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aksmith92's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Thank you, Katherine Arden, for writing a wintery and blustery book so I can sit in my warm house while it's cold and snowy outside and read my little heart out.
The setup: Vasya needs to go into hiding. The Girl in the Tower, the second book in the series, left off with those in Moscow in a rage after a fire nearly destroyed their home, and they believe a witch to be the culprit. Vasya is now left with one goal only: to care for her family. Her brother Sasha, her sister Olga, and Olga's daughter Marya are all in Moscow, piecing together what happened the night before with Vasya, the frost demon, and Kaschei.
However, those in Moscow want someone accountable for their suffering, and Vasya is an easy target. We follow Vasya as she faces many obstacles, including an angry mob, a vengeful demon, and a forgetful ally. She feels the weight of not only Moscow on her shoulders but all of Rus' and her beloved chyerti - the spirits she has called family her whole life. Can she bring together her people of Rus' - those who vehemently believe in the one God, and those of the spirit world, who seem to fade the more people forget about them and move on to another religion? Can she keep her family safe from the Tatars, those trying to take the rule of Rus'? The world seems to weigh heavy on Vasya's shoulders with these questions, and we watch her continuously battle for peace, not only for those in her country but for herself.
What I loved: Katherine Arden is a phenomenal writer to me - her work is unique, poetic, and her version of atmospheric. She takes 14th-century historical Rus' customs and somehow integrates them into her writing, both from a prose perspective and a literal historical take (one battle scene near the end is essentially a retelling of an actual battle in 1380 Rus' - read the author's note at the end, it's pretty lovely!). The intersection between fantasy and historical fiction continues to amaze me, and it is one of the most vital reasons why I can't help but feel this book is so fantastic.
As typical in this series, I loved Vasya and her strength, resilience, and grit. While the poor thing went through it in this book (even more so than the others), she was incredible. She was strong, powerful, and intelligent. Yet, she was imperfect and flawed. She had to continue making incredibly challenging decisions and understood that only some things would always work out. I think that is what I loved most about this book: Vasya learned from those around her, her environment, and herself to make better decisions in the future instead of just ~always knowing~ what to do, like other fantasy books I have read. I loved her character and what she tried to do for both the spirit world and Rus'.
I also thoroughly enjoyed many of the other characters - Sasha, Olga, Morozko (I'm glad we dove a little bit deeper into his character on this one, albeit I was still itching for more!), the Grand Prince Dmitrii, and I just loved Polunochnitsa (Lady Midnight) and the Bear. I had no intention of laughing during this book because it seemed so bleak and dark, but Polunochnitsa and the Bear truly helped provide (very minimal) comedic relief and were much more layered than I had anticipated (especially the Bear). My favorite secondary character was Ded Grib, the chyerti, a lil mushroom. Konstantin continued to be a unique, morally grey character that I also learned to enjoy, even if he was the worst. He was complicated, and you couldn't help but empathize with him.
Somehow, Arden did a brilliant job of making all characters nuanced and beautiful while juggling two plots without losing anything. I was so impressed by how much Arden could put into this under-400-page book because it packed such a punch, but it wasn't overwhelming. I just loved it. And somehow, like the first two, I read this under some snowy skies - something I didn't think would happen in early March, and I read this through Libby.
I'm a sucker for some political intrigue which was why I enjoyed the second book in this trilogy so much, but I liked this one even more because of the magical elements in it - less politics, more chyerti. I was impressed that Arden could do both so well.
Anything that could have made this a 6-star read? While I rated this a five because of Arden's beautiful ability to intertwine so many interesting plots and characters and the overall unique storytelling of Russia's history and Russian fairytales, this was imperfect, and others may have some criticism for it. For one, 90% of this book seemed to have no hope. Anything wrong that could happen seemed to have occurred, even if there were a few quick wins in the plot throughout the process. It was dreary. I swear that Vasya had eight broken ribs throughout this book and plenty of ample scars and concussions. It was hard to read because it just felt so BAD. Because of this constant dread, I felt the book read just a bit choppy, especially in the middle.
However, I had a blast with this and shed a few tears at the end. While sad, there was finally a dash of goodness and hope, and the ending was quite fitting. I look forward to reading more from Katherine Arden in the future!
The setup: Vasya needs to go into hiding. The Girl in the Tower, the second book in the series, left off with those in Moscow in a rage after a fire nearly destroyed their home, and they believe a witch to be the culprit. Vasya is now left with one goal only: to care for her family. Her brother Sasha, her sister Olga, and Olga's daughter Marya are all in Moscow, piecing together what happened the night before with Vasya, the frost demon, and Kaschei.
