Bitter Seeds (Milkweed Triptych)

There was a great quote by China Mieville when Kraken came out. It went something like
"Part of the appeal of the fantastic is taking ridiculous ideas very seriously and pretending they're not absurd."
and Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis is one of those which is based on the completely absurd notion about what would happen if Germany had X Men and Britain had Warlocks during the World War.

It is an absurd notion brought to life because Ian Tregillis treats it very seriously and fleshes out the novel with a great deal of though. I know I made the reference to X Men earlier but this is a war novel more than anything else and its a cracking good read. I found it hard to believe that this is Tregillis's first novel. I particularly enjoyed the Ravens in the interludes and the way they were weaved through the story. I was hooked from start to finish.

The characters are well written and their arcs are structured so that everyone seems to be doing the right thing which is usually hard to do. What also surprised me was how Tregillis added a lot of verve to each place where the novel took place. I think I probably learned more about the World War from this novel than from a history book, which is a credit to Tregillis.

All in all a fine debut. I will definitely be wrapping up the trilogy. I think everyone will enjoy this because at the end of the day Ian Tregillis has managed to create a great cast of characters and put them in a great story and once you wrap your head around the premise Bitter Seeds is a great beginning to what should hopefully be a fine trilogy.

This book raises many moral questions as to what prices we are willing to pay for what ends, and how the costs of those prices are assigned. The villain's manipulations are a great exploration of omniscience and how it interacts with determinism and free will. And interestingly, the villain's actions all seem very evil, yet manage to prevent the worst parts of the real WWII.

On a technical level, Ian Tregillis is a great writer, with a lot of evocative prose that really highlights the gothic nature of the story. It is perhaps a bit overly dramatic at points, but I enjoy that immensely. The plotting is very strong, the conflict is enthralling, and the story is entertaining. The villain is superb. It's unfortunate that the characters tend to be rather stereotypical and play strongly to established tropes (with a notable exception), but it's not a terrible flaw. A note of warning however - this definitely borders on horror sci-fi.

I am stunned. This amazing book had me hooked right from the first page, and Mr Tregillis' is an author whose voice and style is Kenneth Robeson/Lester Dent on steroids!

"Bitter Seeds" is a fascinating blend of fantasy, sci fi, and alternate history all in perfect measure. Few authors can pull a book off with this skill. The book flap describes the book as

"Raybould Marsh is a British secret agent in the early days of the second world war. During a mission back in the Spanish Civil war, he saw something strange, a German woman with wires going into her head. She looked at him as if she knew him. When the Nazis start running missions with people who have unnatural abilities, Marsh is the man who gets to handle the problem. He rallies the secret warlocks of Britain to hold the impending invasion at bay. But magic always exacts a price..."

The short and sweet is only a teaser for a novel that rivets your attention for each of the 300 plus pages much like a steel worker strengthens a modern sky scraper. Bitter Seeds is like sweet, sweet literary wine.

Book II will be incredible!

Mr. Tregillis' first novel is a swift-moving mashup of alternate history spy story, superhero fiction and weird horror. While he does blend these genre elements together smoothly, readers with an interest in and more than passing familiarity with World War II will likely find Mr. Tregillis' world a bit thin. We never really leave the tight focus on our three male leads (two of whom are quite well-developed) and Tregillis does not avail himself of some of the pleasures of alternate history by ignoring real-life figures and events in favor of a radically different and relatively brief engagement between Britain and Nazi Germany. The magic in the story is well-thought-out and abides by its own rules but we are never really granted the kind of showdown one would expect between our eldritch-abomination summoning warlocks and their Nazi X-Men antagonists. I have not read the later entries in this series, but I hope they develop a more robust universe beyond the somewhat narrow focus Bitter Seeds. It does have one hell of an ending, though.

This is an action-packed alt-history thriller that plunges through an increasingly divergent World War II with two small bands of characters, one British and one German. The British have warlocks who summon demons to fight Nazis who are guided by an oracle who can see the future, and the situation grows increasingly grim for both sides. It's an exciting page-turner, and the supernatural/super-science elements remain just this side of believable. However, Tregellis's plotting is better than his character development. There's fairly little focus on any particular character, so while we get to know them, we don't really become invested in any of them. Also, this is the start of a series, so the ending is, rather predictably, something of a cliffhanger.

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.

This book was wonderful. I am definitely not a connoisseur of war novels, and was a little hesitant about giving this one a go, but I was very glad I did. The characters could have been more, no doubt about that, but the story was so rich. I felt like this very well could have happened back during world war II. It was very adept at portraying the gruesome reality of what one has to do, or who one has to kill, in order to protect the masses.
The Gotterelektrongruppe, or people with unnatural abilities, definitely didn't get enough airtime in this novel. I'm desperate for more on Klaus, and definitely Gretel. See what becomes of them after the end of the war, since they're now POW's. Will tugs at my heart, and I hope the future isn't too hard on him. I felt the lack of information on Eidelon's, an idea I'm in love with, and hope to hear more on. I was about a step away from quitting on fantasy for a few months, but this book just leaves me wanting more. I'll be standing in line to get the next book in this series.

