White Death

De: Christine Morgan

Narrado por: Matt Godfrey

January 12, 1888.

When a day dawns warm and mild in the middle of a long, cold winter, it’s greeted as a blessing, a reprieve. It's a chance for those who’ve been cooped up indoors to get out, do chores, run errands, and send the children to school...little knowing they’re only seeing the calm before the storm.

The blizzard hits out of nowhere, screaming across the Great Plains like a runaway train. It brings slicing winds, blinding snow, and plummeting temperatures. Livestock will be found frozen in the fields, their heads encased in blocks of ice formed from their own steaming breath. Frostbite and hypothermia wait for anyone caught without shelter.

For the hardy settlers of Far Enough, in the Montana Territory, it’s about to get worse. Something else has arrived with the blizzard - something sleek and savage and hungry. Wild animal or vengeful spirit from Native American legend, it blends into the snow and bites with sharper teeth than the wind.

It is called the wanageeska. It is the White Death.

©2018 Christine Morgan (P)2018 Christine Morgan

White Death

I really loved this book. I think I have made it clear that I think Matt Godfrey is one of my favorite narrators (if not already my fave). I could talk all day about the great job he did performing this book. So I won't, sorry Matt. This book was too much fun on its own merits. It wasn't so much a horror or thriller or adventure... it was more like a re-telling of a historical event. Something that everyone knows has happened but is unwilling to talk too much about. During an unseasonably warm spell in the winter, a massive blizzard hits Montana. Many try and fail to survive the icy winter storm. Oh, and they are hunted by creatures of perhaps a supernatural origin.
There are roughly 65,000 characters in the book. Well, that is how it felt anyway. GRRM would have been proud. As the people were introduced, I began by trying to remember all the relationships people had with one another. This proved impossible for me, but I fought on because in a lot of cases, shortly after they were introduced, they were gone until the aftermath. This wasn't one person or a focus on a small group of people that had to fight both mother nature and what may very well have been a supernatural family of ferocious beasts. It could have been, but it would have been terrible. This was the frontier without weathermen or warning systems of any kind trying to establish themselves in the harshest of conditions. And don't get me wrong, just because the cast was so large didn't mean that I didn't care for particular people and want to see them thrive... they didn't by the way. At the end of the book, a laundry list of people and their outcomes is sussed out. One little girl's outcome made me very sad... as if unbeknownst to me, amid the flurry of new characters and snowfall, I was attached to these people and their well being.

This book was given to me for free at my request for my voluntary and unbiased review.

Action and Style!

WHITE DEATH is the first book I've read from Christine Morgan and it was a winner!

Set during the Great Blizzard of 1888, it's apparent that Ms. Morgan has done her research. Set in the small town of Far Enough, Montana, this novel depicts what it was like for the inhabitants in a time when there were no weather forecasts, or warnings of any kind, before a storm.

At the same time, the author also weaves in some native American folklore in the form of a Wanageeska. In fact, it's the crossing of this creature that sets everything else off.

I loved the characters in Far Enough, Montana, except for for the founder of the town, who deserved everything that happened. The only problem I had was the large cast of characters, which are easier to follow on paper, than in audio. (I did find that jotting down notes on everyone helped quite a bit.) I thought the writing here was above average and detailed-if you ever want to know exactly what it feels like to have frostbite, or to debride the skin around your eyes trying to remove ice, than this is the book for you!

My only problem was that I didn't feel I got to know as many of the characters as I would have liked. However if I had, the book probably would have been much longer and the pacing slower. Perhaps a slightly smaller cast would have worked better and we could have become more familiar with people like Emma the schoolteacher, and a few others.

I listened to the audio of this story, narrated by the always excellent Matt Godfrey. In regards to excellence in audio, he never fails.

WHITE DEATH was entertaining and informative and caused me to want to learn more about the Great Blizzard of 1888. It was also quite a bit of fun where the Wanageeska was concerned and I would like to know more about that creature as well. Overall, it was a great time listening to WHITE DEATH and I definitely recommend it!

*Thanks to Matt Godfrey for the Audible copy in exchange for my honest review. This is it. Further, I consider Matt to be my friend, even though we've never met, but this did not affect the honesty of my review.*

meh

The book is not awful but is too repetitive. Too many characters with not enough insight.

Absolutely Excellent

This was one of the most enjoyable novels of dark fiction I have read in a very long time. I listened to another book with this narrator a while back called Walk the Sky that I really loved, and I thought this might feel similar in a way because it was set in roughly the same time period. Well, it did, but it was even better.

The cold and snow get into your bones with this book. You can feel yourself in that small, icy cabin hearing the wind howl outside, with the fire burning across the room, and something strange, vicious, and otherworldly waiting at the edge of the trees outside. The tension is excellent. It's gripping.

The narration alone was absolutely a masterpiece. The more I listen to Matt Godfrey, the more impressed I am with the instincts and thoughtfulness with which he reads. He adds a certain intelligence to his work that seems to be pretty rare. He doesn't make mistakes in interpreting the text. He doesn't mispronounce words. He reads every line as though it is playing in his head and he knows exactly how it should sound. I've come to realize that although most listeners go into a book expecting this level of professionalism, it isn't always there. But Matt Godfrey seems to always deliver.

I really loved this book.

I received a promotional copy of this book for free at my request, but this review is totally voluntary.

GRIPPING HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF FEROCIOUS BLIZZARD

Wow, this is a harrowing account of a crazy surprise blizzard that happened in Montana in 1888. It was crippling, cold, wind, snow, the most harsh conditions. Many struggled, to survive in horrific conditions, and a lot of them perished. With all that going on, there's a mysterious and mythical Native American supernatural/spiritual aspect, and it weaves into a fantastic tale of struggle and survival. There's a large cast of characters that can be a little challenging to follow, but all in all it was a great audiobook, the writing and narration were both awesome!! Excellent job, would definitely recommend it :)
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.