Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 20 August 2024)

Series: Kagen the Damned – Book Three

Length: 20 hours and 57 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The damned rush to their final battle in the epic dark fantasy novel, The Dragon in Winter, which brings an exceptional conclusion to author Jonathan Maberry’s Kagen the Damned series.

As I mentioned in my recent review for the author’s other 2024 release, NecroTek, I am a huge fan of Jonathan Maberry, having really gotten into his elaborate and deliciously gritty thrillers and other pieces of fiction since I started this blog.  While I am most familiar with the author’s long-running Joe Ledger series, one of his more intriguing recent bodies of work has been the Kagen the Damned series.  A dark fantasy fiction series that follows a highly damaged figure who seeks bloody revenge after the dastardly Witch-king uses magic to destroy his kingdom and kill the royal children in his care, the Kagen the Damned books were an incredible pivot into the fantasy fiction genre for Maberry that I deeply enjoyed.  Both of the previous books in the series, Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and  Son of the Poison Rose (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023) were five-star reads, and I have so much love for this series (which also includes the novella I Say Your Name in the Dark Nights) due to its elaborate storytelling, damaged characters, and intriguing take on the fantasy genre.  Because of how impressive the first two entries in this series are, I have been eagerly awaiting the third and seemingly final book, The Dragon in Winter, for a long time, and it was one of my most anticipated books of 2024.

Nearly a year after the bloody massacre that saw the dread Witch-king of Hakkia conquer the former Silver Empire in a single night, the war to reclaim the throne is finally here.  As the Witch-king continues to plot, planning to ascend to godhood, his enemies have rallied around the unlikely figure of Captain Kagen Vale, better known as Kagen the Damned.

Once the loyal guardian of the Silver Empire’s heirs, Kagen has survived despair, damaging revelations and damnation from his gods to stand against the Witch-king and gain the bloody vengeance he so desperately needs.  Having proven his valour in combat and his ability to face off against the darkest of magic, Kagen has managed to gather a massive army of rebels, outlaws and the soldiers of various allied nations determined to stop the Witch-king for good.  But this army of flesh and blood men will not be enough to stand against the destructive power of the Witch-king alone.

As magic continues to return to the land, Kagen and his allies soon find themselves beset by the Witch-king’s sinister powers and dread allies, as vampires, demons, magic users and other fell creatures emerge, determined to keep the Witch-king on his bloody throne.  To survive, Kagen will need to find magic of his own that will allow him to withstand the Witch-king’s power.  But the more he looks, the darker secrets he unravels, and soon everything he thought he knew about the world will come tumbling down around him.  Worse, an even more dangerous threat is rising in the frozen north, as a tortured dragon calls out in despair and is answered by a being of unimaginable power.  Can Kagen stop the Witch-king before his dark plans come to pass, or will the dread flames of vengeance consume the entire world?

What an outstanding end to one of my favourite new fantasy trilogies!  The Dragon in Winter was another exceptional novel from Jonathan Maberry that serves as a fitting and powerful end to the Kagen the Damned dark fantasy series.  Loaded with insane action, brilliantly damaged characters, and some fantastic storytelling, The Dragon in Winter was an incredible book that perfectly utilises Maberry’s distinctive style.  I had an amazing time listening to this impressive book, and it gets an easy five-star rating from me, especially on audiobook.

Maberry had to achieve a lot with this third Kagen the Damned novel, as not only did readers require a satisfying end to the trilogy, but this book needed a distinctive story much like the previous entries.  I feel that Maberry achieved both these goals, as The Dragon in Winter was a compelling and dark read that provided a great mixture of adventure, war, intrigue and character growth, all while continuing and concluding the storylines from the previous books.  This third novel starts shortly after Son of the Poison Rose and sees Kagen taking on the role of general by leading a small army against the Witch-King’s forces, while the previously established story threads about the various nations building their armies to join the war come to fruition.  Maberry does a great job of resetting the scene in these early chapters, and not only do you get to see the situation from Kagen’s perspective but multiple scenes are shown from the antagonists’ side as they make their preparations to foil the protagonist and his allies.

Much of the middle of the story follows Kagen and his unlikely allies as they prepare for the inevitable final confrontation, attempting to gain additional ways to fight against the Witch-king.  While some of Kagen’s sequences aren’t entirely necessary for the full advancement of the plot (the goblin cave sequence, for example), they are all generally intense and character building, and they all tie in nicely amongst the other storylines about war preparations and the Witch-king unleashing his dark minions upon the world.  A secondary major storyline focuses on the characters of Jheklan and Faulker, Kagen’s brothers, who journey up to the frozen Winterwilds in search of the last dragon.  This storyline proves to be quite an interesting addition to the story, as while the characters are disconnected from the rest of the plot due to distance, their actions have big impacts on the overarching narrative.  This middle part of the story ends with a major confrontation between a memorable supporting character and a dark set of antagonists, which was not only very awesome but helped to set the scene for the rest of the book.

