Rating:
3/5 Snowflakes
Give me the short version:
The collapse of the middle class, an onslaught of serial killers and carnivorous snow! I loved the hungry snow.
A free copy was provided in exchange for an honest review … although I ended up buying my own anyhow; a few bucks isn’t too much to ask for a solid read, and .pdf text doesn’t resize properly on a kindle screen. Winter launches admirably right into the action and scampers along at a good clip. I especially liked the world Mr Ran has set up and you will literally not know what happens next as new elements are dropped in along the way. Society struggles on despite the collapse of the middle class, an onslaught of serial killers and, the best, carnivorous snow. I loved the hungry snow. My attention also locked in more when Winter gamely addressed some broader social issues, offering more depth than your standard action-thriller. The moments that break archetype are when Ran’s individual style shines through the best, and I look forward to this developing in subsequent novels. The reason I’ve given 3 stars over 4 is I like to really get inside a character’s skin, feel their rage and anguish but this is not that sort of novel. The more cosmopolitan reader might find some out of date gender and other stereotyping a bit jarring; luckily the pacing sweeps you quickly past. A number of skills and feats are ascribed to military training with a rapid-fire “tell don’t show” manner. Given their prominence I would have liked to feel the scalding exhaust of the handheld rocket launcher, or the burn of muscles brutally trained until reflex becomes reality but once again that’s just that Winter is slightly sideways of my genre preference. Reece Ran has written with a lot of energy and I predict Winter will have broad appeal to fans of Matthew Reilly-esqe adventures.
Favourite bit:
“I was grateful for the Nitro wear, but the snowflakes bit and gnawed at my coat, and little holes formed on my sleeves. The snow tried to eat its way through to get to our skin.”