this book was an entertaining and funny tale that has within it all the magical elements i love. witches, Vikings, Norse gods and santa claus. The characters are well written and the plot is fun ! it was really enjoyed the read and liked the story

The Winter Riddle  (pub. Black Spot Books, 1st Nov. 2018) is a satiro-mythical morality tale whose author clearly demonstrates his membership in that emerging generic brotherhood which, much as the successors of playwright Ben Jonson gained the epithet "The Tribe of Ben", could well be referred to as "The Tribe of Terry."

Yes, this story definitely has Terry Pratchett as its godfather, with Tom Holt standing in the wings in case someone drops the baby.

The characters include witches who demand respect, barmy rulers, elves and goblins, Gods and barbarian warriors, and Santa himself (though not in hoggish guise here). Remind you of somewhere flat and full of magic?

But this story is set on our Earth - albeit around a mythical version of the North Pole - and, while there are the kind of moral disquisitions we're accustomed to see in the works of the tribal leader, the principal problem is a very modern one: global warming.

But who is responsible? Is it some kind of plot by the Frost Giants to thaw their way out of Niflheim? Is it a rebellion by the land itself against the crazed rule of Queen Alexia? Or is it a deadly side-effect of a bet mischievous Loki has made against himself? 

Vogha, the Winter Witch and sister to the Queen, is facing all sorts of pressure: Alexia wants her to serve at court, the spirit of her old master Osgrey is nagging her to take on the job of Warden to the Land, Ghasterly the Castle Necromancer keeps trouncing her at magic, and Santa's rickety prototype flying machine has dropped a wing right on her herb garden. In addition she has a duty of care towards a rather elegant snow lion called Sigmund and an ambitious Red Raven who is addicted to anchovies. Vogha, meanwhile, in Garboesque fashion, just "wants to be alone!"

As you can no doubt infer from all of the above, there is a healthy streak of humour running through this tale, and, as with Pratchett's oeuvre, it's not entirely facetious.  The moral dilemmas of "Who should rule?" and "How should one treat 'the other'?" are neatly tied in with an entertaining plot and characterisation. Plus, we get a peek at the early career of that famed warrior, Santa. What more could you ask?

My only reservation is that the introduction of a fairly large cast of characters slowed the plot a little at the start, but, once the protagonists were firmly bedded into the story, I just sat back and enjoyed the (sleigh) ride!

Part Game of Thrones, part The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and part Viking mythology, Winter Riddle is a thinking person’s fantasy. And it’s hilarious!

At the North Pole, Volgha the Winter Witch is just trying to live an introverted life. However, her younger sister took over the kingdom, her mentor is now a tree and Santa is the worst neighbor ever. Enter the wacky fantasy world of Winter Riddle.

Incorporating Viking myth, witchy lore, familiars and Santa in one plot doesn’t even sound possible. However, the author achieves it with this funny tale. The less you know of the plot of Winter Riddle, the more fun you will have reading this wonderful book. It is perfect for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fans as the humor is similarly absurd. 5 stars!

Thanks to Black Spot Books and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderfully funny and mysterious read! Sam Hooker is an author that manages to balance magic, mystery, riddles and sarcasm! I laught so hard while reading this book that I stopped drinking my tea! If you wan t a funny story that has its basis in old myths and nordic religions, this book is definitely for you! And besides, the cover alone is certainly a selling point!

Highly satirical and quite often witty, wonky, and silly, The Winter Riddle is perfect for anyone looking for a good read.

If you are a moody young woman who likes to wear black, you might well be a witch. Or aspire to be a witch. If you needed a tongue-in-cheek guide on how to behave, you could benefit from picking up The Winter Riddle, by Sam Hooker. Quaint, and yet somehow very modern, this is the tale of Volgha the Winter Witch. Volgha, like Greta Garbo just “vants to be alone,” in her moldering, but cozy hut in the far North of the world. Unfortunately, not only is she royal by blood, her depraved, needy sister is the Queen. The Queen enjoys teasing and tormenting her introverted sister, almost as much as chopping peoples’ heads off or getting stimulated with the Royal Tickler. (A person in the employ of the palace who is always masked.) To add to Volgha’s woes, her mind is soon shared by her familiar, a red crow, and her old mentor, which leads to some lively discussions inside her head. And that handsome Santa, with a secret past as a warrior? Volgha tries to push him away, but he doesn’t allow her rebuffs to discomfort him.
There is a plot to all this farce as well. Volgha, who has spent years trying to get away from everything and everyone, is chosen by fate to become the Warden of the North Pole and mediate between nature spirits and the doings of man. With a motley crew of assistants, including the vain and talkative red crow, a terrified elf, and a practical scullery maid, she must set things to right.

The North Pole hasn't always been an empty place. Once upon a time, a Kingdom lay there. And there were all kinds of different creatures there: from strange Queens and Viking Gods, to Santa and elves. And, among them all is our protagonist, the Winter Witch. When her world is threatened by Ragnarok, our Winter Witch will ally with Santa himself, and the result can only be both epic and hilarious. Can the North Pole be saved?

The Winter Riddle is n adventure that mixes a lot of different elements from various cultures and fairy tales. Although Sam Hooker's humor is excellent, the story was dragged a lot, and very often felt like the author diverted from the plot. It took a very long time to get to the actual plot (around 20% of the book), and the beginning was extremely uneventful. The story picked up a faster pace eventually, but it felt quite forced at times.

All in all it was amusing, quick-to-read and quite humorous, but not nearly as good as other work from this author.

I need to begin with something I am sure multiple blurbs will mention at some point. If you are a fan of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams and/or Neil Gaiman there is something  in this book that will resonate with you. There is a randomness to the story which eventually gets to a point which will make you smile. 

