A passionate journey in the world of the Green Riders series

In today's episode, I want to invite you on a passionate journey to explore, in a non-spoilery way, the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain. 

I am on a personal journey to discover women who write epic fantasy. And while we have great examples of this niche, such as N.K. Jemisin and Robin Hobb, there are many more talented writers, and one of them is Kristen Britain.  

In this episode I'll break down the core elements of the Green Rider series, including its world-building, character development, and the unique magic system that brings it to life.

**I noticed that I kept talking about 7 published works; there are 8 as of today and the 9th is slated to come out in 2027. 

You can find more information about fantasy stories - with a focus on books - on www.solseit.com and on threads and IG at solseit_the_enthusiast. 

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Transcript

This really is an epic fantasy story that excels in world-building, plot, and character development. However, its true strength lies in its authentic portrayal of humanity. 

Welcome to Fantasy Explorations, your go-to destination for all things fantasy. I'm your host, Solseit, and I am absolutely passionate about exploring this captivating genre in all of its forms. 


In today's episode, I want to invite you on a passionate journey to explore, in a non-spoilery way, the Green Rider series by Kristen Britton. As of the day of recording, seven books and a couple of novellas are published, with an eighth book slated for release in 2027. I am on a personal journey to discover women who write epic fantasy. And while we have great examples of this niche, for instance, N.K. Jemisin and Robin Hobb, there are many more talented writers, and one of them is Kristen Britton. At a high-level summary, the Green Rider series is not merely a story. It is a living testament to Kristen Britton's ability to breathe life into a world that feels as real as our own. Every page pulses with energy drawing the reader into Sacridia's landscapes, its battles, its politics, and its deeply human struggles. What sets the author's work apart is the authenticity she brings to each character's journey. The moral dilemmas, the triumphs, the heartbreaks, all are rendered with such honesty that readers can feel the pulse of her world in their own veins. Or at least that's my experience; and her ability to infuse realism into a magical setting is really a rare gift. And overall, this elevates the series into something that to me is unforgettable. Kristen Britton also created a world that is inspired by her love for horses. And they are characters in their own adventures and essential to the mental well-being and more broadly, the survival of the riders next to her love for horses. The other element that makes the story quite unique is Kristen Britton's interest in showing a form of military service, which is more flexible and fascinating to me, at least than typical military structure. And yes, yes, yes, I know I have a soft spot for stories depicting lives of soldiers. It's one of my favorite things to read ever. The Greenrider service involves at its core delivering letters between the king of Saccharidia and those he wishes to interact with, offering a seemingly low-risk existence. And yet, Green Riders face all types of risks which can lead to mental health issues or even death. If it wasn't clear already, I really adore this series and I find myself immersing in the story so much and so successfully that I like to ponder what my life would be if I heard the Green Rider Call, and I wonder what brooch I'd get and what powers would come with it. And still in terms of general preamble, the first book shows what I perceived as a strong Tolkien influence, especially in the context of the Berry Sisters and their influence on Kerrigan and more broadly in this fictional world, including how they walk us through the elements of magic. However, while I really appreciate this color. think epic fantasy readers in general always appreciate in homage to one of the founders of modern fantasy. I appreciate the story even more as Kristen Britton makes it her own, developing her own sensibilities and her love for epic fantasy just seeps through the pages. With that said, let's start with the review of the series and I'll walk through my preferred version of this process, focusing first on world building so that we can tackle all the exciting elements that create this world from magic systems to political and social systems. We would then move to plot to get a little bit more clarity as to why the plot works and what makes it generally very appealing to then end on the emotions component of the story, which is my way to explore our characters, their motivations, and most importantly, how I feel about them. With all of that said, let's start with world building. And this is incredibly well done with an intricate political system, exploration of social issues, and a nuanced portrayal of magic, all of that to add depth to the stories. We'll probably work our way through a few different subcategories, and they will, big picture B, the following: 
We're going to start with politics and not only we explore what happens in Sacradia, but we also get exposure to other political systems which may or may not be as just and balanced as Sacradia with the additional nuance that legislative adjudication and executive power are well balanced because Sacradia has a just and well balanced king. So what happens when you don't have that premise?
We're going to then move to a social issues slash social commentary, which takes advantage of a few peculiarity of this world, such as the intersection between magic and the social impact that this has. But we also get in a very modern way, an exploration into women and their role in society. We then move into magic, which is a very appealing system to me. It is very clear in the way that it is structured.
And there is even more to dive into because other races in this world are connected to magic, such as the Eletians. We then will walk our way through the military life and specifically the green riders, but not exclusively. And last but not least, we get to spend some time, even if briefly, with one of my favorite epic fantasy tropes, God's meddling in human affairs. So let's start with politics. 
