The Shadow War

January 4, 2021
This queer historical fantasy from Smith (A Darkly Beating Heart) chronicles five marginalized teenagers’ efforts to undermine the Third Reich in 1942. While attending Princeton, gay theoretical physics protégé Liam Doyle discovers a parallel universe containing destructive dark energy that he can extract in short bursts. A medieval manuscript contains instructions for a portal that would facilitate a large-scale harvest; regrettably, Heinrich Himmler has the book, necessitating its retrieval before the Nazis can capitalize. Once in Germany, Liam joins forces with Jewish siblings Rebeka and Daniel Eisenberg, who are killing SS officers to avenge their family’s murder; Black electrical engineering student Phillip Jones, who is encrypting resistance radio communications on behalf of the U.S. Army; and Algerian-born Muslim Simone Khalef, whom the Free French have tasked with protecting Phillip. Gay and straight romances bloom as the quintet battles Nazis, shadow-world monsters, and their own inner demons. Smith’s prose skews purple, her worldbuilding lacks clarity, and the pace occasionally plods despite abundant violence and apocalyptic stakes. Regardless, the tale’s vividly sketched, authentically flawed ensemble cast will reel in readers and hold them rapt. Ages 14–up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.