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Winterlands #3
Knight of the Demon Queen
Once the most powerful mage in the land, Jenny Waynest is now a broken woman. After being possessed and corrupted by the demon Amayon, she lost everything she holds dear—even the trust of her husband. Yet Lord John Aversin has torments of his own: memories of the beautiful and cruel Aohila, demon queen of a rival hell, whom he'd tricked into providing the help he needed to free Jenny. Now, condemned to death for trafficking with demons, John cannot forgive himself for opening the door to a far greater evil—an evil that still haunts his dreams. And not only his dreams . . .
For a vengeful Aohila needs mortal aid in realms beyond her power, and who better to provide it than Lord John? Blackmailed into cooperating, John must fight his way through unimaginable horrors in quest of a prize that may doom the world he has left behind . . .
For a vengeful Aohila needs mortal aid in realms beyond her power, and who better to provide it than Lord John? Blackmailed into cooperating, John must fight his way through unimaginable horrors in quest of a prize that may doom the world he has left behind . . .
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 8, 2000
44 people are currently reading
875 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Hambly
205 books1,590 followersaka Barbara Hamilton
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
November 25, 2015
Dragonshadow was a book mainly about demons ruining the lives of our main characters. So how can Barbara Hambly top that you ask?
Oh, yeah of little faith. I mean, all she has to do is send our favorite characters to hell both physically and mentally, torture them a bit more, make them treat each other like dirt, and basically turn up the depressive “realism” to extra high max degrees.
Our main characters, John Aversin and Jenny Waynest, are broken people here; all signs of their previous normal but peaceful life gone like their former innocence. They are both searching for some way to keep things from getting worse for them, their family and their world. In order to do this, they endure even more tragedies in this book. All the horrible things the author puts them through I won’t bore you with, because you can only enjoy seeing someone tortured so much before it has no shock factor left. Hell, when there is no other way to make things worse in their own world, Hambly sends them to visit another world, which is vaguely similar to our own but full of nothing but gloom and doom.
Needless to say, I did not like this novel. Probably hated it more than I did the second book in this series. (Yeah I said hated because I despised this book.) This novel was all depression all the time. No fun, no joy, no hope. Don’t look for it because it don’t live here. I realize the author had some issues going on in real life, but it is uncalled for how ridiculously depressing she made this book. The Stand had more happiness in it, and I’m talking about when everyone was dying of the damn flu.
Stay away from this one unless you like self-flagellation.
Oh, yeah of little faith. I mean, all she has to do is send our favorite characters to hell both physically and mentally, torture them a bit more, make them treat each other like dirt, and basically turn up the depressive “realism” to extra high max degrees.
Our main characters, John Aversin and Jenny Waynest, are broken people here; all signs of their previous normal but peaceful life gone like their former innocence. They are both searching for some way to keep things from getting worse for them, their family and their world. In order to do this, they endure even more tragedies in this book. All the horrible things the author puts them through I won’t bore you with, because you can only enjoy seeing someone tortured so much before it has no shock factor left. Hell, when there is no other way to make things worse in their own world, Hambly sends them to visit another world, which is vaguely similar to our own but full of nothing but gloom and doom.
Needless to say, I did not like this novel. Probably hated it more than I did the second book in this series. (Yeah I said hated because I despised this book.) This novel was all depression all the time. No fun, no joy, no hope. Don’t look for it because it don’t live here. I realize the author had some issues going on in real life, but it is uncalled for how ridiculously depressing she made this book. The Stand had more happiness in it, and I’m talking about when everyone was dying of the damn flu.
Stay away from this one unless you like self-flagellation.
May 30, 2009
I love Barbara Hambly's writing, but I cannot read this book. She sent the characters to hell in the last book and I read the first sentence of this one, burst into tears, and put the book down.
February 25, 2008
The story begins with the characters broken from the last book and searching for ways to recover from events. But it gets worse. If you are seeking a fantasy novels of fun and games and hope, stop, this is not your book. This is a depressing tome about how Lord John Aversin seeks a cure for his wife and son, a safety for his people from demons, and a quest in which he travels into worlds unfamiliar and akin to ours. Especially jarring is his visit into a world similar but technically advanced to ours.
August 31, 2011
I started this one but stopped reading after about a third of the book. I haven't been able to pick it back up and it's been several months. I think I'm just in a time where I don't want to read particularly dark and dismal books. Since I haven't finished this one, I don't know if it has a happy ending or not but I don't want to wade through the dark to get there right now.
October 15, 2024
Not a fan of this one. The move between worlds to the “modern” world of lasers and guns was while an interesting idea here, was poor in its execution. The reader is meant to draw all the parallels between the worlds themselves, but its a very superficial comparison and the characters found in the modern world are formless, mainly names and numbers. Its probably why I so not read a lot of science-fiction, which is where this book oscillates in between, but I certainly did not appreciate it. I lost track of the names and their true identities as fast as they appeared in the storyline, and I just wanted to get through it to the end. I am not looking forward to the last installment in this series (it had better be), and hopefully there is no other crossover story to deal with.
