Content levels
Trigger warnings
Hero archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
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Synopsis
A bewitching historical fantasy from a debut author. A devastating love story. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power and redemption. In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gevaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake.Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel - who takes payment in living hearts - it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down.Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d'Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.But Gevaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian's unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian's arcane activities - not to mention his demonic counterpart - have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war. Debut author Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history with this darkly entertaining retelling of the hunt for the Beast of Gevaudan. Lifting the veil on the hidden world behind our own, it reimagines the story of Europe, from Imperial Rome to Saint Jeanne d'Arc, the madness of Gilles de Rais and the first flickers of the French Revolution.
The Red Winter: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
This dark historical fantasy features graphic violence including monster attacks, bloody hunts, and demonic possession requiring payment in human hearts. Contains an M/M romance subplot and references to clerical persecution.
What to know going in
This book has graphic violence, moderate sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include torture, graphic violence, gore, murder, and death (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Adult readers who love dark, atmospheric historical fantasy with morally complex monster hunters will be gripped by this bloody retelling.