Customer Reviews

Bitter Seeds

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Ian Tregillis' stunning debut novel, Bitter Seeds, escapes categories and defies description. It's an alternate history of World War II, in which the Germans truly develop "supermen," battery-powered, and in which the beleaguered British secretly call on malevolent powers beyond our space/time to defend their island, paying in blood. Tregillis bases his fantastic elements so thoroughly in philosophical, scientific, and occult preoccupations from the mid-20th century, however, that the novel reads almost like mainstream historical fiction. The echoing footsteps in the halls of the Admiralty after the blackout curtains have been drawn might almost be sounding in C.P. Snow's Strangers and Brothers novels. Indeed, the escalating cost of defending Britain, though expressed as dark fantasy, resonates strongly of the desperate race to develop a nuclear bomb that Snow recounts in his novel The New Men.The New Men (Strangers and Brothers)

Our primary viewpoint characters are Klaus, proud of his successful engineering as a superman but increasingly haunted by the process, and Raybould Marsh, an intelligence officer who would have preferred to be in an Alan Furst novel. As Marsh begins to grasp how much the Gotterelektrongruppe changes the nature of the war, he turns to William Beauclerk, whose grandfather taught him a secret language that allows negotiation with the Eidolon--a language Will would much rather forget. The internal conflicts that drive the main characters make them complex and interesting. Additionally, both Klaus and Marsh come to realize that they are being manipulated by Klaus' precognitive sister, Gretel, who has her own enigmatic agenda.

The plot runs like an advanced-level ski slope with perfect snow, and the novel can be thoroughly enjoyed just at that level. We are left in the end with a question that drives deeper, however. When you have done the unbearable to keep others from doing the unthinkable, who have you become?

Bitter Seeds is the first volume of the Milkweed Triptych. I strongly recommend it and eagerly await volume two, The Coldest War.

1939. In the closing weeks of the Spanish Civil War, British intelligence agent Raybould Marsh is dispatched to meet an informant who claims to have vital information about some of Nazi Germany's top-secret weapons being field-tested in the conflict. The informant explodes in front of Marsh with no apparent cause. As the clock ticks down to war between Britain and Germany, it is discovered that Germany has developed technology that can turn certain, gifted individuals into super-beings, people who can turn invisible, manipulate fire or even predict the future.

Britain's fortunes in the war turn sour as the Germans seem to be constantly one step ahead of them, destroying the transports carrying out the evacuation of Dunkirk and striking down the radar towers that will be needed to protect the country from Luftwaffe bombing. But Britain is not completely unprotected, and the newly-formed Milkweed organisation has resources to call upon which dwarf even the powers of the German ubermensch. But these powers are not to be summoned lightly...

Bitter Seeds is Ian Tregillis' debut novel and is a brash, refreshing alt-history which sees Nazi superhumans and British warlocks battling to the death during WWII. It's a cool premise, generally well-handled with a large and complex story being effectively told through a small number of POV characters on both sides. However, if the story sounds too big to be contained within a single volume, you would be right. In an increasingly annoying trend in modern SFF publishing, Bitter Seeds is the first novel in a trilogy (dubbed The Milkweed Triptych) despite this fact not being mentioned anywhere on the cover or inside the book. The story doesn't come to an end or really any kind of conclusion, just screeches to a halt 350 pages in with a number of stories broken off mid-flow. The follow-up volumes will be entitled The Coldest War and Necessary Evil.

That out the way, Bitter Seeds works successfully on a number of levels. Characters are drawn pretty well, with British secret agent Raybould Marsh being an effective central character, driven by passion and rage, whilst his amateur magician friend, Will Beauclerk, makes a good foil for him. Will's story assumes greater importance as the novel proceeds, culminating in some shocking moments near the end of the book that hint that his role in the sequels will be very interesting indeed. The opposing characters, such as Klaus and his River Tam-like sister Gretel, are also intriguing characters, although the way Tregillis handles Gretel's potentially tension-destroying prescience (by making her a whimsical fruitcake who sometimes lets the Nazis lose battles due to the callings of A Higher Plan) seems to be dramatically unsatisfying, with Gretel working as a constant deus ex machina-in-residence, who may or may not defeat our heroes' plans at the whim of the author.

Elsewhere, Tregillis has done his homework, with WWII Britain described in convincing detail and atmosphere, even if the book's (relatively) slim page count means that some elements need to be skipped or drawn only in broad strokes. His alteration of history is well-conceived but is a little inconsistent: at first it appears that the Nazi superhumans will be providing explanations for real oddities in the war (like the ease with which the German armoured columns passed through the supposedly impenetrable Ardennes Forest), but later the outcome and course of the war shifts very dramatically away from the historical, and in fact becomes credence-stretching by the time we get to the end of the novel. This is fair in that it reflects the tone and plot of the novel, as supernatural forces become increasingly prevalent in their impact on the world, but those who prefer their alt-history to be more closely tied to real events may be underwhelmed as the book deviates radically from established history by the end.

