Are There Young Adult Novels About Teens Becoming The Four Horsemen?
Seeking something where teenage characters confront the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Love the idea of a 'horseman' trope in teen fiction but not finding many dark fantasy YA books.
2026-07-10 13:35:37
150
Follow13
Share
NashWells
Plot Finder
Editor
ABO Personality Quiz
Take a quick quiz to find out whether you‘re Alpha, Beta, or Omega.
That's an interesting mashup! You're likely thinking of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a concept that's been used in a few paranormal YA series. While not exactly teens becoming the biblical Horsemen, I recently started reading 'Mated To The Quadruplets Lycan Alphas', which puts a unique spin on a quartet of powerful beings bound to one person. It centers on a character unexpectedly linked to four formidable Lycan rulers, creating a tense dynamic of forced alliances and dangerous politics in a supernatural world.
Hmm, teens becoming them? Not many straight-up ones. 'The Dark Divine' series by Bree Despain plays with the idea—the main love interest is connected to the Hounds of Hell and there are strong Horsemen parallels, especially with War and Pestilence appearing in later books. It's more of a paranormal romance with biblical mythology woven in.
You might have better luck in web serials or on sites like Royal Road; I've seen a few LitRPG or progression fantasy stories where a teen protagonist unlocks a 'Harbinger' or 'Horseman' class. Those are usually less about a quartet and more about a solo power fantasy, though.
A lesser-known one is 'The Apocalypse Script' by M.D. Massey. It's more urban fantasy, following a teen who discovers he's destined to become a harbinger of the apocalypse. It's indie-published, so the editing can be rough, but the author really runs with the idea of a kid trying to reject this monstrous destiny while the world literally falls apart around him. Gritty and fast-paced.
For a old-school pick, there's 'The Stand' by Stephen King. Obviously not YA, but the 'Walking Man' (Randall Flagg) and the apocalyptic journey has Horseman energy. A YA protagonist in that setting, chosen by one of the dark forces, would be a fascinating read. King's sense of mundane people facing cosmic evil is exactly the tone needed.
Don't forget the horse factor! Are they literal horses? Motorcycles? Something ethereal? Does each teen get a steed, and is it as personality-altering as the power itself? A horse that reflects their inner corruption? That's a detail often glossed over but rich for symbolism.
2026-07-25 18:40:56
12
View All Answers
Scan code to download App
Related Books
Student of the Alpha Princes
H.A Shah
8.5
71.2K
As a student at an elite academy for supernaturals, I’ve always thought I had my life figured out. My 18th birthday is just around the corner, a milestone that could change everything. For as long as I can remember, I've been betrothed to my childhood crush, who also happens to be my brothers' best friend. It seemed like my future was set in stone—until everything shifted.
I never expected to find myself drawn to my warrior trainers, Cameron and Samuel. They're not just any trainers; they're the alpha princes of the werewolf race. The bond between us is growing stronger every day, and it’s tearing me apart. My brothers have warned me about the power and allure of dominant wolves, but they never could have guessed that the real threat would come from my own teachers.
Now, I’m caught between my betrothal and these forbidden feelings, not to mention the strict rules of our supernatural world. Things get even more complicated when a sudden attack rocks the academy. I'm forced to make life-altering decisions that go beyond just my heart; the safety of everyone I love hangs in the balance.
With destiny, love, and danger at every corner, I must decide whether to follow my heart or stay true to my obligations.
On my sixteenth birthday, everything changes. One moment I'm your below-average girl—the next moment, I’m a monster.
A werewolf.
As a danger to society, and with my parents' refusal to help me, I have no other choice but to go to the werewolf place. Nothing prepares me for what waits for me inside the Academy of the Moon.
Not only do I learn that the horrid tales I’d been told about werewolves were not true—but that I am different from the others. This results in my being a scapegoat for condemnation.
What’s even worse is that the boy who marked me might be a murderer. He’s on the loose. Will he come back for me? Am I turning into an evil beast, like him?
And then, there’s Elijah Ledger. The future alpha—a gorgeous werewolf who appears to be bearing dark secrets from everyone. I’m drawn to him. But he’s a magnet for misfortune, and his secrets start to unveil themselves.
While I’m dealing with an array of problems, including a jealous girl who can’t stand my newfound attention from Elijah—one by one, students are getting attacked at the academy. The big question is: who is it? And why are they doing it?
Things get ugly—and I am caught in the middle of it.
