Publisher: Tor (Trade Paperback– 24 February 2026)
Series: Standalone/Book One
Length: 535 pages
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Australian author Cameron Sullivan delivers one of the best and most compelling debuts of 2026, with the historical fantasy epic, The Red Winter, a truly impressive read that you won’t be able to put down.
Plot Synopsis:
A devastating love story.
A bewitching twist on history.
A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption.
In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake.
Sebastian knows the Beast. Twenty years ago, it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down. Now, he has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. With the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel – who takes payment in living hearts – Sebastian must return to Gévaudan for a final reckoning, while the Beast is poised to plunge the continent into war.
In this dark retelling of the hunt for the Beast of Gévaudan, Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history. He lifts the veil on the hidden world behind our own and reimagines the story of Europe, from Imperial Rome to Saint Jehanne d’Arc and the first flickers of the French Revolution.
Wow, want an outstanding and incredible debut. I must admit that when I first received The Red Winter, having very little prior knowledge of what it was about, I didn’t know what to expect. Still, I decided to give it a chance, and found myself quickly enthralled by Cameron Sullivan’s brilliant storytelling, excellent humour, and use of multiple intriguing periods of French history. One of the best books I have so far read in 2026, The Red Winter gets a full five-star rating from me, and I loved it so damn much.
I loved the unique and layered story that Sullivan came up with for The Red Winter, which thrust readers through several different periods of French history in a slightly alternate world filled with demons, angels and spiritual power. Told primarily from the perspective of Professor Sebastian Grave, an immortal sorcerer with a demonic spirit bound to him, the book serves as a personal chronicle of several connected past adventures in France. Starting with a storyline set in 1785, the book sees Professor Grave encounter Jacques Avenel d’Ocerne, the son of his former lover Antoine d’Ocerne, who requests Grave return with him to the Gévaudan region of France to fulfil a contract he holds with his father. Setting off on this new journey, the reader soon starts following Grave’s previous adventure in Gévaudan in 1766, when Grave first encounters Antoine and finds himself drawn into the hunt for the infamous Beast of Gévaudan, a monster terrorising the area and killing many locals. The story also features an interesting third storyline set out as an Addendum to the main narrative. This Addendum takes place throughout the early 14th century and is also told in the form a chronicle, this one primarily written by Grave’s succubus servant Livia, who attempts to uncover a valuable artifact in war-torn France, dragging her employer into further danger and carnage.
Without giving too much away, Sullivan masterfully binds these storylines together, as he simultaneously follows the events of all three time periods. Most of the focus is on the two 18th century storylines, with the consequences of Grave’s attempts to hunt the beast in 1766 coming back to bite him when the same monster returns in 1785, with even greater savagery. At the same time, the Addendum narrative contains even more chaos, which sees Grave first unknowing encounter with the Beast, and establishes much of this creature’s history and motivations, as well as Grave’s long-time obsession with obtaining its power.
Each of these different plotlines provides the reader with something different, including a great tragic romance narrative in the 1766 adventures, covered over with dark unexplained events from real-life history. This blends well with the more entertaining misadventures showcased in the Addendum, and the darker storyline in 1785, as Grave and other character are forced to relive all their past mistakes and uncover how the Beast survived. I honestly grew quite attached to all three of the different plot threads, as each contains a brilliant and compelling narrative that stands on its own. However, it’s the way that Sullivan weaves a larger, more complete narrative from them, that is the real highlight of The Red Winter, and which raised this entire book to a five-star epic. Each storyline perfectly flows into the other, and learning revelations from one has great impacts on your understanding of the others. Sullivan also captures the regret and anger of the protagonist (and other characters), in each progressive timeframe, and I loved seeing the true impacts of past decisions and bad decisions haunt people years down the line. I really cannot emphasise just how impactful, addictive and well-put-together this incredible narrative was, and you are guaranteed to come away from it deeply entranced.
While the epic storyline of The Red Winter was very awesome in its own right, Sullivan’s moving writing style added an extra impressive kick to it that constantly kept the reader coming back for more. I’ve already mentioned a few times the different time periods, separate narrative threads and even an alternate narrator, and these effective writing tools were each used to great effect. However, I really need to emphasise the way that each of them had their own unique feeling of tragedy, anger and personal regrets, especially thanks to the different experiences of the protagonist, that ensured they all stood out. The difference in tone between these three simultaneous plotlines produces a truly vibrant and emotionally charged novel, and I loved how each storyline got dark in their own way, while still having some moments of levity.
While there are some tonal differences, each plotline has some excellent and consistent humour behind it. Much of this humour is driven by the interaction between Grave and his internal spirit, Sarmodel, as well as the selfish and cynical antics of Livia in the 14th century plotline. Sullivan also makes great use of various entertaining footnotes, which not only provide further context for this fantasy version of the world, but also add some additional comedy outside the flow of the main story. This humour blends well with the darker elements of The Red Winter, and the contrast and occasional lighter tone makes this book even easier to read and enjoy. Indeed, Sullivan’s entire writing style in The Red Winter was very inviting and easy going at times, and I was quite impressed with how effortlessly he conveyed a lot of complicated bits of real-life history and his own personal lore to the reader. There was never a part of The Red Winter that got bogged down in extensive occult discussion or deep dives into history, and Sullivan’s writing keeps the reader hooked all the way from start to finish.
