Bloodwinter

A Tale of Eron #1

by Tom Deitz

From a master of contemporary fantasy comes an unforgettable tale of heroes, heroines, and rogues whose two rival nations are scarred by suspicion, shadowed by war, and summoned to destiny by a magic that is both gift and curse.

In the icy northern realm of Eron, three young artisans bound by an unspeakable act of violence arrive at an isolated gem mine on a special commission for their king. They are the arrogant but talented Eddyn; Avall, his archrival; and beautiful Strynn, newly wed to Avall, but carrying Eddyn’s child.

Meanwhile, to the south, amid Ixti’s scorpion-riddled sands and sensuous cities, a horrible accident has forced Prince Kraxxi into exile with blood on his hands and a price on his head.

The four will be drawn together—and torn apart—by a magnificent a gem with magical properties beyond anyone’s imagining or control. It is a struggle in which hidden forces pursue a frighteningly sinister agenda. For whoever possesses the gem holds the future of the world . . . and the power to destroy it.

Praise for Bloodwinter

“Deitz’s unusual setting and strong, magnetic characters bode well for this new series.” — Publishers Weekly

“Deitz's skill at crafting a complex tale of men and women driven by warring emotions and rival ambitions anchors his fantasy visions in the reality of human experience. . . . A solid addition to most fantasy collections.” — Library Journal

“Both villainy and heroism go beyond stereotype [in] a well-crafted work that explores the nature of art.” — Locus

“Tom Deitz is a fine storyteller in the tradition of the Southern mountains . . . with all its legends and magic transported from afar. Like his forebears, he can make magic with words.” —Sharyn McCrumb,  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Ballad of Frankie Silver

“Once again, Tom Deitz has proven himself a master of the fantasy genre. He has created a detailed, realistic world, characters who are both engaging and believable, and a compelling, fast-moving story that draws the reader in from the first page.” —John Maddox Roberts

“Deitz has always been a superb fantasist, but he’s outdone himself in this richly developed, character-driven story!” —Josepha Sherman

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

608 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Thomas Franklin Deitz (January 17, 1952- April 27, 2009) was an American novelist from Georgia. He had a B.A. and M.A. in medieval English from University of Georgia. He was the author of the "Soulsmith Trilogy," comprised of the books Soulsmith , Dreambuilder , and Wordwright . He also wrote a popular series consisting of Windmaster's Bane , Fireshaper's Doom , Darkthunder's Way , Sunshaker's War , Stoneskin's Revenge , Ghostcountry's Wrath , Dreamseeker's Road , Landslayer's Law , and Warstalker's Track . His stand-alone novel The Gryphon King centers around a few of the characters from the later novels in the last series mentioned.

Deitz also won the Phoenix Award in 2007. This award is given at the annual DeepSouthCon to a professional who has done a great deal for Southern Fandom.

Deitz was a well-liked college instructor as well, with stints as an adjunct English faculty member at Gainesville State College, Lanier Tech, and Tri-County Community College, and received a tenure-track appointment as assistant professor in Fall 2008 at Gainesville State College. He was recognized as GSC's adjunct faculty member of the year in 2008.

In addition to writing, Deitz's creative outlets included visual art (murals, fantasy art, and more); drama (with minor roles in a number of community and college productions); model automobile collecting; costumery; and other pursuits via the Society for Creative Anachronism. He was a founding member of the SCA's Barony of Bryn Madoc.

Deitz died on Monday, April 27 2009 of heart failure. He had a heart attack in January of this year and was a candidate to receive a Ventricular assist device (VAD) but had suffered too much damage to his heart for the device to be implanted.
(From Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Meagan Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny that I'm only giving this 3 stars. I don't know if I'll be able to articulate my justification for this right now. I want to re-read this book and its sequels, which I read a very long time ago. For me it didn't land right in some ways related to that odd world-building that sometimes happens in these alternate reality medieval societies. But there were some key components that stood out, too. Hoping to find a copy at some point.

[Micax · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally completed this four-book saga. After owning 3 of the 4 books for some time, I finally tracked down a copy of the final book I was missing and read through this. The series seems to be mostly out of print these days, so keep that in mind if you're looking to read this. Should you make the effort, though?

The Good: Deitz does excellent worldbuilding. Eron is an interesting society that drops most of the fantasy cliches; a rigid, strictly regimented but also meritocratic society put under severe stress. The execution of the world building is not quite up to the level of the ideas; unfortunately, being far too "perfect" to be very realistic. The fluid sexuality and free love of the society, in which no one is ever jealous is another example of that. And it's a pity really ... the worldbuilding would have been even more interesting if the story had dared go all the way with the logical consequences of Eronese society in an imperfect world. For all that, it's still an interesting world to visit.

The less good: The characters and people we follow are less interesting. The main conflict is between Avall and his "dark twin" Eddyn who starts out with (minor spoiler) raping Avall's friend. The story tries to make hay about of how Avall could be Eddyn if only things had been a little bit different, but nothing in the story suggests this is true. The biggest problem with the story, though, is the way people jump to conclusions and make idiotic decisions without sensible motivation. It basically the force of the author, and it makes for some rather annoying moments in reading.

Despite that, it's still an interesting tale though - BE WARNED - the first book ends in a cliffhanger. The first two books can be read standalone and form a pretty good stopping point, but book 1 alone is not worth reading.

[Shaitarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars.

I liked it, but it wasn't spectacular.

The positives are it had a refreshing, unusual culture which was richly detailed and well thought out. It moved fast without scrimping on details or feeling rushed. And although not grimdark, it didn't hesitate to describe some pretty nasty events from time to time.

The cons: one of the characters is such a nasty piece of work I really started to detest him pretty quickly. I think I was supposed to feel sorry for him, but I just wanted him to burn, quite honestly.
By the end, some of the plot was making me mutter 'oh, come on!' and roll my eyes.

A word of warning: this is the first of a set of four books that originally was published in 1999 and I believe it has been out of print for some years. You may well find all four online, but I have seen very high prices asked for the last volume, so keep that in mind!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent start to the series, with an interesting culture and sympathetic characters.