DRC Review: Falling in a Sea of Stars by Kristen Britain
- Story Eater
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Release date: 30 September 2025
Rating: 4/5
Book boxes/SE's: The Broken Binding is currently working on printing signed hardcovers of the series. Though the features are bland, the editions are still signed and numbered.
Synopsis: Magic, danger, and adventure abound for messenger Karigan G’ladheon in the eighth book in Kristen Britain’s New York Times-bestselling Green Rider fantasy series
After Sacoridia’s victory over Second Empire, Karigan G’ladheon’s life as a Green Rider should have settled into an ordinary routine. But her father’s abrupt departure to rescue Laren Mapstone, leader of the Green Riders and the woman he loves, from the far distant land of Varos, has left Clan G’ladheon’s business in disarray and Karigan’s hands full. Even as Karigan tries to sort out the clan’s mess, a darker, more perilous crisis casts its shadows over her: Mornhavon the Black has reawakened. Moreover, he has freed two undead wraiths from their imprisoning tombs to hunt Karigan down and bring her to him in Blackveil Forest.
In a deadly confrontation with one of the wraiths amid the frivolity of the Harvest Ball, Karigan is left vulnerable to the intrigues of another old adversary she thought destroyed long ago. Haunted by the unceasing rhythm of the dance, she falls endlessly through the frigid dark of the heavens, and even Westrion, god of death, cannot save her. King Zachary, bereft and hopeless, keeps vigil for her safe return. If they are not reunited, her loss may destroy him—and any chance Sacoridia has of overcoming Mornhavon’s dark designs.
Review
A beautiful bookish nerd introduced me to the Green Rider series last year, and I loved it so much that I actually finished all of the books (that were already published). As opposed to, you know, Wheel of Time series, which I started and am still stuck on, oh number 10 or 11 or some such, and the Witcher series, which I also still haven't finished. Britain's writing entrances me so well that I don't really read it with a reviewer's lens and struggle to think of review topics afterward. That's a good thing, I think, but it's not so helpful for readers, so I'll try to come up with some things.Â
Falling in a Sea of Stars picks up where most series books do—right after the events of the previous installment—and continues the storylines from there. We still have the degrading wall, the towers with their keepers, the ever-present pining between Karigan and Zachary (not a fan over here), elves and their boondoggles, and the overarching conflict with Mornhavon the Black. Some of the Riders are dead, some are captive, some are on limited duty, and Karigan is on double duty between her clan business and the Riders. Here we have a perfect example of a doorstop fantasy novel that seems like it will bore with extraneous words and description, but all of those pages fly quickly while covering all that ground. Britain manages all the things deftly, and 672 pages were done before I knew it, leaving me waiting for hopefully not another four years until the next full-length book in the series to release. (Spirit of the Wood may have published in 2023, but it's a novella and provides some character background but no plot advancement for the series.)
Most importantly, Karigan stands out among typical female FMC's. She's not vengeful, overly powerful, hypersexualized, or perfectly beautiful with derivative white hair copied and pasted a million times over 50 years from Patricia McKillip. Britain's way of dealing with character stagnation over an especially long series is certainly interesting, and in FiaSoS, Karigan regresses a bit, finding herself bombarded by a series of personal fires that take prominence over the usual big bad foes for conflict. A couple of my favorite characters feature prominently in this one as well, and their storylines overshadow the whole book and really provide an interesting solution (or is it one?) to a serious conflict carried over from past books. I can't wait to see how that plays out.
Overall, 4/5 for Britain's newest. Even though Green Rider sits at the top of my favorite fantasy shelf, I'm not without some criticisms. The plots in them of late grow repetitive and cyclical, and, though I'd love to stay in Sacoridia forever. Britain can spin a tale that will keep me there, but too many great shows and book series don't quit when they're relatively ahead, and the story suffers. I hope that doesn't happen with Green Rider.Â
My profuse thanks to DAW and Atria books for the DRC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.