Series Review: The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden

Hi everyone!

I know I’m deviating from my posting schedule, but that’s because I wanted to make the most of my writing time before university starts again a week from now. Okay, and also because I am so in love with the Winternight trilogy that I am bursting to talk about it!!!

Seriously, why did I put off reading this for so long? The first book had been on my goodreads “want to read” shelf for ages, and yet, year after year, I didn’t pick it up. Then, however, I promised that whoever guessed the most books correctly on my Can You Guess My Favorite Books? post could pick a favorite book of theirs for me to read, and Line from First Line Reader suggested The Bear and the Nightingale. And since Line has excellent taste in books, The Bear and the Nightingale was on my radar anyway, and I was just itching to splurge on books as a reward for finally being done with exams, I went ahead and ordered the whole trilogy. And then binge read it over the course of three days.

Honestly, guys, this series is everything I ever could have asked for. A fantasy trilogy set in 14th century Russia, this is exactly the type of slow, atmospheric read that makes you want to curl up in a chair with a hot drink as the weather turns cold outside. I completely forgot about everything that was going on around me and got lost in a tale about a girl called Vasya, who grows up at the edge of the Russian wilderness listening to fairy tales about the frost-demon that haunts the night. But Vasya knows that these are more than just tales – she can see the creatures no one else can: the domovoi that lives in the oven, the vazila in the stables, the rusalka that tries to drag unsuspecting people to the depths of its lake. Her life soon becomes intricately connected to the tales she heard during her childhood, and her and her family’s lives are put in danger as things start changing in Rus’.

I loved everything. The writing, the characters, the setting – all of it was so fleshed out, you couldn’t help but believe it was real. And, obviously, I loved how heavily inspired the series was by Russian culture. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been learning Russian for more than a year now, and that going to Russia in 2019 was one of the coolest experiences in my lifetime. Reading this trilogy transported me back to that trip, and also taught me so many new things about Russian history and culture!

I hope you appreciate my attempts to make this review more atmospheric by adding some pictures of my travels through Russia – this one was taken in Великий Новгород (Veliky Novgorod), and the beautiful wooden architecture helped inspire how I imagined Vasya’s village Lesnaya Zemlya.

Anyway, that’s pretty much it as far as non-spoilers go. If you haven’t read this series yet and any of this sounds at all intriguing to you, I highly recommend you go pick this up! It might be my favorite thing I’ve read so far this year, and it goes without saying that I gave all three books a full five-star rating. 😊

Review Excited Gushing – With Lots of Spoilers, Obviously

You’ve probably realized by now that the more I love something, the more incoherent my thoughts get 😁 So I’ve attempted to organize this a little bit, but, realistically, you’re still going to get a lot of rambling…

The Writing (and a bunch of trivia about Russian that I couldn’t keep to myself)

A girl rode a bay horse through a forest late at night. This forest had no name. It lay far from Moscow – far from anything – and the only sound was the snow’s silence and the rattle of frozen trees.

The Girl in the Tower, p. 3

First, can I just say that I am completely in love with the way Katherine Arden writes? Her style is so whimsically lyrical that I was entranced from page one. Seriously, I need this woman to teach me how to paint with words like she does!

I also appreciated how much knowledge went into these books. You could tell that the author had done tons of research on Russian fairy tales and history, that she was familiar with the culture, and that she poured her heart and soul into this masterpiece. Katherine Arden lived in Moscow for a year and then studied French and Russian literature at university, and it shows. All descriptions were so vivid and intricate, and I loved how many language snippets she included. Everything, especially the names, had meaning behind them, and I had so much fun tying the Russian in this book to what I had already learnt.

Inside the Kremlin walls in Moscow. I’m lowkey jealous that Katherine Arden got to spend a whole year in this amazing city, while my friend and I rushed around trying to see everything during one weekend (and nearly froze to death in the process since we hadn’t been expecting hailstorms in September…)

I knew immediately who “the bear” in the title was, because медведь (medved) is the Russian word for ‘bear’. [Which is, in turn, derived from the word for ‘honey’, мëд.] The word domovoi comes from дом (‘house’), dvorovoi from двор (‘yard, courtyard’), Morozko from мороз (‘frost’). These books taught me the words for ‘nightingale’ (соловей) and ‘mist’ (туман). I could go on, but I think you get the point – for a language nerd like me, this series was a dream!

