Elizabeth Baxter

Summer Storm is a compact but compelling fantasy novella by Elizabeth Baxter, serving as a prelude to her main series The Wrath of the Northmen. While brief, it offers readers an intriguing glimpse into a world on the brink of unraveling—largely due to the choices of its headstrong and morally driven protagonist.
Set in a richly imagined realm where science and fantasy blend, the story follows a young woman whose bold actions—though rooted in a desire to help—end up sowing the seeds of show more disaster in her homeland. Her pursuit of knowledge, particularly through scientific discovery, adds a refreshing layer to the genre and shows promise for more complex developments in the full-length novels that follow.
Though the plot itself may feel predictable at times, that seems almost by design; the novella’s role is to lay the groundwork, and in that, it succeeds. The pacing is tight, the worldbuilding is enticing, and the hints of ruin to come make it easy to see why this prequel would draw readers into the larger series.
The protagonist, while admirable in her moral resolve and intellectual curiosity, is also frustrating in her refusal to listen to those around her. Her impulsive choices and tunnel vision dampen some of the sympathy she might otherwise deserve, yet these flaws make her feel more real—and set up an interesting arc for the series ahead.
Overall, Summer Storm is a quick, worthwhile read for fantasy fans who enjoy a mix of intellect, magic, and the looming threat of consequences. It may be a short story, but it leaves a long shadow. show less

What a fantastic start to a promising series!

Everwinter is exceptionally well written. The characters have great personalities and I really enjoyed reading about Chellin through Bram's point of view. The cities were described perfectly; they were detail enough without being too much. The ending to the first book seemed a little sudden, but it only makes me want to read the sequel even more!

(Disclaimer: Received this ebook free through the LibraryThing ER/Member Giveaway program)

Everwinter was a great read. You want a hidden cult? You got it. Need a dose of banished gods and dark magic? You'll be sated. And of course, a great book with a wonderfully developed world plus an awesome flow of action mixed with the right balance of well written dialogue is thrown in extra!

The only thing that kept me from the 5 stars rating was I felt this could have been fairly epic with just a tiny show more bit more length to it. My epub edition was about 268 pages. 50-100 more, maybe, and I might have felt like I found another Game of Thrones or a Lord of the Rings book for my personal Christmas.

There's some tension between two of the main characters I wouldn't be surprised to see develop into something in the next books in the series. The rivalries between the different major cities of the world are deep rooted and some history is presented as the book progressed, not to mention some dark secrets of those same cities and their people are revealed through the investigation of the main character, Bram.

Even the cliffhanger at the end left me wanting more.

The author put in just what I think made a perfect mix: character interaction, phenomenal sub-plots, suprises throughout the work, to the point where I felt bereft that I didn't have all the books in the series in hand to continue the adventure. (I'll have to remedy the lack of the other books in my library ASAP)

I enjoyed each page and look forward to visiting these characters and the world the author has created in the future.

Summary: You'll burn through the pages of Everwinter! (pun intended)

I'd recommend this book for readers who enjoy fantasy, both high and swords & sorcery style. With it's dose of engineering and political machinations, some steampunk enthusiasts may find it satisfying, but that could be a stretch.

My pet peeves, as usual: Refreshingly, I found extremely few typos/missed word kind of issues. Bless the author, again. show less

Elizabeth Baxter tells an interesting tale of a land suffering from a long and strange winter. Different people with very different points of view on life and the world are set to face this winter as best they can trying to fight it with intelligence or magic.

I very much liked the story and the characters. The story is well told and manages to keep the interest as new information keeps pouring and new characters are introduced. The characters are nothing extraordinary but very appealing, show more specially Astrid, which is the more complex and active one.

The world is build around four city-states, each one with its own idiosyncrasy and beliefs. One of the city-states is based on engineering and science with its development and history being guided by them. For its people, magic and gods are superstitions from past times. I loved the idea of a fantastic setting like this and it is really rather well depicted in the book.

The thing is that while it makes perfect sense for its inhabitants to behave in a rational manner the author keeps telling us that so much science and rationality is not saving them from the winter. While this is true and in the world she has built magic is a fact (maybe not any more in these people lives) it is also true that neither religion nor magic have saved the people from other city-states and this she never points out. Maybe I am biased, being a physicist and in love with engineering, but pointing out the blindness of one set of people and not that of others was kind of distracting and kept me thinking that the author's points of view on science and technology were poured more than they should.

Another thing that it is worth noting is that men and women are treated as equals and it is never seen as strange or even mentioned as such for women to be soldiers, engineers or regents. Getting rid of the token female is very nice indeed.

Overall I liked the book and will certainly give a try to the next one. show less