A baroque work that continues Vasaya's fantastical adventures in a Russian dreamscape
Katherine Arden has done it again in the second of her Winternight series, after such a strong start with The Bear and the Nightingale. Our heroine Vasaya, last seen fleeing on her hourse Solovey from angry villagers who want to burn her as a witch, makes her wayto her frost demon Morozko, only to be sent to make the choice between two towers - one as a nun, the other as wife. So Vasya chooses life as a man and ends up advising the Grand Prince of Moscow.
The book bravely mixes elements of Russian folklore, fairy tale, religion, art and history into a great and glittering work. Arden's crystalline, stylized prose makes an entirely seductive world of harsh winters, luxurious Muscovite palaces, endless dark forests with creatures who lurk waiting, and cities full of more wordly dangers. Vasya is a strong heroine who still has much to learn, and her relationship with her siblings is believable. Her bond with her horse is the fulfilment of every horse mad reader's dreams! The growing and tangled attraction between her and Morozko is tantalizingly developed and yes, left unfinished. Hopefully Arden will continue her epic work and give us another beautifully unique and seductive work where her ribbons of plot will make another beautifully woven piece of art.
The book bravely mixes elements of Russian folklore, fairy tale, religion, art and history into a great and glittering work. Arden's crystalline, stylized prose makes an entirely seductive world of harsh winters, luxurious Muscovite palaces, endless dark forests with creatures who lurk waiting, and cities full of more wordly dangers. Vasya is a strong heroine who still has much to learn, and her relationship with her siblings is believable. Her bond with her horse is the fulfilment of every horse mad reader's dreams! The growing and tangled attraction between her and Morozko is tantalizingly developed and yes, left unfinished. Hopefully Arden will continue her epic work and give us another beautifully unique and seductive work where her ribbons of plot will make another beautifully woven piece of art.