The story begins in a land far, far away with the winter witch Volgha. All she wants is to be left alone to do her own things. This is hampered by the fact that she was originally born in the local royal family. The rest of the introduction is part of the fun included in the start of the tale. Then we have Santa who happens to be in the same locality but he is not exactly of the folklore that we have now. There are also Norse Gods thrown (very casually) into the mix.I recently read up on the Norse Gods so that worked in my favour but I wouldn;t deem it critical to know too much about them beforehand.
This is a chaotic tale, with the conversations and the sarcasm and all the 'asides' that people tack on to the conversation being the main features. All of that being said, I would have liked the book even more if it had been split into two only because it would have made reading it easier. There are some things I found funnier than others but overall I think this is an author who has the tone right. I would definitely recommend the book and try any others I can get my hands on.

A humorous, paradoxical Christmas novel that will surely make you laugh.
I loved the characters, the setting and the plot was sound and entertaining.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

This one was a bit slow to start for me, I didn’t get into it until about halfway through. I think mostly because I just couldn’t see where the story was going, and Volgha doesn’t really endear herself as a character. Once we meet the Vikings and the story started to take shape I began to enjoy it a lot more.

I liked the use of a mix of characters from different origins. They all played up to their stereotypes really (Santa was jolly and friendly, the Vikings were drinkers and fighters, and Volgha was self absorbed and rather brusque) but I think that is what makes the novel work.

Once I’d grasped the story properly and seen where it was going I felt it was quite a clever idea, and the author did well with it. Without giving away top much I thought the exchange between the Frost Giants, Santa, Volgha and the Vikings at the start of the battle was a brilliant take on things.

I did feel in parts that the author was trying a little too hard to be a bit kooky/off the wall/Pratchettesque, but that also seemed to ease up as the book went on. That could just be because it’s Hooker’s first novel and he’s still finding his feet a little and developing his own style, I guess we’ll see about that in his later books.

Overall I’m giving this 3*, it’s better than a straight three but the slow start just holds it back too much for me for it to be close enough to a 4.

When you have to become a Queen just so that people can leave you alone, so you can get back to the Witching Way, be sure to employ Santa, The Vikings, maybe, Odin, throw in some Ice Giants just to be sure... The Winter Riddle has something for everyone. This was another great effort from Sam Hooker. Thank you Netgally for giving me a chance to read this ARC.

3 stars

This book is weird. The writing style is great and the characters are compelling, but the story is, well, weird. It's a melting pot of traditions and stories, and I'm not convinced they go with each other.
Nevertheless, it reminded me of Terry Pratchett's books and that's always good.

A very nice book incorporating a lot of the tales of the north and winter into it. Not as satirical as I was expecting but the book played out nicely and kept my interest.

I had high hopes for this one, but I feel disappointed. The author tried to hard to be funny and I had impresion that some scenes were in the book just because they were supposed to be hilarious and not because they moved plot forward.

I wouldn't recommend this book to others.

When I began the novel, I felt it might be too rambling but as the story progressed I ended up really enjoying it!

2.5*

The reason I requested 'The Winter Riddle' is because the cover reminded me of Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series when it was illustrated by Josh Kirby, and the synopisis implied a similar style of story telling. The reason the Discworld stories work, in my opinion, is because they explore philosophical and existential ideas in a way that's whimsical and at times absolutely hysterical. Most importantly it holds up as a fully realised fantasy universe of it's own merit, despite being fundamentally satirical in nature.
'The Winter Riddle' just strikes me as pedantic and trying too hard to be witty. I appreciate what the author was trying to achieve, but ultimately I found the writing style really alienating for me personally as a reader.
I think it would have benefited from building the main character initially, instead of focussing on being clever from the get go. I felt like the introduction was a bit of an information dump and subsequently it was confusing as to what information we are supposed to care about and who's story it is that we're supposed to be following.
Sorry I can't give a more positive review, it just wasn't for me.

~ Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this title ~

I discovered Sam Hooker’s writing a few months ago with his Black Spot Press debut: <i>Peril in the Old Country</i>. I enjoyed that book so much that I jumped at the chance to read this one.

Stir together a mirthfully unhinged monarch who is best friends with Loki, her sister who is the Winter Witch, Santa Claus (seen wielding a war hammer on the cover…so you can expect someone a little different from the “right jolly old elf”), battle-loving Vikings, and various other mythical/magical beings and you just know this is going to be good! Our protagonist is the Winter Witch who just wants to be left in peace to do witchy things – but what fun would that be for our story? When she helps Loki play a prank on himself, things quickly spiral out of control…and that’s about all I can say without spoilers. Along the way there are plenty of laugh out loud moments and some genuine character growth that didn’t feel preachy or moralizing.

Apparently this is a reworked version of the author’s previously self-published first novel, and I think it shows a little bit. The pacing and plotting weren’t as even and tight as in <i>Peril in the Old Country</i>, but it was still a rolicking good tale. And it didn’t end on a major cliffhanger, so that’s a plus for me! Pacing issues aside, this is definitely worth reading if you enjoy humorous fantasy, and I am looking forward to whatever Sam Hooker writes next.

I'm still working on finishing reading this book. It's interesting, but doesn't hold my attention for very long. The characters all seem very well thought out so far.

This was an okay book. It was well written and the characters were humorous. It just isn't my favorite book.

Hahahahhahaa!!! If wit and christmas had a lovechild, and it came out mangled, this book would be it - A hot mess (or, perhaps, cold mess is more appropriate) of it all and honestly, exasperated me with laughter the whole time!