The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

On July 9, 2026 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Historical Fiction, LGBT+1 Comment

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 14^th 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 18^th 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 14^th 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 14^th 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.

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The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski

On November 30, 2020August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn English Translation, Fantasy, Historical Fiction2 Comments

The Tower of Fools Cover

Publisher: Gollancz (Trade Paperback – 27 October 2020)

English Translation by David French

Series: Hussite trilogy – Book One

Length: 549 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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From legendary Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski comes the first English translation of his 2002 release, The Tower of Fools, an intriguing and exciting fantasy/historical fiction hybrid novel that takes the reader on a weird and entertaining adventure.

1425, Silesia (South Western Poland and parts of Czechia). War is brewing as the Catholic Church fights against the Hussites in a brutal religious struggle. As the entire region begins to degenerate into conflict and chaos, a young doctor and amateur magician, Reinmar of Bielau, known as Reynevan, finds himself in all manner of trouble when he is caught in bed with the beautiful wife of a knight.

As Reynevan makes his escape, a member of the knight’s family, the powerful Stercza clan, is unintentionally killed, and the rest of the Stercza’s swear vengeance upon him. Worse, Reynevan’s forays into magic have made him a target of the inquisition, who wish to have an extended and unpleasant chat about his arcane hobbies. With a massive price on his head, Reynevan is forced to flee into the wilderness to survive as bounty hunters scour the countryside trying to find him.

Calling upon old friends, Reynevan looks for anyway to escape from his pursuers while also attempting to ‘rescue’ the knight’s beautiful wife. Teaming up with an odd group of comrades, Reynevan makes his way throughout Silesia while attempting to outfox his pursuers. However, his adventures have inadvertently placed him in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy, one that could change the entire fabric of the region and which threatens everyone he loves. As Reynevan attempts to work out just what he has become involved with, his path leads him to the infamous Tower of Fools, an asylum for the insane and the heretical. Can Reynevan escape the danger he finds himself in, or will his adventures cost him his life and his mind?

The Tower of Fools is a compelling and unique novel from veteran author Andrzej Sapkowski, who is best known for his iconic The Witcher novels. This novel is the first entry in Sapkowski’s Hussite trilogy, which is the main series he has authored outside of The Witcher books. The Tower of Fools was originally released back in 2002 under the original title Narrenturm, and while it has previously been translated into several other European languages, this version represents the first English translation of the book. The translation of The Tower of Fools was done by David French, who has previously translated several Witcher novels, and no doubt we can expect the next two novels in the series (previously published in 2004 and 2006) to be translated and released in the coming years. While I really enjoyed The Witcher television series, I must admit that I am not too familiar with Sapkowski’s writing, having so far only read the 2018 translation of The Witcher standalone novel Season of Storms. However, due to the inevitable interest that was going to surround The Tower of Fools, I was quite keen to check out this book, and I ended up really enjoying it due to its captivating narrative, outrageous characters and excellent use of some distinctive historical fiction elements.

This novel from Sapkowski contains a fantastic and enjoyable narrative that proves surprisingly hard to put down at times. The author has done a fantastic job blending together interesting historical fiction and fantasy elements that come together to create a distinctive adventure story. The Tower of Fools is mostly told from the perspective of its central character, Reynevan, although several other perspectives are occasionally used throughout the novel. What I liked about this book was the fact that it was a fast-paced, event-laden narrative that showered the reader with all manner of action and intrigue. Reynevan and his companions essentially run into a different dangerous obstacle, major historical event or dastardly opponent every chapter, which they are forced to overcome or escape from in short order. This ensures that the reader is constantly on their feet as they are never certain what new trouble or adventure lies on the horizon. In addition, there is also a subtle line of intrigue that sees a sinister conspiracy begin to unfold around the protagonist as he finds himself in the midst of a series of murders and political manoeuvrings. While this seems like a lot of elements for one book, it comes together surprisingly well into a cohesive and exhilarating narrative that I quite enjoyed, and which serves as an impressive start to the entire Hussite trilogy. There are a lot of fun elements to this book, and I particularly want to point out the rather entertaining introductions that occur at the start of each chapter, giving the reader a humorous heads-up of what is to come throughout the series. I did find it interesting that the titular Tower of Fools, which is referenced strongly throughout the official synopsis for this book, does not show up until really late in the book and is only a setting for a relatively short period. While this book does contain several great and dark scenes in this location, this novel might have been more interesting if more of the story was featured in this asylum. Still, I had an awesome time getting through The Tower of Fool’s cool story, and it was an absolute thrill ride from start to finish.

