William Joshua Ryder, known throughout the series simply as Ryder is the protagonist of the Orion’s Spur series. We are introduced to Ryder at age 15. He is a fringe member of the school society or in this case a skater. The other main group introduced in what is really a preface to the story are the cowboys. Ryder has gained the eye of a cowboy and class bully, Barry Hales. Barry is a high school football star in the making, Ryder is more cerebral. At a school dance a confrontation goes awry and Ryder winds up in the hospital. The result of this incident is far reaching. First, Ryder is transferred to another school with his sister Debbie and his crush, Cynthia Flores. This leads to a trip to Europe, not not really, as they are kidnapped and taken to a world 100 light years from Earth, Demeter.
Ryder starts to develop in Demeter where his assignment as a conscripted Earthling is to work in strategic gaming and planning. As he builds confidence, he also develops into a natural leader among his five friends who are also in Demeter.
As the series progresses his coming of age journey continues to expand in a galaxy of conflicting parties (Sagittarius and Perseus arms of the galaxy) with Orion’s Spur caught in between.
He unravels mysteries, threats, and attempts on his life. How does this character grow up? That is one of the major elements of the book series. One thing I was proud of in writing this series is that it also follows the growth of his sister, Cynthia, and his two friends Randy and Joel, as each has their own story.
Ryder’s impact on those who want to do him harm is another interesting twist to the story, which in many ways is my favorite part of the book.
The first three books are set in Demeter (the inside of an asteroid the size of Ceres, where an entire world exists). The books move on to Haumeah and finally into both the Perseus and Sagittarius arms of the galaxy.