Tregillis has a nice way with words, particularly in descriptive prose, but this is inconsistent. Nice, flowing prose is replaced by a more prosaic, infodump-heavy mode with little forewarning, increasingly favouring the latter as the novel progresses. This is disappointing as Tregellis' writing is what lifts the book above more plot-driven WWII alt-histories by the likes of Harry Turtledove and John Birmingham, but as the book continues to unfold his prose becomes more ordinary and less engaging.

All of that said, the book is short, fast-paced and, for all its faults, remains something of a page-turner. It is the finely-judged character interrelationships, particularly the increasingly tense friendship between Raybould and Will and the fraught sibling relationship of Klaus and Gretel, which defines the novel and leaves the reader eager to read on into the next novel.

Bitter Seeds (***½) fails to live up to its full potential, but remains an effective and readable debut novel. It is available now in the USA and on import in the UK.

Wanting to build a superman and superwoman, German scientist Dr. von Westarp chooses WWI German orphans as his base for his experiments. Although many die and others are deformed, by 1939 the mad scientist has succeed in constructing his master race. However as WW II breaks out, he plans to use them to insure The Third Reich is victorious and remains in power for a thousand years. However, one of the successful test subjects Klaus fears his sister Gretel is using her precognitive skills to manipulate the team, but what agenda is remains unclear.

Meanwhile British secret agent Raybould Marsh, who has his own father figure in Stephenson, knows first hand how powerful the enemy supervillains are as the German war machine blitzkriegs through all enemies. He enlists mage Will Beauclerk to help the British side, whose chances of victory seem slim. Will brings on allies from the warlock community including Olivia whom Marsh marries and has a daughter with her. When he ignores the warning not to deal with the mysterious Eidelons who will offer little and demand a lot, Will sees no other hope as the Germans are winning in the air, land and sea due to being the superpower.

Although the cast is never fully developed beyond comic book stereotypes, readers will enjoy this entertaining action-packed alternate historical thriller. With homage to Moore's Watchmen, fans of action-packed WWII dramas will appreciate the loaded Bitter Seeds as superpower German warriors battle the mages of Britain for control of the continent and ultimately the world.

Harriet Klausner

Take the best parts of history class (Nazi rascals), physics 101 (electroshocking your lab partner) and advanced anatomy (brain surgery), and mix feverishly using rolled up comic books of your favorite childhood superheroes. That would have been good enough for me, but Tregillis didn't stop until he sprinkled in enough strangely colored candies to make you realize he's got big things in store the rest of the trilogy, too. It's a goofy amount of fun, and it will leave you wondering how things would've been different if you could have ghosted / flamed / flown / negotiated / teleported / predicted / drank / absolutely devastated your way out of a tight fix. (And *wow* school would have been so much more fun!)

The year is 1939 and World War II is upon us. The Nazi have raised their own team of elite battery-powered X-Men through scientific means called the Gotterelektrongruppe. The British have access to dark, blood thirsty demons. Both sides make undeniably hard decisions in the effort to thwart the other.

Bitter Seeds begins when many of the main players are children and where we see how events of the past entwine their future for the rest of the narrative. The British dark magicians pass on their knowledge to their children for some very interesting reasons. The subject matter involving Nazis may turn some people off, but Tregillis handles delicate matters deftly and does not at all show support or in any way condone what they did. In fact he has clearly made the group at large the bad guys while molding some of the Nazis into deep and complex characters. And he has developed a great mad scientist that rivals Dr. Moreau. Both sides stoop to some very evil yet justifiable depths, but when doesn't that happen in real war? Harsh times call for harsh decisions.

Ian Tregillis has arrived and what a bright and promising voice he has brought to bear. Bitter Seeds is an extraordinarily original work of fiction that blends ideas of Alternative History, Fantasy, and Science Fiction seamlessly yet denies being labeled specifically as one type. No matter how you approach it though it wins on each count.

The view point switches between various characters but mostly settles on Klaus for the Gotterelektrongruppe who can walk-through walls and spymaster Raybould Marsh for Milkweed, which is a covert group in Britain. Marsh is kind of the Jason Bourne of the book as you follow his missions into enemy territory. Both Marsh and Klaus show unbelievable strength as characters to endure. Tregillis has a knack for knowing when to switch view points. Just when you want to long to see what's going on in the other camp he delivers. Other standout characters are William Beauclerk whose makes pacts with demons he hardly understands and Gretel, Klaus's sister, who is as mysterious as any seer of the future ought to be. Gretel is a very central character as she shapes future events, but to what end is still unknown.

The swiftly moving Bitter Seeds is a debut from a new and powerful voice in speculative fiction that I hope stays around for years to come. If you are a fan of dark comics or alternative histories Bitter Seeds would be well worth your time as we see a masterful mix of mad science versus the dark arts unlike any other. I give Bitter Seeds 9 out of 10 hats. Bitter Seeds is the best debut so far this year and I can't see leaving it off my year end best of list. I suspect it will be on many others as well.

