Necessary Evil - Ian Tregillis

Necessary Evil is the concluding volume in Ian Tregillis' Milkweed trilogy. The series seems to have lost some momentum with readers after Tor failed to get the second book, The Coldest War, out in a reasonable amount of time. Now that all three volumes are available however, it would be a shame to not dive back into this series. In the first two volumes, the author laid out a substantially different history of the second world war. In this third, he intends to take events full circle. I'm usually a bit skeptical when it comes to time travel stories but this one is very convincing in a way.

Gretel's manipulations of the timeline has sent a fifty-something year old Raybould Marsh back into the early stages of the second world war. He has seen his world end but in this one, he can still save his daughter, his marriage and possibly his son's soul. A prize for which he can put up with Gretel for a little bit longer. He does have a condition for saving the world however. He would rather see it destroyed than suffer a Nazi victory in the war. Thus, a new round in the struggle between Raybould and Gretel starts, and the stakes have never been higher.

Tregillis takes us back to the early days of Milkweed, at a point in time already visited a bit into the first novel Bitter Seeds. The outcome of the war still hangs in the balance and Dr. von Westarp's creations are still a huge threat to the security of the United Kingdom. Raybould knows the price of defending themselves with magic but convincing his past self and the other people involved in Milkweed is not going to be easy. His claims to have been transported from another timeline will sound ludicrous even to people used to dealing with magic. Raybould will have to take a more roundabout approach. One that involves a great many despicable acts. Necessary evil, as he thinks of it.

The second volume was not kind on Raybould. He sees his life pretty much turn into a nightmare after the war ends. His marriage is a farce, his daughter has been killed and his son needs round-the-clock care. To be transported back to the time that could be considered his finest hour, is possibly even more of a torment. He comes into contact with his younger, stronger and more healthy self, sees his wife as a young woman who still loved him, gets to travel around London before it was transformed into a city he despises, and meets with his friend Will who has not yet turned into an addict and a traitor. And all of it is out of reach for him. It all belongs to the younger version of himself. Tregillis once again manages to create a thoroughly miserable character. The loneliness and jealousy drip from the pages.

The other main character doesn't fare much better. Her ability to see the future has always put her in control. Her manipulations have guided her through time, always certain of the outcome of her actions. She has had only one fear, the threat posed by the Eidolons, and she seems to have outsmarted even them. Slowly, doubt is starting to enter her mind however. A fog descends on the future and Marsh, whom she desires, keeps vexing her. Gretel  has always been a scary character, the way Tregillis makes her crack only reinforces that feeling. In a way it makes her more human. Raybould can't feel sorry for her, but the reader might come away with a different impression.

Historically, Tregillis stays a lot closer to the timeline in our history books. There is no easy victory for either side and the conflict quickly envelopes the entire world. The cold war doesn't start early in this timeline and the United Kingdom has to defend itself with more conventional means. The events in the war are much more background to the story than in the previous novels. The reader doesn't have to pay attention to the difference from history as we know it in this book. The actions of the characters more or less ensure that the outcome will be what we know it to be. In effect, Gretel  and Raybould wrench history back on its tracks. Tregillis is much more interested in his characters in this novel than what effect they have on history.

It's probably the focus on the characters that makes this book work for me. Time travel stories tend to tie themselves in knots, always running into paradoxes that makes my suspension of disbelief come crashing down. Let's face it, having two versions of the same character in one story is usually trouble. It turns the whole Star Trek reboot into something slightly absurd for instance. Tregillis uses it to great effect in this novel though. Marsh is constantly tempted to take the place of his younger self. It takes a supreme effort for him not to do so. Tregillis takes a plot element that usually ruins a story and turns it into something very engaging.

If I had to name something I didn't like about the book it's the way Tregillis switches between past and present tense. It's a break with the style of the previous two volumes, and the parts written in the present tense breaks the flow of the story. I understand why Tregillis reached for this technique, in a way it helps the reader to keep the two versions of Raybould apart, but I felt it didn't quite work as intended.

Necessary Evil is a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. The way the story unfolded in the previous two volumes, it can't help but deliver a bitter-sweet ending. It's a book that almost forces you to keep reading. Tregillis managed to pretty much constantly make me wonder how he would twist events from the frist novel to fit this new timeline. When you look at the entire trilogy, it is a remarkable bit of plotting. In hindsight, I may have underappreciated the quality of Bitter Seeds a bit. The trilogy as a whole, is one I would recommend to people who enjoy a good alternative history.

Book Details
Title: Necessary Evil
Author: Ian Tregillis
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 384
Year: 2013
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2152-7
First published: 2013

The Coldest War - Ian Tregillis

In 2010 I read Ian Tregillis' début novel Bitter Seeds. It's an alternative history of the second world war and pits a British secret intelligence organization called Milkweed against a group of human super weapons created by a Nazi scientist. The novel was one of the more noteworthy débuts of the year. Tregillis had a deal with Tor for a trilogy and after the success of the first novel, readers were eagerly awaiting the second. Unfortunately it took Tor more than two years to get the sequel on the shelf, despite Tregillis having delivered the manuscript as early as 2009. Tregillis went into quite a bit of detail on his blog about the history and delays in the publication process. I suspect he lost more than a few readers because of the delay. I must admit I lost track of him myself until I ran into a copy of The Coldest War in a bookshop in Amsterdam in September 2013. I should have paid more attention though. The Coldest War is one of those books that makes me wonder why I left it on the to read pile this long.

