Mother of Winter (Darwath) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Barbara Hambly (Author), Donato Giancola (Illustrator) "Do you see it?..." (more)
Key Phrases: fifth level north, scrying table, record crystals, Bald Lady, Dark Ones, Lady Sketh (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Twelve years after she concluded her Darwath Trilogy with The Time of the Dark, Hambly returns to the Keep of Dare. In this magical country, two former Californians, Rudy Solis and Gil Patterson, have prospered in their alternative professions (wizard and warrior, respectively), as well as in their interpersonal relationships with Dare's ruler and Archmage. But in the last five years a new glacial Ice Age has taken hold of Dare. Slunch, a virtually indestructible form of magical fungus, is ruining most of the arable farmland, and mutant creatures are attacking people. If something is not done immediately, the world's surface will freeze, rendering it uninhabitable by humans. Rudy must retain the trust of his queen and lover, Minalde, while delving into her five-year-old son's vast genetic memories, even as Gil and Ingold Inglorion struggle to stop the Mother of Winter from freeze-drying the planet. Part of the appeal of this novel lies in its juxtaposition of old and new: American brand-name products (Cracker Jacks, Swanson frozen entrees) and idiomatic phrases ("Pick up the phone, man!") cohabitate with swordplay and a medieval mindset; high-tech concepts like genetics mingle with sorcerous derring-do. The story is involving, and the narrative intelligent. Too often in recent years, Hambly has expended her talent on Star Trek or Star Wars series novels; it's good to see her originality back and blazing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This sequel to Hambly's first fantasy series, the "Darwath Trilogy," is set five years after the Dark Ones nearly destroyed Renweth. Now the world is mysteriously growing colder, and Rudy and Gil must help the wizard Ingold defeat the magic-resistant creatures spawned by the cold. For fantasy collections owning the trilogy.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (June 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345397231
• ISBN-13: 978-0345397232
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 3.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #522,677 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back with a Shiver, August 10, 2005

By	Matt Graubner "blackwolff" (Kentucky, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mother of Winter (Darwath) (Hardcover)

This return to the world of Darwath is even colder than the the original trilogy, as the ice age predicted by Gil has truly begun to descend. Not only is the weather growing colder but everything is more hostile as mysterious slunch grows over all ground, gradually destroying every plant it comes into contact with and being basically indestructible. The remnants of the realm are still sheltered within the (hopefully) impregnable Keep of Dare and while Rudy attempts to help his love Minalde hold the Keep together in the face of divergent factions Gil and Ingold Inglorien search for the Mother of Winter, the cause of these recent ills.

As with Hambly's other works I especially appreciated the gritty realism. This is no fairy tale world where everybody lives lives just as good as we do in 21st century America (but they happen to have kings, swords, dragons, and magic). Perhaps this realism is achieved because two of the characters are native Californians who can directly comment on the differences to their former life, and suggest improvements (such as in sanitation). Furthermore, while the characters we follow are well connected the political situation isn't one of absolute control so there is a healthy bit of uncertainty about what will happen, even if proper solutions are discovered.

No longer even considering returning to Earth, Gil and Rudy have fully settled into life in the keep. I only recently started reading the series, but I already feel as though these are old friends along with Ingold and Minalde.

In some ways the book is a bit of a mystery, as you're not sure what is going on in the first pages, but you follow the efforts of Gil, Ingold, Rudy, Minalde, and Minalde's now five-year-old son Tir to unravel the mystery of the slunch and the keep itself.

If you have read the original Darwath Trilogy this is indeed a worthy successor that will keep your attention to the last page. If you've not read the first books then please start with them: The Time of the Dark, The Walls of Air, and The Armies of Daylight.

I would also recomend Hambly's Windrose Chronicles (for more Americans crossing into fantasy realms), and her Sun Wolf and Star Hawk trilogy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST for all Darwath readers, July 19, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Mother of Winter (Darwath) (Hardcover)

This continuation of the adventures of Ingold, Gil and Rudy takes place approximately 5 years after the defeat of the Dark. If you wondered what happened to our heros, this answers many of the questions. The interplay between the characters makes them more real than most characters in books. You just know they are fictional, usually, but not in Hambly's books. They have real emotions and they react in a truly human manner. Ingold may be Archmage and seemingly all-powerful, but he's human, too. He can be happy or excited or angry or hurt just like anyone else. Gil is just as lost and confused as anyone when dealing with an unknown element--in this case, her feelings for Ingold--a really human relationship which her background has not prepared her for. I can hardly wait for the next adventure of our favorite Archmage and his partners.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars weep for darwarth..i do, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

Again BH throws us into darwarth, a world where anarchy and chaos rule. Society is crushig down, church takes over, with all the terrible consequences that appear only when reason is substituted by faith and prejeduce. The describtion of a once splendid culture now reduced to ruins made my heart cry. You also almost want to cry out in pain for the knowledge, the books that are destroyed. It is as if the ghost of Claude Maniere participated : "... knowledge - written treasure; once found; and now forever lost;

knowledge - yes; but wisdom never; wraiths are paying now the cost..."

But in this environment of hopelessness and despair there is hope, life. The story of Ingold and GIl, Rudy and Sante goes on blooms and makes me long for more