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wordsofclover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, War, Violence, and Death
basil_touche's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book certainly fulfilled the expectations I had from the previous book. Arden's writing style flows best in this final installment of the Winternight Triology, where chyerti and man alike join forces to protect their home. Chyerti appear much more in the plot here than last time, with the introduction of Midnight being a fascinating way of introducing more of Russian folklore (I was particually fond of Deb Grib, love that he was insistent that he was Vasya's first ally) and a new means of transportation for the protagonist, though not an easy one at first.
I have to admit though, I didn't really care for the romance between Vasya and Morozko. Their relationship felt underdeveloped for most of the novel but as characters I felt that they were still great. It just felt to me that there wasn't much build up to it.
I was surprised when they defeated Medved and the narrative still went on, however I quite like that Vasya freed Medved to assist her in fighting the war. He casually tries to make her lose her mind but they do have a somewhat begruding comradeship by the end (Medved's sly comments at everybody that made me smirk a fair bit).
There were some things that I felt were too quickly explained and others where I wished there were more details about but overall this is a fine conclusion to the triology.
There were some things that I felt were too quickly explained and others where I wished there were more details about but overall this is a fine conclusion to the triology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, War, Death, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual content, Gore, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia
micallab's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Torture and Vomit
queer_bookwyrm's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: violence, misogyny, self-harm, torture, sexual content, blood, death, animal death
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden is the third and final book in the Winternight Trilogy. This series is so freaking good. Every time I read one these books, I'm struck by beautiful prose and the unflinching way she wrote the MC Vasya. This book devasted me, cranked up the stakes, and then pat me on the head in the end with a morally gray message.
We pick up with Sasha, Dimitri, and Vasya after the events of the previous book. When Vasya set the golden mare free, she accidentally set fire to Moscow, making the inhabitants, goaded by that self-loathing jerk Konstantin, mob Vasya and try to burn her for a witch. All the while Konstantin is being aided by Medved, The Bear. A lot happens, there is tragedy. Now Vasya must escape and bind Medved again for good and thwart the priest, but when that is done, a whole new enemy awaits.
Looking back, a lot happened in this book! At it's heart this book was about unity. Unity for all of Rus' and unity for the chyerti. Vasya is sort of a bridge between worlds, an equalizer. She is the definition of morally gray. I love how wild she is and how wild she stays. Nothing changes that, not even the romance with the Winter-King. She's such a great character. I'm also gonna need some short stories about my mushroom buddy Ded Grib. He's adorably fierce, and I love him.
This is a great series set in medieval Russia, and examines through historical fiction the coexistence of Christianity and paganism. It also gives us a look at what things might have been like politically during the time of the Tartars invading Russia. We get so much Russian folklore about hearth spirits, forest spirits, and Baba Yaga. There are even really creepy vampire creatures.
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden is the third and final book in the Winternight Trilogy. This series is so freaking good. Every time I read one these books, I'm struck by beautiful prose and the unflinching way she wrote the MC Vasya. This book devasted me, cranked up the stakes, and then pat me on the head in the end with a morally gray message.
We pick up with Sasha, Dimitri, and Vasya after the events of the previous book. When Vasya set the golden mare free, she accidentally set fire to Moscow, making the inhabitants, goaded by that self-loathing jerk Konstantin, mob Vasya and try to burn her for a witch. All the while Konstantin is being aided by Medved, The Bear. A lot happens, there is tragedy. Now Vasya must escape and bind Medved again for good and thwart the priest, but when that is done, a whole new enemy awaits.
Looking back, a lot happened in this book! At it's heart this book was about unity. Unity for all of Rus' and unity for the chyerti. Vasya is sort of a bridge between worlds, an equalizer. She is the definition of morally gray. I love how wild she is and how wild she stays. Nothing changes that, not even the romance with the Winter-King. She's such a great character. I'm also gonna need some short stories about my mushroom buddy Ded Grib. He's adorably fierce, and I love him.
This is a great series set in medieval Russia, and examines through historical fiction the coexistence of Christianity and paganism. It also gives us a look at what things might have been like politically during the time of the Tartars invading Russia. We get so much Russian folklore about hearth spirits, forest spirits, and Baba Yaga. There are even really creepy vampire creatures.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Blood, and Animal death
Moderate: Sexual content and Torture
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
An extremely tumultuous, if a tad predictable ending to a fun series! Vasya’s powers finally made some sense, but still had a bit of mystery so it didn’t feel overly neat.
