sequel to Rider at the Gate continues as a seamless narrative on the unrivaled partnership forged between human colonists stranded on a planet whose only native life forms are linked by telepathy, and the native nighthorses, who fiercely guard the humans against the planet's mind-clouding predators. The hero of this story is Danny Fisher, a young rider whose will is tested through fateful confrontations with an older rider named Guil Stewart and a miscreant horse, whose incongruous telepathic sendings drive entire villages to madness and death.
From Publishers Weekly
On the planet that backdrops this excellent sequel to last year's Rider at the Gate, the native wildlife is dangerously telepathic, able to project its own emotions or to amplify human ones. Human settlements survive only in valleys protected by the riders of nighthorses, equine-like animals who have bonded with people. But sometimes nighthorses go rogue, the planet is rugged and its winters are lethal. The narrative tells of a young rider escorting two brothers and their sister, who has been driven mad by the rogue nighthorse that is following the little company as it races for shelter from winter storms. Nor is the nighthorse the only pursuer?something else is on their trail, hungry and apparently intelligent. The pacing is occasionally slow, but Cherryh tosses in plenty of well-handled action to compensate. The world-building is up to her highest level and, as a bonus, the story ends on a cliffhanger that indicates at least one more Rider novel to come.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.