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wulvaine's review against another edition
4.0
Ian Tregillis has created a fascinating and dark vision of an alternate World War II. Taut pacing, great characters, and a fascinating plot keeps you turning pages, and he holds the distinction of being one of very few authors who can write passages that ring truly frightening a la Lovecraft.
I have no real complaints about the book; the only thing holding it back from five stars is the fact that there's not a great deal of resolution. This is the first book in a trilogy, and it's clearly laying groundwork for The Coldest War and Necessary Evil. That's not bad, of course; it just makes this first volume feel a little incomplete on its own.
However, I'll definitely be trying to get my hands on The Coldest War as soon as possible.
I have no real complaints about the book; the only thing holding it back from five stars is the fact that there's not a great deal of resolution. This is the first book in a trilogy, and it's clearly laying groundwork for The Coldest War and Necessary Evil. That's not bad, of course; it just makes this first volume feel a little incomplete on its own.
However, I'll definitely be trying to get my hands on The Coldest War as soon as possible.
cintain's review against another edition
5.0
Can't put it down... Awesome style, fun and intriguing plot.
reezy_nu's review against another edition
5.0
Pirmā šâda žanra grámata. Visas lasīśanas laikā, man bija aizdoma, ka labo grámatu sabojás nekur nederīgas beigas, bet es kļūdījos. Līdz pēdëjai lappusei izbaudīju. Beigas nepalika karājoties gaisā, bet deva pietiekami lielu áķi, lai bùtu vélme uzzinát, kas notiks tàlák.
Nav cakainu teikumu un aizmirstiet par tēlainiem epitetiem, taču jebkurá gadījumā, ar nepacietību gaidu, kad tikšu pie nákamás daļas.
Iespējams, ja man būtu pieredze ar alternatìvás véstures grámatám, mana sajùsma bùtu mazàka, jo bùtu ar ko salìdzinát, taću pirmais méğinájums ir bijis veiksmìgs.
P.S. atgādinājums sev: atrast vél kādu literatūru par sociopātiem aprēķinātājiem un kraukļiem.
Nav cakainu teikumu un aizmirstiet par tēlainiem epitetiem, taču jebkurá gadījumā, ar nepacietību gaidu, kad tikšu pie nákamás daļas.
Iespējams, ja man būtu pieredze ar alternatìvás véstures grámatám, mana sajùsma bùtu mazàka, jo bùtu ar ko salìdzinát, taću pirmais méğinájums ir bijis veiksmìgs.
P.S. atgādinājums sev: atrast vél kādu literatūru par sociopātiem aprēķinātājiem un kraukļiem.
suzemo's review
4.0
So this is an alternate history tale, and I find it fascinating that so much alternate history is predicated on WWII/Nazis. I can't decide if that's because WWII is such a pivotal (recent) time in our (western civ) culture/collective memories, or because Nazis really were so bat-shit crazy/evil that it's easy to write a story involving them where the suspension of disbelief is so easy to go with. And, well, they do make for the ultimate bad guy you'll never root for. I mean, Nazis... what did those guys NOT do? what were they actually not (morally) capable of? Pretty much nothing. And the WWs were major events that dominated the last century... so sure?
Anyhoodle, on to the story. There's a mad-German-scientist who, using steampunky/industrial revolution get ups and creative experimenting on orphans, creates an army of supermen (very Xmen-ish) that have supernatural like powers. There's a pre-cog girl, a disappearing boy, a human torch, and others. The girl, Greta, is not just a pre-cog, but a stone cold sociopath, which makes for a darling combo. I kinda <3 her.
On the Allied side, we've got actual warlocks, who speak some kind of primeval language to otherworldly beings who are able to alter objects or environments in our world. Sounds fun, except that these beings have a literal blood price for everything they do. There's Will, a peer and warlock, and Marsh, an elevated orphan - spy guy who also happens to be Will's friend.
So we've got Xmen vs Warlocks, which sounds super cheesy, except that the author does a great job in making the atmosphere in this book work. It's gritty and dark and depressing and hard and painful. Everyone is committing atrocities, the good guys and the bad, although there are a couple of "seriously?" moments (infanticide and necrophilia among them) that seem like a bit much.
