The Red Winter

Feb 25

About the book

Author: Cameron Sullivan
Publisher: Tor

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

Buy and support indie bookstores (+ I earn a small commission):
Bookshop.org (print or ebook) | Libro.fm (audio)

My review

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started The Red Winter. Based on the cover, I think I was anticipating a book that felt more like a classic historical fantasy retelling. What I got was so much better than that: a surprisingly funny and voicey book that still managed to feel classic at the same time.

This book is a fantasy imagining of the story behind the Beast of Gévaudan, which I had not heard of before but was immediately intrigued by once I googled it. TLDR: There was a real-life giant wolfish beast that killed people in France in the 1760s and was never definitively caught, and folklore has named it a werewolf. The Red Winter is about an immortal warlock-type man named Sebastian who is approached by the son of a nobleman named Antoine, alongside whom he fought (and such 👀) during the beast's first winter of attacks. Antoine’s son convinces our main character to return with him, as the beast has begun killing again.

Like I said, this book is voicey and fun. It jumps back and forth in time, showing us what happened between Sebastian and Antoine the previous decade while keeping the “present-day” plot moving along nicely. There is also a horny and hilarious succubus who is employed as the main character's assistant and writes interstitial chapters that provide important back story from even deeper history, beginning with Joan of Arc. Oh, and did I mention Sebastian’s warmly wicked indwelling demon, Sarmodel? And the FOOTNOTES?

The book is quite queer, which is always a plus in my book. It has much to say (as you can imagine) about the darkness inside each of us and our society as a whole. And the audiobook was also extremely well done. In fact, I listened to probably a third of it and didn't even realize that there were footnotes until I picked up a physical copy one day — that's how good the voice acting is.

This was a stand-out read from my first couple months of the year, and I can't wait for more people to read it!