The Red Winter

Name: The Red Winter
Price: 55 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781250362766

Power is a hungry beast

Cameron Sullivan

$55

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

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English

St Martins/Tor
24 February 2026

Adult & contemporary romance; Historical romance; Historical fiction; Fantasy

A bewitching historical fantasy from a debut author. A devastating love story. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power and redemption.

In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gevaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake.

Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel - who takes payment in living hearts - it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down.

Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d'Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.

But Gevaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian's unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian's arcane activities - not to mention his demonic counterpart - have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war.

Debut author Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history with this darkly entertaining retelling of the hunt for the Beast of Gevaudan. Lifting the veil on the hidden world behind our own, it reimagines the story of Europe, from Imperial Rome to Saint Jeanne d'Arc, the madness of Gilles de Rais and the first flickers of the French Revolution.

By: Cameron Sullivan
Imprint: St Martins/Tor
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 220mm, Width: 148mm, Spine: 44mm
Weight: 700g
ISBN: 9781250362766
ISBN 10: 1250362768
Pages: 544
Publication Date: 24 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Cameron Sullivan was born in Perth, Western Australia. He grew up with the dark fantasy and horror icons of the 80s and went on to study classics and creative writing at the University of Western Australia. After several years working and studying in Italy and the UK, he returned to Australia and settled in Melbourne, which is the best place for Australians who actually enjoy the winter. He works as a copywriter and will easily lose a weekend to a good book, a new recipe or games of any kind, from tabletop DnD to pub trivia.

Reviews for The Red Winter: Power is a hungry beast

""An enthralling story of morally gray characters, scheming demons, and a bloodthirsty beast that will leave any uneaten hearts aching bittersweetly."" --Library Journal ""So bloody good. The Red Winter is absolute ripper entertainment--miss it at your peril!"" --Shelley Parker-Chan, bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun ""Charming, haunting, ambitious, and a great deal of fun."" --T. Kingfisher, New York Times bestselling author of A Sorceress Comes to Call ""A gorgeous tangle of history and fresh-made myth, The Red Winter is my platonic ideal of a debut: the moment I was done, I went looking for Sullivan's backlog and let out an actual howl of despair upon realizing there was nothing yet. You'll eat this one up."" --Cassandra Khaw, USA Today bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth ""The Red Winter is a hell of a debut. An absolute feast of a book: rich, red, sinfully delicious. I've rarely been this satisfied--or this hungry for more."" --Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House ""Dense and ambitious... This sprawling epic is worth the effort."" --Publisher's Weekly