Review by Ian Keogh
The short way to describe The Cold Ever After is as a twisted Wonder Woman story. On a world where strong women dominate, Noelani once led the queen’s guard, but as the story opens that’s long in the past, and she sits in a bar getting drunk and awaiting a summons she intends to ignore. However, as good as she is, sheer numbers prevail, and whether she wants to or not, she’s back in the queen’s service.
Jeremy Whitley’s opening sequence is just by way of proving Noelani’s chops as The Cold Ever After concerns a quest for a missing princess. That being the case, the whole background seems an interesting construction to be left unexplored, yet thankfully, that isn’t so. There’s an extensive course in politics and rivalries, with the dividing line between church and state a particular difficulty, and what might have presumed to centre on fantasy battles is as much a procedural detective tale as anything.
It falls to Megan Huang to deliver the intrigue and aggression, which she does in a polished cartoon style. At times you’d wish she’d move the viewpoint out a little more often, and the muted colours don’t always do events justice, but this is extremely well drawn with plenty of personality.
As Noelani continues her investigation in the present among those who’d obstruct it, we’re supplied flashbacks to Noelani’s recruitment and ascent through the ranks to the queen’s protector and lover. It’s intended as harrowing, and is. In addition to the mystery, Whitley uses The Cold Ever After to address several toxic issues, and as a means of questioning the involvement of any belief system being entwined with the state. It means there’s a contemporary relevance to what’s ostensibly set in a fantasy kingdom where dragons are fought. It’s also a romance, which is the least accomplished aspect for much of the story, but pays off eventually. It’s understandable at the start, but never quite credible enough given the people involved.
Readers will figure a couple of minor aspects out before Noelani, but they’ll have read more detective novels than she has. They won’t, however. figure out the entire story, which takes some surprisingly sordid turns before the end, with a misguided character acting terribly in good faith, and confirmation about who others are. The result is a consistently engaging genre-straddling mystery with compelling diversions.
