 My first Ed Macdonald novel did not disappoint. Hi folks, I'm Philip Magnus and today I can recommend to you Daughter of Redwinter, the first in the Redwinter Chronicle series. This dark fantasy novel follows the story of Rain, a young girl who can see the spirits of the dead. This talent has brought her danger throughout her life. To have the grave sight is to live always in fear of a public execution, beating, stoning are the displays of the people's love. None know it, but already this gift has pushed Rain's group of fellow travellers into the desperate defence of an abandoned monastery, before a much larger force decided on murdering everyone inside. Now Rain's choice to help a young woman encountered in the snow will change the course of the siege in ways our young protagonist couldn't begin to imagine. The greater part of this novel takes part in Redwinter, the home of the Order of the Drawing, of whom I think as paladins, with a bit of a Celtic theme. This religious order is made up of defenders of the status quo, folk who protect the world from magical and eldritch threats, but who have become beneficiaries of its systems of power, in corruptive ways that Magdall does an excellent job of highlighting. Which is to say that, outside of their capacity for great power, the Drawing are no different from most groups of people. There are those among them who are disciplined and compassionate, temperate and heroic, larger than life. There are also many among them who are coddled, corrupt, cruel. Among the most skilled of the Drawing is Ullovar, leader of the powerful, like-naced clan. He is also Rain's benefactor, and recognises in her the capacity for an apprentice to the Order. Yet Rain, despite having done Ullovar a great service, is forbidden from becoming apprentice to their Order, by Grandmaster Robilar. Ullovar's moral code cannot permit him not to repay Rain for her service, however. The young woman is given the rank of retainer in his household, made a servant and later initiated into the role of protector to Ovidus, one of the Drawing's pampered apprentices and the heir to Ullovar's position as one of the Lucknecht. It's a lot for anyone to deal with, not to mention that Rain is still hiding the secrets of Gravesite, a secret whose revelation would see her summarily executed by the Drawing she desperately wants to belong with. Already, there are plenty of conflicts inherent in the tapestry of red-winter that I've tried to encapsulate. Rain's situation gets even more complicated when an informal organisation of people with Gravesite makes contact with her. Initially benevolent-seeming advice never stands easy either with Rain or the reader and the unease only grows with their each further appearance, and to that a spirit that acts nothing at all like a spirit, occasionally appearing to Rain and doing non-spirited things like chatting her up or saving her life. And what you have is a gripping dark fantasy with a likable protagonist forced to contend with secrets and dividing loyalties are plenty. Rain's voice is funny, not in an irreverent way. There's Gallows humor to spare here, but also plenty of topical observations. So for example, when she mentions the source of her ruined boots, I quote, you can never trust a cobbler. Anyone who spends that long thinking about feet has something wrong with them. Close gods. Yet something happens early on in the novel that forces Rain to lose a part of herself, not her humor, but all her emotions, kept at a distance from her. And so the character we meet at the beginning of the novel is in truth much different from the one we follow for the majority of a daughter of red-winter, because someone, I quote, had cut through my mind as if with a blade, slicing away something that had once been a part of me. He had made me something else. Such a vile violation makes Rain nothing less than an entrolling protagonist, as she is forced to reflect rationally rather than emotionally on the differences between her former and present self. Some of the actions she takes are ruthless, going well beyond the pale, but as far as subject matter goes, this provides for excellent reading. I enjoyed reading about the younger members of the support cast as well, but there was a hint of young adult tropes to their characterization. Sunvault, the dashing model Drowen, gives Rain the cold shoulder after an initial overdue of friendship, while the reveal of his reasons behind this creates an interesting conflict for the sequel I could have done without it. Maybe it's my own distaste for lack of communication born of propriety, but hey, it's been and continues to be the baseline for many social situations, so what do I know? My dislike is more born of the back-and-forth between Rain and Sunvault, yet I enjoyed both characters despite it. Take from that what you will. My biggest complaint, part of the mystery around the central conflict is given away too early, made too obvious, and it's one of those moments when, if you're at all an attentive reader, you will see the answer before the protagonist does. That's rarely a good outcome. I spent a good third or even half of the novel waiting for Rain to catch up. She's not a stupid character by any means. She saw more clearly than others did. She recognized the pumpered nature of the Lucknate, apprentices who have the opportunity to advance greatly by wielding the Drowen's power, but have been made indolent by a sheltered life. There are of course exceptions, and those of the characters who, like Rain herself, I was drawn to the most. You will enjoy this novel if you're in for a character-driven dark fantasy read. What was that? You enjoy a complex protagonist forced to navigate near impossible situations for the sake of nothing less than survival. You have a love for corrupt magical orders, whose members you will love and detest in equal measure. And finally, you might like a hint of progression fantasy, as the magic system of the Drowen's is measured in accessing six gates that give the user greater and greater powers, with a seventh legendary gate that supposedly clarifies the true nature of reality, or some such. You know the drill. Oh, and naturally much more, probably. I look forward to reading the coming sequel, Traitor of Red Winter, which releases come October 24th, 2023. So just a few months from now. A merry time for all the family. No doubt. If you enjoyed this video, please don't forget to like it, share it with your friends, smash that like button as they say, and let me know in the comments down below what are you reading at present? Are you going to try and check out Red Winter's Daughter? That's not the name, is it? Daughter of Red Winter? It sounded good in the moment, in my head. And that's all that matters, really, isn't it? At any rate, I will see you again next time. If you come back, please come back. Until then, I'm Philip Magnus. You're not. Bye!