Bitter Seeds

February 22, 2010
Debut novelist Tregillis breathes new life into alternate military history with this fun take on WWII. In this version of 1939 Germany, the insane Dr. von Westarp has given WWI orphans superpowers, such as fire-starting, intangibility, and invisibility. As they use their abilities to aid German expansion, young mutant Klaus starts to suspect that he and the other soldiers are being manipulated by his precognitive sister, Gretel. Meanwhile, British secret agent Raybould Marsh recruits his old college buddy, magic-wielding aristocrat Will Beauclerk, to the British cause. Tregillis has trouble fleshing out characters and is overly fond of worn-out plot devices—a disastrous raid survived only by the protagonists, an urchin destined for greatness—but the action sequences are exciting and intense, and the clash of magic and (mad) science meshes perfectly with the tumultuous setting.

April 15, 2010
British spy Raybould Marsh's strange encounters during the Spanish civil war lead to his involvement during World War II in a secret confrontation between Germans with superpowers and extradimensional creatures summoned by British warlocks. The fantasy debut by Tregillis, a Los Alamos physicist, brings together the supernatural lore of World War II and wartime intrigue in this fantasy thriller that blends alternate history with period horror reminiscent of F. Paul Wilson's horror classic "The Keep". VERDICT This period fantasy should appeal to fans of World War II fiction, superheroes, and alternate history.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2010
In the Spanish Civil War, British secret agent Raybould Marsh thinks he saw a German woman with wires growing out of her head. Once WWII erupts, he learns that his eyes werent fooling him. The Germans have developed various kinds of real live supermen, such as the wired-up lady, with the ability to foretell and influence the future. The British have their own, equally secret occult arsenal, including warlocks to conjure friendly demons and fight the other kind. A member of the Wild Cards group, Tregillis begins a saga in his first novel, one that may rival Naomi Noviks Tales of Temeraire as a sustained historical fantasy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)