Winter Castle

[Penfeather]

Not sure this is the proper place for this post, but I recently acquired a copy of Winter Castle by Alexandra Bel-Robere. It's a fairly clean copy and I've scanned the cover since the art is so great. It ought to look familiar to members of this forum!

Thanks GothAdmin and whitelady for identifying this book. I haven't read it yet but I'm sure I'll enjoy it!

I can't find any credit for the cover art in the book, but the signature says "Prezio". I'm pretty sure this must be Vic Prezio, who was a prolific cover artist at the time (1972). It's consistent with his style.

[gurugoddess]

Cool, I wondered where the logo had come from! Thanks for sharing! Is the book good?

[Penfeather]

Cool, I wondered where the logo had come from! Thanks for sharing! Is the book good?

It's good but not great. I could find fault with certain aspects of the plot and characterization, but it was rich in atmosphere and that goes a long with with me.

The setting of the book is (obviously) an ancient castle surmounting a fjord in Norway. Although the Vikings did not built huge stone castles, I was inclined to be generous to the author and assume that her liberties with the historicity were taken deliberately, for effect. My real objection was that she gives us a huge, cavernous fortress like that but installs a modern hotel in it. So most of the business of the story takes place in a well-lit, thoroughly contemporary setting despite the outer shell of ancient stone. I would have preferred some sense of antiquity in the hotel itself, some hint of decrepitude and gloom that would seem to seep through the plaster and panelling from the foreboding old exoskeleton. Yet despite this, the author still manages to convey a sinister mood that kept me reading and turning pages, and for this I forgive her small sins.

So yes, I'd recommend the book, but with one or two reservations.