The Red Winter

A magician and the demon that shares his body face off against a familiar foe in Sullivan’s dense and ambitious debut, a retelling of the legend of the Beast of Gévaudan. In 1785, Jacques Avenel d’Ocerne implores ageless magician Sebastian Grave and his “indwelling Spirit,” Sarmodel, to return to Gévaudan, France, and take on the same Beast Sebastian defeated two decades earlier, which is back and ravaging the countryside once more. Sebastian used his arcane knowledge during the earlier hunt alongside Jacques’s father, Antoine, who became his lover as they stalked the nightmarish, supernaturally powerful creature. Drawn by his lingering feelings for Antoine, Sebastian agrees to join Jacques on the new hunt. The novel then toggles between their journey, during which Jacques reveals that he lied about Antoine sending for Sebastian and an unsettling truth about the Beast’s reemergence comes to light; flashbacks to the original hunt; and scenes of a brewing revolution that remix the Joan of Arc story with ancient gods spurring fervent madness among her followers. Sullivan’s sly humor and complex blend of history and mythology will immerse patient readers. This sprawling epic is worth the effort. Agent: Christabel McKinley, David Higham Assoc. (Feb.)