Bravo, Tony (November 7, 2013). "Anne and Christopher Rice: Fall In Love With This Mother-Son Author Team". KQED. San Francisco, California: Northern California Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12 . Retrieved June 3, 2014.

But his greatest challenge comes in the person of his beautiful niece Shalindra, grown to womanhood in the shadow of exile and dedicated to the cause of bringing her brother Cerrov—the rightful heir—to the throne. Seized and brought to her uncle’s mountain stronghold, Shalindra is both repelled and fascinated by Varis, dark master of the dead, ruler of lost souls. As winter looms ahead, their encounter threatens to shape for both of them a destiny far different—and far more dangerous—than either could ever have imagined.The author’s notes at the end are welcome and Jones informs us of the scarcity of sources on Calais and some of the proceedings covered in the book. He does a great job of filling in the blanks. In all honesty though, the characters are the stars of the show – these books would still be just as good if the places they march to and the names of the Kings and nations were completely made up. The characters shine strongly enough for it not to matter how closely Jones follows the history. It remains impressive all the same how he has adapted the gaps and the work he has put in with the sources available to make it feel genuine. If you’re going to read The Wolves of Winter, my advice would be to brace yourself to read something you’ve already read and loved. You will be caught up in the uniqueness of the setting, but, eventually, the dialogue becomes more and more stilted and the characters become caricatures. It’s as though Johnson rushed through the second and third acts of the book. Again, it’s a bit of a shame because the start of the novel is interesting and compelling, and keeps you reading to find out what’s going to happen next. In that sense, The Wolves of Winter is successful in the smallness of places: surveying the scene of a dystopian Yukon is breathtaking. But when the bullets and arrows start flying, the novel becomes a bit clichéd.

The first half of this book is something of a mind twist. It isn’t that Varis path is trippy or random or hard to follow, it is actually pretty strait forward. The problem is Varis isn’t a complex character but we were given an opportunity to think he is. As he starts a single minded campaign to eliminate the entire line of succession that lays in front of him (with the aid of the trapped spirits his new magic allows him to control) and it is impossible to turn away. This is the bullied young man we thought we would be rooting for? Oh god, he wouldn’t….oh shit he just did. What is he going to do next!? The two things that I have as critiques are things that are more personal preference than anything, which is what resulted in a 4 star rating. still - it’s a fine book, and my complaints are really just the personal preferences of someone who reads a lot of stuff like this and has seen pretty much every variation on the theme. this one is particularly strong in its descriptions and atmosphere-building of the natural world; the silence of the wilderness and the isolation and just the nothingness is great. there’s a real presence to it that’s profoundly haunting. honestly, you write like that, you don't need the bells and whistles of the world ending to flesh out a harrowing survival story. nature's already scary enough if you're unwary. Thieving, asshole Conrad. Not only likely but, based on the boot prints and snakelike trails that his sled made through the bloody Rorschach marks in the snow, it was the only option. It had snowed early that morning, maybe an hour before the sun crested the hills. A thin dusting had already settled over his prints. He got up early, you had to give Conrad that much. Stealing didn’t seem like him, though. He was an ass, no doubt about it, but a thief? Brilliant, brutal and bloody . . .It’s a grim and grisly tale vividly told, as Jones deftly unravels the cynical reasons for the continuation of the endless conflict, and the miseries it brings to the ordinary medieval soldier.” — Daily Mail (UK)

Table of Contents

After a nuclear war AND a superflu wipe out most of the planet’s human population, Lynn and some of her surviving family and friends band together in the snowy wilderness of the Canadian Yukon. Their difficult if mostly peaceful existence is disrupted when a mysterious, reclusive stranger named Jax wanders through the vicinity, bringing a dangerous governmental agency known as Immunity on his tail. Lynn, of course, falls for super-strong super-fast Jax, whose most marketable skill is murdering people. The Doctor laments " Vikings. Again!" He also finds himself mistaken for Odin again. ( TV: The Girl Who Died) Bill remarks how the Vikings do not have horns. This is an in-joke reference to criticism levelled at The Girl Who Died, which featured stereotypical (and historically inaccurate) horn-wearing Vikings. The Vikings seen in this story are depicted closer to how they appear in the popular TV series Vikings. Shadows of the world before have found her tiny community—most prominently in the enigmatic figure of Jax, who brings with him dark secrets of the past and sets in motion a chain of events that will call Lynn to a role she never imagined.

Varis’ feelings for his brother, and his family in general, come into play when he encounters necromancy for the first time. We’re allotted the journey from beginning to end, the vast majority of the novel centered on Varis, and Volsky’s take on necromancy was utterly enthralling. Any story I’ve read employing necromancy before this one merely scratched the surface; Volsky plumes the magic to its depths through events and emotional reactions until we not only fully believe in sorcery, we understand it, too, to a degree. THE WOLVES OF WINTER by Teryll Johnson - Thank you so much to Scribner for providing my free copy - all opinions are my own. I believe this will be one of those reads where the reader either loves it, or hates it. There isn't much room for middle ground. Because some of its traits are so extreme, they may make the entire plot off-putting, or, entirely engaging. While I felt strongly pulled to love this book, I couldn't due to its negative points mentioned earlier.The story is very atmospheric, well-written and totally engaging throughout. For me (did not seem YA) and was unputdownable. A possible series? Hopefully!