CBR18 BINGO: Justice for systemic oppression of women in The Girl in the Tower and Bird for The Winter of the Witch (firebird on the cover, firebird character in the book)
I feel like this should go without saying, but each review may contain spoilers for the book(s) that came before.
The Girl in the Tower
This picks up very shortly after the first book ends, and we’re back to some politicking in Moscow. Meanwhile, Vasya has disguised herself as a boy because it’s dangerous to travel as a woman, and is learning more of the hardships of traveling alone, especially in the winter. When she rescues some abducted girls and brings them to the Lavra, she is met by her brother Sasha and Dmitrii, the Grand Prince of Moscow. Sasha recognizes her immediately, but they pretend that she is Sasha’s brother Vasili because it’s a sin (and “unseemly”) for her to be going about as though she were a boy, and they’re worried about repercussions on Vasya’s reputation. Sasha is worried about how Dmitrii will react once he finds out the truth. Dmitrii takes a liking to “Vasili” and starts to take her into his inner circle, which puts her lies in jeopardy and brings her more awareness of how Moscow is dealing with threats from the Tatars. Morozko occasionally makes an appearance, sometimes in a seemingly reluctant way, and Konstantin is still around and still awful.
Readers became aware in the first book of how women are treated and their limited options as they grow up: either marriage, or a convent. High-born women in some ways seem to have it worse. Olga, who makes a reappearance in this novel, and other noble women are essentially confined to women’s quarters, known as a terem, and don’t leave except to go to church. Vasya chafes at the very idea of this, for Olga, for her niece Marya, and for herself.
I enjoyed this book as much as the first one. There was a section where I was just gripped, on the edge of my seat, and really wishing I’d gotten to that part much earlier in the day instead of at bedtime. I immediately started the last book after finishing this one. 4.5 stars.
The Winter of the Witch
Book three started with a bang! And also made me sad; be prepared for some heartbreak in this one. But boy was this the book I was waiting for. There are Moscow-Tatar politics in it, but a good chunk of the book is back to having a dark fairy tale feel, similar to book one. Vasya has a compelling character arc, and we get to meet some new chyerti as Vasya tries to figure out how to help the chyerti survive in a Rus’ that is continuing to lose its old ways to Christianity.
Konstantin—yes, he’s still freaking here—has a character arc. And it’s understandable, actually, given the events he experienced in the first two books. Unfortunately, it feels like it’s turned him into a more clichéd villain, so he is a less interesting character to read about. That’s really my only issue with the book.
I loved that the author didn’t villainize Christianity. That’s what she seemed to be doing to some extent in the first book, but with Anna and Konstantin as the main drivers of Christianity in that one, it made sense to come away with that impression. But in the next two books we get to spend more time with Sasha and then Father Sergei, who are less fanatical and more open-minded. Arden isn’t saying Christianity = bad, old ways = good; instead she leaves room for a lot of gray area.
I’m so glad I finally got around to this trilogy, and I’ll definitely be reading Katherine Arden again. 5 stars.
