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A review by wouterk
The Advent of Winter by Dom McDermott
5.0
I have had so much fun reading it. Of course it does not challenge the 5-star novels or series that get hundreds of pages prep, but as story collections go this is definitely a 5-star read. My deepest respect for all these long form authors who manage to make such concise and engaging short stories. If you do not have it and get the chance to get this book or you have not read it yet, please do!
The Advent of Winter is a wonderful collection of stories that has kept me warm and excited throughout December. Thanks to Dom and all the authors for creating this fun gift to count down towards the holidays. I originally had a rating for each story, but I see no added value to sharing them.
That being said, I loved almost all of them. And a bunch of the authors are now part of my TBR. Disclaimer: The length of the mini review says nothing about how much I liked it. I just vary a lot in elaborateness. Also, it is really first thoughts. One time I'm all about evoked emotions, other times it is about the writing technique or about the story itself.
The Patchskin Woman by Cal Black:
A great fairytale-style story with magical animals and the queen of winter. A true cozy winter tale which also explores the relationship between humans and nature.
Rite of the Tundra by Jim Wilbourne:
This story evoked a lot of emotion as I caught myself at being unreasonable intolerant towards the incompetence of youth. A beautiful coming-of-age story for so few pages.
Innocence Lost by H.C. Newell:
A riveting emotional story about dark and the heroic things we do, to protect the most important things in life. Great use of current and past perspectives of the same event, to create emotional connection and suprises. Evocative prose. I am not a visual reader but I got visuals.
Frosted Embers by L.L. Mcrae:
An action-packed heroic adventure. I'm unsure what I can say without people feeling I’m spoiling it. I loved the cool dragon-fire based magic system and the dark threat to the city the story takes place in. Also, the conflicting emotions that must be going through the main characters head. It somehow reminded me both of story beats from Full Metal Alchemist and Attack on Titan. It also evoked an association with our own reality, where we try to keep afloat an ever-consuming society in a world with limited resources. So all in all, it packed quite a punch for such a short story.
Soulshard by Thiago Abdalla:
A great and tense story in a fascinating world with demon hunters. Stakes are high. I cannot say more for spoilers sake, but the plot is very engaging. Great magic system. Would love to dwell more in this world (as a reader...definitely as a reader).
Blood fire by Palmer Pickering:
The first story I had some trouble to connect with. A story worthwhile though about a mother in a dire situation to protect herself and her children. I think, for me, the urgency and story beats were just a bit to short to really impact me. Very awesome magic. And it did make me think about our willingness to do awful things to protect ourselves.
Cold Silver for Souls by Tori Tecken:
The first story in first-person perspective, which gives this story an awesome hard-boiled feeling. Because I watch Tori’s Youtube videos I kind of imagined her being the main character somehow. A very imaginative world with a very interesting revelation at the end.
Border Crossing by A.R. Witham:
A chilling story of dysfunctional family in a scary world. What I loved was that the author describes a world with an icy cold place and a warm summery place across the border and that the latter is the dangerous one. In this story cold is both the safe place and maybe also a bit scary…
A cold broad river by Tim Hardie:
A tale that is reminiscent of the man with the shovel or the woman with the pigeons in Home Alone but with elements of ‘It’. Great tension and mystery in this one. I was very engrossed in this tale.
The Chrysmaws Case by Christer Lende:
A catchy mystery for two beast hunters. Has both a gothic vibe as well as a detective vibe. The author knows how to raise questions that the reader wants an answer to. So as I write this mini review I’m looking into the series…well done
The Advent of Winter is a wonderful collection of stories that has kept me warm and excited throughout December. Thanks to Dom and all the authors for creating this fun gift to count down towards the holidays. I originally had a rating for each story, but I see no added value to sharing them.
That being said, I loved almost all of them. And a bunch of the authors are now part of my TBR. Disclaimer: The length of the mini review says nothing about how much I liked it. I just vary a lot in elaborateness. Also, it is really first thoughts. One time I'm all about evoked emotions, other times it is about the writing technique or about the story itself.
The Patchskin Woman by Cal Black:
A great fairytale-style story with magical animals and the queen of winter. A true cozy winter tale which also explores the relationship between humans and nature.
Rite of the Tundra by Jim Wilbourne:
This story evoked a lot of emotion as I caught myself at being unreasonable intolerant towards the incompetence of youth. A beautiful coming-of-age story for so few pages.
Innocence Lost by H.C. Newell:
A riveting emotional story about dark and the heroic things we do, to protect the most important things in life. Great use of current and past perspectives of the same event, to create emotional connection and suprises. Evocative prose. I am not a visual reader but I got visuals.
Frosted Embers by L.L. Mcrae:
An action-packed heroic adventure. I'm unsure what I can say without people feeling I’m spoiling it. I loved the cool dragon-fire based magic system and the dark threat to the city the story takes place in. Also, the conflicting emotions that must be going through the main characters head. It somehow reminded me both of story beats from Full Metal Alchemist and Attack on Titan. It also evoked an association with our own reality, where we try to keep afloat an ever-consuming society in a world with limited resources. So all in all, it packed quite a punch for such a short story.
Soulshard by Thiago Abdalla:
A great and tense story in a fascinating world with demon hunters. Stakes are high. I cannot say more for spoilers sake, but the plot is very engaging. Great magic system. Would love to dwell more in this world (as a reader...definitely as a reader).
Blood fire by Palmer Pickering:
The first story I had some trouble to connect with. A story worthwhile though about a mother in a dire situation to protect herself and her children. I think, for me, the urgency and story beats were just a bit to short to really impact me. Very awesome magic. And it did make me think about our willingness to do awful things to protect ourselves.
Cold Silver for Souls by Tori Tecken:
The first story in first-person perspective, which gives this story an awesome hard-boiled feeling. Because I watch Tori’s Youtube videos I kind of imagined her being the main character somehow. A very imaginative world with a very interesting revelation at the end.
Border Crossing by A.R. Witham:
A chilling story of dysfunctional family in a scary world. What I loved was that the author describes a world with an icy cold place and a warm summery place across the border and that the latter is the dangerous one. In this story cold is both the safe place and maybe also a bit scary…
A cold broad river by Tim Hardie:
A tale that is reminiscent of the man with the shovel or the woman with the pigeons in Home Alone but with elements of ‘It’. Great tension and mystery in this one. I was very engrossed in this tale.
The Chrysmaws Case by Christer Lende:
A catchy mystery for two beast hunters. Has both a gothic vibe as well as a detective vibe. The author knows how to raise questions that the reader wants an answer to. So as I write this mini review I’m looking into the series…well done