All the stars! This was a riveting conclusion to the trilogy. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and Maberry NEVER disappoints. The story comes full circle, with a conclusion that will satisfy readers and there's DRAGONS!!!!

A word about the amazing audio for this - Ray Porter outdoes himself yet again. Stellar performance throughout.

The Dragon in Winter
by Jonathan Maberry
Kagen the Damned #3
Epic Fantasy Dark
NetGalley eARC/Audio ARC
Pub Date: August 20, 2024
St. Martin's Press/Macmillan Audio
Ages: 18+

Kagen and his rebels are gathering. The war against the Witch-king is on the horizon. And while Kagen gathers those still loyal to the Silver Kingdom, the Witch-king is gathering his own followers, living and dead. And once he ascends, the world will be remade in his image.


Book three and the final installment of the Kagen the Damned series, (there is a short story set between books one and two, which I did not read because of the price/page count, and because I didn't care much for the other books, so I didn't feel it was worth my time) and as with the first two books there is a lot of telling of this instead of showing. The chapters jump from character to character, and there are a lot of characters, so, for me, this caused the story to drag as I tried to insert myself into each character's perspective, and it does not easily happen since I have to remember who they are, why they are important, who's side they are on, etc...

This book is close to six hundred pages, and a lot of those pages, I feel, were wasted on all the extra minor characters' perspectives. Sure, some of it was interesting, but there were two characters on the Witch-king's side who I don't feel were really needed, other than extra info that the Witch-king could have offered. All of these extra perspectives took away from who the story was supposed to be about, Kagen; he was almost sidelined.

One thing that did earn a major grimace and an eye roll was the 'revelation' in the north. I did start having the suspicion it was going to happen and when it did, it changed my respect for the story. I did not like it.

I will admit that I did enjoy this book more than the first two. I also flipped between the E and audio versions and can say the narrator, Ray Porter, did a good job bringing life to the characters who were flat in the written copy. Maybe that had something to do with it, but this book did seem to be more concrete and a lot more interesting than the first two put together. If only it had more showing and less telling, it could've reached the next star.


2 Stars

I struggled with this audiobook. I have not read the prior books so I found myself confused and struggled to follow the story. I was not a fan of the narrator so that contributed to my not liking this book very much.

Here, I will confess that I was hoping this would turn into a longer series. It won’t be. I wrapped this up with tears in my eyes and a contented sigh. 🥹

In the previous two books the stage has been set, the Witch-King must fall. He has survived all of the attempts of our heroes thus far and the only choice left is all out war. How does a warrior as damned as Kagen build up enough support and people to form an army? Let Jonathan Maberry tell you exactly how.

This being the third book of a trilogy, you really do need to read the previous two books to get the most from this one. Only then, will you know and recognize the importance of these events and how they affect our characters.

All of my favorite characters are here, (and forgive me if I spell a name incorrectly, as I have listened to this series, and not read it.) Mother Fray is ageing even more quickly, and she was old to start with. Obviously Kagen is here, and by the squishy balls of the tentacle god, so is Tuq. (I'm going to miss his endless ball jokes). Maralina and Rissa, (though now called the widow), also appear. For a damned man, Kagen has a lot of support. The poor twins are still being held by the Witch King and they're more miserable than ever. Maralina has some tricks up her sleeve though, and I was really hoping that she and Kagen would meet again. Do they? You'll have to read or listen to this to find out!

I received an ARC of this book, but when the audio became available, I listened to that instead. That is because Ray Porter narrates this trilogy and he's just...OUTSTANDING. His performances are always good, but here there are so many characters in play, I thought it might be difficult for him. I shouldn't have worried because he is a professional and a joy to listen to. A JOY, I say! I especially love the voice of Tuq-which is somehow sexy and funny at the same time. Whenever I read a book by Johnathan Maberry and Ray Porter narrates it? It's a special sort of magic that to me, feels like coming home. I know I am in the hands of masters and I'm able to just let myself fall into the story effortlessly. No matter how long the book is, I'm always saddened when it's over. Luckily for me, these two work together a lot and I hope they continue to do so because they ROCK.

This was one wild finale where it felt like every character ever introduced to us ends up being present for the denouement. I think the final war took place over the last third of the book as the war parties clashed, magic spells whipped about, and ancient gods showed up to have their say.

I had such a good time listening to this book while at the same time I was sad. As I said I was hoping we'd see more of Kagen in the future and nothing happened here that would make that impossible, but his battle against the Witch King is now definitely over. It looks like I'll be taking a short break from this winning author/narrator combination...at least until the next Joe Ledger book comes out!

Highly recommended!

*ARC from publisher. Thank you. *