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eion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
suzemo's review
3.0
<p>This is the second book in Tregillis's YA-Alternative timeline Milkweed trilogy.</p>
<p><br />Instead of picking up right after the events of the first book, we pick up about 20 years later. Everything has gone to hell -</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In this timeline, the USSR pretty much has all of continental Europe under control and is waging a bitter cold-war with England. The US is busy being super-isolationist (and had never entered the war). The Soviets captured Gretel and Klaus at the end of the war with Germany, and are now running their own super-power/Xmen division.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In England, Marsh's life has fallen apart (with a disastrous marriage to boot), Will is being an utter ass (I seriously hate his sanctimonious hypocrisy). Everyone (who's still alive) gets back together for a fantastic reunion of Soviet busting fun when Klaus and Gretel make it back to England to defect.</p>
<p><br />Klaus, I think, is the only one I really care for, or at least, to me, is the only sympathetic character in the book. We find out that Gretel isn't just a sociopath, but a sociopath with an end game, and everyone else just seems to be limping through their lives, trying to hold what little they still have together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But still, everything is super gritty, war (and life) is hell, and at no point do you feel happy during this book.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I love that even though it's a middle book in the trilogy, it doesn't suffer from middle-book-itis at all. It's fast paced, just as solid as the first work (if not more), and is very tightly and smartly written.</p>
<p><br />Instead of picking up right after the events of the first book, we pick up about 20 years later. Everything has gone to hell -</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In this timeline, the USSR pretty much has all of continental Europe under control and is waging a bitter cold-war with England. The US is busy being super-isolationist (and had never entered the war). The Soviets captured Gretel and Klaus at the end of the war with Germany, and are now running their own super-power/Xmen division.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In England, Marsh's life has fallen apart (with a disastrous marriage to boot), Will is being an utter ass (I seriously hate his sanctimonious hypocrisy). Everyone (who's still alive) gets back together for a fantastic reunion of Soviet busting fun when Klaus and Gretel make it back to England to defect.</p>
<p><br />Klaus, I think, is the only one I really care for, or at least, to me, is the only sympathetic character in the book. We find out that Gretel isn't just a sociopath, but a sociopath with an end game, and everyone else just seems to be limping through their lives, trying to hold what little they still have together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But still, everything is super gritty, war (and life) is hell, and at no point do you feel happy during this book.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I love that even though it's a middle book in the trilogy, it doesn't suffer from middle-book-itis at all. It's fast paced, just as solid as the first work (if not more), and is very tightly and smartly written.</p>
adamrbrooks's review against another edition
4.0
I remembered a few things about Bitter Seeds, and Tregillis does a nice job with reminders. But overall, reading this book is a bit like people hitting you with bars of soap in socks. It won't scar you, but it will hurt in many places. (Though you should read voluntarily; not so much the other thing.) Everyone is miserable, the world is broken and getting worse, deeds done for good came at evil costs that can't be redeemed. And, really... Things aren't that much better for anyone by the end.
And it's a great read, even though it felt less active than the first. (And I wish I remembered some specific details to see if they tie in correctly.)
Short version --- really, really looking forward to the finale.
And it's a great read, even though it felt less active than the first. (And I wish I remembered some specific details to see if they tie in correctly.)
Short version --- really, really looking forward to the finale.
rilester's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
skybalon's review against another edition
4.0
I'm going to copy the same review into each of the editions. Ultimately while the books each are separate--the whole series needs to be read for any sort of real understanding and closure.
First of all, and I cannot express this more strongly, this is one of the most depressing book series that I could even imagine enjoying. Take the already depressing WWII and make it even more depressing. To be more specific would introduce spoilers, but consistently throughout the story characters have to make choices with no good options. People will kill and die and each one has more of an emotional impact than you'll expect.
Well worth the read, but maybe not if you are already feeling blue.
First of all, and I cannot express this more strongly, this is one of the most depressing book series that I could even imagine enjoying. Take the already depressing WWII and make it even more depressing. To be more specific would introduce spoilers, but consistently throughout the story characters have to make choices with no good options. People will kill and die and each one has more of an emotional impact than you'll expect.
