A review by actualresultsmayvary
The Winter Knights by Paul Stewart, Chris Riddell

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The world and scene setting in this book are so wonderful that you can almost read it just for that.
However, the plot of this one was quite silly and simplistic and I didn't appreciate the characterisation of Vilnix. He was just too unrealistically evil with no sensible motivation.
I also thought that there was a weird message about class as all of the characters from Undertown were bad and the posh characters were good and Vilnix's frustration with their privilege is supposed to be taken as silly and unreasonable. The murder of so many Untertowners who were rebelling for a better life was portrayed like a positive thing. I think these messages are particularly concerning in a book aimed at children!
I also don't like that Quint is amassing enemies which are waiting for him in the shadows, although the fact that the Gloamgozer didn't reappear in this book is interesting.