Cloud's Rider

Cloud's Rider
Cloud's Rider  
CherryhCloudsRiderUSPaperbackCover.jpg
US paperback edition cover
Author(s) C. J. Cherryh
Cover artist Mike Posen
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Science Fiction
Publisher Warner Books
Publication date September 1996
Pages 373 (Hardback)
ISBN 0-446-51910-3
OCLC Number 34113219
Dewey Decimal 813/.54 20
LC Classification PS3553.H358 C57 1996
Preceded by Rider at the Gate (1995)
Followed by

Cloud's Rider is a science fiction novel written by United States science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh, and was first published by Warner Books in September 1996. It is the second of a series of two novels written by Cherryh and is set in the author's Finisterre universe. The first book in the series, Rider at the Gate was published in August 1995. The series is about the descendants of lost colonists stranded many generations ago on the hostile planet of Finisterre.

Contents

Plot summary

... continued from Rider at the Gate.

Fisher and Cloud escort the Goss children halfway up Rogers Peak to Evergreen village with Harper's riderless nighthorse, Spook, in pursuit. Fisher tells the local riders about the fall of Tarmin village and the presence of Spook, but does not reveal the arrest of the Goss brothers nor the role Brionne played in Tarmin's demise. Fisher is lodged in the rider camp, the unconscious Brionne with Darcey Schaffer, the village doctor, and Carlo and Randy with Van Mackey, the village blacksmith. The news of Tarmin's fall is devastating to Evergreen because all its supplies come from there, but many of the villagers see the disaster as an opportunity to seize and occupy the vacant property in Tarmin village in the spring.

One night Spook enters the ambient and disturbs the horses and riders in the rider camp. Fisher knows that Brionne has woken up and is <calling>. The next morning Ridley takes Fisher out the gates to find Spook, but when they are some distance from the village, Ridley points his rifle at Fisher and demands the truth. Fisher is relieved to be able to finally unburden himself and tells Ridley everything he knows.

Earnest Rigs, a miner, arrives at the doctor's house for treatment and sees and is entranced by Brionne. That night Schaffer and Brionne are awoken by a noise on the roof and a banging at the door. The next day, Schaffer finds blood splattered outside her house, and Rigs is missing. A crowd gathers, including the Goss boys and the village marshal. Carlo is accused of murdering Rigs and, scared that his arrest in Tarmin will become known, runs away. The marshal orders that Carlo be stopped, and a group of miners pursue him. When Carlo reaches the village gate, his only escape is out the village.

Spook finds Carlo in the Wild and immediately adopts him. Fisher and Cloud begin searching for Carlo and see him riding Spook. Suspecting that Spook may have gone rogue, Fisher pursues them. When he catches up with them he sees a threatening shadow in the trees above them and shoots it. At the same time, Stuart and Chang, out looking for Fisher and the Goss children, find Fisher and Carlo. They search for the creature Fisher shot but find instead a large nest in which appear to be human bones. No creature of this size and ability had ever been encountered before, and they conclude that it must have come from the unexplored side of the mountain, probably attracted by the noise in the ambient from the swarm that overran Tarmin. Then the riders hear Evergreen's bells calling for help, and set off for the village.

At Evergreen, the breakthrough bells are ringing and the riders enter the village to investigate. They find the gate man ripped to shreds in his watch tower and track the intruder to the houses. When the riders hear Brionne <calling> they realise that she is controlling the beast. They go to Schaffer's house where, through the door, they try to persuade the doctor to drug the girl. Inside Brionne opens the underground passage door to reveal a huge ape-like creature. It picks up Brionne and when Schaffer tries to intervene, it hurls the doctor against the wall, killing her. Like a rider and a nighthorse, Brionne and the beast connect. They climb to the roof and disappear over the wall.

All the riders spend the rest of the winter in the rider camp and discuss their plans for the spring. Stuart reveals the presence of the gold in the crashed truck, and Fisher and Carlo agree to go to Anveney to request supplies from Cassivey to retrieve the gold. Stuart and Chang take on the responsibility of escorting villagers down to Tarmin. Of Brionne and the beast there is no sign, not even in the ambient. Clearly they have returned to the other side of the mountain.

