The High King's Tomb (Green Rider, #3)by Kristen Britain

For Karigan G'ladheon, the call of magic in her blood is too strong to resist. Karigan returns to the Green Riders, the magical messengers of the king, to find she's badly needed. Rider magic has become unstable, many Riders have been lost, and the Rider corps is seriously threatened. The timing couldn't be worse. An ancient evil, long dormant, has reawakened, and the world is in peril. Karigan must face deadly danger and complex magic to save the kingdom from certain doom. (goodreads.com)

I honestly feel like this series is going to take me the rest of my life to complete. Back in 1998, when I was an innocent and unjaded book seller, I discovered the first book in the Green Rider series, titled simply, Green Rider. I fell in love with the characters and the world in this well-written high fantasy world. The description and depth of the story were just enthralling. I loved how strong a female lead Karigan was, despite her bratty ways at times. She was young. She didn't want to be a Green Rider, she was going to be a merchant. It was tough for her to accept she had to answer the call to the Riders and now, in this here 3rd book, she's accepted it and it's made her an even stronger character.In 2003 the sequel to Green Rider finally came out - First Rider's Call. I honestly don't recall much from either story because it's been SO. LONG. since both books have been read. The plot lines kind of mesh together and I have a vague recollection of events.The great thing about the series was that I was still working in bookstores during both releases. In fact, at the McGill Bookstore one year, we were lucky enough to have an author event with Kristen Britain and I had my books signed! They were also published in mass market, which means they were instant buys for me.Cut to 2007. FINALLY the third book was released! Oh, wait... what? It was in HARD COVER? And not only that, when it did come out in paperback a year later it was TRADE! Gah! I refused to buy anything other than the mass market edition! So I had to wait until 2009 for that to happen. Over TEN years since I'd read the first book. And of course, it's taken me over two years to finally sit down and read the entire thing, why? Well, other books ended up coming first because as much as I longed to read more about Karigan, I'd forgotten so much and I didn't want to have to read the first two books again. The thought of it made me tired.I finally decided to pick up The High King's Tomb again this summer. I am trying to read my own books. I have about 60+ on my TBR that I pick through occasionally. I am not buying books right now and I really wanted to read those books I was so excited for when I bought them... and then ignored them.It took  me a little while to get back into the flow of Karigan's world and characters. I think I liked her even more with this book than I have before. I have been distanced from the girl she used to be and I came fresh to the woman and strong Green Rider she is now. The author summarized the past events very nicely throughout the story and I found my memory refreshed over the most important parts. Names were familiar, conflicts were recalled and so on. In fact, I think that Kristen Britain did a pretty fantastic job of reminding the readers of past events due to the length of time that passed between books. I don't think it was too much for people who may have been reading one book after the other, either. It certainly helped with my enjoyment of the story and I wasn't confused at all, as I have been with other series whose books I have read with long gaps.If you're a lover of high fantasy and you have not ever picked up the Green Rider books, I strongly suggest you do. It's not as textbook as some of the other fantasy novels can be. Sure, there are similar plot points but generally they result in unexpected paths and it becomes a much more original and interesting story than just the same ol' same ol'.My new problem is this: Now that I have developed a taste for the world of Sacordia and Karigan and the Green Riders, I have to wait yet another many years to read the fourth (and final) book. Blackveil was just published in hard cover earlier this year. There is no entry for the mass market edition yet, though there is one for the trade paperback. I am almost tempted to dish out the money for the last book, but I refuse to mess up my series. They all have to be mass market or nothing at all! Sadly my crappy library has none of these books in stock, so I can't go there. My work library is off limits because I'm on stupid strike and I just don't have the time or energy to go elsewhere. So, come 2014 I might be able to finish this series. That's 16 years invested in the series!  SIXTEEN! Why the heck the publisher thought to publish the remaining novels in hard cover when it's been SO. BLOODY. LONG. between books, I have no idea. Ugh.Either way, I would suggest you go out and get these three books anyhow. I am sure they are reprinted all in trade or hard cover somewhere, so you can get a bunch of matching books if you so desire, because they truly are well written, original fantasy. They are the kind of books that make me want to eat hunks of bread and cheese and make stew. I want to ride a horse cross-country (though not in the winter). I want sturdy riding boots and to be able to wield a sword like a master! I want to drink tea! Wait.. what? There's a lot of tea drinking in these books. Heh.Read the series. It's awesome.Green Rider

1. Green Rider
2. First Rider's Call
3. The High King's Tomb
4. Blackveil - Hardcover February 2011 / Trade February 2012