Tregillis has caught me as much with his originality this year as much as Jesse Bullington and Ken Scholes did last year. Bitter Seeds is the first in a trilogy, but it more than stands on its own. However, you are left with greater implications on the world stage as events lead into Tregillis's version of the Cold War. The second in the Milkweed Triptych, The Coldest War will be released in February 2011. Tregillis is also part of the Wild Cards consortium helmed by George R.R. Martin with stories in the three latest volumes.

The story starts out pretty great. I'd put it at the top of my imaginary list of the best first chapters I've read this year. But from the second chapter out it lags. I wanted to love this story. I got so excited when I read about this book on a favorite fantasy blog. I ran up to my husband with excited squeals of, well, excitement, 'there's a book coming out that has nazi super villains against British warlocks, yeahhh!' He gave me a bored look and quoted a list of comic book storylines similar to this, but I didn't care (and kinda didn't believe him) because the plot sounded so inspired and fun to me.

It isn't fun and all it inspired me to do was to reread The Lies of Locke Lamora and The Hobbit to minimize my disappointment.

Don't get me wrong, this is as fabulous a story as you will ever read, but actually following the story is terribly dull.

Let's start with the main characters; Marsh and Will.

Marsh, who is stereotypically stolid, brave and strong (also, a real hit with the ladies) has a romance with Olivia (which is skipped, of course). Romance being a no no in stories about WWII and other action-y stuff. I can accept that, but the long build up before Marsh actually does anything besides mention how mysterious things are, was boring. I have a low tolerance for the big B and wading through dull meetings between, Will and Marsh. Marsh and his contact at the War Office, Marsh and the dude who gave him a ride, was as blah as it sounds.

Now onto to Will. Will is a peer of the realm, (for some bizarro reason I kept thinking of Ashley from Gone With the Wind, but that's just me, I'm sure he was more manly than Scarlett's forbidden love). He's also pretty fly with the girls and has a family with a mysterious talent who he's had a falling out with for reasons that are hinted at until almost the middle of the book.

The story shows signs of nonsensical delays as you get hints about warlocks, but nothing definitive about what they are, what they can do and why the hell they haven't offered to help before now.

On the plus side, the super powered nazi kids are much better represented, I didn't have to stop and think to figure out who was who when the story flipped over to their part. I even felt bad for them, they had such an exploited and tortuous life. Their part of the story was much more interesting and dare I say, exciting?

Anyway, I guess you should read this book for yourself. My complaints are more of a stylistic nature than a content problem. I like a little more spice to my books and this just didn't do it for me.

When I first heard about this book, there was a dearth of information on it, but I took a chance based on the description that Amazon provided. Come on, Nazi's, Mutants, Warlocks, it's like a geek's dream to see all of these genre's coming together.

By the time the first chapter came to a close, I was hooked. The characters were engaging and the pace of the book was just right. One of the issues that I could see when writing about these characters, is that it would be so easy to lend too much weight to the precog, and thereby ruining the rest of the book. But I felt that the story expanded just right and can't wait to read the rest of the series.

My one criticism, is that there seems to be a lot of German titles in the book ascribing different ranks and divisions in the army, and while I know it lends itself to realism, it got to be distracting at times, as I'd have to flick back to remind myself what a certain word meant. Definitely not a deal breaker, but something that bothered from time to time.

I generally read 2 or 3 books at the same time, but I will say that this held my attention the whole time until the end.

There really ought to be more books like this. The premise is clever: What if Hitler really did create his 'Ubermensch,' his Nietsche-inspired supermen? And who doesn't like a re-telling of WW2? The writing is gorgeous. The imagery of victory gardens twined through the novel, gilding the lily. I could have gone for a punchier, all out ending that I know this author can deliver. Looking forward to his next brain-child!

Bitter Seeds is very effective in creating an alternative magical history of World War 2.

The Mengele-type doctor creates "super-power" villians through torture and the Allies buckle under the onslaught.

The author does an excellent job intergrating actual history with the magic/horror aspects of plot and atmosphere. ( My friend who didn't know history was not as impressed with Bitter Seeds)

I don't want to give away the plot so suggest you read the book.

Mr. Tregillis creates an interesting world and fascinating situation. He also does extremely well by honoring actual history and using it as a flexible backdrop for a re-imagined conflict. However, I found the pace and repetitive character conflicts really took the steam out of the premise and promise of the book. It appears the author struggled with the book being to cartoon-ish so attempted to be more literary. This pursuit of a "Harry Potter" for adults did not entirely work for me. And I could not take another spat between the characters Marsh and Beauclerk. I remain hopeful for the second in the planned trilogy as I do plan to give it a try with hopes that the author will correct these observations.