So the book is actiony and rough, but the characters don't have a lot of control over what is going on, making them pieces rather than players, and the character development isn't good enough to make me really invest in any characters, though the book was quite solid.
And while I like our sociopath, I don't /like/ the sociopath. There are plenty of "look away" moments, but no crying for pity for characters. It sucks. For everyone.
I do look forward to finishing the trilogy (I think), it is interesting, and I love how alt-world stuff works and how it can highlight perceptions of times and events and attitudes.
Anyhoodle, on to the story. There's a mad-German-scientist who, using steampunky/industrial revolution get ups and creative experimenting on orphans, creates an army of supermen (very Xmen-ish) that have supernatural like powers. There's a pre-cog girl, a disappearing boy, a human torch, and others. The girl, Greta, is not just a pre-cog, but a stone cold sociopath, which makes for a darling combo. I kinda <3 her.
On the Allied side, we've got actual warlocks, who speak some kind of primeval language to otherworldly beings who are able to alter objects or environments in our world. Sounds fun, except that these beings have a literal blood price for everything they do. There's Will, a peer and warlock, and Marsh, an elevated orphan - spy guy who also happens to be Will's friend.
So we've got Xmen vs Warlocks, which sounds super cheesy, except that the author does a great job in making the atmosphere in this book work. It's gritty and dark and depressing and hard and painful. Everyone is committing atrocities, the good guys and the bad, although there are a couple of "seriously?" moments (infanticide and necrophilia among them) that seem like a bit much.
So the book is actiony and rough, but the characters don't have a lot of control over what is going on, making them pieces rather than players, and the character development isn't good enough to make me really invest in any characters, though the book was quite solid.
And while I like our sociopath, I don't /like/ the sociopath. There are plenty of "look away" moments, but no crying for pity for characters. It sucks. For everyone.
I do look forward to finishing the trilogy (I think), it is interesting, and I love how alt-world stuff works and how it can highlight perceptions of times and events and attitudes.
ammbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Disturbing and intriguing. Worth reading just. Not at the top of my list
jessicatempleton's review against another edition
4.0
This was an excellent YA Novel with a really interesting mix of sci-fi and magic. I was really engaged with the plot early on and stayed engaged until the end. The characters were all interesting and and deeply flawed, I do enjoy some flawed characters. I really enjoyed the setting, it was really very different from many of the other YA books I have read, WWII mixed with sci-fi mixed with Magic and all stirred up into one cohesive narrative. Bitter Seeds does work as a stand alone novel, which is refreshing after reading so many series where at the end of a novel you are left with a giant gaping cliff hanger. That being said I really wanted there to be more to the conclusion of this book so I think I now need to find copies of the rest of the books in the Milkweed Tryptych and see if I can find some answers to all the questions that Ian Tregillis left me with at the end of bitter seeds.
scheu's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable. At first I got the BPRD vs X-Men vibe, but as the story got darker and darker and nastier I got more of a Torchwood vibe, although without Captain Jack's humor leavening the dark dark dark.
Strangely enough, I have a copy of Enochian Magic for Beginners on my bookshelf. Maybe I should revisit it, and talk to the Eidolons as well. Or not.
Strangely enough, I have a copy of Enochian Magic for Beginners on my bookshelf. Maybe I should revisit it, and talk to the Eidolons as well. Or not.
hirvox's review against another edition
4.0
I initially got into this book because Charles Stross mentioned it's sequel, the Coldest War, as an inspiration to his Laundry series of books. While the Laundry series has a bit of Dilbertian British office culture mockery in it, the Milkweed Triptych is dead serious.
It's the eve of the Second World War, and the Nazis have a working super-soldier program. Incorporeal assassins, telepathic messengers, telekinetics, pyromancers, even precognition. But they barely got it working via trial and error, let alone understand what kinds of forces that they're messing with.
But the Brits cannot use ignorance as an excuse; Their warlocks know exactly what they're dealing with. But when the Nazi war machine marches from victory to victory, they get desperate and their deals get more and more expensive.
