Witch Queen of Redwinter

De: Ed McDonald

Narrado por: Samara MacLaren

"Narrator Samara Samara MacLaren wields a distinct voice and mannerism for each character to fully engross listeners with a unique world of complex magic."—AudioFile on Daughter of Redwinter

Having been saved from execution at the hands of the Draoihn—powerful magic users Raine used to count as allies—Raine finds herself in the Fault, a vast magical wasteland, which is falling apart before her eyes.

Alongside her two closest companions, they are searching for the only person Raine believes can help them get back home: the enigmatic and infuriatingly elusive Queen of Feathers.

But what home are they trying to get back to? Ovitus LacNaithe, power-hungry traitor that he is, has taken control of the Draoihn and is unwittingly doing the bidding of a darker master. He is soon to take control of the Crown of Harranir and plunge the land into unending darkness.

The fate of two worlds hangs in the balance. The stakes have never been higher. It’s going to take Raine’s dark, terrible powers, as well as the unbreakable bond of three friends, to ensure everyone lives to see the dawn.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

©2024 Ed McDonald (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"An epic adventure across war-ravaged lands, where friendship is tested and twisted, and the fate of all lies in the hands of a few."—Library Journal

graceful close to the trilogy

the world building was nicely woven into the story and I found the overarching internal dialogue to be a nice technique that tied through to the ending theme.

Certainly a conclusion…

I’m HAPPY to give this trilogy a 5star rating, entirely based on the narrator.

As for this book:

Three quarters of the novel feels like a stalled story trying (and failing) to get back on the road. There’s some character development, to be sure, but it goes… nowhere.

That said, there aren’t any glaring loose ends. Almost every character finds resolution or apotheosis, and while much of the “twist” elements of the narrative are transparent, they’re none-the-less clever.

I don’t regret the time I’ve spent listening to the Redwinter books. I may even give them another go someday. That said, the real gem is in the narration.

If you’ve enjoyed the other two novels, this one is ultimately worth the listen. If you’re trying to decide whether or not to START the series, I’d say go for it. Keep your expectations low, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the delightful ideas buried just below the surface of the writing.

Fantastic performance by the narrator!

While the middle dragged a bit as there was some rehashing of the same ideas often, overall the beginning and ends make up for its shortcomings to form an excellent ending to the trilogy.

Ed McDonald is awesome!

This was a great book! A really good ending, I felt like he closed most of the arcs really well, and I never want a good series to end. All things must and this was a great series. I can’t wait for more!!

What a ride!

I Really enjoyed every book in this series a ton- the series was very satisfying. Why is there a 15 word minimum just to say I really liked it. I'm not paid to write ad copy.

Very different from the first two books…

Ultimately, I loved this series. Even with the issues I had with book 3, I would recommend book 1 to anyone as a stand-alone title. This final installment just felt a bit off to me.

There’s a ton of nothing happening in many of the chapters in this one, which slows down the pacing and gets boring quickly. If 1/3 of this book were trimmed out, I honestly don’t think anything would have been missed from the story.

Overall, the plot and the ideas behind it are good, but the story is not delivered well (which is a first for me with Ed McDonald). I don’t feel I can go into specifics without major major spoilers, so I will leave this purposefully vague. I do still recommend this series and, on the whole, I loved it (especially the first book). But, for me, I am unlikely to reread the third book.

To anyone who enjoyed this series, McDonald’s first trilogy is also quite good. Cheers! And happy reading :)

Long and slow

Was an ok listen, but was so long with the story drawn out, it just kinda lost me.

DNF

I don't know why I wasted my time on this book. The first book in the series was ok, the second one bad, and this one was boring and tedious. I would describe this series as a young adult romantacy hidden in a dark fantasy wrapping to try and appeal to adults. The romantic and self depriving inner dialogue of the main character just becomes so annoying that I could not finish this book. I am mad at myself for thinking maybe this book would have some character growth that results in the promise the first book hinted at. No luck.

I wouldn't recommend this book/series for anyone over the age of 15. The narration from Samara MacLaren was great, as it was throughout the series. The only reason I made it this far.