And you wouldn’t believe how much I appreciated the correct use of Russian first names in this book! Honestly, it’s astounding how many Western movies set in Russia get this wrong. Just recently, my mom and I were watching this drama about the Romanovs, and there was this peasant boy everyone kept calling “Nicky”. Which drove me nuts. The diminutive of Николай (Nikolai) is Коля (Kolya), not Nicky. That and several other weird inconstancies made it abundantly clear that the writers had just made use of a bunch of stereotypes that sounded interesting but hadn’t really put much effort into research. But Katherine Arden did, and it made her world all the more real to me 🥰

Also, is it just me, or did this whole series feel like a really long fairy tale? I know that it draws heavily on Russian folklore, but sometimes, it really sounded like my grandmother was telling me a story. The writing just flowed so naturally and beautifully, and I immediately felt inspired to pick up some of Pushkin’s fairy tales again, just to compare. Although they have so many words I don’t know that it will probably be a very long process until I’ve read all of them…

The Characters

All the characters in the book were amazing. Even the villains had their sympathetic moments, so that I kept hoping that, maybe, they’d see the error of their ways and repent. Everyone felt fleshed out and real, everyone had flaws and failings.

Some grass statues in the Великий Новгород kremlin. Back then, I didn’t know enough Russian to understand what exactly they were supposed to represent, but with a little imagination, they give off winter-king and -queen vibes, right?

First, there’s Vasya. I absolutely adored her! The way she wouldn’t let anyone tell her what to do, the way she stuck up for her way of life and tried to single-handedly keep the chyerti alive when other people stopped believing – my heart went out to her. And she had so many wonderful moments… All those times when she told Konstantin off, when she stole that stuck-up Kyril’s horse to go after Seryozha (thank God that marriage didn’t work out), when she took Marya riding without permission, every time she refused to do what Morozko told her: it was awesome! And then she went and dressed as a boy so she could travel, fight and dabble in politics! Why didn’t anyone tell me this series included this trope? I would have read it so much sooner!

Then, Morozko. After Solovey, he’s probably my second-favorite character in the entire series. I loved how he had this dark, cold, “I reap the dead”-side to him, but was also the only one who fully understood Vasya and let her live her life without judging her every second of the way. And boy, did he and Vasya have chemistry. It immediately made me forget any initial thoughts I had about Konstantin and Vasya maybe getting together (Ugh, I know. I don’t know what I was thinking 😅). And that bathhouse scene we got in The Winter of the Witch? It was everything I had never even dreamed of asking for. And then Vasya went and introduced him to Olga has her demon-boyfriend, and my heart just couldn’t take how adorable it was…

Since I already talked about Konstantin a little, let’s continue. Boy, did I grow to hate him. He was the perfect example of how terrible things can be done in the name of religion, things that go against everything Christianity is supposed to teach. And at first, I had hope. He was clearly smitten with Vasya, even though he did not want to admit it to himself. I kind of shipped it (because Morozko wasn’t in the picture yet, obviously). But then he went off the deep end completely, succumbing to the voices of the Bear and Kaschei, and forgetting God in his love of being admired and feared. Let’s just say that he probably got what he deserved.

Me at a monastery just outside Великий Новгород. As a woman, you are only allowed to enter Orthodox churches with your head covered, and I decided I needed to document my abysmal head-scarf-wrapping skills. Still – wouldn’t it have been so much easier if people had sent Konstantin to a monastery instead of Lesnaya Zemlya?

Speaking of monasteries, I also loved Sasha. He reminded me of Vasya in how he stood up for taking his own path, and the way he was always there for his sister, even if it meant lying to Dimitrii, almost had me tearing up. In fact, the family bonds in this series were pretty amazing in general. Dunya, Pyotr, Alyosha, Irina, Olga, Sasha, and even the little bit we got to see of Kolya – I loved it all. And Sasha’s sacrifice at the end was so sad, but it made the series so much stronger. I hate when, in fantasy series with huge stakes, everyone miraculously survives until the end, so I’m glad this series gave us a bit of heartbreak. And it wasn’t just Sasha – Vasya’s parents, Olga’s newborn child, and even Anna Ivanovna. It was all just so, so tragic.

The thing that almost destroyed me, though, was Solovey‘s death. That horse was just the purest thing ever, and I sobbed my way through The Winter of the Witch, thinking he was gone forever. I will never forgive you for this, Katherine Arden, never! Still, I suppose it gave us the chance to get to know Pozhar, and I did love her, too. No one could ever have replaced Solovey, though.

There are so many other characters I could talk about, but, since this review is already getting hopelessly long as it is, I think I’ll just mention in a closing sentence how much I loved all of the chyerti. Some of them, like the domovoi and Ded Grib, were so innocent and cute, and others, like Midnight or the bagiennik, such clever schemers. I really need to read up more on some of these fairy tales!

A medieval Russian room in the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Peterburg. I didn’t check the oven for a domovoi, but I can totally see one living in a place like this.

Anyway, I think I’ll keep it at that for now – if you’d like me to gush about anything else, feel free to mention it in the comments and we can continue from there 😉

Also, if you know of any books with similar vibes that you think I’d enjoy, please tell me! The only one that I’ve read so far is Otfried Preußler’s Die Abenteuer des starken Wanja (The Adventures of Strong Vanya), a German fantasy novel that is also based on Russian mythology and pretty dang good (though I won’t vouch for the English translation).