While the spy fiction, alternative history and Lovecraftian horror are all well and good, I really liked the personal touch. Desperation leads to hard decisions, and regret is inevitable. It does not matter whether it's because you didn't do more, or that you did more than you should. Either way, the decisions are final and the consequences vast. It's one thing to read about a desperate, raving madman. It's a whole another thing to sympathize with him.
It's the eve of the Second World War, and the Nazis have a working super-soldier program. Incorporeal assassins, telepathic messengers, telekinetics, pyromancers, even precognition. But they barely got it working via trial and error, let alone understand what kinds of forces that they're messing with.
But the Brits cannot use ignorance as an excuse; Their warlocks know exactly what they're dealing with. But when the Nazi war machine marches from victory to victory, they get desperate and their deals get more and more expensive.
While the spy fiction, alternative history and Lovecraftian horror are all well and good, I really liked the personal touch. Desperation leads to hard decisions, and regret is inevitable. It does not matter whether it's because you didn't do more, or that you did more than you should. Either way, the decisions are final and the consequences vast. It's one thing to read about a desperate, raving madman. It's a whole another thing to sympathize with him.
adamrbrooks's review against another edition
4.0
A fantastic book about the costs of war, the awful/amoral decisions that must be made, even if you're on the just side (which everyone always thinks they are) or even in defense. It was like nothing else I've ever read in the stark, horrifying realities and costs of those decisions, even if set in a somewhat magically tweaked version of our world.
I wonder if it would have been as powerful in a pure fantasy setting. Perhaps, but I think the comparison to World War II strengthens the argument, even if it's easy for a general read to know which side was right and which was wrong in that conflict. Even in a true good v. evil battle, the good guys probably have to do evil to win, or even to survive.
I might have given this book five stars, but I'm just feeling bitter about the sense that ever decent book is actually not a book. Oh, no. It's part one of a series. At least Tregillis got it done in ~400 pages, rather than 800 or 900. Maybe that's how we know this is more sci-fi than fantasy.
Still... I plan to pick up the next edition.
I wonder if it would have been as powerful in a pure fantasy setting. Perhaps, but I think the comparison to World War II strengthens the argument, even if it's easy for a general read to know which side was right and which was wrong in that conflict. Even in a true good v. evil battle, the good guys probably have to do evil to win, or even to survive.
I might have given this book five stars, but I'm just feeling bitter about the sense that ever decent book is actually not a book. Oh, no. It's part one of a series. At least Tregillis got it done in ~400 pages, rather than 800 or 900. Maybe that's how we know this is more sci-fi than fantasy.
Still... I plan to pick up the next edition.
kidgoldenarm's review against another edition
3.0
This one came out of nowhere. A sci-fi/fantasy book set in an alternate history WWII where the Warlocks of England battle the scientifically altered supermen of Nazis Germany.
The premise had me from the get go, the execution was uneven. Still enjoyable, and felt a bit truncated at the end. It felt like Tragelis was trying to wrap things up for the sake of length than actually finding a good spot in the story. Also some of the expositions were a bit annoying and also the glossing over events I wanted fleshed out was also a head scratcher for me.
The second book in the series is out and I am tempted to give it a try. If it's an improvement than this one, then I can say this one works as a good way to jump into this world. As a stand alone read, it's a bit lacking, but not bad. Plus the premise is geek heroine! It's Nazis Doom Patrol vs John Constantine from Hellblazer!
The premise had me from the get go, the execution was uneven. Still enjoyable, and felt a bit truncated at the end. It felt like Tragelis was trying to wrap things up for the sake of length than actually finding a good spot in the story. Also some of the expositions were a bit annoying and also the glossing over events I wanted fleshed out was also a head scratcher for me.
The second book in the series is out and I am tempted to give it a try. If it's an improvement than this one, then I can say this one works as a good way to jump into this world. As a stand alone read, it's a bit lacking, but not bad. Plus the premise is geek heroine! It's Nazis Doom Patrol vs John Constantine from Hellblazer!