July 24, 2012
The book is quite dark and I was going what is going on. It was then I found out that the author was going through a bad patch in her life and it showed in her writing. All in all, it is a good read, except you just wished the characters did not have to go through such a rough spot. If you loved the first book, and do not want the idealistic picture to be shattered, do not read this book. But if you do, things improve in the next book, so it is worth going on.
January 27, 2011
The first book in this trilogy, Dragonsbane was one of my favorites as a teen, and it was years before I realized there were sequels. Unfortunately I was kind of turned off by the later books do to their focus on the very unhappy Jenny. Still a good book, I just didn't like the way the series turned out.
December 20, 2009
I love the characters but found the time in Hell for John to get somewhat boring and repetitive. THe ending was a surprise though.
June 28, 2010
Bummed me the hell out. The demons are not supposed to win in fantasy novels, only in real life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2021
4.5 stars. This one shows off Hambly's world building skills nicely, and it is a joy to read about the relationships amongst the main characters. In a reversal from more stereotypical gender roles, when John and Jenny are apart, John is often wishing Jenny was there to solve this or that problem, better implement this or that plan, and he ends up having to do things the hard way. On the other hand, Jenny just misses John, and doesn't particularly miss/need John's skill set. This is probably just my reading style, but when the plot gets propulsive (which is often), I very easily get caught up and enjoy the ride, but also find myself not understanding several details.
In Book 1 especially, we hear a lot about Jenny caught between kids/husband/home and work/magic. I thought that was really well done. In Book 2 and the start here, we hear a lot about how the victims of possession still guiltily yearn for their demon, and all of the emotional fallout from that. The volume of ink Hambly spills about this makes me think she is talking about some real world psychological issue (much like issues facing working women in the 80s), but I can't figure out what it would be. It doesn't line up with survivors of abuse, nor addiction/substance abuse, though it has elements of both. If there is a point in there, I missed it. But beyond that, I just was not looking forward to more yearning for pain/sadism/deprivation, and the beginning made me worry that we would be wallowing in that for a while. Thankfully, the book/characters move forward in short order.
In Book 1 especially, we hear a lot about Jenny caught between kids/husband/home and work/magic. I thought that was really well done. In Book 2 and the start here, we hear a lot about how the victims of possession still guiltily yearn for their demon, and all of the emotional fallout from that. The volume of ink Hambly spills about this makes me think she is talking about some real world psychological issue (much like issues facing working women in the 80s), but I can't figure out what it would be. It doesn't line up with survivors of abuse, nor addiction/substance abuse, though it has elements of both. If there is a point in there, I missed it. But beyond that, I just was not looking forward to more yearning for pain/sadism/deprivation, and the beginning made me worry that we would be wallowing in that for a while. Thankfully, the book/characters move forward in short order.
August 3, 2023
Hm, this ones a toughy to rate.
3.5, leaning to 4.
This book is a direct continuation of the events in Dragonshadow, and cliff hangs into the next book, Dragonstar. Like other reviews mention, yes it's a (relatively) depressing book, but it's also the middle of the series. I'd imagine things get better for the characters in the next one. That wasn't too much of a worry for me but for some people this book will be too depressive, drag on and, because it ends on a cliff-hanger, not be worth it.
Really interested to see how this series ends, I've immensely enjoyed it so far.
3.5, leaning to 4.
This book is a direct continuation of the events in Dragonshadow, and cliff hangs into the next book, Dragonstar. Like other reviews mention, yes it's a (relatively) depressing book, but it's also the middle of the series. I'd imagine things get better for the characters in the next one. That wasn't too much of a worry for me but for some people this book will be too depressive, drag on and, because it ends on a cliff-hanger, not be worth it.
Really interested to see how this series ends, I've immensely enjoyed it so far.
February 10, 2026
DNF efter knappt två tredjedelar.
Jag gillar böcker med mörker i sig, men den här är mörk och långtråkig. Det händer saker hela tiden, men på ett så ointressant, oengagerade sätt att det känns som om hela historien släpar sig fram i seg, djup lera. Och på sätt och vis gör den det för det är väldigt leriga och dystra miljöer i boken.
Och John traskar runt i olika helveten för att plötsligt hamna i en modern värld där de dricker vanilj latte bla. Då tappade jag intresset på allvar.
Jenny i sin tur är fruktansvärt anonym och ointressant i sitt personliga helvete.
Jag bryr mig inte om en enda karaktär och skiter i hur det går för dem. Vilken störtdykning från Morkeleb den svarte som jag älskade.
