I am a series lover. I enjoy spending time in an author’s creation. I love it when author’s explore their worlds and show their imagination. While this is usually something I find in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, it’s not limited to those genres. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry was the first book that I wanted to never end. Traitor of Redwinter by Ed McDonald is the latest book that brought that feeling out in me. I didn’t want to leave Redwinter. Though it’s a brutal world filled with danger, I’ve enjoyed all the time I’ve been there as a reader. I want to learn more about the world, its history, and its peoples. McDonald has done an amazing job building a world and filling it with interesting stories.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.
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TL;DR
Traitor of Redwinter by Ed McDonald returns readers to the wonderful world of Raine and the Draoihn. Magic, politics, treachery, mystery, and more await readers between these covers. McDonald explores more of the world he created in the first book, and readers get to enjoy that. Highly recommended.
From the Publisher
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…
Review: Traitor of Redwinter by Ed McDonald
Raine is back. She’s progressed in her training at Redwinter, and she’s haunted by nightmares of the lives she’s taken. On a diplomacy trip with other apprentices that goes completely wrong, she and the others are forced to flee for their lives. A fellow apprentice is killed, and no one is punished for it. That death is yet another that weighs on Raine. Nightmares visit her every night, and she’s taking rose-thistle to stay away. (Self-medication never helps.) Meanwhile, her attraction to both Sanvaunt and Esher grows, but she holds herself back from acting on either attraction. Her master, Ulovar, the man who took her into his clan and elevated her to Draoihn apprentice, is wasting away – either from sickness or aging. Raine goes about her training hoping to learn, dreading that her secret will be found out. You see, she can see the dead. Not only that, she may have power over the dead, and in her world, that’s an automatic death sentence. Daily, she’s surrounded by those who could and would carry out that sentence without remorse. She goes about her life and seems to be making progress on her Draoihn training. Secretly, she’s also progressing in her training as a death witch. She’s found a book – actually, a book found her that can teach her some of the forbidden magic of the Sarathi. The Raven Queen appears when she’s studying, and now she’s dreaming of historical queens remembered for the evil they brought to the world. Rained doesn’t want that. She believes the book can help rid her of powers. But the powerful in her life have other plans for her.
Traitor of Redwinter by Ed McDonald is a first person, fantasy novel. It teeters back and forth between the epic and grimdark sub-genres. It’s a fast paced novel with some excellent action scenes. This book is a little slower than the first in the series, but it makes up for that with much more depth of world, which is impressive given how fleshed out the first book was. Highly recommended.
Raine
In the first book, Raine was isolated by her need to protect her secret. Also, the scar that Ulovar drew across her mind kept her at a distance from people. But the scar healed in the first book. Yet she’s still isolating herself in this book. Partially because of Ovitus’s lies; partially because of her secret; wholly because her own lack of self worth. It doesn’t help that she’s sleep deprived. Between the night terrors and the rose-thistle, she’s avoiding sleep, and that’s never good for a person’s mental health. Sometimes, she’s just a walking wound in this book, and you want to hug her and tell her it’ll be alright.
Her indecision towards Sanvaunt is a little annoying in my opinion. I think she dithers too much in letting herself have those emotions. McDonald pushes it, but Sanvaunt’s reaction saves it for me. Also, she has the same indecision towards Esher. I’m not sure who I want her to end up with. I think, in fact, I want her to end up with both.
Raine’s PTSD plays a big role in this book. This was handled wonderfully. McDonald lets his other characters see her PTSD, and they all try to talk to her about it. However, she tries to be strong, which is a typical reaction. This was a sensitive portrayal of PTSD without being cliche.
Lore and Worldbuilding
One of the reasons that I like this series is the world-building. It’s interesting, and I like how McDonald explores it through his story. In Traitor of Redwinter, we get more world-building and lore. The world and its history are fascinating. McDonald opens this book with a dream sequence in which Raine and the Raven Queen are watching the Riven Queen. I’m now fascinated with these historical Queens.
I like the magic. I like the various trances, the various “Gates”, that McDonald uses as magical states. I think this is a neat balance of magical system and yet retaining the otherness of magic. I like that it’s organized, yet not scientific. Sometimes, magic systems are over-systematized, and they lose some of the power that magic has. McDonald has found a balance that works for me. His system can be organized, documented, and studied; yet, it retains its mystery. The inner workings aren’t scientific, at least to the reader; they’re magical. And I prefer that in my fantasy novels.
Grandmaster Robilar was an interesting character in the first book. McDonald gave a good teaser about her, and in this book, readers get to know more about her. I loved it. She is, of course, powerful, knowledgeable, and cunning. When reading, I did the feeling that she was so much more capable than Raine. There is definitely a reason she’s the grandmaster. Her addition to the book was great.
Art as Coping Mechanism
Raine, Sanvaunt, Liara, and Castus all return from the failed diplomatic mission. All are traumatized by the loss of their fellow apprentice. Raine and Castus deal with the deaths they’ve caused by self-medicating. Raine likes her rose-thistle, and Castus prefers wine. On the other hand, Sanvaunt and Liara are rehearsing a play. And we know from the first book that Sanvaunt writes as well. I can’t help but see the contrast between the four returning characters as commentary. Sanvaunt and Liara’s art helps them cope as much as Raine and Castus’s self-medication.
I believe that art has the power to heal; that it can be a coping mechanism. It can also be a tool to work through our issues. I like to think that’s what is happening here. Sanvaunt and Liara are attempting to create, to put something into the world as a balance to the thing they took from it. Granted, addition and creation will never balance with loss. But creation allows that attempt.
Again, I don’t know if McDonald intended that or not. I could be reading way too deeply and putting my own thing on the text.
Conclusion
Ed McDonald’s Traitor of Redwinter is a wonderful followup to Daughter of Redwinter. It deepens the world, the action, the consequences, and the character of Raine herself. This book cements The Redwinter Chronicles as a must read. Highly recommended.
Traitor of Redwinter by Ed McDonald is available from Tor Books on October 24th, 2023.
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