Our focus is on Sacoridia, a realm where our arcs, our story arcs, primarily unfold. We dive deep into its workings, roles and timelines, learning the difference between inspired and just kings and the profound impact that a king can have on their people and land. This offers a glimpse into great leadership and its significance for Sacraridia. And I firmly believe that these lessons resonate deeply with our modern world, particularly for CEOs and other business or administrative leaders. We also get to explore the flip side, how poor leadership can swiftly transform an efficient system into a cesspit of depravity, abuse, and corruption. Despite the presence of an inspired king, Saccharidia isn't perfect. It's a land shaped by its people's choices and opportunities. While the less fortunate face fewer opportunities, some can rise above their humble beginnings. throughout the story, we get reminded frequently about what nobility and money offer to people overall, from education, which is not widely present even in Saccharidia, to opportunities in life. And a key element to be able to get past humble origins or humble beginnings is really becoming a green rider. But we'll focus on them later. Over time, the series will have the opportunity to explore various political systems, primarily monarchies and the responsibilities of leaders. We'll examine how accepted these leaders are and what potential consequences these countries or regions experience where leadership restricts people's freedom and ability to self-determine. In relation to social issues, one interesting thing to explore in Sacraridia as a woman is that this society does not experience an open gender discrimination, at least the closer you get to the king. Gender equality in particular seems to be a strong element at the top of the decision-making of this particular society, but is not everywhere and is not consistently applicable across the board. But it is exciting to see how, again, inspired leadership can actually shape society also in relation to what women and their roles need to be. And it's not a flat world. I keep praising things that intrigue me, but it's also clear that there are plenty of scenarios and circumstances that require social injustice and other terrible things to be able to advance the plot. Some of those include torture, specifically in the context of adjudication and executive powers, and we also experience slavery. And with this, I want to warn that there is some trigger warnings. Again, we talked about torture, we talked about slavery. There is also violence against women. And what I appreciate about this story is that all these elements just make the story more realistic, more vivid, and it gives it a gritty edge that is needed for epic fantasy stories. again, please be warned if that's something that is a trigger, you might want really to reflect on whether this is the journey for you. Let's move on to magic. And I said in the preamble that there is a connection between magic and social issues. Let's start from the beginning. This is a low magic story at the very least when we start and there is a reason for that which is essentially that there is significant bigotry that borderlines onto racism against magic users and we get a lot of depth as to the historical reasons for which this actually happens but it is interesting to see the discriminatory effect that magic has on individuals and to that effect the consequence of this discrimination is also that the world has largely forgotten the benefits of magic. So magic persists still in a few key areas, such as the Direwall, the wall that protects, that magically protects, Saccharidia from Blackvale. And in the context of the story that we get to explore, we also have the brooches of the Green Riders. Now these, brooches, which are incidentally shaped after pegasi, it's it's beautiful, the covers by the way, they depict some of these brooches and it is a very jaw-dropping experience for me. But going back to the essence, our starting point in the story, in the magic system, really is within the Green Riders. And the brooches that they wear, that Green Riders wear, are actually magically concealed so that regular people are not able to identify Green Riders as magic users and the brooches as magic tools. And yet we get exposed from the very first pages to the fact that these brooches actually provide magical abilities to the riders. And each one has a unique set of magical abilities. And in later installments in the series, we get a little bit more clarification as to the essence of the magical abilities, but it is key to understand that magic and the brooches are walking hand in hand in the story. On top of this, feels a pretty constant element of the plot, we also get exposure to magical races. And there is one in particular that is ethereal and quite detached from human struggles. They really remind me of a more typical representation of elves, for instance, in Tolkien's work, but they are, the Eletians, that's how they are called in the story, they are a constant presence and they're used to great effect, I want to say from book four onwards. I loved everything that they get included in and how they behave and how they interact with the environment and the expectations out of their involvement. It's pretty, pretty nuanced for being a race, that it's magical in nature and essentially immortal, I find that Kristen Britton actually twisted them enough, made them unique enough in the series that is so powerful and so uniquely, Elysians. They are cousins of the elves, but they are not exactly elves. And one of the characters that she portrays became easily one of my favorite characters of this entire series. And I cannot wait what Kristen Britton does with it.
And yet they're not the only other race introduced in this story. And I will not share a lot about this for a few different reasons, including that it is quite unique the way that they are introduced. But also I want to see what else we get to experience with them. The other component that the story gives us is that we have mages and there is an interesting, unique interpretation of mages.
