Are we missing a book that should be on this page? Please submit.
Jenna Burtenshaw
Jenna Burtenshaw has been writing regularly since she was nine years old. Starting with short stories and poems, she wrote for herself and the people around her and fell in love with the process of storytelling. She began writing Wintercraft, her first novel, in 2006 and now writes full time. In her spare time she enjoys walking her three dogs, playing the flute and getting lost in a good book. Learn more at Jenna Burtenshaw’s website.
Wintercraft
Wintercraft — (2010-2012) Young adult. Shadowcry was released as Wintercraft in the UK. Publisher: Ten years ago Kate Winters’ parents were taken by the High Council’s wardens to help with the country’s war effort. Now the wardens are back… and prisoners, including Kate’s uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane — the High Council’s most feared man — recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council’s experiments into the veil, and he’s convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace. The knowledge Kate needs lieswithin Wintercraft — a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night of Souls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft.
In Shadowcry (Wintercraft in the UK where I live) we meet Kate Winters, a young girl who discovers that she has the power to see through the veil and command the souls of the dead. She and her friend, Edgar — who is more than he first appears to be — are taken to the city of Fume and caught up in a power struggle between the Skilled and the High Council, who wish to destroy them.
Wintercraft is a really mixed bag. At times the writing is excellent, demonstrating real skill in keeping the pages turning and the tension ratcheted up to the maximum. Yet, especially towards the end of the novel, when you would have expected Jenna Burtenshaw to utilize the best of her writing in the climactic finale, everything falls rather flat and left me feeling disappointed. In addition, the fate of Da... Read More
Michael Rosenberg, if you live in the USA, you win a book of your choice from our stacks. Please contact me (Marion) with your choice and a US address. Happy reading! […]
The name of the book and plot sounded familiar to me but the cover didn't ring any bells. I looked it out and my paperback has a picture of a mammoth's skull and snow capped mountains on the cover, much better. […]
I'd love to hear what kind of responses you get from your students ([email protected]). DEMO is another comic that my students have liked. It's a series of separate coming of age stories. It's one I teach often. I also often have students new to comics read parts 1-4 of my HOW TO READ COMICS essay so I don't have to give the same l […]
Based on your interests, you're gonna LOVE this one! If I sound overly excited about every comic I review, that's because I am. I only review 4-5 star comics. On the rest of the site, the reviews need to cover as many SFF books as possible--the good and the bad--to save our readers the pain of reading bad books in the SFF genres. I don't try t […]
Okay, I can't buy EVERY book you praise in a review that I love, but -- wow! -- I love your reviews. I studied just a tiny bit about postmodern architecture in one course in my interdisciplinary humanities Ph.D. Program. The things that you care about in your reviews are things I care about. Learning about how architecture can be a control mechanism was […]
David Miller
Random Reviews
Blood of the Mantis: Not as good as 1 and 2, can't wait for 4: Blood of the Mantis by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Things begin to slow down some in Blood of the Mantis. The third book in the SHADOWS OF THE APT series is the smallest, and yet took the longest for me to ...
Three Parts Dead: A wonderfully inventive story: Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
Three Parts Dead is a wonderfully inventive story. Max Gladstone blends a plethora of ideas, ranging from vampires to magic to steampunk technology and adds intere...
Den of Thieves: Fun if your expectations aren't too high: Den of Thieves by David Chandler
FORMAT/INFO: Den of Thieves is 480 pages long divided over a Prologue, four titled Parts, and 100 chapters. The book also includes a map of the Free City of Ness an...
Jenna Burtenshaw has been writing regularly since she was nine years old. Starting with short stories and poems, she wrote for herself and the people around her and fell in love with the process of storytelling. She began writing Wintercraft, her first novel, in 2006 and now writes full time. In her spare time she enjoys walking her three dogs, playing the flute and getting lost in a good book. Learn more at 
Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw
Blood of the Mantis: Not as good as 1 and 2, can't wait for 4
Three Parts Dead: A wonderfully inventive story
Den of Thieves: Fun if your expectations aren't too high