The Daughter of Redwinter by Ed McDonald – Review

Published: June 28, 2022

Publisher: Tor Books

Series: The Redwinter Chronicles #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 352 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Those who see the dead soon join them.

From the author of the critically-acclaimed Blackwing trilogy comes Ed McDonald’s Daughter of Redwinter, the first of a brilliant fantasy series about how one choice can change a universe.

Raine can see–and more importantly, speak–to the dead. It’s a wretched gift with a death sentence that has her doing many dubious things to save her skin. Seeking refuge with a deluded cult is her latest bad, survival-related decision. But her rare act of kindness–rescuing an injured woman in the snow–is even worse.

Because the woman has escaped from Redwinter, the fortress-monastery of the Draoihn, warrior magicians who answer to no king and who will stop at nothing to retrieve what she’s stolen. A battle, a betrayal, and a horrific revelation forces Raine to enter Redwinter. It becomes clear that her ability might save an entire nation.

Pity she might have to die for that to happen…

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Guys, we have a contender for best book of the year right here! Having previously enjoyed Ed McDonald’s Raven’s Mark trilogy, in all it’s weirdly disturbing goodness, I knew Daughter of Redwinter was going to be good at the very least. What I wasn’t quite expecting was for this book to consume my mind for three days. It was the highlight of my evenings – knowing I could spend a few hours lost in this imaginative world before bed. And then the ending left me unable to fall asleep because my brain was just churning with imagery.

Daughter of Redwinter starts off rather bleakly, for Raine and her strange company are besieged n an abandoned fortress in the frigid north. As Raine searches for a backdoor through the catacombs, she stumbles across a wounded woman named Kazia who possesses a bespelled paper. She risks much to rescue Kazia from the Draoihn warrior chasing her and unfortunately Kazia repays that kindness by unleashing a dark spirit which kills her and nearly does in the Draoihn Ulovar LacNaithe and his nephew Ovitus during the battle. Raine helps the Draoihn and in thanks, they take her back to Redwinter with them since she can be both a witness to the events and possibly a new apprentice,  as Raine has the ability to open what they call “gates”. What they must never know is that Raine can see the dead (which she later learns is the Sixth Gate) because it is an automatic death sentence.

Upon arriving at Redwinter it quickly becomes clear that this place can be intensely political,  especially between certain well-placed families. As I’m sure many of my readers have gathered over the years, I love some family rivalries, backstabbing, and nasty politics in my fantasy so this suited me quite well. Raine’s loyalties are divided though, because she does realize if her secret is discovered she’ll be brutally killed by the people who took her in and there is a group of people in the nearby city who share her ability to see the dead who’ve reached out to her. Watching Raine’s growth from being this scared girl who wasn’t in control of her own destiny to becoming more confident in her own skin and striving to become someone with power was fascinating. There was no instant gratification and she wasn’t dealt all winning hands- the strive to achieve felt quite organic because it wasn’t perfectly laid out. And lest I forget to mention one of the best parts, the slowly building friendships between Raine and the apprentices were marvelous. There wasn’t a load of hatred or resentment due to status or her being a newcomer, she just found some people she genuinely liked and they became friends!

Sometimes I feel like I just babble when I come across a book that truly sweeps me away because I’m just so damn enthusiastic about everything! But this book had it all – likable characters, badass warriors, epic magic, and loads and loads of secrets and ancient history. Daughter of Redwinter will most definitely be on my list of best books of 2022 and it has well and truly earned the 5 star rating. As a matter of fact, I’m headed off to pre-order the signed edition from The Broken Binding so I can support my new favorite book shop and a favorite author!