Jag gillar böcker med mörker i sig, men den här är mörk och långtråkig. Det händer saker hela tiden, men på ett så ointressant, oengagerade sätt att det känns som om hela historien släpar sig fram i seg, djup lera. Och på sätt och vis gör den det för det är väldigt leriga och dystra miljöer i boken.
Och John traskar runt i olika helveten för att plötsligt hamna i en modern värld där de dricker vanilj latte bla. Då tappade jag intresset på allvar.
Jenny i sin tur är fruktansvärt anonym och ointressant i sitt personliga helvete.
Jag bryr mig inte om en enda karaktär och skiter i hur det går för dem. Vilken störtdykning från Morkeleb den svarte som jag älskade.
December 23, 2022
This was ok. I didn't really like it because I really liked the characters in the first book, and it sucked to see them going through difficulties - it felt like a huge tonal shift to something hopeless.
Basically, John gets suckered into
Basically, John gets suckered into
June 9, 2023
I keep trying with this series and I had thought that this one was at least better than the second one but (spoiler!) the middle section with John in a world similar to ours was muddy and confusing. I understand the point and certainly got the vibe of this messy world, but it didn't help the story or push it along. The ending is worth getting to, but I am dreading having to read the 4th book - it took me forever to get through this one... I have my fingers crossed -would love to get back to the fun read this author provided in the first book...
December 9, 2022
I wasn't sure what to expect from the third book of the series, and admittedly when I was suddenly reading sci-fi and fantasy on the same page, I almost stopped reading; it was too jarring. However, I kept going, and even though my mind was split, and I thought the threads of the story would stray too fair, I found them braided at the end. I'm still unsure of what to expect, but I'll be reading the fourth and final book to see how this story unfolds.
December 10, 2023
I wish we could do 1/2 stars because I think 2 and 1/2 stars would probably be right; at least for the shift that occurred in this book. I enjoyed the first 2 books quite a lot. The unexpected genre change that occurred really threw me off and turned the remaining portion of this book into a slog. I had intended to read all 4 books but THIS book has made me think about reconsidering that decision.
October 14, 2024
I wanted to read this book because the previous volume had a depressing influence on me...
And this one ended up on a depressing cliffhanger!
I did not like most of this book. At the start the world hopping was interesting but then it just turned into paths that made sense but were not that interesting for me to read.
From fantasy with low magic to cyberpunk dystopia.
I don't think I will be grabbing the next book even to find out the cliffhanger reveal
And this one ended up on a depressing cliffhanger!
I did not like most of this book. At the start the world hopping was interesting but then it just turned into paths that made sense but were not that interesting for me to read.
From fantasy with low magic to cyberpunk dystopia.
I don't think I will be grabbing the next book even to find out the cliffhanger reveal
December 8, 2020
Is this the one where he goes into the weird tech world dimension? Every time I read Hambly it has an alternate dimension thing going on and I didn't like that this book went there. That journey though hell stuff was kinda disappointing for me. It was also kinda confusing, although maybe that's because I didn't like it too much and was doing a bit of skimming just to get it over with.
September 26, 2017
It was just ok.
The book in general was fine, the story was interesting, characters were developing in a curious and different way.
But the sci-fi world John was at during the second half of the book was too weird for me :-(
The book in general was fine, the story was interesting, characters were developing in a curious and different way.
But the sci-fi world John was at during the second half of the book was too weird for me :-(
April 24, 2024
continues gritty fantasy with quests through various instances of hell, including one the looks like a near future version of our own world, overload of media, advertising, drugs and drudgery
loss of capability, relationship breakdown, perceived betrayal,
loss of capability, relationship breakdown, perceived betrayal,
April 28, 2024
This has been one of my favorite fantasy series from this author. I thought I had the fourth book in this series, but am unable to locate it. Hambly writes some of my favorite fantasy, and I enjoy her worlds.
April 16, 2025
Difficult to follow storyline
The first two books in this series were easier to follow. This one jumps between John and his witch wife Jenny, in a more confusing sense. Wish the story line was more cleanly integrated rather than the rapid changes written by the author.
The first two books in this series were easier to follow. This one jumps between John and his witch wife Jenny, in a more confusing sense. Wish the story line was more cleanly integrated rather than the rapid changes written by the author.
August 18, 2018
Really enjoyed this one, another cliff hanger end though which is annoying. I now have to wait for book 4 to arrive from the UK before I can find out what happened!
September 22, 2018
Strange premise. Solid read. =)
March 13, 2019
this is not a coherent story.
July 2, 2019
Still a great installment of a great series, but I don't think I was a fan of the abrupt turn into Blade Runner territory.
May 28, 2022
Love most of her series, this was the third in the series and left me hanging at the end.
February 28, 2025
Description of hell very like future world of AI, numbers, drugs instead of food. Worth reading
October 22, 2025
the story gets stranger & better.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews