The Wolf in Winter: An Epic Retelling of the Tristan and Isolde Legend, set in Dark Age Scotland (Volume I of The Trystan Trilogy)
One choice ended Corwynal’s dreams of becoming a famed warrior and the future king of Lothian. When the dying gasp of a woman in labor reveals a damning secret, he’s forced onto a different path. Its 468 AD when he’s named guardian of his newborn half-brother, Trystan. Corwynal hopes the boy will achieve everything he lost… until he’s plagued with nightmares of Trystan’s death: crying gulls, the reek of blood, a giant of a warrior wearing the symbol of a black ship, and a sword slipping from a blood-soaked hand. Corwynal will fight against this fate, will give anything, even if it means making deals with gods. However, when the call of war echoes in the Lands Between the Walls, Trystan’s desire for adventure will put him at odds with Corwynal. The future weighs heavy on Corwynal’s shoulders. One wrong choice, and his secrets may be his and Trystan’s downfall.
The setting is enjoyably immersive, engaging all the senses. Lennox expertly sets the tension in scenes with her elegant prose: “…the wall-hangings stirred in the draughts, setting the woven wolves… slinking through the shadows as if they were alive, their jewelled eyes glinting balefully.”
The only drawbacks for me were a lack of character development in Corwynal and Trystan (they both kept making the same mistakes over and over) and the lack of strong female characterization. My favorite character ended up being Aelfric whose entire outlook, along with his freedom, is reforged by the end.
The book is a nonstop journey filled with political strife, threats of war, complex relationships, and the shadows of gods looming over mankind’s fate. The story rubs elbows with Arthurian folklore in unexpected ways, enriching the overall intrigue. A page-turning, well-researched story of 5th-Century Celtic Scotland with subtly interwoven fantasy elements.
