In this ambitious debut novel, Cameron Sullivan takes the classic werewolf story and flips it on its head.
Professor Sebastian Grave, with his inner demon Sarmodel, risked his life to hunt the Beast 20 years ago, and now the beast has returned and the killings in Gévaudan have resumed. When Sebastian is called back to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne – a man with whom he shares a dark secret – Sebastian cannot refuse the offer to finish the Beast and reconcile with his former lover. Twenty years has changed Gévaudan, its people suffering in the misery left behind by The Red Winter, and is no longer what it once was.
Sullivan uses multiple timelines to explore the history between the Beast and Sebastian, while revealing the effect one’s choices can have on the future. The shift between time periods did make the narrative hard to follow at times, especially in the beginning, but the way Sullivan approaches each timeline using writing and style techniques makes each storyline unique and engaging.
The Red Winter is a dark fantasy novel that isn’t afraid to describe the gore and viciousness of the Beast’s killings in detail, which gave me a physical reaction on multiple occasions – something rare for me. Sullivan provides a much-needed reprieve from the brutality, balancing it out with the beauty of the arcane and fantastical elements of the novel.
The complex characters, interesting historical fantasy setting, and engaging writing put this novel in my top five. I am eagerly waiting to read more of Sullivan’s works in the future.
Reviewed by Aimee Fletcher
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cameron Sullivan was born in Perth, Western Australia. He grew up with the dark fantasy and horror icons of the 80s and went on to study classics and creative writing at the University of Western Australia. After several years working and studying in Italy and the UK, he returned to Australia and settled in Melbourne, which is the best place for Australians who actually enjoy the winter. He works as a copywriter and will easily lose a weekend to a good book, a new recipe or games of any kind, from tabletop DnD to pub trivia.
Visit Cameron Sullivan’s author website here.
0 Comments