There was a lot of suffering in this book! Some of it was gratuitous, but overall I really like when fantasy doesn’t gloss over how fucking disgusting and dreary life could be in these historical settings. Battle half-planned half-freestyle, mud everywhere, cold as fuck, and everything sucks until the fight is over; it felt more accurate than if Vasya had ridden up in shiny armor with the perfect plan and giant allies. Still have complaints about the heavy-handed sexual assault & harassment throughout these books as an attempt at “historical accuracy” but … whatever
My biggest complaint that took this down a full star: The Bear actually liking Konstantin was… weird. I don’t love retroactive queering of villains, and this iteration of it felt especially shoehorned and strange. The author could have easily written in a few queer monks or cheyrti if they were that anxious to inject queerness after like 600+ pages of het-fest… loads of potential material given how willing they were to bend and freestyle mythology… Having the murderous mentally ill monk with a fetish for harming women he desires and the giant chaos bear that literally possessed and assaulted said monk be lightly gay for each other was ill-timed and ill-chosen. Don’t get me wrong, I live for queerness in historical fantasy but i thought we’d long ago established that throwing a little fruit into abusive, horrible villain characters was not an okay way to add diversity…
There was a lot of suffering in this book! Some of it was gratuitous, but overall I really like when fantasy doesn’t gloss over how fucking disgusting and dreary life could be in these historical settings. Battle half-planned half-freestyle, mud everywhere, cold as fuck, and everything sucks until the fight is over; it felt more accurate than if Vasya had ridden up in shiny armor with the perfect plan and giant allies. Still have complaints about the heavy-handed sexual assault & harassment throughout these books as an attempt at “historical accuracy” but … whatever
My biggest complaint that took this down a full star: The Bear actually liking Konstantin was… weird. I don’t love retroactive queering of villains, and this iteration of it felt especially shoehorned and strange. The author could have easily written in a few queer monks or cheyrti if they were that anxious to inject queerness after like 600+ pages of het-fest… loads of potential material given how willing they were to bend and freestyle mythology… Having the murderous mentally ill monk with a fetish for harming women he desires and the giant chaos bear that literally possessed and assaulted said monk be lightly gay for each other was ill-timed and ill-chosen. Don’t get me wrong, I live for queerness in historical fantasy but i thought we’d long ago established that throwing a little fruit into abusive, horrible villain characters was not an okay way to add diversity…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Death, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Torture, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit
aunessa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A very good last book of the trilogy, very challenging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Animal death
Moderate: Torture and Violence
roxyline's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
simp_librarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this series. Book 3 had a lot going on and I got a little bogged down by it, hence the four stars instead of five.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism, War, and Violence
remib's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence
lisa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was the perfect conclusion to the trilogy! It truly got better and better. I really liked the first book, loved the second and this one was just amazing.
I don't think I understand every theme that was explored in this book so I won't even try to analyse it. I just read this book for pleasure so I didn't make notes or anything. I can say that there is definitely loads of things to analyse and think about though.
I loved the way the myths were mixed with real events and people. It just feels like an alternative universe.
This series is officially one of my all time favourites. The writing is amazing, as is the storytelling. The characters range from good, to horrible, to amazing, to very morally ambiguous. The exploration of good & bad and if there even is such a thing in the first place was done so well. This book had a twist I truly did not expect. After the 3rd big chapter I thought everything was over (because in every other fantasy book, that is how the story ends), everything that came after was just so unexpected and amazing. I can't say more without saying too much and spoiling the book so I won't. This is truly a series you should know as little as possible about before reading.
Also I was surprised by how fresh this book felt. I have read so many fantasy books by now and I can enjoy a book while still realising how tropy and cliquee it is. This book felt like something new and exciting though.
I can only highly recommend this book! Especially if you are interested in russian folklore :)
I don't think I understand every theme that was explored in this book so I won't even try to analyse it. I just read this book for pleasure so I didn't make notes or anything. I can say that there is definitely loads of things to analyse and think about though.
I loved the way the myths were mixed with real events and people. It just feels like an alternative universe.
This series is officially one of my all time favourites. The writing is amazing, as is the storytelling. The characters range from good, to horrible, to amazing, to very morally ambiguous. The exploration of good & bad and if there even is such a thing in the first place was done so well. This book had a twist I truly did not expect. After the 3rd big chapter I thought everything was over (because in every other fantasy book, that is how the story ends), everything that came after was just so unexpected and amazing. I can't say more without saying too much and spoiling the book so I won't. This is truly a series you should know as little as possible about before reading.
Also I was surprised by how fresh this book felt. I have read so many fantasy books by now and I can enjoy a book while still realising how tropy and cliquee it is. This book felt like something new and exciting though.
I can only highly recommend this book! Especially if you are interested in russian folklore :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Body shaming, Death, Torture, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, and Sexism