One of the big highlights of The Red Winter for me was Sullivan’s clever use of French history, which also tied into a wider world of magic and religious truth that only the protagonist and his associates are aware of. As with most successful urban fantasy series, Sullivan ensures that the setting of The Red Winter is very similar to the real-world in terms of history and society, but with hidden magic just beneath the surface and only visible to a few. The author works these elements cleverly into the story, with the protagonist explaining to the reader the realities of magic and the divine, both in text and through the aforementioned footnotes. These descriptions and explanations work into the main narrative well, and you soon understand the implications of what the protagonist is experiencing or doing, as well as the dark consequences of everything that he does. While much of the magic in this book is more subtle than some other fantasy reads, it is still quite impactful, and its clever design and inclusion of battling angels, demons and other godlike beings really upped the stakes at times.
On top of the fantasy elements, Sullivan does an excellent job showcasing three different periods of French history, especially based around the Gévaudan region of France. This includes the post-Hundred-Years War period in the 14th century, the early waning days of the French monarch in 1766, and the angry start of the French revolution around 1785. Each of these are explored masterfully, and not only does this help to give each separate plotline its own unique identity, but Sullivan gives some interesting mystical or spiritual origin to some certain historical events. However, the historical element I liked the most was the compelling dive into the mysterious occurrence of the Beast of Gévaudan. A heavily documented series of creature attacks in Gévaudan in the 1760s, the story of the Beast of Gévaudan wasn’t something I was too familiar with before getting this book, but boy am I interested in it now. While Sullivan does put his own spin on the origins of these events, he did capture much of the actual recorded history of the Beast of Gévaudan attacks, with several historical figures appearing as supporting characters. I found this to be deeply fascinating, and it served as a very interesting centre to much of the story, primarily the near half of the book set in 1766. I cannot emphasise just how fascinating Sullivan’s dive and use of this curious event was to the plot of The Red Winter, and I really must congratulate him for finding and using such a fitting piece of historical weirdness.
Finally, I need to mention some of the great characters featured throughout The Red Winter. Sullivan utilises a rich cast, combining immortals and magical beings, with normal humans caught up in their crossfire. The obvious focus is on main protagonist and point-of-view character Professor Sebastian Grave, a seemingly immortal being who has already lived for over a thousand years at this point in the story. An entertaining figure, bowed by his experiences yet still retaining the ability to fall in love and make mistakes, Grave was an interesting conduit for the reader to explore this dark tale, and I loved his unique and often cynical take on events, often written with some unfortunate hindsight. While you don’t get a lot of character development from Grave due to his immortal status, there is still some moving moments with this character, especially when more tragedy comes his way, and he is forced to deal with old mistakes and failings. The way that Sullivan simultaneously showcases Grave’s passionate romance with Antoine in 1766, and the distain Antoine holds for him in 1785, added some great drama to the plot, and you really become intrigued by what led to these events. This doomed romance and the history behind it drive much of Grave’s later story, and it was compelling to see how much regret he holds and how it continues to impact him.
Aside from Grave, there are several other great characters of note in The Red Winter, many of whom steal the show in their own way. This includes the demonic spirit Sarmodel, a mysterious being that has lodged itself into Grave’s soul, giving him immortality and much of his power. Thanks to their connection, which is nearly another romance, Sarmodel serves as a background voice to Grave’s actions. I loved the constant bickering back and forth between Grave and Sarmodel (like a very old married couple), and it honestly added a lot of humour and internal discord to the novel. Sarmodel’s needs also serve as a great motivator for this protagonist duo, with Sarmodel constantly driving Grave to find sources of life and magic to feed him, and it was interesting to see how that impacted their adventures. The use of the d’Ocerne father and son duo was also an excellent character use in The Red Winter, primarily because of their relationships with Grave, but also because of how their separate mistakes and secrets impact each other and bring greater tragedy to the plot. Throw in a disobedient succubus assistant, controlled by her own vices, various interesting historical luminaries and even the Archangel Michael who is working his own angle in events, and the cast of The Red Winter was impressive, and helped move the story in some awesome directions.
Thanks to his obvious talent, impressive ability and fantastic imagination, Cameron Sullivan’s debut novel, The Red Winter, was an exceptional read, and I honestly still can’t get over how much I loved it. A particularly clever, moving and addictive novel, The Red Winter was an absolute pleasure to read, and I loved every single second I spent with it. I honestly hope that Sullivan revisits his main characters again in the future, as there is so much potential for further adventures across history. Until then, The Red Winter remains one of the most impressive recent debuts I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and indeed it was one of the very best books I read in the first half of 2026.
