The Coldest War

May 7, 2012
The engrossing second book in Tregillis’s Milkweed Triptych (after Bitter Seeds) takes up years later, in an alternate 1963 in which the warlocks of the British Empire protect the land from the Soviet Union. Secret agent Raybould Marsh and mage Will Beauclerk again find themselves drawn into the conflict, as the plans of the precognitive Gretel—newly escaped from Russia—finally start to come to fruition. Tregillis ably mixes cold war paranoia with his mythology, also nicely expanding characters (particularly Gretel) who had seemed one-dimensional previously. The monstrous, extra-dimensional Eidolons add a genuinely convincing menace that transcends the more banal evil motivations of the political game players, although Gretel’s more complicated motivations really drive the action. A few nice twists keep things interesting, and the cliffhanger ending sets up the concluding volume quite well, though some readers will be frustrated by the lack of resolution. Agent: Kay McCauley, the Pimlico Agency.

May 1, 2012
Independently intelligible sequel to the dark fantasy Bitter Seeds (2010), something like a cross between the devious, character-driven spy fiction of early John le Carre and the mad science fantasy of the X-Men. Previously, during World War II, the Nazis developed warriors with devastating psychic powers. To combat them, British warlocks used their inherited lore to summon the Eidolons, irresistible demons beyond time and space, whose price for cooperation is extracted in the blood of innocents. Now, in 1963, after the Soviet Union defeated the Nazis and took over their horrid experiments, their empire stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic save only for a narrow coastal strip west from Paris--America never entered the war and is still mired in a four-decades-long depression. Gretel and her younger brother Klaus, Nazi products captured by the Soviets and forced to cooperate with their experiments, escape from a prison camp and make their way to England where they insist on contacting former spy chief Raybould Marsh who, beset by personal tragedy, has turned into a belligerent drunk barely holding on to his job as a gardener. Marsh's erstwhile colleague, the aristocratic Will Beauclerk, wracked with guilt over his part in summoning the Eidolons and subsequent slaughter of innocents, has betrayed the whereabouts of England's warlocks to the Soviets, who are quietly assassinating them. It will be Marsh's task to unmask Will's treachery, learn what greater designs the Soviets have and counteract them, and deal with the seemingly untouchable Gretel, a psychic so formidable that she has foreseen all possible futures and is manipulating everybody toward an end only she knows. Despite the jaw-dropping backdrop and oblique plotting, the narrative is driven by character and personal circumstance, the only possible drawback being certain important developments that annoyingly take place offstage. Grim indeed, yet eloquent and utterly compelling.

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May 15, 2012

In an alternate world, it is 1963 and the Cold War is in full swing. Britain's few remaining warlocks, who wielded the power that ended World War II after only two years, now protect the English from the Soviet menace. But one by one they are dying in suspicious accidents. At the same time, siblings Klaus and Gretel, victims of Nazi experiments that sought to endow subjects with superpowers, escape from a Russian prison and flee to England. Their actions, guided by Gretel's mad visions, lead to the reactivation of former SIS spy Raybould Marsh, a man now ruined by his wartime activities. To save Britain, Marsh must return to the activities that cost him his chance at a normal life. VERDICT This follow-up to Bitter Seeds explores the consequences of using evil methods for the greater good. Well-drawn characters and a feel for time and place make this an excellent journey into an alternate Britain and should please fans of Harry Turtledove and Naomi Novik.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2012
The second volume of a promising trilogy combining alternate history and fantasy finds the British Empire and the Soviet Union squared off against each other. The British are completely dependent on the skill of their wizards. The Soviet Union is drawing on the skills of captured German wizards in an effort to mass-produce supermen on demand. A brother and sister who have survived being guinea pigs for both Germans and Russians make their escape and head for Britain. But they may not receive such a welcome as they expect from British spy Raybould Marsh. Marsh has his own problems, starting with the witch Gretel and going on to his own doubts about the ethics of British policies, wizards, and aspirations. So, since this is a battle for survival, where to turn?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)