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    Everwinter: The Wrath of the Northmen, #1
    Everwinter: The Wrath of the Northmen, #1
    Everwinter: The Wrath of the Northmen, #1
    Ebook394 pages6 hours

    Everwinter: The Wrath of the Northmen, #1

    By Elizabeth Baxter

    4/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Can science and magic ever exist in harmony?

     

    Bram, an engineer in the southern city of Ral Tora, doesn't think so. It's science that will save his city from the cruel winter devouring the land, not superstition. But as the ice draws closer and Ral Tora's science fails, his convictions don't seem quite so secure, especially when a stranger arrives claiming that he holds the key to salvation.

     

    Astrid, Regal of Chellin, doesn't care. Ruthless and ambitious, she's climbed over everyone to get where she is – and she's not about to let the Everwinter ruin everything she's worked for. Determined to turn the chaos to her advantage, she needs just one thing to achieve her goal –a certain Ral Toran engineer who is far more than he seems.

     

    Falen, banished princess of the northern city of Variss, knows more than she's letting on. Her adopted home of Ral Tora might think magic isn't real, but she knows otherwise. Tasked by ancient edict to guard a terrible secret, her family has long been aware of the threat imprisoned beyond the Broken Sisters – and the disaster that would unfold if it was ever released.

     

    Now the fate of the land lies suddenly in the hands of a manipulative politician who'll stop at nothing to further her own ends, a disgraced princess who is desperate to put right her family's shame, and a sceptical engineer who doesn't believe in any of it.

     

    Enter a realm where science and magic collide in the grip of the Everwinter, promising an epic journey through rich landscapes and captivating characters in this first book of The Wrath of the Northmen epic fantasy series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherElizabeth Baxter
    Release dateNov 18, 2012
    ISBN9781497719811
    Everwinter: The Wrath of the Northmen, #1