Well worth the read, but maybe not if you are already feeling blue.
mferrante83's review
4.0
Ian Tregillis’ Bitter Seeds was one of if not my absolute favorite debut of 2010. After several major missteps by the publisher (well documented on the author’s blog) the second novel of the Milkweed Triptych, The Coldest War, is set for release later this year. In a bizarre experiment the decision was made to release the audiobook first via the fine folks at Audible.com. For those needing a refresher Bitter Seeds was an alternate history novel that rewrites World War II pitting the products of a Nazi super-science program against warlocks of Great Britain. The warlocks don’t simply toss spells around though. They must negotiate with omnipresent and dangerous entities who grant power in exchange for blood sacrifice. As the title implies The Coldest Wartakes place during the Cold War in the sixties; twenty-two years after the end of World War II. The protagonists of the previous novel have since moved on, for better or for worse. Former spy Raybould Marsh’s marriage is crumbling, strained by his simpleton son. Whereas former-warlock Will has put asside trafficking with devils in order forward his older brother’s philanthropic ways. Unfortunately for both the precognitive Gretel is active and at large and she, along with her brother Klaus, will some draw both these men back into the cutthroat world of Milkweed.
I desperately want to say that I loved The Coldest War particularly given how eager I was to have it in my greedy little hands. While it by any means a bad novel it does have some problems; particularly with pacing. The first half of The Coldest War, as we are introduced to the mundane and somewhat sad worlds of both Will and Raybould, is where the novel is at its weakest. By my measure the novel suffers from this lack of the the strange and there is certain amount of frustration seeing a character like Raybould fallen so low. The Coldest War, at its outset, is definitely a slower burn than its predecessor and there is a significant amount of build up before things really get going. Getting to know Will, Raybould, Gretel, and Klaus again takes time, necessary time, but I would lying if there weren’t moments when I wished I could just skip ahead.
Of the familiar faces reintroduced in The Coldest War perhaps my favorite was Klaus. For some reason his character arc between these two novels really stood out for me. A puppet of his Nazi masters in the first novel and constantly manipulated by Gretel here Tregillis really conveys Klaus’ frustration with his situation. Klaus’ desire to have a “normal” life is touching particularly when you realize that even he doesn’t quite realize what “normal” means; or even how to be normal. Klaus’ desire to get out of the business of spycraft and weird science directly contrasts Raybould’s near desperation to get back into the Milkweed program. Raybould is really a pitiable, bordering on loathsome, character in those early chapters and he spends more time wallowing than improving his situation. Will is still the insufferable British aristocrat borderline contemptuous of his peers yet still somehow blind to his own sense of entitlement. While both Will and Raybould are the novel’s protagonists Tregillis does not paint them in a consistently heroic light. Given what we know of how the British achieved their victory in the war this should not come as a surprise but it is nice to note the Tregillis continues to paint these characters in varying shades of gray.
Despite the novel’s slow opening when things do pick up they really pick up. The Coldest War, despite taking place in a time of peace, features stakes that are arguably higher than in Bitter Seeds. Tregillis does an excellent job of capturing the paranoia of the Cold War era and paints the threat of Russian communism with a deft hand. More of the supernatural and weird elements are introduced in the novel as it progresses and once we are introduced to Britain’s new warlocks (glimpsed at the conclusion of Bitter Seeds) and witness some of the fallout from Raybould and Will’s past action things take on a delightfully creepy air. Gretel is as infuriatingly inscrutable as ever and the final revelation of her ultimate plan (or at least part of it) is pure genius. I have no idea how the next volume is going to play out.
The Coldest War is a thrilling and sometimes chilling tale of spycraft, sorcery, and weird science. Its rocky opening offers a bit of an adjustment given how far our heroes have fallen but the pay off is eventually worth it. Like Bitter Seeds, The Coldest War is a novel that stands apart blending two typically disparate genres into a smooth unified whole. The Coldest War elaborates on many of the elements from Bitter Seeds taking the most mysterious aspects, Gretel and Eidolons, and adding new layers without destroying the mystery; that feat alone is well worth the price of mystery. Be warned The Coldest War has a cliffhanger ending and you will finish the book with the rabid desire for more. The audiobook version of The Coldest War is available now via Audible.com while the print version will be available on July 17, 2012.