Cover Judgement
The quickest review I can give is this: If the original cover art by John Jude Palencar appeals to you, you will probably be underwhelmed by the book. If you like the new cover art, you will probably like it a lot.
The story is built on a very good idea, and I enjoyed the book, but was expecting something more introspective and character-oriented. The characters have a lifeless, artificial quality, as if the book were written by one of its Eidolons, neither understanding nor particularly liking this gaggle of grass apes with which it is peopled.

I am enjoying this book without reservation. It's well written, the characters are fully developed, and the plot is so creative I find myself making "Ah-hah!" noises as it develops.

The audiobook is particularly well done. Kevin Pariseau makes each voice distinct and, in his or her own way, likeable (or at least approachable). The reader can make or break a book in audio, and Pariseau is one of the best. The sense of listening to a reader disappears, and I find myself completely immersed in the story.

I'm in for the whole series, and anything else Tregillis decides to write.

Tregillis is an excellent writer, absorbing in tone, character, and plot. The trilogy is a tour de force, almost unequalled in contemporary science fiction and fantasy. And, so skilled is the author, that I believe the books may enjoyably be read in any order, or by themselves. Reminiscent of Alan Furst, with an occasional touch of H. P. Lovecraft (although Trellis is a better writer than Lovecraft).

I read through the Tregillis debut in one sitting (it was a long night), and was distraught to discover that I'll have to wait for volume II in this arc. The story is extremely well written: dense, fast-paced, firing off new ideas continuously - and it is self-consistent. That is a quality few SF authors pull off, and Tregillis does so fabulously. His German background work is flawless, the conflicting systems of magic are well-thought out and his heroes are full of real character. Can't wait for the next one, although I will not risk starting to read it on a weekday.

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

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.

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 Seed leaves a delightful taste to your senses. It is a brilliantly written novel, full of rich imaginings and a heightened
sense of the impossible becoming possible. It is just as good, if not better than Christopher Farnsworth's new novel, "Blood Oath."
This is one book that would also be great for young adults in the form of a "Video Game" or for a movie as good as Inception or Salt.

Highly recommended!

This story was an original expose about WWII and genetic engineering. The characters were well developed and the plot sucked us right in and kept us reading non-stop. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Ian Tregillis keep up the good work!

A well written fantasy novel about an alternate history WWII where the Nazis were were able to engineer actual super-powered soldiers and the British fought back with warlocks.

An engrossing account of what it might have been like to see the supernatural brought to bear for war.

OK - Supermen, Secret Agents, Demons during World War II. I read the promos and the premise sounded interesting. But I was happily surprised by the excellent writing, developed characters and page-turning plotting in this alternate history. Very highly recommended.

Really enjoyed this, and looked forward to seeing how all the foreshadowing played out. The characters seemed nuanced and interesting, with potential for good and evil in both sides, and the whole weird science vs. ancient evil premise was handled with aplomb. Alas, the next two books failed to deliver on the promise set up in this one. Badly, in my humble opinion. Still, a great first effort.

There have been plenty of 'what if?' novels centred around this period of history, but typically good prose is sacrificed at the altar of concept. Fortunately - a few errors aside - this is not one of those. Tregillis has done his homework, and the result is a compulsive page-turner, neatly combining the nearly-mundane with the borderline-cosmic. Only a few glaring errors threaten to destroy the illusion of 'Britishness' (no speaker of British English would substitute 'normalcy' for 'normality,' for example). But that aside, I look forward to part two.

I'm a big fan of contemporary fantasy and science fiction. I love the idea that the mystical unknown is out there, lurking beneath the skin of the familiar world. I also love a good spy novel. Add to this a richly detailed historical setting, compelling characters, and excellent writing--this book might as well be pure catnip.

A well written book. A fairly good read. It would have been much better if the author hadn't changed history so much. Rather than writing an alternative history he could have fitted the story in to fill in or explain obscure, confusing or unexplained parts of the actual history.

Bitter Seeds was an absolutely fantastic science fiction twist on World War II. The semi-human's who run on battery packs reminded me of X-men but infinitely more creepy, deadly and unstable. The author has a wonder way with words, and really painted the tragedy of war and interconnectedness of events with skill. I would describe it as a sci-fi read with a war theme. However if you are a sci-fi person who does not normally read war novels, this book may not be for you, as the genre didn't fit what I normally like to read. But I'm very glad that I picked up this first novel because the imagery was strong and has definitely made an impact.