Fantasy Publisher Tor Releases 'The Red Winter'

For aspiring authors, a debut with Tor Books is a significant career milestone, placing them on a roster with genre giants like Brandon Sanderson and V.E. Schwab. The publisher has a long-standing reputation for cultivating visionary authors in science fiction and fantasy and has won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Publisher for 36 consecutive years, from 1988 to 2024. *The Red Winter*'s author, Cameron Sullivan, is an Australian debut novelist with a background in classics and creative writing. His studies and interest in historical conflicts and dark fantasy icons of the 1980s inform the novel's blend of history, magic, and horror. The novel is a retelling of the Beast of Gévaudan legend, a series of real-life animal attacks that terrorized a French province from 1764 to 1767. These historical events, which resulted in over 100 deaths, have been a subject of debate for centuries, with the creature's identity remaining unsolved. Early reviews of *The Red Winter* praise its unique narrative structure, which is presented as a memoir by an immortal protagonist. The story is enhanced by witty footnotes from the main character, offering asides on the world's magic system and historical figures. The book delves into mature themes, with a narrative that is described as a "darkly entertaining retelling" featuring sorcery, demons, and a queer romance. It has been noted for its complex, layered story that weaves together multiple timelines. The legend of the Beast of Gévaudan that inspired the novel involved a creature described as "like a wolf, yet not a wolf." Eyewitnesses claimed it was the size of a calf, with reddish-gray fur and a black stripe down its back. The extensive hunt for the beast involved nobles, soldiers, and royal huntsmen, under the direction of King Louis XV.