The final third of The Dragon in Winter is all action and excitement as the final battle of the war is unleashed on multiple fronts.  Maberry expertly brings all the various ongoing storylines to the boil, as the protagonists find themselves in mortal peril.  There is a little bit of everything here, including massive war sequences, smaller battles with huge sacrifice and big revelations finally coming to the surface.  The author keeps the tension extremely high during this third act, and you are constantly on the edge of your seat, especially as your favourite characters face doom and destruction at every turn.  I loved the way many of these storylines came together, and while a couple of big moments were easy to see coming (although for me that just increased the anticipation), there were also some reveals I couldn’t have predicted.  This includes the book’s massive twist that turns around much of what you thought you knew for the last two entries in the series.  I felt that this twist was very clever, especially when you consider the subtle hints leading up to it, and I appreciated how it changed the emotional impact of some previous scenes.  Everything leads up to the big final confrontation, which was as bloody and hard-hitting as you would expect.  This confrontation was chaos, carnage and catastrophe, and I felt that it was a fitting end to a dark trilogy that revelled in bloodshed.  While I do feel that the final boss takedown was a tad anticlimactic due to who got the kill, and Maberry reigned in the tragedy far more than I expected, this conclusion was extremely awesome, and I hung on every word right to the very end.  Everything was very nicely wrapped up, although there is potential for Maberry to revisit this series in the future, which could result in some more gripping adventures.

I always love the way that Maberry manages to apply his distinctive writing style to all his novels, no matter the genre, and it always works to create a powerful and exciting read, especially in The Dragon in Winter.  The large number of short chapters allows for a quick pace, and you are constantly jumping from sequence to sequence, eager to see what will happen next.  Maberry also excels at featuring a huge range of alternating perspectives as the book continues, with the point of view jumping around various interesting characters chapter to chapter.  While much of this focuses on the main protagonist, you are often following many of the fascinating and fun supporting characters as they go about their own adventures.  There are also multiple chapters shown from the perspective of the villain or his minions, and I love how the reader are constantly let into the antagonist’s plans, which helps to raise tension as you worry that they are one step ahead.  Throw in several additional perspective chapters from one-off characters, which often help to highlight some of the darker events going on in the wider setting, and this great jump in perspectives allows for a particularly complex and layered narrative that is so fun to navigate.  Of course, the real highlight of any Maberry book is the exceptional action sequences that pump some massive excitement into the plot.  Maberry is extremely talented at envisioning fight scenes of any size or shape, and I found myself constantly enthralled by the many, many battles that were contained in The Dragon in Winter.  This includes deep personal battles, running skirmishing or even a truly massive full-on war sequence with unique participants, all of which come across extremely well thanks to the author’s powerful and descriptive writing that captures every sword thrust or slice of the protagonist’s blades.

The Dragon in Winter continues to exhibit many of the dark fantasy elements that made the first two Kagen the Damned books so awesome to read.  Maberry really dove into the genre with a vengeance in this series, and I love how he pulled together a rich and powerful fantasy world loaded with both unique features and classic fantasy creatures and monsters.  Thanks to the author’s detailed writing and tendency to effectively recap key elements of the series, readers can easily absorb all the key elements of this universe, and it proves to be fascinating to take in, especially as Maberry loads it with secrets, deep history, and hints of other lands yet to be visited.  Of course, as this is Maberry, there is also a strong Lovecraftian vibe to this universe, as many of the elder gods and other associated beings have a place in this realm.  The author does a great job of exploring these classic Lovecraftian creatures throughout the course of the series, and the way they are worked into the main plot of The Dragon in Winter is extremely clever, especially if you have seen examples of them in some of Maberry’s other series.  For readers expecting a typical fantasy read, I should warn that The Dragon in Winter, like the rest of the Kagen the Damned series, gets very dark and brutal at times, and there are a lot of strong references to violence, torture, sexual assault and other troubling features that probably won’t appeal to every reader.  I feel that while Maberry occasionally goes a bit overboard with these darker inclusions, for the most part it helps to create a powerfully grim overarching tone that raises the stakes and ensure you are constantly rooting for the protagonist to succeed and bring a bit of justice to the world.  It also works very well alongside the awesome action sequences, and for those fans of some very bloody fights, including those featuring pure evil fantasy and horror creatures, you are in for an amazing time here.

While the action, setting and clever storytelling is an exceptional part of The Dragon in Winter, I also need to highlight the various impressive characters featured throughout this book.  Due to The Dragon in Winter being the last entry in this trilogy, Maberry spends much of this book finalising key character storylines, allowing for a much more personal entry in the series that will really appeal to those readers who have grow attached the protagonists in the first two books.  As such, this final Kagen the Damned novel features an array of great characters who are so well written and who often feature their own powerful and personal character arcs. 