The Royal Library at the Winter Palace (Hermitage Museum) in St. Petersburg. I’m not sure how exactly it fits in here, but it was so beautiful that I couldn’t not share it with my fellow book nerds. And anyway, I’m sure if the Winternight trilogy had been around back then, this is where the Czars would have kept their copy...

And if you’ve read the Winternight trilogy (which I sincerely hope you have if you’ve made it this far), let me know what you thought of it! Even if you hated it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

28 thoughts on “Series Review: The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden”

  1. Line says:
    Reply

    After reading this I want to ditch all of my reading plans and just read this trilogy all over again! I loved this rambling from you 😉

    I loved that you explained what those names and words mean in Russian, especially that Morozko means frost. I also remember being so confused why a character named Nikolai was called Kolya. Nikolai is a popular Danish name too, and it just didn’t make sense to me. But I believe she explained that at the back of the book, which just made me realized how much Arden knew about Russia and that I should just trust her.

    Oh and the bathhouse scene… I’m so glad you mentioned that because I think that might be my favorite scene in the entire trilogy. The way that was written was so mesmerizing. I completely forgot where I was when I read it.
    Also, reading the sentence “Konstantin and Vasya maybe getting together” almost made me throw up 😂 I couldn’t help but compare him to Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and apparently I love the trope of “priest is smitten with blasphemous woman and shows it by trying to execute her”.

    Finally I just want to say that I agree with you about that fairy tale feeling. I think it was the third one that especially made me think that. When she travels to that other place (I don’t remember names unless they’re Vasya and Morozko 😂) and talks to mushrooms. And of course the very atmospheric style of writing.

    This was a very long comment and I was actually trying to restrain myself 😅 I so very glad that you loved these books as much as I do.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Haha, now you know how I feel when responding to your Lost in Translation posts! I can never restrain myself from writing extremely long comments then, either 😂

      And oh my gosh – I am so glad you also loved the bathhouse scene! It might be my personal favorite, too 🤗 Thank god Katherine Arden had more sense than I did and did not even consider Konstantin as an option. Though now you’ve made me want to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame… I saw the Disney version ages ago, but have forgotten almost everything that happened 😅

      And don’t ask me what that “other place” is called, either 🙈 It’s somewhere near Midnight and Baba Yaga’s house, but I don’t remember if it had a specific name. If it did, I already forgot it, which should tell you everything about how good I am with names 😁 But I loved that place and the fact that all the horses were there!

      Thanks again for recommending this series to me! I owe you big time now 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      • Line says:
        Reply

        Yeah I now know the struggles you go through when I post those 😂

        I’m such a Disney nerd that I assume everyone else knows every single detail about those movies and I’m utterly surprised when that isnt’t the case 😂 But if it makes you watch it then great. The two storylines are basically the same although Frollo’s is more subtle because, you know, children’s movie.

        Liked by 1 person

        • abookowlscorner says:
          Reply

          I’m such a fake Disney fan, I know 😂 Our DVD collection slowly piled up when we were kids, but we never got all of them and I suppose at some point we just kept rewatching the ones we already had. However, now that my siblings and I decided to get Disney+, I really have no excuse! I should go ahead and catch up, and besides, then I will have even more songs that I can sing around the house and annoy my family with 😁

          Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Whatever gave you that idea? 😉 But yes, they were exactly what I was currently in the mood for! And I guess I can kind of see what you mean by the action feeling “derivative”. The setting did overshadow the plot a little sometimes. But that just contributed to the fairy tale feeling the book gave me, which made me love it even more! Though I can imagine that it probably isn’t the right series for someone who wants a very plot driven, fast-paced story.

      Liked by 1 person

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  12. Suhasini says:
    Reply

    I’m clearly more than a year late to the party. Midway through Book 1 and enjoying. I stopped here to STRONGLY recommend two books by Naomi Novik – Uprooted and Spinning Silver – in that order. I could reread them ten times each. I found Katherine Arden when I was looking for “books like Uprooted”. Actually you’ve probably read them already.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Latecomers are always welcome, especially if they have great book recommendations! I actually have read Uprooted – and enjoyed it, although I do love the Winternight Trilogy more 🥰 – but I have not gotten around to Spinning Silver yet, so your comment has certainly resparked my interest! 🤗 I hope you continue to enjoy The Bear and the Nightingale!