Twenty-two years have passed since the end of the second world war. Russia's influence now stretches from the Bering Strait to the North Sea and the British Empire is locked in a cold war with the communist states. Raybould Marsh is no longer involved in this struggle however. He has withdrawn from the nightmare that was Milkweed only to see his marriage descend into a bitter struggle with is wife Olivia. His personal cold was is put on hold when two figures from his pas in Milkweed reappear, Grettel and her brother Klaus have managed to escape their captivity. Their arrival in London sets into motion a series of events that will once again radically alter history.

Tregillis certainly isn't afraid to create great changes in the history of Europe as we know it. Although a cold war does develop after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the US apparently plays no significant part in it, not having been involved in this version of the second world war at all. The nation remains locked in economic stagnation and internal conflicts. The British Empire remains intact and thus remains a superpower in its own right, opposed to the Soviet Union with a sphere of influence much larger than the one in our time line. The entire continent is essentially red except for the British Isles. When you look at it on the map, it creates a bit of a David versus Goliath idea. The power of the British warlocks keeps things even however. It doesn't strike me as the most plausible alternate ending of the conflict, even taking the warlocks and Nazi experiments into account. It strikes me as unlikely that the British would have been able to hang on to their empire regardless of the outcome of the war.  It's not really what the book is about anyway. It deals with the consequences of actions in the previous book and ultimately those consequences are both largely unforeseen and catastrophic.

The past is bothering most of the characters in to the book. All of them are driven by their past mistakes or traumas to some degree. Marsh for instance, is wracked by guilt over what he did back then and how it impacted his personal life. His former colleague Will is consumed by a desire to see justice done on those who exposed the British population to horrible crimes perpetrated under the guise of serving King and Country. Klaus is trying to get away from the influence from his sister and break with his past as a superhuman soldier he wants a normal life. Grettel herself, the one character who can look into the future, is also trying to fix things.

In effect, Grettel is the evil genius behind the events in the novel but Tregillis is careful enough not to reveal her motivations to early. For most of the novel she remains something of an enigma, never allowing us a look inside her head,  keeping the tension in the novel until the very end. I'm having trouble making up my mind about how well Tregillis does with this character. On the one hand he uses her cleverly to keep the reader and the other characters on their toes, on the other hand, the lack of insight into her motivation means she remains a bit of a shallow character. She is disturbing but not nearly as much as she might have been if we had understood a little more of what makes her tick. Tregillis is clearly not done with her though. Maybe he'll give us a little more of that in Necessary Evil, the final book in the trilogy.

With characters so conflicted, it is not surprising The Coldest War is a very dark book. Both parties in this cold war go to great lengths to gain an advantage over the other and if that goes at the expense of the population that are supposed to protect, so be it. While it doesn't leave the main characters untouched, they are clearly not done making sacrifices for their nation. Tregellis is good at writing fucked up characters, that much is clear. If you can't stand characters that are miserable most of the time, this series is clearly not for you. Personally. I have no problems with a well executed tragedy. For the most part, this novel works very well for met. A bit better even than the first volume.

The Coldest War is a strong sequel to a very interesting début. I have a thing for alternative history, although not necessarily for the period Tegillis chooses to change, but even taking that into account, it is a strong book. Tregillis has written an action-packed novel, following a number of very human but twisted characters in a conflict that is much larger than they can handle. It's a shame the publication of this book was delayed, had it come a bit sooner, the series might have been able to keep the momentum gained from the fist book and attract a bit more attention. Do not let that lack hold you back from trying this series. Tregills is an author worth checking out. The final book in the Milkweed Triptych has moved up a few places on my to read list.

Book Details
Title: The Coldest War
Author: Ian Tregillis
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 351
Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2151-0
First published: 2012

Short fiction by John Scalzi, Ian Tregillis and Mary Robinette Kowal

I haven't read nearly enough short fiction lately and I was in the mood for some this weekend. Perhaps because I didn't have quite as much time to invest in the novel I am currently reading as I would like. I have a number of collections waiting to be read but all of them were too big to read in a weekend so instead I raided Tor.com for short stories. Here's a couple I read on Sunday.

After the Coup - John Scalzi

Tor.com has recently celebrated its second birthday and in that short time it has collected quite a treasure trove of free short fiction on their site. I haven't nearly read all of it but some of the ones I have read are quite good. One of their latest additions is After the Coup by John Scalzi. A short story set in the same universe as Old Man's War, which to my shame I haven't read. He is also the proprietor of The Whatever, one of the most popular SF-blogs on the net. Apparently his proudest achievement is the bacon cat incident. Given my limited experience with Scalzi's work I am not quite sure what this tells us about the quality of his writing.

