WINTERNIGHT: Booksta Review
Original Instagram post: February 12, 2021
What’s the last book that just ticked all your book boxes?
As I was finishing up my reread of The Winternight Trilogy, I realized that these books did just that.
Slooooooow burn (aka 3 books long) romance? ✓
Ancient beliefs threatened by newer, shinier ones? ✓
Political and spiritual powers smashing up against each other until they explode? ✓
Folklore retellings? ✓ (in this case, Russian)
A fierce young woman challenging every societal expectation of a woman’s place? ✓
Magic rooted in the earth? ✓
Devils mistaken for gods and guardians denounced as demons? ✓
I could go on and on. This trilogy follows Vasilisa Petrovna, Vasya, and her family in medieval Russia, at a time when the bells of Christianity begin to drown out the voices of the cheryti. The old spirits that keep the land safe. In such a world, Vasya is condemned as a witch for her strangeness, for the fact that she can see the cheryti, for riding a horse as well as a man, for the magic inherent in her blood.
The cheyrti do not want to fade. The priests ring their bells with more fervor. Konstantin, a priest beloved by the people, gets tangled with a devilish power as he tries to free himself from temptation. Chaos threatens to break its chains. The Tartars loom on the horizon. The Winter King longs to be remembered. And Vasya spins at the center of this vortex, trying to find a way to stay true to her nature, save her people, and not break the heart of every person she loves.
The clashing of factions just crescendos and crescendos. And the characters who live and shout from the pages are so dimensional, it feels like you can touch them.
Katherine Arden writes beautifully, extending the reach of her world with every book.
And did I mention the horses? The beautiful horses so graceful they might fly? Horses that speak directly into your mind? Vasya and the Winter King await you in Baba Yaga’s forest. Go!
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Move over Percy, Annabeth, and Grover! You have competition for my favorite MG fantasy trio. Cassidy, Jacob, and Lara are all so vivid and curious and loyal and brave in the face of their fears. It’s hard not to love them.