In the wake of the Battle of Fabletown, the winds of change are blowing. The exiled Fables finally have prisoners who might reveal information as to the disposition of their long-abandoned homelands, not least of which would be the identity of their Adversary. Despite the seeming upswing in fortune, though, it’s really more of an ill wind as blows nobody any good. Political discord, births, deaths, clandestine spywork, and ultimately the scattering and separation of our long-time heroes, all blows on this wind. No wonder the book was named The Mean Seasons!

Although the book seemed to be rushing along on those winds, blowing a year past in almost the blink of an eye, there were several points of interest along the way. Demonstrations of just how capable of a leader that Bigby Wolf and Snow White each have really been are scattered throughout; particularly, Bigby’s prowess as a manager and spymaster are laid bare. Meanwhile, Snow stumbles onto an unfortunate murder mystery, and there’s a completely gratuitous WWII story thrown in. By and large, it’s a good book that suffers only by letting the ongoing plot simmer instead of boil. I’m still looking very much forward to whatever comes next.