Review: Nothing like a woman seeking vengence
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 7, 2014
I won a copy of “The Red Rider” by Billy Wong from www.librarything.com.  I was actually given a copy of this book back on March 28, 2014.  However, with all the book review requests, I haven’t been able to read this book until this past weekend.  I honestly regretted not getting to this book until now.  I love re-write of fairy tales.I classified this book into Fairy Tales and Fiction. I’m certain that this book may fall into other genres but for this review, these are the classifications that I’m sticking with.*****In “The Red Rider” we find Red a decade after the brutal death of her beloved grandmother.  She has been deemed as cursed for what has happen to her and her grandmother.  She has had to leave her village due to the beliefs of her father and neighbors. Now she is after one thing only and she will exterminate all the werewolves!Red travels the wilderness and has become basically a bounty hunter for hire.  She travels to destinations that have suffered attacks and seeks out those werewolves that have done harm.  Having learned how to prevent from being turned by a scratch or a bite, Red consumes a small amount of silver powder with each minor or severe wound. This tactic is to prevent her turning however it comes with consequences.  She has developed silvery veins across her face and body.  Consequently, during her travels, she keeps up the hood of her red cloak to hide her face from wandering eyes.Known to take down 3 or more werewolves all by herself, she garnishes a name for herself among the towns she travels through.  It’s through one village she encounters her most impregnable opponent.  Having ran into guards that forcibly take money from some traveling villagers, Red starts to battle with the guards.  It’s when this extremely tall, armored guard approaches, does Red know that she is now in for a fight.  Once the battle is over, Leviatha, AKA Fourslayer, reveals that she is the ruler of the land that Red is traveling through.  Not knowing if she can actually trust this new woman who indicates she too is wanting to rid her kingdom of werewolves, Red takes what help she can gather from this woman and keeps her basically at arm’s length.Red has learned that she can only trust a few people in her life.  Those that she does grow close to end up dying at the hands of werewolves in some manner or another.  So, for her to make friends and trust someone to watch her back is very rare.  It’s when she befriends an overweight Knight, Herbert, Knight of the Fold, does Red start to find that there are few that she can trust.  Herbert once was a great knight that held much honor and esteem.  However, one mistake cost him everything he knew.  He stopped taking care of himself and gained a grossly amount of weight.  He lost the pride in himself that he once was very proud of.  It’s with his friendship with Red that the two become strong friends whose friendship and loyalty will become tested.When Red learns that the Leviatha is making a deal with the king of the werewolves that Red has no other option but to ask for help from the one person that she doesn’t want to seek out.  Headed to a fighting arena in Veid, Herbert watches in awe as he witnesses a female in the ring with a hulking man and holding her own in basically an open knuckle, knock down fight.  Amazed to see this woman win, Herbert learns that Evie, is actually Red’s sister.With Evie’s money and capabilities to pull some men together, Red and Herbert are on course to obliterate the werewolves that are forming in the lands ran by Leviatha.  With the battle looming, Red learns that there is more to life than just killing werewolves.  Maybe there is an opportunity to save those who have been turned, but have yet to kill in their animal form.With battles against werewolves, other humans, betrayal and broken hearts, Red seeks the truth behind the werewolves.  Now if she can convince others that “maybe” their loved ones can be restored back to their human form.  Only problem is, the one that holds that secret may just take it with him to the grave.*****I honestly enjoyed this story.  I love how people rewrite a classic fairy tale and spin it into a whole new story.  With “The Red Rider” we get to learn how Red struggles with the direction humanity is turning.  We witness the heartbreak she endures from the loss of her family and friends throughout the book.  With the fairy tale we never did get to learn the entire story.  However, with “The Red Rider” we learn that this girl is going to right the wrongs.You have strong female characters throughout this story.  With Red, Evia, Leviatha and many others, it’s nice to not see the female as such the weaker gender.  Men fear these women and know that their presence carries justice of some sort.I hated that it took me so long to get to this story.  However, I did finally get it read and will say…it is well worth the read for those who love a twist to the traditional fairy tales we were brought up hearing.