Mother of Winter

A fourth book for a trilogy, added 13 years later - I wasn't expecting much, but boy was I wrong.

Set five years after the original story, this story starts off well - showing where the characters are, telling us about what happened previously along with what happened while the reader was away. Regardless, I wouldn't suggest diving into this book without reading the first three. Gil is still a strong character, and her relationship with Ingold adds depth without taking anything away. Rudy has come a long ways as a wizard, and ends up with an apprentice later on.

The enemy of the first three was the Dark, so having cold be the enemy here just makes sense. The despair generated by the death of crops and starvation feels like background, until it becomes a major part of the story. I love the puzzle solving process of how to deal with the Slunch and mutants, adding to how to tease out the magic and the past from the previous books. Absolutely loves Rudy's solution towards the end of the book.

Read the first of the series with a book club, and the next two to hear the whole story. Many times books added on to a trilogy are not great, so I was reluctant. Let this review be a warning that this is not like the others - read on, dear reader! A review of the fifth book will not be long in coming. The four subsequent novellas are also on my list, though finding them (Smashwords?) may be more challenging...