This is what I know about the Book of Revelations. At one point Jesus will come back to usher those of us worthy enough to get into heaven, leaving the rest of us behind to deal with the Apocalypse which I think will have the 666 Beast and the Four Horsemen. So basically I don’t know much but it is intriguing how the End of Time will play out? Riders is not about the world ending but it does bring together War, Famine, Death and Conquest together to fight against evil. Is that what the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse supposed to do? Gideon wants to be an Army Ranger when he dies in a training accident but instead of moving on he comes back as War. With the help of the Seeker, Daryn, Gideon must find the other three riders to stop the Kindred from finding the key that will open different realms and enslaving mankind in their new kingdom. If that isn’t hard enough, he has to convince the U.S. Government that he’s not crazy and the biggest threat to national security is a gang of demons.
I really liked this book. I liked the set up. Gideon is being held by the Government in a secret bunker, trying to explain why he was where he was and convince them that he is not the enemy but it’s still out there. He’s been drugged so the narrative is almost this stream of conscious. Anything and everything in his head is just coming out but he’s a soldier so he’s still sizing up his situation. He’s a likable, funny and smart. He knows the situation he is in not good and the only way to get out is to tell his story, size up his surroundings and use his military training to help him out. We begin from the day he died and goes through discovery who he is now, finding the other horsemen, falling in love with Daryn and getting over the death of his father the year before. Because it’s from his point of view, Gideon is the most drawn out character but Daryn is a fully fleshed out girl, who may not a trained fighter but can hold her own. As for the other horsemen, I would love to know more about them. Bas aka Famine we get to know a little bit more. We meet him second so we have more time but we don’t really have that luxury with Marcus (Death) and Jode (Conquest) which is a shame. All for of them are damaged in one way or another and no more then Marcus. He’s defensive from the beginning and considering how Gideon basically jumps him as a welcome it’s understandable but there is clearly more to his backstory that Rossi hints at but doesn’t really get into. I can only hope we learn more in the sequel. Gideon himself is not perfect, he clearly has anger issues. Daryn I want to learn more about. She’s brave, smart and clever. As a seeker, her life is not her own. She goes to where she is needed meaning that she avoids attachments which leads to a lonely existence. That is why I was happy to find out that the sequel, Seeker, is going to be from her point of view. Speaking of the sequel, I can’t wait for it to come out because there was one pretty big cliffhanger for one the characters that needs to be answered. Not to repeat myself but I really liked this book. It was different and kinda strange but completely enjoyable.
Back in the complicated world of Mare Barrow. **Spoilers** She’s been betrayed by Maven. Her dead brother isn’t dead and also has a super cool power. Cal and Kilorn, two completely different boys who are totally in love with her are now in the same space. Oh, and Mare now has to deal with the grief of killing people while pushing a revolution into high gear. Yep, Mare has some things going on in her life. I’m going to do something different then just a straight review. I’m going to talk about how I felt reading this book. If you’ve read any of my 
I didn’t know much about Captain Marvel besides she is soon to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. OK, maybe not that soon since she has yet to be cast and her movie keeps getting pushed back. (Thanks a lot Spider-Man!) So, I thought I would give her a shot. If I’m going to start reading comics, I figured I might as well start with a character that I don’t already have a history with and start fresh. Not to mention I wanted to read a story with a female lead.
The sequel to Blackbird was satisfying as the first book. Deadfall picks up right where Blackbird ended. “Sunny” is reunited with Rafe, the boy from the island on the train to New York. Rafe memories have already come back to him and has made contact with other victims of the hunt in New York. Together they try to connect with the others and figure out how to bring them down. Things get even more complicated when Ben is sent in to try to bring her back but instead chooses to side her. The twists and turns go back and forth and we find out deep the game goes and far people will go for the ultimate thrill. The scariest part is how easy it is for people to look at others people as less then human. The hunters don’t see these kids as kids but as targets. To them these are just runaway kids with no futures and no one will miss so it’s totally okay to hunt them for sport. This novel is also written in second person like the first and lends itself to the urgency and the paranoia of our characters. In the end our heroine finds out who she is. Her memories are not fully back but for the first time in a long time she can be herself. For mystery and action fans, this duology is worth checking out.
As you may have noticed. Kate and I haven’t posted much lately. I’ve been on vacation and had every intention of updating while I was gone but I was too busy enjoying doing nothing but hanging out with my parents and friends that blogging didn’t happen. Oops. Let’s try to make up.
2 Women, So Many Books 