Little Red Riding Hood isn't little anymore. And she is out for vengeance!
Her face scarred by a savage wolf, 16-year old Helena Basque dons a red hooded cloak and arms herself with a repeating crossbow and other assorted weapons to fight the sinister werewolf cult that threatens her French village.
“Get ready to see the classic tale reimagined as you’ve never seen it before. … transforming a children’s fairy tale into a supernatural action thriller with a Zorro-style vigilante.”
“Full of thrilling discoveries and heart-pounding adventure! Helena 'Red' is as complex, driven, and bold as Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games). You will be cheering for her from the start!”
Discover how Helena's war with the wolves began, in RED RIDER RISING, Book 2 of the Red Rider Saga!
Perspective by Peter:
After being thoroughly entertained with The Red Rider (TRR) I had no hesitation to download Book 2, Red Rider Rising (RRR). I reviewed TRR as well done and a hit, but this next instalment takes this series to the next level. I regard the former novella as a good tasting entree while RRR is a satisfying feast!
So many times, the prequel is not better than Book 1 but in this case, RRR bypasses TRR and is leaps and bounds better. However, this does not detract from the overall enjoyment of this series but it actually consolidates it as a unified series. You could not read either as a stand-alone, they both need each other to provide essential information for the reading pleasure and understanding of the series.
This second instalment provides much necessary backstory to what happened before the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale and after. There is so much more background to who the lycanthru are, how they came to be, their satanic worship and rituals. Some surprising twists here. Explained is more about the effect of the specific metal that kills them. I wondered if Randall had borrowed from some of the history surrounding the fairy tale's origins and it appears he may have and what he has he has added onto this, developing it further. This is where poetic licence comes into its own and is an effective tool in developing a story.
In doing this, Randall does not detract from the main character of Helena and how the wolf attack in the fairy tale has affected her. In TRR, we see how skilled she is in hunting them to death, but in RRR we see what were the motivating factors that led to her becoming the hunter and not the hunted any longer and how this skill and expertise is developed. I mentioned in my review of TRR that she is as "....one determined, high spirited, feisty adolescent and a very motivated one who does not see her gender as physical weakness or as socially inferior....". I should add gutsy to this description as well. It was a great read in this novel to see exactly what led to her being like this. Now we know what she is capable of, it is going to be interesting to see how Randall develops this further in Book 3, Red Rider Redemption.
Randall has been very effective and descriptive in developing further the characters from TRR even though this is in RRR which occurs before TRR. However, learning more about these characters in greater detail and their history gives the reader a greater appreciation of what Randall achieved in TRR. I have wondered how it would appear if RRR (Book 2 and the prequel) was read before TRR (Book 1). Having read them in the order Randall has planned has only increased the anticipation of what is to come in Book 3 and I feel it would be better for this series to be read in Book order. There is one main reason for this. If RRR is read first, its ending does not hint at the events of where Grenault fits into the story in TRR. So if RRR is read first then TRR, it becomes disjointed as the ending of RRR does not lead into the start of TRR where Grenault exists as the latter is not a character or has a story arc in RRR. Even in TRR there is not much explained about his origins or whether he succeeded the Prime wolfman in RRR. This seems to be a strategic plan by Randall. And an effective one. I say this because you are left wondering what happens to the lycanthru at the end of TRR and also of those lycanthru at the end of RRR. It appears until otherwise connected (I am hoping in Book 3) that these are either two separate packs or those in TRR are more recent of this pack than those in RRR.
The only logical conclusion to this is that all will be linked and explained in Red Rider Redemption. I can already see that this will be even more action-packed and suspenseful than these first two. My anticipation for this final novel is high. And I am hoping it is not a novella but a full length like RRR.
If any reader thinks that the action and adventure, mystery and suspense is addictive in the TRR, it is upped a few notches in RRR. You hit the road running and it does not let up. I stayed up late last night as it is un-put-downable and keeps you thirsting for more. Just like a being at a feast when you allow yourself to eat to your fill or more than your fill! Not encouraging gorging by saying this!
If a novella gives you a taste of what a novelist's writing is like, its pillars of novel construction, story arcs, characterisation, pace and flow, then a longer novel should reinforce this and show all these in greater intensity. Randall is skilled at this. This novel ups the pace, the flow, the suspense, action and adventure. I have already mentioned the same about the characters. And the plot arcs are so intertwined and given more depth that this will lead to one explosive ending in Book 3. This author writes well and is succinct in his dealing with all these pillars that make up a novel. This only adds to the suspense, action and adventure and enhances the characterisation, especially concerning Helena. And this is important as this trilogy needs to be character-driven and not plot-driven. Randall has chosen well between these two. Even from the fairy tale, the main focus is on Little Red Riding Hood. To develop that fairy tale into an expanded storyline, means it has to be a continuation of the fairy tale's construction. Having a plot-driven construction would reinforce the action and adventure and fast pace but make the characters of lesser importance and less three-dimensional and relatable. Even the trilogy titles imply that this trilogy is character-driven.
This novel shows Randall means serious business with this trilogy. He gave us a taste for this in TRR and it has only intensified in this instalment.
My only criticism of both instalments is that degree of faith or spirituality. In both, we have Helena relying on Father Vestille for how to fight this demonic invasion and he suggests that she exercise her faith. In TRR we see the beginnings of this now she has to move forward with this new threat from Grenault and his pack members. In RRR we have her showing more faith in praying to God to deliver her when she has been captured and tortured by the lycanthru or when being chased by them. I would have liked to have seen Randall deal with this demonic source and effects of the lycanthru by the power of the Spirit, by the use of the Name of Jesus and other spiritual warfare methods used in the Bible and given to those who have a relationship with Jesus. Randall has both Father Vestille and Helena as Christians so this could have been depicted as the weapons of their warfare. If Randall is depicting the demonic from a Biblical worldview, then fighting them would also need the Biblical equivalent I have described. The specific metal used by Helena to kill could still be used as a secondary method in individual warfare as we have seen in both novels.
At present, this novel is only available as a free download upon subscription to Randall's newsletter but I understand it is to be released on Amazon in the very near future. I am so glad about this as a novel of this calibre does not need to be in the background and only given limited exposure to those who subscribe to his newsletter. This is only limiting the author's exposure and the reader's.
I predict this novel to be a hit with the large majority of readers. This gives justice to those authors and their novels who deal with a retelling of classic fairy tales. As I said in my review of TRR, "...I find that with fairy tale retellings it can either be a hit or miss. With this new offering by Randall, it is a hit"! I am looking forward with high anticipation to the next instalment of this series. I am also looking forward to reading the remainder of Randalls novels. This is one author to follow and support in reading and reviewing his novels.
Highly Recommended.
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