![\"Winterbirth](\"http:\/\/www.aidanmoher.com\/blog\/reviews\/brian-ruckley\/winterbirth-us.jpg\")
\nAuthor<\/strong> – Brian Ruckley<\/a><\/p>\n Trade Paperback<\/strong> Winterbirth<\/strong> was a milestone for me. Orbit Books (the publisher) was the first publisher to approach me and offer to send me advance review copies of their novels and it seemed to validate the existence of A Dribble of Ink<\/strong>. Ironically, I actually received it a couple of months ago but agreed with Alex Lencicki (Ruckley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s publicist) that it would be best to hold of on the review (and interview<\/a>) until Winterbirth<\/strong> was closer to its US publication date.<\/p>\n \tSo, it was with great eagerness that I finally picked up Winterbirth<\/strong> and began reading. While my copy sat for several weeks, taunting me, I watched several other reviews roll in, all of which confirmed that I should<\/em> be eager to read the novel. Winterbirth<\/strong> had a lot to live up to when I finally started reading it; the hype was sky high.<\/p>\n \tSo the question is: did it live up to the hype? Well, Yes and No. \tAs I continued with the novel, however, Winterbirth<\/strong> lost me a little. For every unique, exciting element to Ruckley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s novel (the setting, some elements of the magic system, the history of the world, etc…) there was another element that had been seen a hundred times before (young man of Royal blood being thrown into a hairy situation, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153evil” invading army, elves-that-aren’t-called-elves-but-everyone-knows-they-are-elves, etc…). The Godless World Trilogy<\/strong> (of which Winterbirth<\/strong> is the first novel) is based around the concept of… *drumroll* a world lacking gods. It’s a terrific concept, but I would have liked to see this particular quirk have more of a role in the story. Ruckley’s world, lacking gods, seems not much different than those world’s that have<\/em> gods. Now, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say that these standard Fantasy elements ruined the novel, but I felt that they contradicted the innovation and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153freshness” found in the rest of Ruckley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s novel. It also felt like some events happened a little too easily and cleanly for some of the protagonists, and I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t shake the feeling that Ruckley took the easy way out.<\/p>\n One of the strengths of Winterbirth<\/strong> is that Ruckley tells the story through eyes of characters on both side of the conflict. He uses this to great effect by jumping around through Point of views (POVs) to keep the story, which in reality has a slow moving plot, feeling quick and energetic. As soon as the story of one POV character starts to slow down he switches gears and takes us half way across the world.<\/p>\n Another bit of praise I can bestow upon the novel is that it brings to mind memories of Tad William\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s epic Memory, Sorrow and Thorn<\/strong>. I think much of this feeling can be attributed to two things: the setting and the Kyrinin<\/em>. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spoken of the setting, a beautiful and rugged reflection of the Scottish landscape, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said little about Ruckley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version of elves. The Kyrinin<\/em> resemble typical elves in many ways but Ruckley makes one major diversion from the norm that really sets them apart. You see, these Kyrinin<\/em> really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like each other much, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to see Ruckley take an approach to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153elves” that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make them all look like peace-loving \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Good Guys”. The Kyrinin<\/em> are maelstroms of emotion and there’s no black and white with them, only shades of grey. They are terrifying and spiritual at the same time, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious that the vicious civil war erupting in Winterbirth<\/strong> is only going to get bloodier as the trilogy moves on.<\/p>\n \tWinterbirth<\/strong> has its ups and downs, but in the end it left me wanting more. The ending is a mixed bag (one storyline seems to lack a climax, another has an incredible ending soaked in religious symolism), but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious that Ruckley is setting up the next two novels. Winterbirth<\/strong> was originally released in 2006, alongside other debut novels such as The Lies of Locke Lamora<\/strong> and The Blade Itself<\/strong>, and while Winterbirth<\/strong> isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite as strong as these novels, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still definitely worth a look if only for the terrific setting and the twists Ruckley makes on some of the Fantasy mainstays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Winterbirth Author – Brian Ruckley Trade Paperback Pages: 576 pages Publisher: Orbit Release Date: September 10, 2007 ISBN-10: 0316067695 ISBN-13: 978-0316067690 Winterbirth was a milestone for me. Orbit Books (the publisher) was the first publisher to approach me and offer to send me advance review copies of their novels and it seemed to validate the… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\nPages:<\/strong> 576 pages
\nPublisher:<\/strong> Orbit
\nRelease Date:<\/strong> September 10, 2007
\nISBN-10:<\/strong> 0316067695
\nISBN-13:<\/strong> 978-0316067690<\/p>\n
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\n\tMy first impressions of Winterbirth<\/strong> were strong. The setting was new, fresh and exceptionally intriguing; Ruckley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s writing had better flow and was easier to read than I expected; equal screen time was given to both sides of the conflict, creating a sense of torn loyalties within me, sometimes I empathized more<\/em> with the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bad Guys” than I did with the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Good Guys”. So far, so good. I started to tear through the beginning on the novel in no time. I found Ruckley’s prose to be nothing special at worst and almost poetic at best. He’s at his strongest and most eloquent when he’s describing the bleak, snowy world in which Winterbirth<\/strong> takes place, deftly drawing a vivid picture in the mind of the reader.<\/p>\n