Green Rider Books in Order: How to read Kristen Britain’s series?
A different kind of messenger.
What is the Green Rider series about?
Written by American author Kristen Britain, Green Rider is a Fantasy series published since 1998.
The story resolves around Karigan G’ladheon, a merchant’s daughter, who fled from school following a fight and met a dying man, a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king of Sacoridia. His last wish is for her to deliver a message to King Zachary.
This is how she finds her way to the Green Riders, love, friendships, and a world of magic full of dangers.
How to Read the Green Rider Books in Order?
- Green Rider (1998)
- First Rider’s Call (2003)
- The High King’s Tomb (2007)
- Blackveil (2011)
- Mirror Sight (2014)
- Firebrand (2017)
- The Dream Gatherer (short story, 2018)
- Winterlight (2021)
- Spirit of the Wood (2023)
What is the plot of the Green Rider series?
For more information about the books in the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain, you’ll find below the official synopsis for all the books:
Green Rider – On her long journey home from school after a fight that will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G’ladheon ponders her uncertain future. As she trudges through the immense Green Cloak forest, her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves, as a galloping horse bursts from the woods. The rider is slumped over his mount’s neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king of Sacoridia. Before he dies, he begs Karigan to deliver the “life and death” message he bears to King Zachary.
First Rider’s Call – Karigan G’ladheon was once a Green Rider, one of the king of Sacoridia’s elite magical messengers. In the messenger service, she was caught up in a world of deadly danger, and though she defeated the rogue Eletian who cracked the magical D’Yer Wall-which had protected Sacoridia for a thousand years from the dark influence of Blackveil Forest, and Mornhavon the Black’s evil spirit imprisoned within it-she had nonetheless been tainted by his wild magic. Karigan returns to the court, only to find the Green Riders weakened and diminished. Rider magic has become unreliable.
The High King’s Tomb – Karigan G’ladheon is now a seasoned Green Rider. But during her first year as a Rider, a rogue magician cracked the mighty D’Yer Wall. The spirit of Mornhavon, sensing the weakness, began to wake, seeking vengeance, and causing frightening aberrations throughout the land. Karigan managed to transport the spirit of Mornhavon into the future, buying valuable time for her king and country. But how far in the future is Mornhavon now? A hundred years? Ten? Only one year? There is no way to tell.
Blackveil – Karigan G’ladheon is no ordinary Green Rider, for she can traverse the barriers of time and space. Because of this extraordinary ability, she was able to transport the spirit of Mornhavon into the future, buying precious time for her country. During the window of relative safety, King Zachary decides to send Karigan and a small contingent of scouts, accompanied by a small group of Eletians-a magical race who once lived in the lands now tainted by Mornhavon’s magic-into Blackveil Forest. Though Mornhavon is gone, the forest is still a treacherous and unnatural place filled with monstrous creatures and deadly traps. Plus, no one knows how far in the future Mornhavon has been sent-Ten years? One? Maybe even less.
Mirror Sight – King Zachary sends Karigan and a contingent of Sacoridians beyond the edges of his nation, into the mysterious Blackveil Forest, which has been tainted with dark magic by a twisted immortal spirit named Mornhavon the Black. In a magical confrontation against Mornhavon, Karigan is jolted out of Blackveil Forest and wakes in darkness. She’s landed in a sealed stone sarcophagus, some unknown tomb, and the air is becoming thin. She must first win free of her prison- before it becomes her grave.
Firebrand – Zachary Davriel Hillander, High King of Sacoridia, rues how much he has had to give up to lead his realm, including the freedom to live and love as he chooses. When an embassy from Eletia arrives to propose a joint venture between their realms to seek out an old ally in the north, he is dismayed to learn that the one Sacoridian they have in mind to accompany their guide is the woman he truly loves but cannot have: Green Rider Karigan G’ladheon.
The Dream Gatherer (short story) – A visit with the eccentric Berry sisters turns dangerous when an arcane device is discovered in their house that can summon dreamers through their dreams, and one of them is a nightmare.
Winterlight – The forces of the Second Empire are moving on Sacoridia and their primary target is a vulnerable garrison that guards a crucial mountain pass. Faced with new fatherhood and a country on the verge of war, King Zachary sends a contingent of soldiers and Green Riders to the pass. Reunited with her fellow Riders at the pass, Karigan G’ladheon takes on a leadership role, but quickly finds that the Riders are not as she last left them. As tension mounts and war draws ever closer to the heart of Sacoridia, Karigan must discover what it truly means to be a Rider and a hero of the realm–and what sacrifices must be made to truly heal from her past.
Spirit of the Wood – After years of leading the battle against the vicious Darrow Raiders, Lieutenant-Rider Laren Mapstone has built a fortress around herself to conceal her emotions and the deep scars she carries. When she is made mentor to Tavin Bankside, a Green Rider trainee on his first message errand, her cold and brooding exterior quickly earns her the moniker the ‘Ice Lady’. Only after Laren is severely wounded in an attack on the North Road by a gang of bandits — including some former Darrow Raiders with vengeance on their minds — do the fortress walls fall. Even as they seek refuge from danger in a Rider waystation, Tavin’s natural empathic gift leaves him vulnerable to the assault of the lieutenant’s emotions. Tavin must save Lieutenant Mapstone’s life and master his empathic gift before it destroys them both.
What should you read if you like the Green Rider novels?
If you like reading Kristen Britain’s Green Rider, you may be interested in Brandon Sanderson’s books, Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar…