One of the major things that I liked about The Tower of Fools is the way in which Sapkowski complimented his entertaining narrative with a huge selection of distinctive characters. This includes the main protagonist of the novel, Reynevan, the foolhardy student doctor and magician who serves as the main point-of-view character. While he is the driving force for most of The Tower of Fools’ narrative, I actually found Reynevan to be a little annoying, especially as his impulsive nature, which is mostly driven by unrealistic ideas of heroism and romance, continues to get him into trouble. This becomes especially annoying when his stupid decisions endanger his friends, whose determination to point out Reynevan’s mistakes help to make them more likeable. Despite being a typical foolish young male protagonist, Reynevan does grow on you a bit as the book progresses and it proves hard not to relate to some of his impulses at time. While his actions did occasionally exasperate me, I really did enjoy him as a character, and his keen insights and fun antics ensure that the reader has a great time following him throughout the course of the novel.

In addition to Reynevan, the main two side characters of The Tower of Fools are the fun duo of Scharley and Samson, two very different men who become Reynevan’s travelling companions. Both of these characters are extremely entertaining in their own right, and Sapkowski weaves some great narrative threads around them. Scharley is a crude, belligerent and surprisingly dangerous priest who leaves his imprisonment in a monastery to assist Reynevan. Scharley serves as the main voice of reason and caution for much of the book and proves to be an interesting counterpoint to the youthful and impulsive Reynevan, whom he often has to threaten with violence in an attempt to get him to do the logical or sane course of action. Their other companion is Samson, a giant of a man with an intense intelligence, who may or may not be possessed by a demon. Samson is a really fun addition to the group, and I really enjoyed him as a character thanks to his unique demeanour and characterisation. These two companions are quite intriguing in their own way and it was a lot of fun to see them interact with Reynevan and the other characters they come across. This book also contains a multitude of extra characters, many of whom have their own intriguing storyline or character trait. While many of these characters are entertaining and interesting additions to the plot, I think that Sapkowski might have slightly overdone it with the side characters. While I did my best, there were honestly way too many supporting cast members to keep track of at times, especially as a lot of characters appeared or reappeared out of nowhere with very little explanation. Still, this chaotic use of characters fits in very well with The Tower of Fool’s event-laden narrative, and it did not have too severe an impact on my enjoyment of the book. The more distinctive characters proved to be quite entertaining and I had a good time seeing where some of their arcs ended up.

Sapkowski also makes impressive use of some cool historical fiction elements to tell his unique story. The Tower of Fools is set in the early 15^th century in an area of the world that is experiencing a lot of turmoil, Silesia. Much of the book’s plot revolves around the major conflict of the period between the Catholic Church and the Hussites, a religious offshoot that was declared heretical and which the Church launched several Crusades against. This proves to be a fascinating background to the main story, and Sapkowski features a lot of interesting Eastern European historical inclusions throughout his book. This includes a range of references to key elements of regional history and politics that were quite intriguing, as well as the use of several major historical figures in varying roles, including some cameos from people like Gutenberg and Copernicus. The author does a pretty good job of explaining these historical elements to the reader, although I did have to do some independent research to answer a few questions and fill in a few gaps. A lot of this was due to my somewhat lacking knowledge of Eastern European medieval history, and those readers with a little more appreciation for the location will no doubt follow along a little better. I did think that The Tower of Fools contains a rather excellent depiction of the landscape and the people that would have existed during this bleak period. The various bits of intrigue, plots and war that occur throughout the book really fit into Sapkowski’s impressive and dark, setting, and it definitely helped to enhance part of the book’s story. This was also the perfect setting for the various magical elements that occurred throughout the book, as their darker aesthetic matched the location to a tee, especially as there are a number of scenes set out in the dangerous and monster-filled woods. All of this makes for a great setting, and I had an excellent time seeing this historical setting be put to amazing use throughout The Tower of Fools.

