Daughter of Redwinter

The Redwinter Chronicles, Book 1

De: Ed McDonald

Narrado por: Samara MacLaren

Those who see the dead soon join them.

From the author of the critically acclaimed Blackwing trilogy comes Ed McDonald's Daughter of Redwinter, the first of a brilliant fantasy series about how one choice can change a universe.

Raine can see—and speak—to the dead, a gift that comes with a death sentence. All her life she has hidden, lied, and run to save her skin, and she’s made some spectacularly bad choices along the way.

But it is a rare act of kindness—rescuing an injured woman in the snow—that becomes the most dangerous decision Raine has ever made. Dangerous because the woman is fleeing from Redwinter, the fortress-monastery of the Draoihn, warrior magicians who answer to no king, and who will stop at nothing to reclaim what she’s stolen. A battle, a betrayal, and a horrific revelation force Raine to enter the citadel and live among the Draoihn. She soon finds that her secret ability could be the key to saving an entire nation.

Though she might have to die to make it happen . . .

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

©2022 Ed McDonald (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Loved it with some caveats

Awesome, clockwork plot with some pretty slick reveals, offset by character moments that aren't quite there. A few forced plot points and a slightly sagging middle, but a lot of fun overall. More ghosts in the sequel, please.

Loved it!

The good:
I'm a very hard critic. I almost never give 5 stars. This was amazing. The world was packed with a sense of wonder. The characters were flawed and human. The arc of the book worked well with the development of an epic tale. The narrator was perfect. He voice added to my enjoyment of the story, so much so, that I preferred to listen rather than read the ebook on kindle, which I did using whisper sync. I found myself rewinding whisper sync so I could hear Sarah MacLaren's rendition.

That said I found a few things annoying. Particularly, the setup for book 2 required an act of monumental stupidity on the part of the main character that was a little too much for me to believe.

However, the stupid act didn't really affect this part of the tale, so it is easily forgiven.

Compelling and Original

Wow! This story was entrancing and the narration was wholly superb. I cannot wait for the second volume and I sincerely hope the narrator here continues to enliven the story. Highly recommend.

Excellent!

Such a good story. Had me captivated all the way through. And the narrator was fantastic!

The most underrated voice in modern fantasy

I keep wondering why everyone isn't screaming about how amazing Ed's books are. How he spins his stories and builds his world's are on par with the best (Rothfuss, Anthony Ryan...) and not being recommended on my audible feed. His stories are what I have been hunting for in modern fantasy that has everything. From someone who has been reading fantasy for decades. Keep em coming.

Strongly recommend!

Wonderfully energetic narration kept me engrossed. Listed as the way through in just 3 days!

Great Start

This books seems to be heavily influenced by the culture and stories of Scotland and I appreciated the unique setting and the narrator had a lovely voice with a appropriate accent. The author likes to introduce terms that the reader is unfamiliar with (unique to the fantasy world he is creating) but he always explains it later on so the reader needs to be a little patient in this area. I thought it had a explosive beginning but faltered a bit as the protagonist traveled to Redwinter but picks up again upon her arrival. I enjoyed the authors engaging prose and dialogue the best as well as the authors gift for creating a setting that is so unlike most other standard fantasy series.

I thought that the world of black wing (authors previous series) was more interesting to me as was the protagonist but It may be a more personal thing because Raithe (in this book) is much more unsure of herself and humble.

There were a few slow parts but all in all I was happy with the purchase and am invested enough to definitely pick up the next one and looking forward to see where it goes.

Fabulous audio book!

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for providing a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I honestly loved it.

"Daughter of Redwinter" is told from the point of view of Raine, a 17-year-old who's hiding a terrible secret: she sees dead people. She was blessed (or cursed) with a magical talent called "grave-sight" that allows her to see ghosts and sometimes even speak to them. It's a forbidden talent that carries an automatic death sentence.

This book is a roller coaster ride that has mystery, great action, and a diverse cast of characters. I loved following Raine on her journey. The narration by Samara MacLaren was amazing. She gave each character a unique voice and personality, which really helped pull me into the story and I was fully engaged in Raine's story right from the beginning. I loved the mystery at the heart of Redwinter. I loved following Raine on her journey to Redwinter and, like her, I didn't know who to trust until the climatic end: it was both gripping and exciting. I love stories that don't give away the "surprise" or twist long before you get to it.

My only quibble with the story was that the pace slowed down in the middle, but Samara MacLaren's beautiful narration kept me engaged throughout the story despite that. The action picked up again at about the 30% mark & didn't let up until the final climatic fight.

I loved this book so much that I bought the audiobook because I will listen to it again. I am really looking forward to book two. I hope Ed McDonald doesn't keep us waiting too long to continue Raine's story.

My rating: 5 stars for the amazing narration and the great story with an exciting end. Highly recommended for fantasy fans.

ghosts

The audio was great. the story not so great.
A girl that sees ghosts but can't tell people. Is taken as a war prize with the promise to be taught how to fight. Then, she is unable to, so she becomes a servant. Then saves some clans from ghosts of the past.

2% queer!

cool magic

the narrator on this book amped it up to 100 I loved her performance she made the book way better but the book itself is a solid four stars I'll be finishing this series thank you Ed