Aaron Bunce

Glad to see the POVs expand to include Lex and Soraya. I expect we'll get something of a rotation of POVs as the series continues.

Currently I'm hoping that Emiko joins the group more permanently. I feel like it would be very useful to have an enhanced virologist available.

I really do appreciate how this book kept the stakes as a team effort--none of them could have done this without the others in different ways.
The tension is also really well done, though it does have to shift time around a bit to do it.

I'm a little curious that neither Reed or Emiko thought to try inoculating themselves with Jacoby. Not the kind of situation to be timid around the efficacy of possible treatments.

There are still numerous spelling and grammar errors throughout the book, though not enough to unduly bother me.

I understand why the erotica is there, but it's honestly the least interesting part of the books IMO. We just need to keep honing in on the internal drama of the characters and how that plays out between them in the backdrop of a universe beset by an alien intelligence that wants to turn everything into flesh goo.

Also noticed on a quick review that we never see Layla Misra die in book 1. She just kind of vanishes during the chaos of the attack on the quarantine area. Possible she just died, but it wouldn't surprise me if she turned up somehow later. We still need to explore the apparent knowledge she and the admins had that something alien was to be found in the area.

I'm also confused by 235. I thought it must have been a reference to something from book 1 but couldn't seem to find anything in it. Did I miss something?… (plus d'informations)

It's ok.
Could use some more polish in spelling and grammar. Also, there are times where the texture makes no sense. Examples would be the flashback: if he was attacked with the knife, how did he both keep the knife away and strangle his father who is described as large and powerful? Or when they're trapped by the flight tech. They were in the room when he was securing doors, which means they were on the safe side, yet the tech locks them in and is killed, but somehow Jacoby comes from behind their attacker? He should have been heading for the elevators if I read correctly. The commissary is confusing as well. How is it empty and quiet if also being attacked?

Going forward I hope we get to see the story take a transhumanist direction, and not just for the MCs since this virus should be affecting everyone not displaying influenza. Especially since said virus is clearly not what humanity thinks of as science.
It kind of reminds me of the proto molecule from The Expanse, though not as widespread in application.
Definitely should expand the POVs to include Lex and Soraya. It'll be cool to see them all gain their own abilities like Jacoby seems to have.… (plus d'informations)

First, a confession. I am not into grimdark fantasy novels. Give me hopeful escapism any day over the bleak, violent, and dark stories featured in most grimdark novels. Don’t get me wrong, I like good action, and gritty realism and violence, but most grimdark novels are too violent and too depressing for my taste. I don’t seek out grimdark novels to read for the above reasons, but I had a chance to meet Aaron Bunce at an author event recently and I was lucky enough to win an audiobook copy of The Winter of Swoards, and while I don’t think this one book will change my mind about a whole genre, I will say that I enjoyed this story.

Aaron does a great job in two areas: characters and setting. The setting is real and gritty, a low-magic world (there are divine healers, but not any powerful wizards and the like) where the great kingdoms of man and dwarves have vanished and the remnants of the human kingdom struggle for survival. Things have been peaceful, but as the novel starts you realize that the monsters that hide in the shadows are starting to stir.

The Winter of Swords is an epic fantasy, so we follow multiple character arcs in the story. What I like is that each of the characters are common, ordinary people thrown into unexpected situations. These are not mighty warriors, kings, and queens, but normal people struggling to get by in an unforgiving world. As the story progresses, we learn more about these characters, their own secrets, and the fates that await them.

I do have a few quibbles about the story. Aaron is very detailed and descriptive in his settings, characters, and the action. Good to a point, sometimes I felt that there was too much description that slowed the pace and action, especially in scenes that should have been fast-moving. The descriptions were good, and fit the character and scene, but it sometimes felt I was slogging through mud to get through the end of the scene because of them. The other quibble I have was the plethora of what seemed like ancillary characters to me. There were some characters who popped in midway through the book for a couple of chapters, then the disappeared again. They did not contribute to the story of the main characters we’d been following, and even if their story was important to a larger story arc, it was distracting and again, broke up the pacing of the story. (Also, I felt that the stories presented in these brief flashes were left unresolved, and that in itself was distracting and left me feeling unfulfilled.)

If you enjoy grim fantasy filled with violence and despair, in true grimdark style, and if you like a grand epic fantasy with complex characters and a storyline that weaves between them, then you will enjoy The Winter of Swords. I may not pick up other grimdark novels, but Aaron has done a wonderful job of weaving this story together that I will be interested to see what happens in the next novel.

The audiobook was narrated by C.J. Grey who did a fantastic job of bringing the characters and setting to life. He is a master storyteller who makes each character distinct, and his inflections and tone helped to heighten the tension in all the right places. There were no problems with the performance by Grey, or in the audio quality.… (plus d'informations)