The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

“If I had any doubts about the Beast of Gévaudan, they were dispelled on the first day of the hunt.”

-The Red Winter

Every once in awhile, I come across a book so incredibly stunning that I am immersed and not able to fully function for a few days because I’d rather lose sleep than miss reading a few pages. The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan is that book. I read an enormous amount of fantasy each year, but this was absolutely epic in every possibly way, and I completely adored it from the first page. I’ve never read anything quite like this, and I wish I could go back in time and read it for the first time again. It’s just that good.

Sebastian Graves is a professor who has lived a long time. He contains within him the spirit, Sarmodel, a demon who has been with him for what feels like forever. The two work together rather well and their banter and relationship with one another is one of my favorite parts of the novel.

The story is set in alternating timelines. We see a glimpse of Sebastian living in the modern era as he tells the story of the Red Winter, a time where he was tasked with defeating a great beast that was destroying the French countryside. Yet Sebastian didn’t meet the beast just once. So as he sets down his story, we get to see how the beast came to be and how Sebastian has fared each time he has met it. When Sebastian first defeats the beast in the 1760s, it is with his lover Antoine by his side. About twenty years later, Antoine’s son Jacques seeks out Sebastian to help defeat the beast again as it has returned. There is also another timeline set in the 1400s set down by Livia, a succubus bound to Sebastian’s service. Her voice was humorous, irritated and sarcastic and added another layer to the story that I wasn’t expecting.

This book is dynamic and riveting. It took me awhile to see what was actually happening (and I refuse to spoil it) but once I did I was absolutely blown away. I also can’t imagine how hard this novel must have been to write. It was so incredibly executed, and I am just completely enamored with the characters. If you’re looking for a fantasy novel that will completely engross you and spirit you away to another time and place, you don’t want to miss this one. I’m so incredibly excited that there may be more ahead for Sebastian and Sarmodel because I really want to read more of them both.