Blending historical, speculative, and supernatural genres, The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan is a cross between The Witcher series and Brotherhood of the Wolf, with a smattering of Baldur’s Gate 3. TRW follows seemingly immortal Professor Sebastian Grave, the demon that inhabits him (and sometimes astral projects into corporeal form) Sarmodel, and the succubus Livia who has been chained to Sebastian in servitude over the centuries (why/how–we don’t really know?) TRW gives a historical fantasy interpretation of the true historical French 18th century events surrounding the Beast of Gévaudan. Such speculative subject matter in the historical setting is right up my alley, and while this book favored the supernatural more than I was expecting, it was still an original re-imagining of these historical events.
Sebastian Grave is contracted to join the hunt for the Beast in the 1760s and again in the 1780s (just before the revolution) when the beast reemerges. The tale flips back and forth between Sebastian’s time hunting with nobleman Antoine, then in the 1780s again hunting the beast but this time with Antoine’s son Jacques. As Sebastian recounts the story of the original hunt to Jacques, Cameron Sullivan paints a story filled with demons, gore, blood, and romance.
Interspersed throughout the 1760s and 1780s chapters are interludes with Livia’s exploits in the 15th surrounding Joan of Arc. While many of us know the story of Joan having received visions from God, Sullivan reinterprets Joan as having been possessed by a demon. Livia, a succubus disguised as a nun, has been tasked by Sebastian to hunt down the demon–and later, a relic from Joan’s remains still holding the demon.
These three avenues eventually converge to map the origin of the demon and its connection to the Beast of Gévaudan, albeit a bit convoluted and confusing at times. I would have likely been okay with the past and present story lines, but the interruptions of Livia’s 15th century chapters were jarring, sometimes confusing, and oftentimes seemed quite disconnected from the 18th century story lines. Another point I struggled with in TRW is that is reads like the second or third in a series. I stopped twice during reading to research the author’s publication history to make sure I wasn’t missing any previous books (I wasn’t.) I felt a bit at a loss sometimes because the rules of the world are not clearly established, we kind of learn glimmers of things in passing and have to fill in the gaps–but those musings detract from following an already busy story and its multiple threads. The author also uses footnotes throughout, the footnote explanations are from Sebastian’s perspective, however, and although they’re sometimes helpful they more often than not make the reader feel as if she is missing a whole other book that should have come beforehand.
The Red Winter is original, the premise/time period rich, and Sebastian himself is an interesting character although we don’t know a whole lot about his apparently vast history (Ancient Rome is mentioned many times.) You feel a bit of whiplash reading this one trying to keep up with all the unestablished rules of this world, while at the same time balancing three different plot lines. While TRW was entertaining, I think it could have been more successful in its execution if the author had first written a book about Sebastian’s origins, the supernatural rules of this world, and Sebastian’s historical exploits to bring him to the point where we meet him in the 18th century.
TW: Lots of gore, blood, etc!
The Red Winter will be released February 24, 2026
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