The First Skyrider by HR Hess
The Trouble with fantasy…
The trouble with fantasy is that it’s hard to come up with something original. I’m a Tolkien fanatic, but even Tolkien borrowed from others. His genius was in world-building to such incredible detail that he’s had thousands (perhaps millions) of people genuinely suspecting that the history of middle earth might just be part of our history.
On the other hand, writers such as CS Lewis and JK Rowling have been successful by creating a world within. As a child, I tested the back of every wardrobe I came across ‘just in case,’ and the generation below me is extremely suspicious of Kings Cross station.
Since the explosion of Harry Potter, fantasy has probably been the most popular genre for young people. However, there is a whole chunk of children and young adults who think they don’t like fantasy as a genre, partly because it doesn’t feel real. And so, I suspect that the marker of successful fantasy is the reader becoming convinced that it is.
So, it is with trepidation that I approach reviewing a Young Adult fantasy series. I wanted to do it because, despite my reservations, I am attempting to write ‘low fantasy’ or ‘real fantasy’ (now there’s an oxymoron) myself, and evaluating someone else’s attempt aids self-evaluation. Perhaps you could say this was a research project for me, seeing what else is being published at the moment.
HR Hess and the world of Callenlas
So, without further rambling, I’ll introduce you to HR Hess. HR Hess’ debut novel The Dark Star premiered in March 2022, published by Reformation Lightning, a new publisher on the scene of Young People’s Christian Fiction. The First Skyrider is a prequel to that novel. Prequels can be tricky because the reader already knows something about how the story ends. Presumably realising that, this book was boldly entitled The First Skyrider, giving us quite a few clues about what’s going to happen! As I haven’t read The Dark Star, I would have preferred not to have known.
That said, I didn’t know anything about the author’s imagined world of Callenlas before reading. What I discovered was that, whilst not enormously extensive, HR Hess has certainly thought through her backstory and world-building. The novel has a medieval feel to it. Although there is nothing very original about the dragons or the plot-line involving the training of one, the concept of Stars is intriguing and I was left wanting to read the first book to explore this idea further.
Peculiarly, my favourite part of the book was the mini-appendix entitled “An Extract From An Exhaustive Overview of Callenlasian” which discussed the history of the language and names in the voice of one of the Masters (professors). It was delightfully Tolkienesque and I really enjoyed it. It would have been nice to have had this at the front of the book.
The Characters
Cairn, the protagonist, is generally a very likeable character, with all his demerits and stumblings. The story is essentially a coming-of-age narrative where Cairn develops from a pretty typical thirteen-year-old into a man worthy of the title of Rider.
The book felt Harry Potter-ish, with the band of outcast friends exploring, rule-breaking and learning together. On the other hand, I found it a little far-fetched that in a school full of masters who have special sight, the friends were only caught sneaking about once in nine months or so. In fact, there were several points where I felt the novel could have done with a more thorough developmental edit. That said, this is my editor’s eye speaking. I am quite sure that young people reading this for the first time will dive deep into the exciting adventure and these things won’t bother them.
The Themes
I did like the development of Cairn’s moral compass. The way he moves from going along with Arunae at first to standing up to her when he thinks she is wrong. At one point, I worried if they were ever going to face consequences for their actions. I was pleased that they did (an improvement on Harry Potter, in my view). The point where Cairn is chastised after the battle was particularly hard-hitting, as you were really on his side there.
Yet, the morality was nicely balanced and not over-simplistic. There was a recognition that sometimes, following the King does mean disobeying those who claim to represent him. This thoughtfulness will be important to young people who face so many moral challenges every day.
The highlight
The moments with King Elior were the highlight for me. I could feel Cairn’s excitement at meeting him, and, whilst the plot-line itself is not allegorical, everything about Elior reflects Jesus. He was very beautifully portrayed and his words were as powerful as his presence. The way he deals individually with each of the characters was so Christ-like. I particularly enjoyed a line at the end, as Cairn bows before King Elior:
‘His heart ached with longing, even while the longing of his heart was being fulfilled, and the mystery of it brought tears to his eyes.’
The First Skyrider – HR Hess
This beautiful sentiment so nicely portrays the continued longing that we feel for Jesus the more we get to know him.
There are many positive lessons to be learnt from this story, which makes me keen to pass it on to my older children. Here is another notable quote from the Master who impacts Cairn the most:
“Human beings are surprisingly slow to learn…we repeat our mistakes often. We think ourselves so much wiser than those that have gone before, yet tangle ourselves up in the same errors. Keeping one eye on the past helps us steer around those mistakes and spot them as they rise again.”
The First Skyrider – HR Hess
Wisdom indeed.
The First Skyrider is available directly from the publisher here, from online bookshops such as dayone.co.uk and 10ofthose.com, and other places, such as the ‘larger’ online bookshop using my affiliate link here.
I would recommend this book as a good read for young people aged 10+.
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