The Coldest War (Milkweed) [Hardcover]

I won't say anything further about the plot beyond the Amazon blurb, what with this being a sequel and all. Sometimes a sequel comes along that you're looking forward to so much that it can't possibly meet your expectations. Just occasionally one comes along that defies your expectations. The Coldest War completely floored me. With it, Tregillis has not only refined his writing skills, he has also excised the aspects of Bitter Seeds that maybe didn't work so well, taken the parts that did work, and kicked them up several levels.

Take the first book as set-up. Now he is polishing and honing his ideas until they are dazzling. Every question left unanswered at the end of the first book is answered here, revelations that - on a couple of occasions - had my jaw hanging open in awe. I could actually feel my heart thumping as I read the final chapters. I had no clue what was going to happen and, when it did, I immediately read it again, then dived back into the first book to look for something, and then felt my jaw hanging open again.

One thing I can say, without really spoiling anything, is that the action - with the exception of a handful of stunning set-pieces - is actually played down in this book. The emphasis is very much on the characters, and the effects the events in the first book has had on their friendships, their marriages, their families. The science fiction elements are still there, woven seamlessly into the telling of the story. Tregillis has a set of rules and he sticks to them - the Lovecraftian horror and man-made super-humans serve the story, rather than vice versa - but oh how they serve it. Gretel is still the character who stands head and shoulders above the rest, enigmatic, scary, charming, with everyone being aware that they are being manipulated, but nobody quite sure how or why.

On the cover of each of these books is a quote from George RR Martin saying that Tregillis is 'A major talent'. Now George and Ian are friends, apparently, so I would normally take that with a pinch of salt, but I think I might have to agree with him. This is only Tregillis's second book. I can't wait to see what happens next, and what he does beyond that.

A great follow up to the first book that remorselessly drives the characters to the only possible logical conclusion. The ending is the boldest I have ever seen for the second book of a trilogy. Utterly ruthless.

The Coldest War is the follow up to Ian Tregillis's debut alternate history come fantasy war drama Bitter Seeds and the Milkweed trilogy will conclude with the third novel Necessary Evil.
The series is an original take on the events and the aftermath of the World War II period of history and Britain's fight against Germany and Russia.

Set over 20 years after the events in Bitter Seeds, Europe is a vastly different place, Russia is the controlling entity and an uneasy truce remains in place.
Gretel and Klaus, for me the two outstanding characters from the first novel have been prisoners for 20 long years in Arzamas-16, a large and heavily guarded research facility, a secret city formerly known as Sarov.

The Russians have reversed engineered the Götterelektron (battery powered) technology and made massive strides improving there 'supersoldiers' to eclipse anything the Nazi Doctor Von Westarp's Reichsbehörde project could produce.

Incarcerated for 20 years its finally time for Gretel to initiate their tricky escape and restart the gears turning to bring all her plans to bear as they make their way to Britain. During these events Klaus has been growing in awareness of what Gretel is capable of, he realises with horror that she talked Heike into suicide all those years ago simply to use the glass jar that contained part of her brain as a glass for the guards to get drunk and aid in their escape. The sheer callousness bought new depths to Gretels amazing foresight and the insight into his sister brings a fear to Klaus like nothing before.

Raybould Marsh, the former British spy, is now a broken down middle-aged man with his marriage hanging by a thread and a depressing life with nothing to look forward to. Flitting between jobs, he works as a gardener, fuelled by alcohol and a temper that keeps getting him into trouble. His wife Liv seeks escape but they are bound by a son who is mentally ill, a child without a soul. As Gretel and Klaus reach London, Marsh is called from his enforced retirement to once more serve his country and serve he must as he is vitally important to Gretel's plan.

The warlocks are dying, a mysterious assassin who deals death that looks entirely natural, the Milkweed team has a traitor and once more Gretel whose aim is now seemingly to assist the government pulls the strings and the traitor is caught on film but to what ends.

A stunning read, Tregillis raises the bar with The Coldest War, a tension filled jaunt with some surprising twists and turns. All the characters are excellent but once again Gretel steals the accolades and as her plans slowly reveal it is captivating and fascinating. She is one of the most memorable female characters in all the books that I have read, incredibly realistic, devious in a spine chilling way.
Gretel's ability is the power of precognition and her plans revolve around what she has seen but these plans have taken seed right from the start of the series and the author skirts around this wonderfully, never quite revealing enough until the end. And the ending is done superbly, can Gretel manipulate the future or simply delay the inevitable.