Traitor of Redwinter by Ed McDonald – Review

Published: October 24, 2023

Publisher: Tor Books

Series: The Redwinter Chronicles #2

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 448 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 5 Stars

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

Synopsis:
Traitor of Redwinter is the second in Ed McDonald’s Redwinter Chronicles, full of shady politics, militant monks, ancient powers… and a young woman navigating a world in which no one is quite what they seem.

The power of the Sixth Gate grows stronger within Raine each day―to control it, she needs lessons no living Draoihn can teach her. Her fledgling friendships are tested to a breaking point as she tries to face what she has become, and her master Ulovar is struck by a mysterious sickness that slowly saps the vitality from his body, leaving Raine to face her growing darkness alone. There’s only one chance to turn the tide of power surging within her―to learn the secrets the Draoihn themselves purged from the world.

The book can teach her. She doesn’t know where she found it, or when exactly, but its ever changing pages whisper power that has lain untouched for centuries.

As the king’s health fails and the north suffers in the grip of famine, rebellious lords hunger for the power of the Crown, backed by powers that would see the Crowns undone. Amidst this growing threat, Raine’s former friend Ovitus brings a powerful new alliance, raising his status and power of his own. He professes support for the heir to the throne even as others would see him take it for himself, and desperately craves Raine’s forgiveness―or her submission.

But the grandmaster has her own plans for Raine, and the deadly training she has been given has not been conducted carelessly. In Raine she seeks to craft a weapon to launch right into her enemy’s heart, as Redwinter seeks to hold onto power.

Amidst threats old and new, Raine must learn the secrets promised by the book, magic promised by a queen with a crown of feathers. A queen to whom Raine has promised more than she can afford to give…

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I genuinely love when a highly anticipated sequel blows me away just as much as the previous installment did! Just as with Daughter of Redwinter, Traitor of Redwinter will be making it on to my Best Books of 2023 list because I absolutely loved it. This book did not suffer from the dreaded ‘middle book syndrome’ and proved to be just as engagingly plotted as the first and it left me reading late into the night. 

Raine, who was first introduced to us as a fearful and lonely young woman trying to escape a demon attack, is now an apprentice of the Draoihn at Redwinter. She’s accessed the First Gate, she’s made friends with the other apprentices, and she’s even garnered some renown for slaying a traitorous Draoihn of the Fourth Gate. These successes and the semblance of stability Raine now has don’t change the fact that she fears the discovery of her other abilities. Raine can access the forbidden Sixth Gate, which is essentially the gate of death and gives some incredibly powerful abilities that would see her killed if discovered. 

Because of her fear of discovery and the guilt she feels for having killed with her power, Raine begins to pull away from her friends because she knows she’s turning into a monster. It’s actually quite sad to see Sanvaunt, Liara, and Esher continually reach out to her while she makes excuses and drinks away the memories and guilt. Raine really hates herself and somewhat understandably doesn’t want to drag those she cares about down with her when she feels that discovery is inevitable. Couple this with the fact that Ulover is weakening and Ovitus has returned from Brannlant with a beautiful new bride and an unsettling new confidence and you’ve got a recipe for disaster brewing.

Yes, this installment is full of emotional turmoil and harmful coping mechanisms, but it’s also full of persistent friendship, death magic, and political turmoil, which I love even more than emotional turmoil. There are also some way cool battle scenes where Raine gets to show off some of that magic she’s secretly been learning about from the Ashtai grimoire. All in all, Traitor of Redwinter was another incredible installment into what is turning out to be one of my favorite new fantasy series. I can’t wait to get my hands on the third book after that ending, which seems to have opened up a whole new layer of the world!