Please note Wyntertide is a direct sequel to Rotherweird and as this is the case it is entirely likely that this review may contain minor spoilers if you haven’t read what has come before. Don’t tell me later you weren’t warned in advance.
The town of Rotherweird, made independent from the rest of England by Queen Elizabeth I, has resumed its abnormal normality after a happy ending to the travails of summer.
But is it really all over?
Disturbing omens multiply: a funeral delivers a cryptic warning; an ancient portrait speaks; the Herald disappears – and democracy threatens the covenant between town and countryside. An intricate plot, centuries in the making, is on the move.
Everything is pointing to one objective: the resurrection of Rotherweird’s dark Elizabethan past, and to one date: the Winter Equinox.
In Rotherweird, nothing and nobody are quite what they seem.
I loved Andrew Caldecott’s debut from last year, Rotherweird. It is quite an experience and hugely entertaining. The sequel, Wynteride, has recently been released and good news, it is also an absolute bloomin’ corker.
All my favourite characters return. Everyone, without exception, is just a little bit odd. Eccentricity is rife in Rotherweird, and rediscovering this collection of bizarre individuals is one of the novel’s many highlights. My personal favourite is Godfrey Fanguin, the erudite, now ex, academic. Since the outcome of book one, Fanguin find himself a bit adrift in his life. The ivory towers of academia were his everything. The only thing keeping him from veering off on a path of self-destruction is a new mystery to unpick. An untimely passing leaves Fanguin and his compatriots with a whole host of new questions to try and answer.
Dotted throughout the main narrative, there are more glimpses of Rotherweird’s tumultuous past. Calx Bole is up to no good and who is the mysterious Geryon Wynter? There are grand plans afoot. Astronomy, experimentation, and a dash of mysticism are being used to create ‘wonderful’ things. Wynter is not going to let anyone stop him from achieving his goals.
Back in the present. the action focuses on the mayoral election. Sidney Snorkel is up against contenders from all sides. The Master of Apothecaries, Gurney Thomes, and local businesswoman, Orelia Roc, both view the august title for their own reasons. The ever-put-upon town clerk, Gorhambury, heroically attempts to wrangle all this chaos but there are still political shenanigans aplenty. Fake news, smear campaigns and vote rigging are the order of the day, it all sounds spookily familiar. It reminds me of something, but I can’t for the life of me think what. There is little denying that Rotherweird is a wonderfully odd place, so you’ll not be surprised that this extends to local government. Where else would you find such a politically charged firework display? Or a voting booth that defies gravity?
Much like its predecessor, there are a whole host of puzzles in this novel. Crosswords, anagrams, clues hidden in pictures, maps sewn into the bindings of books. The list goes on and on. It makes my old heart happy. In a place as eccentric as Rotherweird, the conundrum is king. Nothing should ever be simple, where is the fun in that?
Based on my internet observations, Rotherweird is literary marmite; you either love it or you hate it. I’d imagine Wyntertide will be the same. I am aware there are some readers out there that could not get on with book one at all. I was the polar opposite. I loved every single thing about it and feel the same way about the sequel. The location is odd, the characters range from the bizarre to the downright psychopathic, and the story was a satirical hoot. I would love to see these novels transferred to the screen. It is the sort of thing Aunty Beeb does so very well. I mentioned in my review of the first book that an adaptation could be like The Mouse That Roared. Rotherweird and the Duchy of Grand Fenwick have much in common. Both fictional locations manage to be hopelessly British but also entirely unique. I’m also still firmly of the opinion that at least half a dozen characters should be played by one actor, much like Peter Sellers in The Mouse That Roared. It could be something truly great.
I really hope Andrew Caldecott had as much fun writing these novels as I had reading them. There is an unrestrained glee that seems to leap off the page. Once the location of Rotherweird (I’m sure it really exists) is finally revealed, I am quite prepared to sell my worldly possessions to move there immediately. Assuming of course, that as an outsider I would be welcomed with open arms? Hmm, perhaps not.
Wyntertide perfectly continues the journey that began in Rotherweird. My advice is get yourself a comfy seat, pour yourself a steaming hot cup of Black Bodrum’s Nightraiser Special coffee, and dive in. My only caveat, you must read Rotherweird first. If you don’t you’ll be missing out on a rare treat. Wyntertide is best viewed as the second part of a the whole and should be appreciated as such.
The best way I can describe Wyntertide is a captivatingly quirky so I’m firmly of the opinion that it requires a captivatingly quirky musical accompaniment. I went with the blissful soundtrack to The Grand Budapest Hotel by Alexandre Desplat. Both complement one another perfectly. Gothic, characterful tunes chock full of whimsy feels to me that this is exactly what Rotherweird should sound like.
Wyntertide is published by Jo Fletcher Books and is available now. Lost Acre is set to follow. Highly recommended.
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