The Wolf of Winter [Import] [Paperback]

Paula Volsky (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 429 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books; paperback / softback edition (1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553408151
• ISBN-13: 978-0553408157
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare, anyone?, July 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wolf of Winter, The (Paperback)

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm hooked on Paula Volsky. I'm also hooked on Richard III, which is one of the many reasons I love this book. Think Richard III in Russia with Necromancy. And once you've done that, realize that Volsky makes it work. It's an amazing read. Do you sympathize with Varis? Yes. Do you loathe him? Yes. Do you want him to win? Yes, kind of. Do you want him to be defeated? Not really... but he deserves it. Don't let the other reviews fool you, either. The ending is perfect. It may not be the reader's ideal ending, but it is the perfect result of the excesses of blood and power that the amazingly sympathetic yet bloody Varis deals in. No sequel or rewrite needed; Volsky hits it perfectly.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Wolf of Winter, February 25, 2005

By 

not4prophet (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wolf of Winter, The (Paperback)

"The Wolf of Winter" begins with Varis, a youngest of three brothers in the royal family, suffering from much mockery for his physical handicaps. Fleeing to a remote hideaway in the mountains, he soon gets tempted by the dark magic of necromancy. Without any doubt, this opening section is the high point of the novel. Varis does not want to be a necromancer. He knows that use of the magic, and of the various drugs needed to achieve spectral power, eventually drives users insane. He knows, but he can't stop. He becomes addicted to drugs, to magic, and to the power that it brings. The portrait of addiction here is strikingly realistic, and indeed for those expecting just a standard swords of sorcery outing this may catch you by surprise. As others have said, it makes Varis a unique villain. We get caught between our loathing for his actions and our sympathy for the way that fate seemed to trap him. These first few chapters are so deep and conflicted, it makes you wonder whether Volsky had some experience with addiction in a friend or family member that led her to create this character.

Regretably, the rest of the book doesn't maintain the same high level. First of all, the reader must suffer a long, boring midsection that keeps Varis offstage while instead focusing on the Prince and Princess in exile. And in contrast to the excellent characterization at the start, many of the minor characters are mere stick figures. For instance, the academics at Frule at are little more than a tedious punch line.

In the end, Volsky seems afraid to push this story to its full potential. At one point she briefly mentions that after coming to power, Varis actually passed a number of reforms that improved life dramatically for the ordinary people of his kingdom. This raises the question, should we support a ruler who murdered and schemed his way to the throne if he proves a good ruler? Raises the question, but never answers it. The entire subject is merely dropped in favor of a pyrotechnic ending.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definite Richard the III parallel, February 7, 2003

By 

C. A Baker (Santa Rosa CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wolf of Winter, The (Paperback)

Like all of Paula Volsky's books she has taken a classic tale/historical event and added magic etc..
This retelling of Richard the III is fantastic full of disgust, pity and mesmerism!
Varis is as facinating as his historical counterpart and the tale is very engrossing.
The only reason I gave it 4 stars is it isn't quite as good as Illusion, not nearly as detailed or totaly hypnotizing.
But is well worth buying and on the list of all her other books this is definitly number 2 after Illusion, followed closly by her most recent novel The Grand Ellipse. Her other books are good but aren't nearly as good as these 3...