And I don't want to go into greater details than this because it's such a different way to portray mages in a story that I don't feel it's appropriate to share this in a non-spoiler review. And yet, mages, the wall, and music, including the family called Fiori, is another aspect of this world building that is ideated in the first place and then executed to great effect. There is something so magical, pun intended, in the way that the author thinks of this world. She clearly understands everything that is going on, why it is going on, the history of it, and the reasons for characters' choices. And I think this specific aspect, how she intertwines magic, music, and mages, almost the 3Ms, it's another piece of evidence that makes me excited to be in Secreedia every single time I can.
And while we're still on the subject of magic, there is an additional three topics that I want to specifically call out as, again, they are executed in a very unique way. The first is that we get nuanced forms of magic, atypical compared to everything else that the story gives. And it's a poetic execution as it is essentially natural elements that end up coloring quite a lot of the pages of the book.
And it's a truly outstanding ideation first and execution later. The second piece is that we get dark magic tropes, which are also executed to great effect. One of them being necromancy. And I loved every single thing that has been done with necromancy in this story. And the fact that necromancy ties so closely with some of the political struggles in this story or the subversion of the political structures. It's really enhancing what necromancy is and can do in this particular story. Last but not least, and it's because it's a pretty consistent application of powers, we get a combination, like an interesting combination of time travel and ghosts. And over time we get a little bit more clarity as to why this is happening. there is our protagonist is the catalyst that can use both to great effect. And it's connected to her magical abilities. Over time we get to peel the onion and each revelation just increases the impact and the value of her magical abilities. And while time travel is really not new in fantasy and there are great executions in fantasy. What is unique here is the way that it's connected to the world building component of the story. And it really is a powerful tool for us to know a lot more about Zachary Dia. And I loved every single time that we got to experience time travel. And so with this, we can move on to military life. And Green Riders are a an essential pillar to King Zachary's success. They are a form of military service that operates as messengers for the king, and yet they often become much more than that. Beryl, for instance, is an excellent example as to how the unique green rider abilities are used beyond being a messenger because it is a military force. There is another of my favorite tropes, which is camaraderie, especially in a soldier's context. And I love how green riders support one another, make sure that everybody is fine and they will go out of their way to make sure that everybody is safe and is doing well. Now, green riders are called to this calling to this job via magical means. There is a call and that is the one that attracts individuals. And because the call affects everybody in society, the representation of green writers is quite varied. We have highest members of nobility, including but not limited to heir to noble houses, to the individuals who have the most humble origins. 
It is beautiful how irrespective of where they come from, there is this strong bond that is created among each and every one of them. And this is just the human side of the equation. Again, horses are an essential component of this story. They're an essential part of Greenbriar's lives and survival. And there is a clear love for these animals. In fact, there is a specific story arc that Kristen Britton explores where the bond is missing in the first place. And I think she does an excellent job with that story to showcase how much the horses matter to green riders. And yet, green rider horses, which is a specific herd of horses, the story explores a little bit more of that, tells us that green rider horses are actually quite unique and quite powerful in their own way. And this just is the starting point to introduce more more nuances and it keeps building from book one consistently, one building block after the other. And yet the Green Riders are not the only representation of a nuanced military force. For instance, we get the weapons, which admittedly felt a bit flat to me at the beginning. They essentially operate as bodyguards to the king. And yet there is so much more to explore with them.
On one hand, there is the emotional and the human side of things, which we get to explore already in book one. But then there is so much more nuance and history to the weapons that we get to, again, peel every single installment that I find, again, the weapons become something that it's a lot more interesting, a lot more nuanced. I can't stress this enough. The emotional component of being supportive, of being the weapon for your own king, no matter what, is executed in a twisted way already in book one. And I felt so many emotions that stem from this choice. And it was so impactful to me that still to this day, I keep thinking about that particular choice. And with this, we move on to the topic that we're going to talk the least about, but I'm the most excited about, which is gods meddling into human affairs. They are a key part of the story.
They admittedly don't show up very early, but when they do, it is really to deliver some of the more interesting piece of lore in this world. And they essentially contribute to increasing the stakes for our characters. This is also coupled with another thing that I tend to associate gods and mythological creatures under the same banner, because we get to explore new mythological creatures. And so the ability that Kristen Britton has to showcase and portray the love that she has for pets, for horses. It just comes through the pages, is just incredibly well executed. And there is a clear love that she herself harnesses and she herself experiences with in her own life that comes across through all these pages. 

