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heathicusmaximus's review
The non-dialogue prose uses words that while phonetically understandable are hard to interpret while reading (think a southern dialect from Mississippi) and it frequently interrupts the story flow. Much of it is written from the perspective of one of the characters, like inner thoughts, and people think as they speak usually. As an audiobook it would be okay.
Also, I couldn't tell if characters were men or women most of the time, so it was hard to visualize them. I mainly gave up on it due to the language used. I read 70 pages of this middle-school level book in the time it took to get to 150 in any other high-school level fiction book. YMMV.
Also, I couldn't tell if characters were men or women most of the time, so it was hard to visualize them. I mainly gave up on it due to the language used. I read 70 pages of this middle-school level book in the time it took to get to 150 in any other high-school level fiction book. YMMV.
dromwald's review
5.0
Grimdark fantasy with a little bit of a twist - insomuch that there is a little bit of hope in there to balance out the relentless cruelty of the usual grimdark offering. Very interesting character creation, decent world-building and a very interesting system centred around the use of plants. Highly recommended.
steve_pagechewing's review
5.0
I had high expectations for this book, it's been one I've been looking forward to for a while. But I didn't expect it to have this much of an impact on me.
This is one of the few books I didn't mind reading the synopsis, it gives you just enough detail to tell you about the story without spoiling anything. We follow Teyr, who is on a mission to travel through the Circle, which is an untamed land full of warlords and warring clans she used to call home.
This book starts off with a bang. You know within the first few pages what kind of ride this is going to be. Or do you?
In this world herbs are almost like drugs. With the right recipe you can craft all sorts of brews that can do all sorts of things, good and bad.
I'm picky about action, especially in fantasy books. The action scenes in The Winter Road are quick, disorienting and visceral. During the fight scenes you feel like you're there and the world is spinning around you. There's a brutal, violent and moving story between these pages that are going to stick with me for a while. It's not just a story about the Circle and our main character Teyr.
There is lots of traveling, and you can feel the distance - it wears on you. The environment is oppressive. The danger is always present. You never feel safe. When things really get going the story takes some absolutely devastating twists and turns.
As the story unraveled I thought about life. About getting older and our bodies shutting down. About the passage of time, no matter how hard you try there will always be something in your way, some obstacle to overcome.
This is a story about life, history, time, getting older and love. When I flipped the last page of the book I kept thinking about the story, that's the kind of story I love.
Video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI6AOJLuwaY&t
SPOILER discussion with Adrian Selby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGoG8mZbxmw&t
This is one of the few books I didn't mind reading the synopsis, it gives you just enough detail to tell you about the story without spoiling anything. We follow Teyr, who is on a mission to travel through the Circle, which is an untamed land full of warlords and warring clans she used to call home.
This book starts off with a bang. You know within the first few pages what kind of ride this is going to be. Or do you?
In this world herbs are almost like drugs. With the right recipe you can craft all sorts of brews that can do all sorts of things, good and bad.
I'm picky about action, especially in fantasy books. The action scenes in The Winter Road are quick, disorienting and visceral. During the fight scenes you feel like you're there and the world is spinning around you. There's a brutal, violent and moving story between these pages that are going to stick with me for a while. It's not just a story about the Circle and our main character Teyr.
There is lots of traveling, and you can feel the distance - it wears on you. The environment is oppressive. The danger is always present. You never feel safe. When things really get going the story takes some absolutely devastating twists and turns.
As the story unraveled I thought about life. About getting older and our bodies shutting down. About the passage of time, no matter how hard you try there will always be something in your way, some obstacle to overcome.
This is a story about life, history, time, getting older and love. When I flipped the last page of the book I kept thinking about the story, that's the kind of story I love.
Video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI6AOJLuwaY&t
SPOILER discussion with Adrian Selby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGoG8mZbxmw&t
franciso's review against another edition
3.0
I'm still trying to decide how I felt about this. It was certainly haunting and a few weeks on I'm still thinking about some of it. The characters were strong and believable, and every twist felt like a stab in the gut (in the good way hah). But I still for some reason struggled to read it - I don't know if that was maybe the very dense style of writing that included a lot of explanations of slang and words being used, or maybe that the pace felt quite lurching, overly slow then followed by a rush of plot that I couldn't quite follow. I'd like to read more by Selby I think, but will let this one sit with me a while first.
zuly's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
_b_a_l_'s review
3.0
Bit of a mixed bag.
Fantastic premise what if its like Asterix & Obelix and all druids and magic potions, but hella grimdark. Its an interesting world and the story and characters are great.
Some of the worldbuilding is clunky and heavy handed though, and its not helped by some very weird pacing choices across multiple timelines.
Still, I had fun.
Fantastic premise what if its like Asterix & Obelix and all druids and magic potions, but hella grimdark. Its an interesting world and the story and characters are great.
Some of the worldbuilding is clunky and heavy handed though, and its not helped by some very weird pacing choices across multiple timelines.
Still, I had fun.
tmarthal's review
5.0
Hands down the best fantasy novel I’ve read in 2022. Lots of worldbuikding and setting in the history of the previous novel. Great characters, great setting, great plot and intrigue. If you like grimdark, this is a must read.
mattygroves's review
4.0
A violent story about an honorable mercenary and a brutal warlord. There is mysterious forest-dwelling race, and plant-based magic. The colorful mercenary slang verges on excessive. Portrayal of relationships and tragedy is more honest and nuanced than is usually found in the genre.
tezzarudge's review
2.0
Really struggled to follow at the start, but then just didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.