Winter

by Dan Grace

In the aftermath of an anarchic uprising, a group of revolutionaries flee London for the north, coming to terms with the violent loss of their companions, battling with illness and a new way of life.

In the forests of the Scottish borders, they meet Mikhail, a Ukrainian immigrant in touch with powers they can scarcely believe. But is he all he seems? Because the snows are coming, the seasons turn, and the laws of the cities mean little to the woods.

Dan Grace’s debut novella shows a violent future of the failed Union meeting the mythic and pagan past. As man reaps the harvest of war, utopian hopes vie with apocalyptic fears. Winter sets in.

Winter is the debut release from Unsung Signals, the digital-only line from Unsung Stories, providing a platform for mid-length fiction – stories too long for magazines or journals but too short for traditional book-length publication.

Genres: Science Fiction, Novella

69 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 22, 2016

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good little short story that heightens the confusion and eeriness that underpins modern British life for so many to a hypothetical crescendo, only a few years into the future. A failed revolution, the collapse of the UK into dystopian fiefdoms, an independent Scotland, and the cruel presence of the police state all linger at the edge of our vision - blurry and unfocused, the characters wanting to remember but also to forget. There's a meloncholy tinge of reality to the story, recognisable as a future within arms reach, but this is punctured by the unreality of the setting; the snow suffocating while strange forces seem to linger along with the memories, incomprehensibly. The chronological confusion adds to the general tone and feel of the piece. Not all of the writing feels the same quality, some bits feeling slower or more clumsily written, but I was pleasantly surprised overall and it's definitely worth getting the cheap e-book from the publisher (plus proceeds are donated by the author to various good causes). I agree with the other reviewer who was reminded of Ken Macleod, and look forward to seeing where Dan goes in the future.

[Corey White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written meditation on life after ecological rebellion and revolution, following a cast of characters caught between the violence of the state desperate to cling to power, and the timeless strength of nature.

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this novella immediately grabbed me. I enjoyed the characters and development despite the short length. The prose jumps between present tense and past to show two timelines. I generally get the idea of this story, but I found the ending unsatisfying with one of those artistic non-endings where most of the questions remain unanswered. If you like that style though, this is solidly written.

[Jaffa Kintigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the near future, England's rocked by protests, riots, social breakdown, and war. A small party of young revolutionaries makes to escape across the Scottish border seeking refuge for the winter at a remote cabin that lacks plumbing and electricity. Two guys don't survive the journey, one killed in the city, another by border guards. Adam and the two girls make it to his parents' cabin, but one of the girls is in a catatonic state, and the cabin's not empty . . .

This tale of a desperate, harsh winter unspools in alternating timelines of the damaged revolutionaries trekking and then adapting to the new pace of their lives, and a later timeline within the same winter after the surviving party of 3 have gotten to know the 2 foreigners that were squatting there before they arrived.

Secrecy and a growing sense of horror cannot be brushed away any easier than the continuously falling snow, despite a growing closeness between May and Mikhail. Adam, the former leader and only one with a legal claim to the property, feels increasingly alone--especially with Leila still catatonic and getting worse. Mikhail has the key to unlocking Leila, but it invokes beliefs and creatures beyond the understanding of the rest . . .

I received my copy of this novel directly from the publisher, Unsung Stories, through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com.

[Hannah Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This dystopian story of civilisation collapse and climate catastrophe follows a group of people on hiding from the authorities and trying to survive in a world where all the rules -social and mythological - have been rewritten. They are part of a group of freedom fighters, but as is often the case in real life the line between right and wrong is blurred. It's unclear whether they really are the good guys or the bad guys.
The story jumps between past and present and so reads a little confusing in places, but in all gives an atmospheric and strange story.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be reviewing this properly in issue 4 of Shoreline of Infinity (due May 2016) so I'll just say this here: Brilliant. A wonderful new voice from an important new imprint.

[Steven Poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting piece of modern fantasy, Dan Grace's novella plays in the spaces between Ken MacLeod and Mythago Wood, blurring the lines between technology, nature, and magic in the aftermath of what seems to be a failed attempt at a revolution in the unspecified future. (Definitely after Article 50 though given the state the country is in...)

The jumps back and forth in time in the narrative serve to further dislocate the small group that have sheltered in the cabin in the woods. Grace quickly manages to exploit the distances between the characters, and when the magic does arrive, it is suitably disturbing.

There's a slight feeling of a story not fully completed at the very end, but here's a new voice in SFF that looks like he's not just here for one season only.