Rider at the Gate by C.J. Cherryh - SF - SFBookcase.com - Reference of Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels/Authors.

Series: Misc
Genre: SF
ISBN: 0446603457
Pages: 496 pages
Publisher: Warner Aspect
Price: $5.99
Reader Rating: 9 out of 10
Votes: 4

Rider at the Gate by C.J. Cherryh

Description: A grief-haunted horseman on a suicide mission to avenge his dead lover; a boy on a quest to prove his worth and find his destiny; a saga of tragedy and loyalty in a place of stark, wild beauty and unbearable, maddening terror.

A new universe and a startling new planet where the lost descendants of colonists struggle against a deadly, unyielding frontier. On the surface, it is a paradise of fertile farmland and towering, ore-rich mountains—but its pleasures lie beyond humanity's reach. For here all animals, from tiny wally-boos and willy-wisps to fierce predatory goblin cats, survive by telepathy, projecting images that drive humans mad. Grouped in cramped walled towns, most humans can only hide. Only the Riders, the handful chosen by the native Nighthorses, have any kind of protection. Attracted by the complexity of human thought, the most powerful Nighthorses enter the dreams of individuals, choosing their Riders, bonding them into a telepathic community. While townsfolk cower behind a religion based on fear and ignorance, Riders and their Nighthorses shield the infrastructure of human settlements, challenging the Wild.