Jonathan Maberry
Science Fiction Fantasy
The Dragon in Winter brings New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s epic Kagen the Damned Trilogy to a wild conclusion!
War is coming! War is here! The Witch-king of Hakkia, aided by terrifying dark forces, sits uneasy on his stolen throne. His enemies, led by Kagen the Damned and the Bloody Bastards have found the secrets of ancient magic they hope will defeat him. Strange forces gather on both sides – vast armies of both the living and the dead, devious trickster spirits, strange gods, warrior ghosts, undying vampires, blood plagues that drive people to murderous rage, immortal faeries, and Earth’s last dragon.
Kagen knows that he faces the impossible task of toppling a usurper whose dark magic conquered an empire in a single night. But the Damned fear nothing and there are no limits to what Kagen will do to destroy the Witch-king. With his allies he will tear apart the veils that separate our world from the infinite realms of supernatural magic. The Witch-king will not go down with a fight, and he is willing to drown the western lands in innocent blood to retain his stolen crown. Even if he rules over an empire of dust and blood. His power is growing and soon he will be unstoppable.
But they are not the only forces at work in the world. Magic of all kinds is awakening and who can tell which side they will pick…or if they will pose a new and terrible threat to all! In the frozen North, the last dragon –tortured, captive, dying― cries out in despair. In the inky vastness of the outer dark that cry is heard! And something of incalculable power is coming in answer.
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.
Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.
My Opinion
(4 / 5) A powerful usurper gained the entire empire overnight with surprise, brutality and magic. Now many are against him and fighting to force him off the throne.
Kagen and friends will not let anything stop them from ridding their world of this evil. Their quest is eye-opening and heart warming in all that they do. With this being book 3, I won’t get into it too much, but the sarcastic banter of Kagen and friends is ever-present. They battle, are a bit crude and use humor all in the same scene. There was one twist I definitely did not see coming that added such great intrigue to endear me even more to this series. What a conclusion to a great trilogy! I’ve loved following Kagen and his adventures and can’t wait to read more of Maberry. If you love dark epic fantasy with ancient magic and amazing characters then you’ll need to get your hands on this series!
AUDIO REVIEW: I have nothing but the utmost respect for high fantasy narrators. The voices required to narrate is extensive. Multiple men, women, often children and even creature voices are needed. It is no small feat and Ray Porter handled it with ease!
General content summary: F words= 17
C***= 1
Death (multiple, poison, weapons, war, fire, some details of gore)
Physical violence (war, weapons, bodies with many signs of torture, multiple, extensive)
Creature attacks
Child abuse (children mistreated and given severe punishments)
F/F relationship
Intimacy (m/f referenced, thought of in some detail, rape remembered with no details)
Possible cannibalism
**Any quotes have been taken from the advance readers copy and may or may not be in the final, published copy.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the copy!
**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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