Saturday, November 28, 2020

THE WINTER OF THE WITCH



The Winter of the Witch, Katherine Arden, Del Rey, 2019, 354 pp

In this final volume of her Winternight Trilogy, Katherine Arden goes ever more deep into the conflicts that have powered all three books.

Vasilisa Pretrovna first appeared in The Bear and the Nightingale as a young girl who loved exploring the forest near her village in medieval Russia. She can see and communicate with the spirits who protect her house, yard and forest from evil. But her devout stepmother is determined that she either marry or be locked away in a convent. At 13, Vasilisa escapes to Moscow in search of her brother.

In The Girl in the Tower, she disguises herself as a boy and on her beloved horse, a magical creature himself, becomes involved in the struggle to save Moscow from forces both tribal and mysterious. These adventures attract the attention of the Grand Prince.

The Winter of the Witch brings Vasilisa into her full powers. She has been denounced as a witch, she has been targeted by the wicked Bear demon, and must flee Moscow to save her life. Her purpose though is to save Moscow and to unite the conflicting worlds of Christianity and the old spirits. Her true love, the Frost King, not even human himself, comes to her aid as do many of the spirits.

So in the final book there is more danger than ever for this brave young woman, there is war in which Moscow is outnumbered by its enemies, and she embraces all her powers. Thus her struggle is both external and internal. Despite horrific losses she prevails.

"What did we gain?" she asks the Frost King.

"A future," he replies. "For men will say in later years that this was the battle that made Rus into a nation of one people."

And the spirit world? Read the entire trilogy and find out! 

25 comments:

  1. Just out of pure curiosity - how many hours a day do you spend reading? I am impressed with the sheer number of books you review, and the range of genres. This is a formidable task by any standards, and one which you do so well.

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    1. A legitimate question, David. I would say I average at least three hours a day reading. My goal, not always met depending on what I am reading, is 100 pages a day. It is my idea of retirement bliss, because I can read as much as I want without guilt or other obligations.

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  2. The entire series sounds so good. I like the idea of an individual going into the forest and having a special relationship with things that dwell there. I think that type of story has an appeal to a lot of people.

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  3. What an interesting concept for this book and for the series. I've not read any of these books but I'm adding them to my already crowded TBR list.

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    1. I am sure they will be in good company! All the books on my crowded TRB lists and piles seem to get along just great.

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  4. three hours a day sounds about right. i don't think i do quite that much, but around that area, mostly... and this sounds like a nice fantasy for politically frazzled nerves.

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    1. It was and I am glad you find my math correct!

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  5. This was an amazing trilogy to read. I wasn't convinced by the first book, but still glad that I kept reading. This is really like nothing I've ever read :)

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    1. It sure was. I am glad we both enjoyed it so much.

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  6. My aim is 100 pages a day too. It means, roughly, that I'll be reading 100 books a week as the average page count is around 350 pages each book. I used to read 100 books a year back in my teens but the books were a lot smaller back then. Retirement definitely gives you more reading time. Next year I hope/plan to read more books in the 450+ page range. I'll definitely need to that more often if I want to reduce my slowly increasing book review pile!

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    1. My first retired year I read the most books ever since I have been keeping track: 160 books. I did the math on the page counts and found it broke down to 140 pages a day and 3 books a week. I have yet to top that! Yes, that review pile haunts me but I just plug away at it. Reading a 450+ page book does give me some time to catch up on the reviews.

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    2. LOL - I did actually mean 100 books a YEAR, not a WEEK! If only!!!! But just imagine the review pile then! [lol] I think my one day page read record recently is at least 160 pages but that's pretty unusual. I did read 'The Odessa File' in a single day in my youth but I did nearly burn my eyes out doing it. I doubt if I could manage that these days.... I'm definitely on the look out for longer books though and I do have 'Game of Thrones' and 'The Expanse' series of books to work through [grin].

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    3. I figured that is what you meant. I used to love that feeling of eyeballs burning after a long reading day. I suppose I should watch that at my age? Long books are usually the greatest IMHO.

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    4. after giving it some thought, i guess i don't read that much... bicycle riding and crossword puzzles and scrabble take up quite a bit of time... oh, the responsibilities... (of attending to all those things, haha)

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  7. Oooo, the Winternight Trilogy sounds wonderful! I'll add it to my ever growing reading wishlist.

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  8. I loved this whole trilogy - the Russian setting, the characters from myths and the relationship between Vasya and Morozko are all wonderful. I'm glad you enjoyed it too!

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    1. Yes, I loved it so much! Someday when I am feeling blue or bored, I just might read them all again.

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  9. I need to read this series! It sounds so amazing!

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  10. I like the whole Russian myth / medieval aspect of the series. That is pretty cool.

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