The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski is an enjoyable and fun novel that takes the reader on an epic adventure back to a dark version of historical Eastern Europe. Filled with some great characters, intriguing historical features and a fantastic story, The Tower of Fools turned out to be quite a captivating read. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the Hussite trilogy unfolds and I imagine I will be in for an exciting ride. The Tower of Fools comes highly recommended and it should prove to be an excellent read to any fans of Andrzej Sapkowski and The Witcher novels.

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Guest Review: Pan’s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke

On April 27, 2019April 6, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Guest Review, Historical Fiction, Horror, Tie-in Novel6 Comments

For this entry, my editor and future wife Alex managed to talk me into letting her do a review. We hope you enjoy this guest review, and Alex may do some more in the future.

Publisher: Bloomsbury (Trade Paperback – 2 July 2019)

Series: Pan’s Labyrinth

Length: 297 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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As the chief editor for The Unseen Library, I read far more book reviews than books, but every now and then the mood strikes just right, and I am fortunate to share a house filled to the brim with books waiting to be enjoyed. I thought I’d commemorate the latest occasion by writing a review of my own:

Pan’s Labyrinth is a Spanish-language dark fantasy film written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Thirteen years after its release, Guillermo del Toro and bestselling author Cornelia Funke have transformed the screenplay of the film into a beautiful work of prose.

Pan’s Labyrinth is part of a modern tradition of fairytales in which children have fantastic adventures whilst the adults are busy with war. In Spain, in 1944, young Ofelia and her mother join the household of Capitan Vidal, who is responsible for hunting down the anti-fascist guerrillas hiding in the mountainous forests nearby. Left to her own devices and enchanted by fairy tales, Ofelia is drawn to the ancient stone labyrinth near their new home. There she meets the Faun, who tells her she is in fact the missing princess of the Underground Kingdom. In order to reclaim her place in the kingdom and escape her terrible new stepfather, she must prove her courage and worthiness by completing three tasks. This is easier said than done; these tasks themselves are life-threateningly perilous, but Ofelia must also try to protect herself and her heavily pregnant and ailing mother from the ruthless Capitan and the rebels at the door.

Guillermo del Toro is renowned for making visually stunning films, and Pan’s Labyrinth was no exception; in fact, it won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Makeup. I am happy to report that the novelisation of Pan’s Labyrinth faithfully re-imagines the amazing sets, characters and creatures of the film. In the absence of cinematography, visual design and Doug Jones in monster makeup, the authors have relied on using a great deal of descriptive language to bring scenes to life in text. This is also supported by a number of illustrations throughout the book which clearly drew from the art of the film. It had been many years since I last saw the film, but the imagery of the story is so well produced that I was easily able to imagine many long-forgotten scenes according to del Toro’s vision.

There are many advantages of this novelisation. In particular, the book gives a great deal of insight into various characters not afforded by the film. We see Ofelia’s thought processes as she observes the adults around her and as she obeys or defies the Faun’s instructions. We understand the fierce motivation of Mercedes and Dr Ferreira as they desperately try to assist the rebels in the hills without being discovered. Most terrifying of all, we catch a glimpse of the inner mind of Capitan Vidal, the Wolf, whose horrendous acts of violence rival those of the Pale Man. The inner monologues of these characters provided in the book enable us to have a greater appreciation of their perspectives, actions and motivations.

For the most part, the novelisation follows the story of the film faithfully, but it also includes a number of additional chapters. These feature stories of the Underground Kingdom and its magic bleeding into the Upper Kingdom, creating the lore and mythology that surrounds the Spanish landscape in which the story is set. These grim and interconnected fairy tales provide amazing context for the enigmatic Faun and the nature and gravity of the tasks Ofelia must complete, as well as being beautiful and moving stories in their own right.

Fans of the film will know exactly what to expect from the novelisation of Pan’s Labyrinth and will appreciate the additional fairy tales and insights it provides. Those who haven’t seen the film (and there is always a cohort of cinemagoers that dislikes or struggles with subtitled films) will feel as though they had, as this gruesome and fantastic story has been beautifully transferred onto the page.