However, those in Moscow want someone accountable for their suffering, and Vasya is an easy target. We follow Vasya as she faces many obstacles, including an angry mob, a vengeful demon, and a forgetful ally. She feels the weight of not only Moscow on her shoulders but all of Rus' and her beloved chyerti - the spirits she has called family her whole life. Can she bring together her people of Rus' - those who vehemently believe in the one God, and those of the spirit world, who seem to fade the more people forget about them and move on to another religion? Can she keep her family safe from the Tatars, those trying to take the rule of Rus'? The world seems to weigh heavy on Vasya's shoulders with these questions, and we watch her continuously battle for peace, not only for those in her country but for herself.
What I loved: Katherine Arden is a phenomenal writer to me - her work is unique, poetic, and her version of atmospheric. She takes 14th-century historical Rus' customs and somehow integrates them into her writing, both from a prose perspective and a literal historical take (one battle scene near the end is essentially a retelling of an actual battle in 1380 Rus' - read the author's note at the end, it's pretty lovely!). The intersection between fantasy and historical fiction continues to amaze me, and it is one of the most vital reasons why I can't help but feel this book is so fantastic.
As typical in this series, I loved Vasya and her strength, resilience, and grit. While the poor thing went through it in this book (even more so than the others), she was incredible. She was strong, powerful, and intelligent. Yet, she was imperfect and flawed. She had to continue making incredibly challenging decisions and understood that only some things would always work out. I think that is what I loved most about this book: Vasya learned from those around her, her environment, and herself to make better decisions in the future instead of just ~always knowing~ what to do, like other fantasy books I have read. I loved her character and what she tried to do for both the spirit world and Rus'.
I also thoroughly enjoyed many of the other characters - Sasha, Olga, Morozko (I'm glad we dove a little bit deeper into his character on this one, albeit I was still itching for more!), the Grand Prince Dmitrii, and I just loved Polunochnitsa (Lady Midnight) and the Bear. I had no intention of laughing during this book because it seemed so bleak and dark, but Polunochnitsa and the Bear truly helped provide (very minimal) comedic relief and were much more layered than I had anticipated (especially the Bear). My favorite secondary character was Ded Grib, the chyerti, a lil mushroom. Konstantin continued to be a unique, morally grey character that I also learned to enjoy, even if he was the worst. He was complicated, and you couldn't help but empathize with him.
Somehow, Arden did a brilliant job of making all characters nuanced and beautiful while juggling two plots without losing anything. I was so impressed by how much Arden could put into this under-400-page book because it packed such a punch, but it wasn't overwhelming. I just loved it. And somehow, like the first two, I read this under some snowy skies - something I didn't think would happen in early March, and I read this through Libby.
I'm a sucker for some political intrigue which was why I enjoyed the second book in this trilogy so much, but I liked this one even more because of the magical elements in it - less politics, more chyerti. I was impressed that Arden could do both so well.
Anything that could have made this a 6-star read? While I rated this a five because of Arden's beautiful ability to intertwine so many interesting plots and characters and the overall unique storytelling of Russia's history and Russian fairytales, this was imperfect, and others may have some criticism for it. For one, 90% of this book seemed to have no hope. Anything wrong that could happen seemed to have occurred, even if there were a few quick wins in the plot throughout the process. It was dreary. I swear that Vasya had eight broken ribs throughout this book and plenty of ample scars and concussions. It was hard to read because it just felt so BAD. Because of this constant dread, I felt the book read just a bit choppy, especially in the middle.
However, I had a blast with this and shed a few tears at the end. While sad, there was finally a dash of goodness and hope, and the ending was quite fitting. I look forward to reading more from Katherine Arden in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Rape, and Sexual content
Minor: Child death, Vomit, and Death of parent
Child death/death of parent = mentioning previous books, not on page. Rape is not detailed or even implied, but there are threats of it. Sexual assault and harassment is on page but not heavily descriptive or long.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: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy
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, Violence, and War
fatherprozac's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was probably the last thing I expected from the events of the first book. Truthfully, I had wanted Vasya to run away from it all and travel the world like she planned to. I admit I was disappointed by the second book's decision to turn inward toward her siblings. I think that disappointment probably puts a bias on my mediocre experience with this last installment. This third story is a good one and I did enjoy my time reading it, but it suffers a little from treating Vasya as untouchable and some questionable ethics.
We are pretty much outright told that no man can resist Vasya's wild/unique charm; while that's something seen in the behavior of other men in the previous books, making it some kind of general rule that gets her out of more than one life threatening situation feels pretty cheap. I also don't feel great, or even good at all, about a 17 year old feeling forced by a dire situation to have sex with an ancient winter god. I was already iffy about their relationship but this book pushed it from questionable to straight up ick for me. Not loving that the only queer relationship in the entire series is between the two villains either. Finally, if we're going to undo some of Vasya's greatest development into adulthood by bringing Solovey back, at least give us more time with him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail