Riders in the Sky

Millennium Quartet #4

by Charles L. Grant

The four novels of the Millennium Quartet reveal the cataclysms that await mankind at the turn of the century and vividly tell of the effects of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as they wreak havoc on the world. Death spread a wide swath of violence over the Planet. Famine devastated crops, fish, and domesticated animals. Plague returned as a mutated version of smallpox and decimated the remaining human population. Still, mankind has struggled on, most people completely unaware that they have experienced the effects of the Horsemen and not merely a combination of bad weather and freak genetics. Most people, but not all.These are the survivors, no longer completely human-and the only people who can stand against the a preacher given the power to stop Death. Two teenagers who can see the truth in anyone's heart. A mother and her two daughters, who saw the man they all loved sacrifice himself to save them from Plague. A waitress who has decided she can't wait any longer. A would-be writer whose young son has become Famine. The young widow of a British nobleman-the only person who knows the earthly identities of all four Horsemen-has brought them all together. Now they prepare to do battle. With War as their leader, the Horsemen are preparing to lay waste to the world. They have gathered for a final strategy session on an isolated island in the Atlantic.But their coming is no longer secret, and they are no longer unopposed. The defenders of mankind are coming. They may well fail to defeat the Apocalypse. But if so, they will die trying.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Ebooks, Suspense, Fiction

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 13, 1999

About the author

Charles Lewis Grant was a novelist and short story writer specializing in what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror." He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, and Deborah Lewis.

Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grant pulls out all the stops with this conclusion to his Millennium Quartet. He's been hinting at a big conclusion, with Casey Chisholm being the linchpin for the entire series, and sure enough, he brings us back into his circle. We see what's happened to him in the last few years, as well as what's happened to the survivors of the other big events from the last three novels. Reed and Cora from Symphony are tracking him down, as are John and Lissa from In the Mood, and Jude, Starshine, and Moonbow from Chariot. Their dreams direct them to Casey, as well as each other. Also searching for him are Susan, Joey, and Eula, all the protagonists from the previous novels who represent three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and Red, who is pulling them all together for a climactic ending, and is presumably the fourth Horseman.

I feel like I've been reading this book forever. It's much longer than the previous three novels, and it goes back over old ground enough to make me feel like I'm re-reading parts of those novels, as well. As usual, Grant takes his time to develop his characters and his plot, but I got impatient this time, as I was ready to see this series through to its end. It also didn't help that a few of the key parts of the story -- a coming storm to a remote island, and a corrupt local government all about threatening people to sell their homes -- was straight out of Night Songs. I was glad to see that my prediction for the series was correct, but I was more eager to get to the end than anything else.

And that ending. It's been noted in most every other review for this book that the ending is anticlimactic, which I think it putting it mildly. Grant had four books and nearly 1500 pages leading up to this conclusion, and the final showdown takes about 20 of those pages. It was disappointing, to say the least.

It wasn't until this novel that I started to think some about the premise of the entire series, that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had been let loose. I'm not a Biblical scholar, but my understanding of the Apocalypse has been that God would make the decision to start it. In these novels, the Horsemen are loose, but it seems that Casey Chisholm and his band of survivors are on a mission to save the world. Casey even prays to God to help them overcome the Horsemen. Why would he do that? Why would he look at the Horsemen as an invasion if he were a preacher, and why would he pray to God to help them win if God was the one who called for the Apocalypse? Is part of Judgment Day giving the people on Earth a chance to fight back against it?

I'm glad that I read the series, but I'm equally glad that it's over. Aside from the fact that it wound up feeling somewhat lackluster, overall, it marks the end of all the Charles Grant ebooks I wanted to read. I'm glad that I did, so I can move on to some other writers.

[Kyra Dune · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. It has a very Stephen Kingish sort of vibe and it felt kind of like The Stand to me, so that was awesome. Grant has a way of setting up a moody sort of scene that is just breathtaking. The only complaint I have is that sometimes tenses were switched between past and present, and I could see no good reason for it. Other than that, this is an excellent book. Highly recommend.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Some of the reviews noted that it ends on an anticlimactic note, but really, most of "end of the world" scenarios do. Trying to end those with a bang is a tough row to hoe regardless. Anyway, what you also have along the way is Grant's always fine prose and suspense and description. Worth it, no matter what.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 4 of the Millenium Quartet. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are here, and only a small band of humans stand against them....Entertaining and more than a little creepy.

[Agatha Glowacki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too hard to follow if you hadn't read the precious books, way too many characters and I found myself confused the entire time. Didn't really like the plot either and wouldn't recommend it.

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this fine epic conclusion to the Millennium series.

[Kellylynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept, not a good follow through - at least for me.

The culminating fight was such a simple, almost nothing. Some of the character development was nice, but others were lacking. In the end I didn't feel like anything was really solved or brought together once everyone was on the island.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far so good.

[Tim Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all a decent series, just don't expect to have your socks knocked off.