Plot
So next up we have plot. And at its core, the Green Rider  series is a story of good versus evil. And while in the first couple of books the good versus evil approach is very strictly followed in a pretty vanilla way, if you want, then the story becomes increasingly more complex and it demands characters to take more questionable paths. And this makes the characters and our protagonists way more nuanced and realistic, but more of that later when we get to our emotions section. The other element of plot that works really well and that Kristen Britton herself becomes better and better at it with each book is that we have several different plot lines that either are completed within the book or even better, they extend beyond one single book, making the reading experience almost more seamless.
Not all books resolve the plot lines, as I said, and it allows readers to continuously get back into the story because we know that something there is a particular storyline that we want to have resolution on. They feel organic, too. They are never forced. And I've never felt annoyed at not knowing how that particular plot line ends. And now that I ended book seven and I need to wait until sometime in 2027 to see how certain plot lines resolve, I'm not mad at all. I'm just looking forward to getting my hands on book eight so that I know what will be happening. Another element that in terms of plot that works well for me is that the plot advances because characters make choices.
Some circumstances, characters have a lot of flexibility. They can choose essentially all options possible and available. And in other cases, there is less room to maneuver. But it is what makes this story particularly interesting and the plot particularly appealing. There isn't a Deus Ex Machina type of resolution to the stories. There is characters and there's characters who need to make tough choices. Over time, increasingly more morally questionable ones and Beryl might be the best example of morally questionable choices for the greater good. And the way that this is threaded in the story, it's really something to savor one page after the other. And what's brilliant about the execution really is the fact that choices have consequences. And there is always a tall exacted on the characters. And this makes this world more realistic greedy. is appropriate that Kristen Britton explores consequences and sometimes they're okay. Sometimes they're exceptionally great, but also many times they are challenging. And I really love how we are getting to explore many different plots and story arcs associated with different characters and how really they end up making their decisions. Most of them, by the way, very obvious in the context of the character. Once one knows the character, you can almost anticipate that that is going to be the direction. There is a few choices where we take a different route, but for the most part, we get to know the characters so well that we know where most likely we're going to be going. And one of the most impactful story arcs, also due to the choices that a character is forced to make, in this case, it's really it's almost an obligation to make a specific choice, is really what happens to Enver and the particulars and the drastic consequences that he needs to deal with because of that choice that he makes. And I love how everything was brought to the climax of those choices. And I loved how we keep dealing with the consequences of that particular moment. Absolutely outstanding. I can't wait to see what else we have in store for him. Another aspect of storytelling that I particularly enjoy and I really need to get back into philosophy to get a better understanding and the ability then to discuss these topics with greater depth in the end is the fact that this story explores the morality of choices. It's how characters decide to manage their inner demons or angels after they make their tough choices. So it's about the moral choice and also the consequences of those choices.
The plot also does not shy away from tackling brutal and violent scenes. We've talked about trigger warnings before and it's interesting once again, what do you do? What would you do in these circumstances? How would you manage those challenges? And so it is really good storytelling because it makes me at least reflect on things and events that are happening in the story and how I would react those. Some of the circumstances the characters experience lead to death, and death is a constant companion in the series. Nobody is safe, nobody is spared, could be spared, will be spared. In fact, Kerrigan's abilities almost require us to experience death so that we can get more out of her magical abilities. And yet every single brush with death is actually emotionally taxing and I have been generally impressed by how deep my connection with the characters is and developed over time and why I want them to succeed or fail in case of the villains. And this is why I think the concept of good versus evil, it's executed incredibly well and becomes more gritty, more realistic, more morally challenging as we get through. And paired with this nuanced version of good versus evil. We also get to explore a range of human emotion, choices, issues that people experience in real life. And we get to explore a range of human emotion, choices and issues that people experience in real life. The only difference here is that we are in a setting that it's more magical and fantasy in nature. But that's what makes the story so compelling. The realistic nature of humanity in a magical and fantasy setting.
Cleverly, Kristen Britton also infuses a lot of the choices and decisions that modern women have to face, especially in relation to their career. I feel this topic closer to my own experience and I appreciate seeing that developed in this series. She doesn't shy away from tackling different moments in a woman's career either We know that competence, or at least in my experience, competence can take you to certain levels, but will that be enough? Are women less capable than men? This is one of the items. And one of the things, one of the challenging bits that she tries to tackle is answering the question of are women less capable than men? And we keep getting reminded of that question. And it is if you've experienced work place. You probably have experienced this as well. And I appreciate the fact that it becomes so nuanced and so realistic. But she doesn't stop there. And she goes one step forward and explores what happens when you're not allowed to do the job that you always wanted to do. What happens if you lose a skill that makes you uniquely you? How does one cope with that? And I find again that these questions that transcend the fantasy element of the story, the epic fantasy setting of the story. I feel they really resonate in daily lives and for me in particular. Last but not least, we get to experience many different facets of love. We are exposed to family love. The bond between a father and a daughter is one of the prominent elements being explored but it's not the only one that we end up exploring. We have siblings, we have aunts, we have children, even adopted children. So there is a wide array of family relationships and love that it's been explored. We get to explore what is, I'm calling here fraternal love, but ultimately is comradery. The green riders, how well, and the weapons too, how well they work together, how well they bond how much they care for one another. And it really becomes a fraternal, sometimes it's more than fraternal, but it is something that really makes the group tight, united and ready to help one another, even at risk of dying to protect other green riders. We also get quite prominently romantic love, and we get many different versions of it. We get the one that it's mutual but cannot be pursued. We get the one where feelings are not mutual. We get sometimes consequences of rejection. overall, this is a pretty well fleshed out theme of love and many different ways of exploring it. So to summarize, while this seems to be relatively simple plot, it ends up going in many different directions. Blossoming or withering in front of our eyes, demanding our attention and gripping us until we get to the resolution of that particular issue. And what I adore about this story is that Kristen Britton becomes better at telling it. She absolutely delivers great stories and an emotional attachment that I've never thought I could develop for fictional characters. And I keep talking about how I love this story and how the story ends up surprising me in many circumstances, despite the fact that one can anticipate what characters are going to do, there is an element of surprise that keeps reminding us that stories are never linear. And with this, we get to the last category. The emotional investment I have in this world, especially for the characters, is just uncanny. What is interesting about the story is also that there is a overall hopeful tone that keeps us connected with the characters. There is almost a positive feeling things are going to end up well, feeling across the storylines. And sure, there are moments that situations are incredibly dire and things are not going to go well, but there is in general a hopeful tone that doesn't take away from bleak moments and absolutely devastating emotional blows. But it gives the story a little bit more of an up lifting component, which I crave and I like to experience. This story gets us quite a large cast of characters and we get to explore some quite intensely and others more in the background or maybe in one or two books. We don't get a lot of exposure to them, but every single time Kristen Britton does an excellent job at portraying these individuals. And I need to shout out to one of the persons that made me feel the most, which is Captain Mapstone. And I'm keeping it