I desperately want to say that I loved The Coldest War particularly given how eager I was to have it in my greedy little hands. While it by any means a bad novel it does have some problems; particularly with pacing. The first half of The Coldest War, as we are introduced to the mundane and somewhat sad worlds of both Will and Raybould, is where the novel is at its weakest. By my measure the novel suffers from this lack of the the strange and there is certain amount of frustration seeing a character like Raybould fallen so low. The Coldest War, at its outset, is definitely a slower burn than its predecessor and there is a significant amount of build up before things really get going. Getting to know Will, Raybould, Gretel, and Klaus again takes time, necessary time, but I would lying if there weren’t moments when I wished I could just skip ahead.
Of the familiar faces reintroduced in The Coldest War perhaps my favorite was Klaus. For some reason his character arc between these two novels really stood out for me. A puppet of his Nazi masters in the first novel and constantly manipulated by Gretel here Tregillis really conveys Klaus’ frustration with his situation. Klaus’ desire to have a “normal” life is touching particularly when you realize that even he doesn’t quite realize what “normal” means; or even how to be normal. Klaus’ desire to get out of the business of spycraft and weird science directly contrasts Raybould’s near desperation to get back into the Milkweed program. Raybould is really a pitiable, bordering on loathsome, character in those early chapters and he spends more time wallowing than improving his situation. Will is still the insufferable British aristocrat borderline contemptuous of his peers yet still somehow blind to his own sense of entitlement. While both Will and Raybould are the novel’s protagonists Tregillis does not paint them in a consistently heroic light. Given what we know of how the British achieved their victory in the war this should not come as a surprise but it is nice to note the Tregillis continues to paint these characters in varying shades of gray.
Despite the novel’s slow opening when things do pick up they really pick up. The Coldest War, despite taking place in a time of peace, features stakes that are arguably higher than in Bitter Seeds. Tregillis does an excellent job of capturing the paranoia of the Cold War era and paints the threat of Russian communism with a deft hand. More of the supernatural and weird elements are introduced in the novel as it progresses and once we are introduced to Britain’s new warlocks (glimpsed at the conclusion of Bitter Seeds) and witness some of the fallout from Raybould and Will’s past action things take on a delightfully creepy air. Gretel is as infuriatingly inscrutable as ever and the final revelation of her ultimate plan (or at least part of it) is pure genius. I have no idea how the next volume is going to play out.
The Coldest War is a thrilling and sometimes chilling tale of spycraft, sorcery, and weird science. Its rocky opening offers a bit of an adjustment given how far our heroes have fallen but the pay off is eventually worth it. Like Bitter Seeds, The Coldest War is a novel that stands apart blending two typically disparate genres into a smooth unified whole. The Coldest War elaborates on many of the elements from Bitter Seeds taking the most mysterious aspects, Gretel and Eidolons, and adding new layers without destroying the mystery; that feat alone is well worth the price of mystery. Be warned The Coldest War has a cliffhanger ending and you will finish the book with the rabid desire for more. The audiobook version of The Coldest War is available now via Audible.com while the print version will be available on July 17, 2012.
jefffrane's review
5.0
It's difficult to believe, but The Coldest War is even more grim and despairing than the first book in the series. Like the first book, the writing is excellent, the characters compelling and the alternate universe, complete with Lovecraftian horrors, is brilliantly creative. Tregillis is one of the best sf writers I've encountered over 50+ years of reading speculative fiction.
eishe's review
5.0
When a colleague introduced me to the series, he said that the second book was what really sold it to him and he couldn't wait to read the third one. After reading the first book in the series, I was skeptical about that statement. Surely, Mr. Tregillis couldn't make the story more interesting. Alas, I was wrong. The character development, the plot twists, the everything. Just, wow. Certainly one of the best books I've read this year.