Fell Winter

The Ulfr Crisis #1

by A.J. Cooper

An evil not seen in hundreds of years has awakened in the highland nation of Badelgard. The Ulfr – the original inhabitants of the land whose evil was matched only by their power over death – stir from their barrows.

The dead walk again at the command of an Ulfr witch. The fate of the High King and the possession of the High Throne grow more and more uncertain. Tensions flare between the lowborn commoners and the highborn descendants of the Seven Wardens.

In the middle of it all, the lowborn musician Brand Gutlaffson is thrust into a perilous chase thanks to the foolish decisions of his friend, the warrior Gunnar Whoreson. Their midnight flight takes them to the accursed land of Blackfold, where the ancient Ulfr goddess waits for Her awakening.

The cold begins to set in. But there is more to fear than darkness and snow in this FELL WINTER.

This 40,000-word novel begins "The Ulfr Crisis" trilogy.

Genres: Fantasy, Amazon

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2012

About the author

Cursed at birth with a wild imagination, AJ Cooper spent his youth dreaming of worlds more exciting than Earth. He is a native Midwesterner and loves writing fantasy, especially epic fantasy set in his own created worlds.
He is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and the author of numerous fantasy novels and novellas. His short stories have appeared in Morpheus Tales, Fear and Trembling, Residential Aliens and Mindflights, among others.

Reviews

[Patty Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite fast-paced epic story. The world felt logical and well-researched to me. I'm no expert on Scandinavian history, but nothing leaped out at me as unbelievable.

I felt distanced from the characters at times and some of the dialogue felt superficial, but in line with the genre.

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast paced fantasy adventure. A drunken decision sends two friends fleeing execution only to become entangled in fighting old magic and politics.

[MR JL SAXTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ulfr Crisis - A great series

From classic tales of Dark Ages and Folkloric Sagas of historic origin, this series weaves a colourful tapestry of intrigue, rivalry, sorcery and chivalric honour. The characters are fully developed and realistic enough to make it seem to the reader as if they are sharing their experiences. As a long established fantasy reader this series has been a great read.

[ThatReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very poor and bad rendition of Mr. Martin's GoT - which I didn't particularly enjoy - with its own version of Brienne of Tarth! The writing was weak, the dialogue stunted and incongruent, the scenes confusing - as if the writer was confused by his own novel - and the story cliche'd. The characters were so one dimensional I couldn't actually make head or tails of them, there's no development, to them, no insight. This was clearly not the book for me, sadly.

[Ilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Scandinavian-based dark tale style story in a cold and snowy environment. It is fast-paced, written in a crude rather dry and simple way but it was the Ulfr witch and darklings angles that kept me reading. Brand was an interesting, mostly lucky character.

"There are no valkyries watching over us. There are only three things to guide us: strength; guile; and pure, dumb luck.”

[Ross Malugani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finished it out of spite

This story has such potential...but the writing is overly simplistic, especially considering most of it is told from the perspective of a well-educated bard. There is no depth, nor is there really any development. Individuals of reputed strength and will are swayed by a single short sentence.

[gerald morson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

It started slowly but soon built up speed with the characters, well written and an enjoyable read ,looking forward to reading book 2

[Sedna Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed to be longer

This was just too short. I feel that it needed to be longer and explore the characters more and to focus on what he is writing in a much more in depth way.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a full-length epic fantasy novel, not a super long one. The author's writing style is very mature, with a developed voice and some super world-building which extends into every facet of the characters' lives. Great descriptions, good characters, and a wonderful Beowulf sort of ice-and-snow environment; I kept waiting for Grendel's dam to lumber onto the scene.

So why only three stars? Without giving away any spoilers, I hate hate hate the ending. It's logical, believable, totally conclusive, and it wraps up the story nicely. But I hate it. Love + hate = three stars.

I will be happy to read more from author A.J. Cooper, maybe not in this same series, but I don't doubt he's got more out there that will catch my eye.

[Abby Goldsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced and full of unexpected plot twists. The descriptions of this dark Scandinavian-based world are great for story immersion. I took away a star (star & a half) for something lacking in the characters and emotional connection to them. The main character is a nice guy, but he's too passive and has too little self-respect for me to like him. However, he's not the only point-of-view character, and I'll read the next book in the series.

[Rosalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very poor copy of parts of Game of Thrones!