Like with the rest of the series, much of the book’s character work is focussed on the main protagonist, Kagen Vale, who thanks to the dark deeds he has witnessed has been given the title Kagen the Damned.  A moody and deadly figure, Kagen has gone through so much despair and darkness in this series, and it has been a powerful journey following him this far.  Maberry did an outstanding job continuing Kagen’s story in The Dragon in Winter, and it was great to see how far Kagen has come, especially as he now uses his inner darkness, past trauma, and even the damnation of his gods, to fuel his desire to fight.  While he has overcome many of his past traumas, Kagen does experience new ones in The Dragon in Winter, as he finally understands the full scope of the evils unleashed upon the world, including by his own people.  This allows for some more dramatic sequences from the protagonist, and part of the emotional strength of the story is watching Kagen overcome even these revelations, especially with the help of his friends.  I have really appreciated how well Maberry has written Kagen’s pain and deeper heart throughout the series, and it was fantastic to see some of this pain finally come to an end in this final novel.

Aside from Kagen, the rest of the supporting cast proves to be quite exceptional, and there are many fascinating characters you become attached to as a result.  I personally loved seeing more of Kagen’s two friends and comrades, Tuke and Fillia, who form a hilarious put powerful trio as they fight together against the odds.  Essentially Kagen’s conscience and voice of reason, Tuke and Filia are the perfect supporting characters to the protagonist, and I love how they constantly anticipate Kagen’s behaviour and manipulate events to ensure he does what they want.  However, they also have their own compelling adventures outside of Kagen, especially when they lead the final battle, and you care nearly as much for them (if not more) than you do Kagen by the end of things.  Maberry also invests a lot of time in The Dragon in Winter to the amusing characters of Jheklan and Faulker Vale, Kagen’s brothers and mischievous adventurers.  While they have had minor appearances in the previous novels, Maberry only featured them as major, fleshed out characters in this final book, as they lead their own expedition to the frozen Winterwilds.  While they are relatively new figures, the reader quickly becomes intrigued by their storylines, especially as it is loaded with adventure and a certain comedic charm thanks to the brother’s juvenile nature.  However, while they are often unserious, when the chips are down Jheklan and Faulker get serious quick, and Maberry ensured that they encounter some real tragedy that shows the true heart of these figures.

While there are other great supporting characters I could talk about, including a vengeful widow and a scarily powerful vampire elf, I want to finish by mentioning the various villains, who are some of the best characters in The Dragon in Winter.  This includes the sinister Witch-king and his court, who are constantly plotting to destroy the world and kill Kagen.  The Witch-king is particularly malevolent in this book, and Maberry continues to build on the revelations surrounding him in this final book, providing even more fun context and twists.  I also love the continued focus on the Witch-king’s terrified advisors, Lord Nespar and Jakob Ravensmere, who find themselves way over their heads as they try to serve their lord and their own agendas.  However, the devilishly fun character known as the Prince of Games easily steals every scene he is in, and I loved his constant manipulations and chaotic nature, especially as it brings great fun to the Witch-king’s dark court.  The Prince of Games, who has some interesting links to some of Maberry’s other series, perfectly rounded out this cast of villains, and I really appreciate how much depth and complexity these antagonists, and indeed every character in the Kagen the Damned series, brought to the overall story.

As with all Maberry’s previous books, I chose to check out The Dragon in Winter on audiobook, which is the best format to enjoy the author’s captivating narratives in.  Maberry’s short chapters, elaborate world building, intense action and over-the-top characters really come to life when they are read out loud, especially when it is done by the legendary Ray Porter.  Porter has long perfected the tones to get the most out of Maberry’s writings and his infectious and compelling voice expertly captures the inherent dark nature of Maberry’s writing and helps to send the crazy scenes of carnage straight into the listener’s head.  The narrator knows exactly how to portray Maberry’s great, larger-than-life protagonists and villains, and you can easily imagine each of the figures and their actions as Porter reads them out.  I particularly enjoy how well Porter captures the various emotional states of these characters, and you always hear the despair, anger or fear of each of these figures when they speak.  This especially true for the primary protagonist, Kagen, and I always appreciate how well the narrator showcases his many dark emotions as he goes through the wringer time and time again.  Throw in some truly chilling voices for the various villains and evil monsters that the protagonists encounter, and Porter’s performance was once again exceptional, allowing for quite an awesome audiobook.  With a runtime just short of 21 hours, this is a long audiobook to check out, although you really don’t mind as it becomes hard to stop listening to The Dragon in Winter, especially during the various climatic or intense sequences.  I had such a great time listening to The Dragon in Winter, and this such an amazing format to enjoy this latest Maberry novel on.  Indeed, I loved it so much I listed it as one of my favourite audiobooks of 2024, even before I finished it, so do yourself a favour and check out this novel on audiobook right away.

Thanks to its powerful story, intense action and damaged characters, The Dragon in Winter was another incredible read from Jonathan Maberry that I could not get enough of.  One of the best books of 2024, The Dragon in Winter was an outstanding final entry in the Kagen the Damned series, and I loved every single second I spent reading it.  Highly recommended on all formats, especially those read out by Ray Porter, The Dragon in Winter is so damn good, and it will be interesting to see if Maberry decides to return to the fantasy genre again the future.  In the meantime, we’re only a few months off from Maberry’s next book, Burn to Shine, which will probably be one of the best things I read in 2025.

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