Book Review: "Mirror Sight" by Kristen Britain (Green Rider Book #5)

One of my all-time favorite fantasy series is the Green Rider books by Kristen Britain. It's full of magic, royal intrigue, adventure and just a touch of romance, and centers around Karigan G'ladheon, a member of His Majesty's Messenger Service. While all Green Riders face danger on their journeys across the kingdom of Sacoridia, and all of them have minor magical abilities, Karigan's experiences with magic seem to go above and beyond what is considered normal even for the messenger service. They land her in the middle of assassination plots, royal kidnappings, ghosts of Riders past and even the machinations of the gods.

Karigan's adventures are filled with diverse characters, beautiful settings, personal conflict, seemingly hopeless circumstances and a twisting, thrilling story line that will keep you flying through the chapters. The first four books are, in order: Green Rider, First Rider's Call, The High King's Tomb, and Blackveil. You can check them all out on Kristen Britain's website. The fifth book, Mirror Sight, is the one that I'll be reviewing here. If you're all caught up on the first four books of the series, read on. But if you're not familiar with the Green Rider books, I really don't want to spoil them for you! So instead of reading the rest of this review, you should head out to your neighborhood bookstore to pick up the first book, Green Rider.

I pre-ordered my copy of Mirror Sight a full six months ago. After the way that Blackveil ended with Karigan shattering the mirror mask to keep its power from Mornhavon, she and the rest of the Blackveil expedition were swept away by the magic that was released. I was beside myself! Where had she wound up? Who would find her? What was happening at the D'Yer Wall? And what was Second Empire planning? How were King Zachary and Captain Mapstone coping with Karigan having been gone so long? And what on earth was going on with Amberhill on his strange island? So many questions, and when Mirror Sight finally came out earlier this month I settled down with a mug of tea to get some answers.

Sadly, I was to be disappointed. Despite the many threads of the story left dangling in Blackveil, Mirror Sight focuses almost exclusively on Karigan, who has traveled nearly 200 years forward in time. When I read this, I'll admit that I groaned aloud. She's traveled back in time as a ghost before, but having her dumped into a completely alien version of her beloved Sacoridia, where something cataclysmic happened and the magic has been gone from the land for a long time, felt much more like a fantasy stereotype to me than her other books, which have been more innovative.

Initially I hated the shift in Karigan's character: her headstrong, passionate and impulsive trademark attitude was smothered under the modern restrictions on women as well as her unfamiliarity with the current events. This kept her from getting into her usual adventures and perilous undertakings. But my opinion improved when I started to think of Karigan's more subdued character as a result of her honestly not knowing what to do with herself. Yes, she still terrorized the housekeeper with her unladylike ways, and she still practiced her swordsmanship with a broom handle, but these just seemed like filler events to pass the time and the pages. It made for some monotonous reading at times.

I did like how Cade and the professor, Karigan's two allies in the future Sacoridia, tried to keep the kingdom's history intact even though they went about it in ways that were ineffective or preserved aspects that were erroneous. I was also happy to see a horse still involved in Karigan's adventures, even if it wasn't Condor. But their efforts to accustom her to her new time and surroundings were no replacement for characters I spent four books knowing and loving. (I'll admit though, I'm losing patience with and sympathy for King Zachary.)

Overall, aside from focusing too much on Karigan's timeline, the whole book just felt a lot cheesier, more stereotypical than the other books in the series. The professor's betrayal and then near-immediate redemption, and the idea that Cade could go back to Karrigan's time with her come to mind immediately. Both were aspects of the story that made me think "No, the author wouldn't do something that obvious." Other parts of the writing, like Dr. Ezra Silk's character and the old castle tombs, were well done though. 'Hit-or-miss' is probably the best term I can come up with.

The odd reflection in a mirror shard of her real time period kept Karigan connected with her past, but the time that passes there while Karigan's away isn't addressed hardly at all. The only things we know are that conflicts with Second Empire are escalating, Estora is pregnant, and Amberhill is the Sea King reborn. All of these facts were implied at the end of Blackveil, so we've essentially lost months of time in the story line that won't be filled in. Normally I would assume that this is intentional, to try and simulate for the reader Karigan's experience, but there are occasional chapters and passages that take place in Karigan's true time, so my theory falls through.

While I still devoured this 800-page weapon of a book in just a couple of days, it wasn't nearly as satisfying as the other books in the series. But it does point Karigan in the direction of a new enemy, one who will turn Sacoridia into the magic-starved nightmare that Karigan experiences. It also gives her a clue about how to defeat him and identifies some potentially powerful allies back in her own time, if only Karigan can find a way to get there. I'm hoping fervently that the sixth book in the series will help make up for Mirror Sight's neglect of pretty much everything and everyone except Karigan. Keep up with the series and tell me what you think by heading to your local bookstore and picking up one of the Green Rider books by Kristen Britain. After all, spring sunshine goes best with a book!