      Like

  13. Anonymous says:
    Reply

    I just read the winternight trilogy and found your review. Thank you for writing and incorporating your experience in Russia! I was similarly entranced by this series. Total book hangover once I finished it. I wept too when Solovey was killed but what a treat to have him return to her in the end 😭
    And I agree, I grew to despise Konstantin. But how beautiful to give him a purpose in the end, if it wasn’t for his sacrifice then that battle with the Bear and his army of the dead may not have ended the way it did. He was easy to hate but I felt he spoke to the deep desire to “do what is right” with his connection to his religion, and the inner struggle of following his desires for attention and power, because the demon was the only voice who responded to him in the dark.
    I have Uprooted next on my reading list but I wondered since it’s been a while for you since this post, have you found other books or series that give you the pleasure we found with the winter night trilogy??
    Thank you 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I’m so glad you loved the series, too! Trust me, you’re not the only one who slid into a total book hangover once they finished 😅🥰

      And Solovey! His death DESTROYED me. I do have to say, I’m normally not a fan of characters being resurrected, but in this case… I guess I’ll take it! 😂

      Also, I wholeheartedly agree on what you said about Konstantin. I think that inner struggle you talked about is precisely what made him such a fascinating character, and I really like how Katharine Arden explored his complexity!

      And hmm, other series like Winternight? It’s hard to find anything really comparable. I actually think Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver captures those magical wintry fairytale vibes pretty well and like it even more than Uprooted, but I’ve also heard other people say it’s boring… And I’ve definitely found a ton of other books I’ve loved since, but none of them are even remotely similar to Winternight. For example, my current big obsession is Frederik Backman’s Beartown trilogy, and that’s about hockey 😂 But it is also wintry!

      Like

  14. Charlotte says:
    Reply

    One of my favourite parts of this series was its lyrical writing and how wonderfully it captured that fairytale feeling. The atmosphere was beautifully crafted and I really loved learning all about the chyerti (who’d have known that a mushroom could make a likeable character? 😂).

    I can see why you felt the way that you did about Konstantin too initially. To begin with you could envision him and Vasya coming together against the odds given their clashing beliefs. Yet over the series his actions do turn increasingly despicable. I feel it captured someone who simultaneously desires and hates someone really well. The way that religion affects the folk beliefs of the past was fascinating to uncover too.

    I loved that Vasya was this fierce, independent individual who didn’t allow herself to get pushed into the boxes that women were put into at that time.

    I also really appreciated how vividly the author managed to depict historic Russia whilst realistically weaving in those supernatural elements. And the heartache was definitely devastating on many an occasion.

    Which of the books was your favourite? Mine was the finale (definitely seems to be becoming a surprising pattern for me) although it very nearly was the second one. I just felt like the villians storyline in that one wrapped up too quickly which is a shame as I adored everything else about it.

    Have you read The Witch And The Tsar? It doesn’t have that fairytale feel but it’s another book that blends historic Russia with mythology, this time about Baba Yaga.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Saaaaameee!! I just need Katherine Arden to teach me how to write like that! 🥰🤩 The atmosphere felt so magical anf dark and beautiful and real!!

      Hahaha, looking back on my initial Konstantin thoughts is still so weird – I can’t believe I didn’t see through him more quickly! But yeah, I also love how Katherine Arden nailed that balance between desire and hate. It made him such a complex and interesting character, and also kind of forces you to fear for humanity because you KNOW there are actual people like that out there.

      And yes, Vasya is such a great example of the “strong female character” done well, I think. Often, I feel like authors take this trope to mean that they need to write a murderous woman who shares her feelings with no one and is so startlingly hot that all men want to get in bed with her – in short, to write an arrogant, flawless, sex-machine badass 🙄 – but Vasya wasn’t like that at all and very much had her own distinct personality. I adored her!

      I’m actually not sure which book is my favorite, though. I think probably the second one – I loved the darkness of those Moscow scenes, all the Solovey content, and Vasya and Morozko negotiating their boundaries – but I really love the finale as well… I mean, that bathhouse scene?? And the semi-heartbreaking ending? It was all perfect! 🥰

      And, no, I’ve never even heard of The Witch and The Tsar!! 🤯 I’m obviously gonna look into that immediately!!

      Liked by 1 person

      • Charlotte says:
        Reply

        Its definitely the sort of style that really sticks with you and makes the world slip away whilst reading.

        He certainly was complex in a scarily believable way. Omg the burning scene broke me. That was so hard to read. And you’re right, it is scary to think of.

        You do have a point there. I have quite liked some characters with those murderous tendencies but they do seem to be somewhat of a go to option for a lot of stories. And her strength was refreshingly different and came utterly down to wanting to be free to be herself, something that should be a given really.

        I did find the time spent in Moscow fascinating too, such as the complications that Vasya’s undercover antics caused. And learning about the history behind those towers. Oh yes I didn’t expect the bathhouse scene at all. All the books have scenes that tend to stick with you.

        The tone is pretty different but the historic setting made it come to mind. Plus the fact that it draws from some of the same mythology. Personally I loved it but I did see another reviewer didn’t. If you decide to check it out I hope it works for you too.

        Liked by 1 person

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