I know there are quite a few reviews of Winterbirth floating around the net, and they seem to be mixed. More of them are positive than negative, but some have complained that the story isn't overly original, and that the story started slow. I partially agree with these sentiments, but I still really enjoyed the story.
The plot: The plot of the story is rather common in this genre. There is war, and due to the war (battles), a teenager (Orisian) becomes one of the most important characters of the story. A lot of the narrative follows Orisian in exile, as he flees his home city and tries to stay alive and look for refuge. There are no clear good and bad guys...though the Black Road could be categorized as the villain, and the "good guys" would be the True Bloods. The Orisian story is part of the overall war between these two bloods. Long ago, they fought, and the Black Road was defeated and chased north. As is true of most wars, this war had a religious basis. The world is currently godless, and the Black Road believes that every person's destiny is already written before they are born. They also believe that until they convert everyone to their religion, the gods will remain absent. So, the primary goal of the Black Road is to convert the remaining people (mostly the True Blood lands) to their beliefs, so that the gods will return to the world. The True Bloods have different beliefs, and are mainly fighting among each other. This gives the Black Road an opening, as the True Blood lands in the north are at their weakest in many years. There isnt a lot of magic in the story at all, with just one race of people (halfbreeds) able to do much magically..and this is mostly mind related. Although there are also other elements to the story, this gives you enough of an idea about whats going on in Winterbirth (the first book of a trilogy).
Winterbirth is often classified as gritty, an increasing trend in a lot of fantasy books. While as I have mentioned I am not a huge fan of this trend, it wasn't overdone in this book. The grittiness that is there just makes the story more realistic in this case. The characters were well done, and their actions were consistent throughout. I did feel the story was slow occasionally. It seemed that a lot of the action came in bursts, so that at times there was a lot going on, followed by a lull that allowed you to catch your breath before the next big sequence. I thought some of Orisian's travels were a bit drawn out, but the other point of view characters were well handled. There wasn't a lot of unnecessary description throughout, just enough to give you a feel for the world and the surroundings..but the author didn't waste space describing every building, article of clothing, etc..which kept the pace of the story. The battle scenes were very well done..i read a review that compared them to Braveheart, but it reminded me more of some of the scenes from the beginning of Gladiator. Finally, the characters emotions were real and believable. Although a really small, unimportant scene in the overall story, i really felt the relief and raw emtion Taim felt when reuniting with his wife.
Overall, other than a couple of slow spots, i really enjoyed Winterbirth. There was nothing ground breaking in the story, but there were characters I grew to root for (Orisian, Taim) and ones i rooted against (Kanin, Aeglyss). I looked forward to opening the book each day and learning more of the world and the characters lives, and when it comes down to it, thats really what I am looking for in a good read. The second book comes out (tentatively) in May 2008. I hope that date holds true for the US, otherwise i'll be making another order from the bookdepository.
Grade: 8.5 out of 10
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