Was this book really written by the same hand that penned the beautiful Samaria books? Two pages in and I kept checking the cover to confirm that yes, it was Sharon Shinn, and yes, she really was writing a dull, trite, flat story with abysmal characterization. Her Samaria books are filled with interesting ideas, moral crises, and characters you care for. This book is filled with predictable scene after predictable scene and characters who are (you guessed it) both predictable and one-dimensional. The romantic subplot never gets any true emotional traction, and despite the quest-centered plot, none of the actual journeying is at all realistic (horses only appear when riding is needed; provisions are inexhaustible, unless the protagonists need an excuse to go into a town; etc.). Character development happens but is entirely unmotivated (as one small example, consider how Cammon more or less immediately morphs from callow cringing youth to sensitive, mature, insightful, deep mystic). The central “mystery” of why the mystics are being pursued and killed is either no mystery at all (easily explained by fear of magic) or else entirely unresolved (if there was more to it, it never manifested itself). There are more books to follow, and maybe they’ll answer it one way or the other, but I can’t bring myself to care. I’m still shocked that this could possibly have been written by Shinn!

Mystics are being murdered. There is a strange tension that is building up as Senneth and her companions are traveling south in the country of Gillengaria. Some thing dreadful is happening in this country that is broken up into Twelve Houses, which are ruled by King Baryn, who lives in Ghosenhall. King Baryn has sent Senneth, a mystic on a mission to find out what is happening in this vast kingdom.

Mystics and Riders are different groups. Mystics have powers, for example, Senneth can control fire. Riders are the most elite group of warriors, who serve and are loyal only to the king. Senneth’s diverse group is made up of 2 Riders, one born to it and one introduced to it after being found on the streets surviving, and 4 mystics, one who just discovered his power, one who controls fire and 2 who can shape shift.

As they journey south, they encounter friends but more foes. The people’s views on mystics is changing. They see them as evil and some begin to feel that they need to be destroyed. Why is this happening? Who is fostering and proselytizing the destruction of this specific group of people? However, the mistrust and suspicious is not only outside the group but it is also amongst the companions even though they share the same mission.

Will the in-fighting stop amongst the companions long enough for them to discover the menace that is rising in Gillengaria? Will they make it back alive to the king to report on what they discover?

“Mystic and Rider” is book 1 of the Twelve Houses fantasy series by Sharon Shinn. It is filled with wonderful imagery of a land filled with strange people and strange creatures. Full of adventure and intrigue, as well as a bit of romance, “Mystic and Rider” will leave you wanting to know more about Gillengaria and its people.