Rider at the Gate
Rider at the Gate is a science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh, first published by Warner Books in August 1995. It is the first of a series of two novels written by Cherryh and is set in the author's Finisterre universe. The second book in the series, Cloud's Rider, was published in September 1996. The series is about the descendants of lost colonists stranded many generations ago on the hostile planet of Finisterre. Plot summary Three riders arrive at the Shamesey town gates to inform border rider Guil Stuart that his partner, Aby Dale and her nighthorse Moon, were killed in a truck convoy accident on Tarmin Height. The accident, they say, was caused by a rogue nighthorse. Stuart heads up the mountain to hunt down and kill the rogue. Danny Fisher, a junior rider and friend of Stuart, follows him. Another rider, Ancel Harper, who blames Stuart for the earlier death of his brother, also pursues Stuart. With winter approaching, journeys up the mountain at this time of the year are ill-advised and dangerous. Stuart first goes to the industrial town of Anveney where he meets businessman Lew Cassivey. Dale had been working for Cassivey, and