Main characters

Cloud's Rider (Hodder & Stoughton, first British hard cover edition, 1997)

Humans

  • Danny Fisher – junior rider from Shamesey town, 17-years old
  • Guil Stuart – border rider working out of Malvey town
  • Aby Dale – senior rider and Stuart's partner
  • Ancel Harper – senior rider
  • Lew Cassivey – businessman in Anveney town
  • Tara Chang – senior rider from Tarmin village
  • Brionne Goss – Tarmin village blacksmith's daughter, 13-years old
  • Carlo Goss – Tarmin village blacksmith's son, 16-years old
  • Randy Goss – Tarmin village blacksmith's son, 14-years old
  • Ridley Vincint – senior rider and rider camp boss at Evergreen village
  • Callie Sabotay – senior rider at Evergreen village and Ridley's partner
  • Jennie Sabotay – Ridley and Callie's daughter at Evergreen village, 8-years old
  • Darcey Schaffer – Evergreen village doctor
  • Van Mackey – Evergreen village blacksmith
  • Rick Mackey – Evergreen village blacksmith's son

Nighthorses

  • Cloud – Danny Fisher's young horse
  • Burn – Guil Stuart's horse
  • Flicker – Tara Chang's horse
  • Moon – Aby Dale's horse
  • Slip – Ridley Vincint's horse
  • Shimmer – Callie's horse
  • Rain – Shimmer's 2-year old colt
  • Spook – Ancel Harper's horse 1

1 Spook is only a nickname, Harper never revealed the name of his horse

See also

Book collection.jpg Novels portal

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rider at the Gate — Infobox Book name = Rider at the Gate title orig = translator = image caption = First edition cover author = C. J. Cherryh illustrator = cover artist = country = United States language = English series = subject = genre = Science Fiction… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Alex Rider characters — This is a list of protagonists and antagonists from British author Anthony Horowitz s Alex Rider series. This includes characters from the novels, the film, the graphic novels, and the short stories. Contents 1 Main Antagonists 1.1 Ash 1.2 Sir… …   Wikipedia

  • Dave Cloud — (born August 3, 1956 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, storyteller and occasional actor. Cloud is known primarily for his amusing, earthy concert performances, and garage rock recordings with his …   Wikipedia

  • Storm Rider Clash of the Evils — Infobox Film name = Storm Rider Clash of the Evils caption = director = Dante Lam producer = writer = starring = music = cinematography = editing = distributor = Asia Animation Ltd. released = 2008 runtime = country = flagicon|China China… …   Wikipedia

  • Alex Rider (character) — Infobox character colour = light blue colour text = Black name = Alexander Alex Rider series = Alex Rider caption = Alex Rider, as portrayed in the movie Stormbreaker by Alex Pettyfer. first = Stormbreaker last = Snakehead cause = creator =… …   Wikipedia

  • Death Cloud — Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud   …   Wikipedia

  • Finisterre universe — Book Series infobox Series = Finisterre universe Name = Rider at the Gate (1995)Cloud s Rider (1996) Cover size = 200 Caption = First edition of Rider at the Gate Type = Novels Author = C. J. Cherryh Illustrator = Released = 1995, 1996 Publisher …   Wikipedia

  • St. Sebastian (Mantegna) — St. Sebastian is the subject of three paintings by the Italian Early Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna. The Paduan artist lived in a period of frequent plagues; Sebastian was considered protector against the plague as having been killed by… …   Wikipedia

  • Downbelow (planet) — Contents 1 Discovery 2 The Hisa 3 Contact 4 Exploitation …   Wikipedia

  • Mazianni — is a term used in C. J. Cherryh s science fiction Alliance Union universe. It refers to the military starships and their crews who remain loyal to their commander, the charismatic, ambitious Conrad Mazian, when he renounces his allegiance to… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”