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    Reviews for Everwinter

    4/5

    32 ratings15 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I liked it for the most part. It took me a minute to get into reading it. The beginning was a little slow for my taste, but once Astrid showed up, I couldn't put it down. Shes a force to be reckoned with. Can't really think of a good way to say anything without spoilers except Bram is clumsy funny, Falen is secretive but likable, the Panthers are a ball of laughs. And this story needs a book 2 already!! Need to see whats up north already.Received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      Impatiently waiting for the next book! what more can I say :)
    • 4/5
      So glad I gave this book a shot. It starts out by really developing the characters in a setting that I loved. To me this is the strong part of the book. I love to read about new places and characters and get to know them and the city of Ral Tora was fun to get to know. The rest of the book was really good also but your typical fantasy novel. Hope the next book comes out soon. There is a prequel that I just downloaded so I will check this out also.
    • 4/5
      Elizabeth Baxter tells an interesting tale of a land suffering from a long and strange winter. Different people with very different points of view on life and the world are set to face this winter as best they can trying to fight it with intelligence or magic.I very much liked the story and the characters. The story is well told and manages to keep the interest as new information keeps pouring and new characters are introduced. The characters are nothing extraordinary but very appealing, specially Astrid, which is the more complex and active one.The world is build around four city-states, each one with its own idiosyncrasy and beliefs. One of the city-states is based on engineering and science with its development and history being guided by them. For its people, magic and gods are superstitions from past times. I loved the idea of a fantastic setting like this and it is really rather well depicted in the book.The thing is that while it makes perfect sense for its inhabitants to behave in a rational manner the author keeps telling us that so much science and rationality is not saving them from the winter. While this is true and in the world she has built magic is a fact (maybe not any more in these people lives) it is also true that neither religion nor magic have saved the people from other city-states and this she never points out. Maybe I am biased, being a physicist and in love with engineering, but pointing out the blindness of one set of people and not that of others was kind of distracting and kept me thinking that the author's points of view on science and technology were poured more than they should.Another thing that it is worth noting is that men and women are treated as equals and it is never seen as strange or even mentioned as such for women to be soldiers, engineers or regents. Getting rid of the token female is very nice indeed.Overall I liked the book and will certainly give a try to the next one.
    • 5/5
      Everwinter by Elizabeth Baxter is quite entertaining. It's set in a fantasy world where the old gods have been unleashed, and now every thing is frozen. There are two opposing factions one that wants to stop the old gods, and stop the cold, and another that wants to unleash more of the old gods. It held my interest and kept me entertained. I will be looking for more books in this series.
    • 4/5
      Engineer Bramwell (Bram) Tully lives in Ral Tora and loves to puzzle new ideas out. Bram doesn't see himself much like the other engineers yet does his best at what he's doing at the time. Fellow Engineer Falen Godwinsson, a native of Variss, is highly skilled engineer and requested to do a project with Bram. Falen will mostly likely do all the figuring then only let Bram help when it suits her. Engineer Rassus sends Bram out on errands to keep him busy. A surprising vistor from Variss appears at the North gate much to the surprise of the residents of Ral Tora and especially Falen with some surprising news. Meanwhile a delegation from Chellin is sailing for Ral Tora in hopes of alliance and something more. Regal Astrid searches for something hidden in the city on which all future plans will flow. What is so special about Bram? What message is from Variss? What will Falen do? What are the true motives of Regal Astrid? Your answers await you in Everwinter.I thought the prequel Summer Storm showed the dire straights the lands surrounding Variss would suffer but never could I imagine this~broken people and broken hope. Everwinter is so aptly named that it's not surprising the endless winter has fallen upon Ral Tora. I'm fascinated byt the relationship with Bram and Falen. I look forward to seeing how that develops. I'll definitely be interested in reading next book in series.
    • 4/5
      ER review.Fantasy epic. The lead character Bram in an engineer, dealing with large scale city projects such as tunnels/ sewers. There is a lot of politics, old gods, an everlasting winter freeze starts. This is only the start of the series so it doesn't wrap up everything. Good read.
    • 5/5
      (Disclaimer: Received this ebook free through the LibraryThing ER/Member Giveaway program)Everwinter was a great read. You want a hidden cult? You got it. Need a dose of banished gods and dark magic? You'll be sated. And of course, a great book with a wonderfully developed world plus an awesome flow of action mixed with the right balance of well written dialogue is thrown in extra!The only thing that kept me from the 5 stars rating was I felt this could have been fairly epic with just a tiny bit more length to it. My epub edition was about 268 pages. 50-100 more, maybe, and I might have felt like I found another Game of Thrones or a Lord of the Rings book for my personal Christmas. There's some tension between two of the main characters I wouldn't be surprised to see develop into something in the next books in the series. The rivalries between the different major cities of the world are deep rooted and some history is presented as the book progressed, not to mention some dark secrets of those same cities and their people are revealed through the investigation of the main character, Bram. Even the cliffhanger at the end left me wanting more. The author put in just what I think made a perfect mix: character interaction, phenomenal sub-plots, suprises throughout the work, to the point where I felt bereft that I didn't have all the books in the series in hand to continue the adventure. (I'll have to remedy the lack of the other books in my library ASAP)I enjoyed each page and look forward to visiting these characters and the world the author has created in the future. Summary: You'll burn through the pages of Everwinter! (pun intended)I'd recommend this book for readers who enjoy fantasy, both high and swords & sorcery style. With it's dose of engineering and political machinations, some steampunk enthusiasts may find it satisfying, but that could be a stretch. My pet peeves, as usual: Refreshingly, I found extremely few typos/missed word kind of issues. Bless the author, again.
    • 4/5
      Wow! I really enjoyed Everwinter. Once a few chapters in, I found it hard to put down. Ms Baxter weaves places and characters with expert clarity. Mystery upon mystery, intrigue upon intrigue, baddies, magic, creatures......Everwinter is jam packed with layers of detail and description. I look forward to the next installment.
    • 4/5
      Lots of intrigue, action, and magic! The characters have depth and the story had me hooked from the start. Can't wait to read the sequel!
    • 4/5
      I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.I sooo wanted to LOVE this book! I really did! Come on, epic fantasy meets science... I've gotten excited for less than this! The fact that it was building up rather slow, and even though I understand it helped in the development of the characters, give depth to the plot, it kinda made me lose interest more than once. I might not have enough patience. This is probably what you need to actually get the feeling you are really going somewhere. Or should I have read the prequel first? Silly enough, I didn't know about it until now. It makes me wonder... I quite liked Baxter's style, so I might give it a try and possibly end up rereading Everwinter!
    • 5/5
      What a fantastic start to a promising series!Everwinter is exceptionally well written. The characters have great personalities and I really enjoyed reading about Chellin through Bram's point of view. The cities were described perfectly; they were detail enough without being too much. The ending to the first book seemed a little sudden, but it only makes me want to read the sequel even more!
    • 4/5
      Elizabeth Baxter tells an interesting tale of a land suffering from a long and strange winter. Different people with very different points of view on life and the world are set to face this winter as best they can trying to fight it with intelligence or magic.I very much liked the story and the characters. The story is well told and manages to keep the interest as new information keeps pouring and new characters are introduced. The characters are nothing extraordinary but very appealing, specially Astrid, which is the more complex and active one.The world is build around four city-states, each one with its own idiosyncrasy and beliefs. One of the city-states is based on engineering and science with its development and history being guided by them. For its people, magic and gods are superstitions from past times. I loved the idea of a fantastic setting like this and it is really rather well depicted in the book.The thing is that while it makes perfect sense for its inhabitants to behave in a rational manner the author keeps telling us that so much science and rationality is not saving them from the winter. While this is true and in the world she has built magic is a fact (maybe not any more in these people lives) it is also true that neither religion nor magic have saved the people from other city-states and this she never points out. Maybe I am biased, being a physicist and in love with engineering, but pointing out the blindness of one set of people and not that of others was kind of distracting and kept me thinking that the author's points of view on science and technology were poured more than they should.Another thing that it is worth noting is that men and women are treated as equals and it is never seen as strange or even mentioned as such for women to be soldiers, engineers or regents. Getting rid of the token female is very nice indeed.Overall I liked the book and will certainly give a try to the next one.
    • 5/5
      I received this book in exchange for an honest review. One of my favorite genres is SciFi/Fantasy. This book does not disappoint. the world Elizabeth Baxter creates is complete and realistic. The characters are so well done they seem to come right off the page. These are flesh and blood people. The story and the people grab you right away and don't let go. I was disappointed when it ended. This was the first Elizabeth Baxter book I have read and it will not be my last! Great read!!!!
    • 4/5
      My first impression of Everwinter was so-so, but -- I changed my mind.I really enjoyed reading it. I got through it in just a few short settings (not to say it’s short, I think it’s a decent length?). It has a good setup. I liked the flow of the story and the information -- the author gave me information without info-dumping, unfolding the world at a good pace.Things did happen a bit fast, though, e.g. a couple characters are on their way to repair a wall and then bam they're at a near-year recital, and the first story of the recital (the great tale of the city's founding) lasts like 2 minutes. Another odd timing thing I couldn't figure out was near the beginning, when you are introduced to the main character:Bramwell Thornley is an engineer in the city of Ral Tora, and on this day he has volunteered to repair a bell tower. In the winter. He realizes that was a stupid thing to do. Anyway, as he's repairing, the clouds part to show the midday sun, then like 20 minutes later he's walking down the street and there are lamps burning to battle already-fading light. I couldn't figure that out. Like, did it take him a really long time to get down from the tower, does it get really dark really quickly, or what? What happened to the sunburst? Also, some parts I think could be edited a little bit to make the sentences and phrases more precise/concise, but the author definitely didn't ramble and the descriptions were good.Basic plot: An unusual winter has descended on the world, and the city of Ral Tora is trying to find a way to battle it (they're inventing some type of heater). There is a cult of `Wailers' spreading tales of woe, saying how the old gods are returning and are displeased (or something). When a delegation from another city come to request aide to investigate the recently-lost city of Variss, Bram asks to go along, and the leader of the delegation, Astrid, is just a bit too pleased to have him along. (Of course he's someone special, or he wouldn't be the main character. But it's not immediately obvious WHY he's special, I liked that.) Back in her city, there's some political drama, and the book ends with stuff actually happening but it's really just the start of the journey. I enjoyed Everwinter and will actually seek out the sequel. I thought the world and religions were well-done and entertaining. The swordfighting wasn't great (like I would rather she just skipped them) and after 9 days of training Bram is able to beat trained city guards.... but whatever.4-stars, a fun read.(Read as an eBook on Kindle.)

    Book preview

    Everwinter - Elizabeth Baxter

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