The War in the Dark

May 28, 2018
Setchfield’s clunky debut is a Cold War–era spy thriller spiced up with demons and occult powers. Christopher Winter is an assassin for British Intelligence. When one of his assigned targets, a priest, declares himself “beyond flesh” and then erupts in a shower of insects, Winter finds himself dangerously in over his head. He is guided in occult matters by a mysterious woman, Karina, who fights with deadly grace, saves his life multiple times, and introduces him to her most secret contacts for no apparent reason except to propel the plot forward. Winter’s adventures are meant to be dreamlike and horrifying, but they miss the mark, and his successes against foes more powerful and better informed seem farfetched, even when he has Karina’s assistance. As he bounces from peril to peril, it becomes obvious that Karina is the more interesting character: she acts instead of passively reacting and uses her knowledge and skill to win the day while Winter bumbles along behind her. The writing is competent, but the novel as a whole is uninspiring, dragged down by a poor choice of protagonist.

July 1, 2018

In 1963, as the Cold War between the East and West heats up, Christopher Winter, a British intelligence officer, is heavily involved in typical James Bond missions. Then a routine assignment turns terribly wrong; he loses his partner; he's drugged by his agency; a department leader is murdered at home; and Winter is forced to shoot and kill his wife when she tries to attack him. He is also seeing people with liquid black eyes and experiencing other events that definitely fall into the paranormal realm. Winter finds that the West and the East are looking to use paranormal elements as advantages for war in the physical world. The assignments start taking deeper and stranger turns as each side begins to search for the key that will unlock the proverbial Pandora's box of powers before the other side does. VERDICT A combination of James Bond, Indiana Jones, and The X-Files set in a post-World War II world, this sf/alternative history debut will appeal to fans who enjoy similar genre mashups.--Mark Hanson, Maranatha Baptist Univ. Lib., Watertown, WI

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