Lila Harper gave the Black quadruplets her virginity, her loyalty, her soul. Ethan, Marcus, Callum, and Davian were supposed to be her fated mates, destined to share her, protect her, love her.
Instead, they rejected her on her eighteenth birthday, called her weak, and threw her out to die.
Three years later, she's back and she's not the broken omega they discarded. Something happened the night they severed the bond, something that rewrote her from the inside out. Now she walks through Blackwood Territory with power that makes Alphas kneel and a hunger that won't stop until she's taken everything they love.
The quadruplets want her back. The bond is screaming to reconnect. But Lila didn't survive the rejection to fall into their arms again.
She survived to watch them beg.
And when four Alphas who've never begged for anything start crawling back to the mate they destroyed? That's when the real violence begins.
They’re not just powerful. They’re possessive, obsessive, and sinfully dangerous.
The dark-eyed leader who speaks in growls.
The scarred fighter with a touch like fire.
The silver-tongued flirt who tastes my fear—and wants more.
The shadow who watches me like prey.
And the broken one who swore he’d never love again… until me.
********
I was never supposed to exist.
Born under a cursed eclipse, I was hidden away, raised as a human, and told to live small. But fate doesn’t forget. And when I turn twenty-one, five powerful alphas show up at my door—each claiming I’m theirs.
They say I’m the key to saving the packs from war.
They say I’m the chosen mate of five.
But they don’t know the full truth.
I’m not here to be their salvation—I might be their destruction.
"This isn't just a school. It's something more."
Zeda Iverson thought high school was done, but her parents insisted on Shadowbrook Academy – a mysterious school she'd never heard of – instead of college.
She soon discovers Shadowbrook hides secrets, and the four powerful princes who rule the academy are all obsessed with her.
But their attention becomes the least of her worries as a dangerous revolution looms, threatening to destroy the academy and the princes Zeda has fallen in love with.
Only Zeda holds the power to stop the coming chaos. Yet, her abilities are locked away.
Can she unlock her potential and save everyone she loves before it's too late?
Azara Storm is a special wolf, blessed by the goddess with immense abilities. Her fairy-tale life ended the night her pack was raided. Left as the only survivor after the invasion, she tried to flee but was caught by the famous ferocious quadruplet Alphas.
Fate plays a trick on her as the quadruplets not only recognize her as their mate but also protect her from her hunters, which is unlike them, but this protection comes at a huge cost.
Azara's heart shatters when she discovers that she is bound to be the quadruplet Alphas' slave mate. Her life ended the moment they claimed her. They were her Masters, her body and soul belonged to them.
Soon, Azara not only got entangled in the unexpected romance with the quadruplets, but she found herself drawn to the brothers’ mystery.
They were gross darkness and she was the pure light, but one thing about darkness was its ability to allure even the purest light, consuming it until it is stripped of its innocence.
The burning desire to claim them consumed her, but this was at the expense of her deepest darkest secret.
Would she be willing to compromise even if revealing her identity could test their love?
Could she have them all? Whose heart would be broken so hers could be whole?
What happens when the rogues come for her, would she be able to hide her secret forever?
I read 'Riders' and wanted to like it more than I did. The concept was cool, but the romance felt a bit forced to me, like it was checking a YA box. The horsemen lore and action were the highlights. If you're purely in it for the mythology and cool fight scenes, it delivers. Just temper expectations on the character dynamics.
The web serial 'The Wandering Inn' has a character known as the 'Goblin Lord' who amasses an army, and later volumes introduce beings like the 'Putrid One,' a necromancer who spreads plague. These are antagonist figures, but the story is so vast, with so many perspectives, that you sometimes see the world from their angle. It's not the Four Horsemen, but the epic fantasy scale allows for multiple, world-ending threats that feel both personal and grand.
Honestly, I just come to these threads to see if anyone else thinks Conquest should be replaced by 'Procrastination' for a modern update. The other three are out there doing their thing, and Procrastination is just like 'I'll get to the whole end-of-the-world thing tomorrow, maybe next week...'
I always felt 'V for Vendetta' was a Horseman story in spirit. V himself is an avatar of anarchy, which bundles war, famine (through the system's collapse), pestilence, and death into one masked package. He's the catalyst for the fall of a fascist state. The graphic novel is about the necessary, ugly birth of something new through absolute destruction, which is the core narrative function of the Four Horsemen in myth.
Has anyone written a deconstruction of this trope yet? A story where the human doesn't fall in love with the Horseman, but outwits him or uses him for their own ends? That could be a cool twist on the formula.