Review: Riders of The Apocalypse Series by Jackie Morse Kess

[inksomniareads]

Before I start I want to tack on a huge trigger warning for this entire series. It deals heavily with a myriad of mental

health/body health issues, so if you suffer from an eating disorder/depression/self-harm/suicidal thoughts/etc.,

please proceed with caution.


I started this series last year and had been patiently waiting until I could get my hands on the final in the series. This

is a 4 book series, though the first 3 can be read out of order as each one deals with its own set of characters

and storyline. The final book is about Death and ties the whole series together. This is a Young Adult series, though I am

far from that age group and I still enjoyed it. I would not recommend it to anyone 14 or younger.


Hunger is book 1, and we’re introduced to Lisabeth Lewis, a teenage girl suffering from an eating disorder. On the

verge of death she’s met with the choice of taking up as the Black Rider - or Famine - and become one of the 4

Horsemen of the Apocalypse.


In Rage we meet Melissa Miller, again a teenage girl, who self-harms. After an unfortunate accident, she’s paid a

visit by Death who offers her to become War. Not wanting to die, she accepts his offer and becomes his handmaiden.

Billy Ballard, in Loss, is bullied in school and wants nothing more than to fit in. When he’s approached by Death and

forced to stand in as Pestilence, Billy uses his power for revenge. It’s only after seeing the sickness he causes that he

begs Death to take back his bow, but in order for Billy to go back to just being a teenage kid, he has to track down

the real White Rider and make him take his rightful place.


Breath is the 4th and final book in the series and focuses on Death himself. We learn Death’s history and how he

came to be, and we also meet Xander Atwood, a boy who gave Death a gift freely, and whom must help a suicidal

Death come down from both the literal and proverbial ledge. Xander is also dealing with his own problems, getting the

girl and choosing schools and all of that other teenage angst. There’s a nice twist at the end, and while I did see some

of it coming, I didn’t expect all of it, which was nice. I don’t particularly like books that are easy to predict how

they’re going to end.
—


I really enjoyed this series. All 4 books stand well on their own, with their own stories and characters, but they also

work well as a whole. While the themes are heavy, they also have positive outcomes and shows you can escape your

demons, as long as you want to. The author doesn’t sugarcoat anything, it is what it is, and this is what needs to be

done. And that’s why the trigger warning at the beginning, but it’s also a good thing. It puts awareness on the issues,

it doesn’t make them look like anything but what they are, and shines a spotlight on how serious it all is.

I think my least favorite of the series was Rage, there wasn't really as much going on as the other books if that makes

sense. And as a series over all, we're hit in the head with the anvil quite often with Death's appearance, with the form

he's taken, and it only gets worse by the time we get to Breath. It turned me off a little bit, just because it was said

so often. After a certain point it becomes a we-get-it-already kind of thing.


I'm also a little confused still on what Death was before he became Death. A fallen angel? An alien being? I don't know.

But I think the author left it ambiguous enough that it's left open to the readers interpretation. Which I appreciate.




The entire series gets a 4.5 out of 5. It was highly enjoyable all around, with a few things here and there which I

mentioned above that kept it from getting a full 5 out of 5.

I highly recommend it, though do please heed those trigger warnings.