spoiler free, but Captain Mapstone feels type of woman that I want to get to know in real life. She is an absolute inspiration and is just remarkable the way that she keeps showing up for all possible scenarios and yet showing herself as herself with her own vulnerabilities. This story admittedly spends quite a lot of time revolving around women, in general female characters, with Kerrigan being the start of our story and keeps being the anchor of most of our plot lines. She starts as a rich girl fleeing school and one event after the other matures under the watchful eye of the reader, becoming an exceptional woman in her own right, a manifestation of dedication to one's job and responsibilities. In fact, we are exposed to one of my favorite tricks in storytelling, which is we choose a character that knows very little about the world and we get to peel the onion with Kerrigan and understand how the world is structured first and how it nuances later. It is a pleasure to see Kerrigan grow. In fact, confession time, I don't think I would have read so many books in the series. In fact, all of the seven published at the time of recording, if she didn't become a different character over time. And that's to me, Kristen Britton's superpower. She dips her characters into this code of realism, from their behavior, to their choices, to managing the consequences of said choices. And she does not shy away from throwing characters in the fire, in the deadliest challenges, and making the characters' lives impossible. And yet the pressure forces the characters to develop, and she expertly navigates us through these changes, making them natural, earned a delight to watch. In fact, she is so good at this that she chooses to have a few characters that stay flat and refuse to develop, which makes the emotional payoff of most of the other characters. Most of them are green writers, but not only. So much more well-rounded. I actually often wonder how I would fare in this world and would I be able to help the fellow writers with their errands and issues. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to remind myself and you if you're interested that one of the key factors in the story is found family. I talked about it as fraternal love, as camaraderie before, but essentially Green Riders are written with a found family approach and it's a family that grows and shrinks with the emotional toll that each of these events brings. For clarity, while we have excellent women in the story, Kerrigan, Captain Mapstone, Estora, Mara, Beryl, men are not left to decide as some form of the core. We have many characters who are great companions to women from Zachary to Alton and by companion to women is their characters well complement what is happening with our protagonists who are of a different gender. For the most part, they're excellent example of the type of masculinity that I appreciate. Sometimes it manifests as inspiring leaders. Sometimes it starts as an annoying young man who learns to manage his emotions and become a dependable person for the people that they love and care for. To say it in a different way, what Kristen Britton does well for women, she is also able to infuse in the male characters and counterparts in all the events and plots that we are experiencing. The way that Kristen Britton is cleverly able to differentiate between mortal and immortal characters and how time changes them or does not and how that impacts characters, their needs and their wants is a particularly well executed differentiator between the characters. And once again, there is an element of Tolkien exploration of this theme, but Kristen Britton really makes it her own and it really fiddles with the right tones to get us thinking, or at least it got me thinking. 

Summary
To summarize, this really is an epic fantasy story that excels in world-building, plot, and character development. However, its true strength lies in its authentic portrayal of humanity, realistic interactions, and exploration of relatable questions. I am constantly impressed by the author's skill to create a deep bond between rider and horse, and characters and their surroundings. This is to me a must read for those who love epic fantasy, but also for anybody who is essentially is an animal lover in in particular those who have a deep bond with their horses. And this I really cannot stop highly recommending this series. 

Outro
Thank you for spending time with me today. And I hope you've enjoyed this episode. If you had fun and did not listen to previous episodes, please feel free to follow and listen to them. If you find the information that I shared with you in any way valuable, please consider following the podcast, leaving a review or star rating depending on the platform that you're using and supporting the journey by word of mouth. If you want more information about my fantasy adventures, please feel free to go over to soulstate.com. See you next time.