Customer Reviews

Cold Warriors (Infernal Game 1)

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Combining Cold War espionage with the occult [note: two of my favorite topics, so sort of a 'can't miss'], Cold Warriors features two of the unlikeliest heroes in the genre. Morgan is South London army grunt - a talented marksman, but a terrible partner. His squad mates keep dying - often in incredibly horrific and unusual ways. His reputation as a "jinx" isn't a particularly fun one, but then a very, VERY secret corner of the government finds the solution... he's paired with a zombie.

Tomas is an old school spy. Killed as part of an early experiment into the occult, he's been brought back from the dead to fulfill his original mission. As a zombie (and, frankly, one of the best, freshest takes on the walking dead I've read in a long time), he's the perfect agent. Hard to shoot, impossible to poison. Sure, he's got the occasional hankering for human flesh, but the government has probably overlooked a lot worse...

Morgan and Tomas are sent off on a wild chase around Europe in search of a set of elusive relics that may or may not bring about the Apocalypse. While Morgan is slowly indoctrinated into the "real" (supernatural) world, Tomas struggles to accept the new, post-Communism political landscape. Fortunately, the two of them have plenty of bad guys upon which to take out their angst.

My normal word for pulp action is "romp", and this is certainly a good one - fast-paced, entertaining and absorbing. I kept missing my tube stop while reading Cold Warriors (this book owes me a train ticket). But, more than the entertainment value, this is proper horror: a few of the scenes are terrifying. An action sequence in an underground cathedral is breath-taking, and a bizarre fight scene involving... fish... is a genuinely disturbing moment.

Highly recommended and immensely eager for the sequel (not sure how the author will top the ending of Cold Warriors, but look forward to seeing the attempt).