To Ride a Rathorn, P. C. Hodgell,'s latest high fantasy novel, is the sequel to Seeker's Mask, which in turn follows God Stalk and Dark of the Moon (collected in the Meisha Merlin omnibus, Dark of the Gods). These are the chronicles of Jamethiel Priest's-bane, otherwise known as Jame, as she struggles to find a place in a universe full of danger, intrigue, and more than a bit of downright lunacy. The current novel's title To Ride a Rathorn, comes from the Kencyr phrase that refers to someone attempting something insane, but it is too dangerous for them to stop. The reference is also to a certain young rathorn (think of an armor-plated, carnivorous unicorn with a nasty temper) who is after Jame for killing his mother and about to catch up with her. At Tentir, Jame faces cut-throat competition and finds even more buried, poisonous family secrets. Not only is the Caineron heir sent to humiliate her but a charming Ardeth Highborn arrives hell-bent on seducing her. Then too, what is she to make of the mysteriousWhite Lady who haunts her dreams or of the growling monster and prowls Tentir's hallways and is said to eat young cadets for breakfast? For she is learning Tentir has secrets of its own. And it is fighting for its soul. Under political pressure that threatens to compromise its independence, it looks to its Commandant, an honorable man; but also a Caineron. As the college tests Jame, so she tests it. "Some things need to be broken."

After Jame's inadmissible behavior in the Women's Halls, her twin brother Tori takes her to Tentir, the random college to learn the ways of becoming a fighter. Here is where Jame has always felt she would feel most comfortable, but on the night of her arrival she almost burns down part of the college. Yet here she does excel, in her own fashion and begins to settle down into the day-to-day training at the college. There are those who also arrive at the college whose only goal is to see her fail. For you see Tori, her brother and king, has officially declared her to be his heir. Never before has a female led the Kencyr and if they get their way Jame will not be the first. Into this mix comes the Rathorn baby, now fully an adult, it has a score to settle with Jame for killing its mother.

Fiction, latest in the series. Ages: 16+.