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A review by kcrawfish
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
5.0
It’s over :’(
This book was atmospheric. That seems to be Arden’s strong point, that and ancient Russian folklore.
What a fitting ending to the series! The Bear and the Nightingale and Midnight and the Death God himself; all of the seams of the story weave back together, and we’re treated to a Vasya, grown, battered, beaten, but sure of herself.
Vasya is a powerful protagonist, and we get satisfying, powerful villains to counter her, that I loved to hate. I would physically shake with anger when some characters were on the page. The priest specifically -_- Vasya is rising up against the age old struggles of the world: mob mentality, fear, violence, blind hatred that stems from what people have been told rather than what they know.
And in the midst of these big ideas and concepts, there’s magic and monsters, and the book doesn’t lose its grip on that. Nothing can kill a series faster than “preachy writing” and Arden (at least for me) doesn’t fall into that trap.
And after some vanquishing, the story turns into Vasya becoming part of something, a struggle, bigger than herself.
I never cry, but I cried in this book. I must give credit where credit is due, Arden knows how to tug on her reader in painful ways.
Truly this was a fun series. I think it could have worked better as 2 books (mostly because of where the first book ends), but wow, relaxing into the world of Russian Fairytales and witches has been an amazing ride.
This book was atmospheric. That seems to be Arden’s strong point, that and ancient Russian folklore.
What a fitting ending to the series! The Bear and the Nightingale and Midnight and the Death God himself; all of the seams of the story weave back together, and we’re treated to a Vasya, grown, battered, beaten, but sure of herself.
Vasya is a powerful protagonist, and we get satisfying, powerful villains to counter her, that I loved to hate. I would physically shake with anger when some characters were on the page. The priest specifically -_- Vasya is rising up against the age old struggles of the world: mob mentality, fear, violence, blind hatred that stems from what people have been told rather than what they know.
And in the midst of these big ideas and concepts, there’s magic and monsters, and the book doesn’t lose its grip on that. Nothing can kill a series faster than “preachy writing” and Arden (at least for me) doesn’t fall into that trap.
And after some vanquishing, the story turns into Vasya becoming part of something, a struggle, bigger than herself.
I never cry, but I cried in this book. I must give credit where credit is due, Arden knows how to tug on her reader in painful ways.
Truly this was a fun series. I think it could have worked better as 2 books (mostly because of where the first book ends), but wow, relaxing into the world of Russian Fairytales and witches has been an amazing ride.