But back to the story. Lieutenant Hart Schmidt is in serious trouble. On a diplomatic mission to the Korba, he has failed to foresee the interest in military matters their new military junta is displaying. An agreement between the Korba and Colonial Union hangs in the balance. Schmidt has only one soldier aboard his ship. The engineer Harry Wilson, a man with no recent combat training. When he lets this titbit slip in the negotiations the Korba immediately propose a duel. On their terms. And Harry is suppose to loose. The stakes are high and so Schmidt is forced to face Harry with the question: "How well do you take a punch?".

After the Coup is a very humorous story. The dry, stating the obvious way of dealing with an impossible situation made me laugh out loud a number of times. The antics Wilson has to go though to keep his skin more or less in tact are painful and hilarious at the same time. The mixture of annoyance and amazement in Wilson when the Korba reveals yet another unsuspecting quality is very well done. It is a fast, fun story. If you haven't read Scalzi before don't let that discourage you, it can be read independently of his books.

The story can be read and downloaded here.

What Doctor Gottlieb Saw - Ian Tregillis

The second story I picked is something quite different. I recently read Tregillis' début novel Bitter Seeds, an alternative history novel set in the early stages of World War II, and a number of Wild Cards novels that contain contribution by him. What Doctor Gottlieb Saw is a short story set just before the main part Bitter Seeds at the farm where Doctor von Westarp is running his experiments to create an Übermensch. It can be read without having read the novel but if you have read it, the story will shed some light on certain events. Either way, it is very much worth reading.

Again the story starts with someone is serious trouble. Doctor Gottlieb works at Doctor von Westarp's farm as a psychiatrist. Accused of practising Jewish science he is only tolerated for as long as he remains useful. His already precarious position becomes even more unstable after the death of one of von Westarp's test subjects. They are looking for a scapegoat and Gottlieb might just be it. Desperately Gottlieb looks for a way out and everything points in the direction of a seriously disturbed young woman named Grettel. Another one of von Westarp's creations.

Grettel is one of the more interesting characters in the novel Bitter Seeds but in this story Tregillis manages to portray her as even more disturbed. What Doctor Gottlieb Saw is even darker than the novel. What we see of Grettel is a young woman who practically radiates innocence but at the same time ruthlessly exploits her talent to see into the future. Perhaps it is because the short story format but I though the contrast in this story is even sharper than in the novel. Add to that the carefully controlled sense of desperation that puts a strain on Gottlieb and the way he realizes the implications of what goes on but decides to keep this knowledge to himself and you have a very interesting story. I thought the dark and tense atmosphere in the story were very well done.

The story can be read and downloaded here.

First Flight - Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal is a name I've seen popping a number of times but like with John Scalzi, I've never read anything she's written. Until now only short stories have appeared, some of them collected in Scenting the Dark and Other Stories (Subterranean, 2009), but next month her first novel Shades of Milk and Honey (Tor, 2010) will be published. I've already seen some glowing reviews but I'm not quite sure if it is something that will appeal to me. First Flight is one of a number of short stories that can be read for free on the web. I very much liked it so perhaps I ought to dig up some more.

First Flight is a time travel story which takes us back to the day the Wright brothers successfully tested their Flyer III in 1905. Because nobody expected it to succeed there are not images of this event and historians intend to rectify that. One of the limitations of time travel is that you can only travel to a period in time in which you were actually alive. To be able to go back all the way to 1905 one needs to be well over a hundred. Eleanor Louise Jackson is one of the few people who fit that description. Unfortunately the trip does not quite go as intended the Time Machine breaks down at a very inconvenient moment. The historians want Eleanor to go back and get the job done as quickly as possible. Eleanor has her own ideas on how this situation should be handled.

The story contains two elements you find in most time travel stories. A fear of being discovered and a fear of altering the future. As such this story is not special but I have to admit the moment Wilbur Wright draws his conclusions from what Eleanor tells him is memorable. The last couple of pages of First Flight carry quite a punch. I must say it didn't look like I'd like it all that much up to that point but Kowal managed to convince me with the ending. Nice nod to H.G. Wells classic in there as well. Very enjoyable read.

The story can be read and downloaded here.

That's it for now, perhaps I will get around to one of those collections next week. I really ought to have a go at the one of James Van Pelt's collections, The Radio Magician and Other Stories has been on the to read stack for too long. Next week.

Bitter Seeds - Ian Tregillis

One thing I sincerely disliked about the classes in Dutch literature I had to take in school was the fact that half the books that were eligible to be read for those classes appeared to be about the second world war. I do realize that for the people who lived through it probably was the single most important historical event in their lifetime but once you know the general shape of history these books do get repetitive in a way. No matter how the author chooses to approach the subject. And yet Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis is the second book this year dealing with this subject, after Blackout by Connie Willis. Surprisingly, I liked both of them although I think Willis wrote a better book. Perhaps I should revise this policy somewhat and have another look at my own cultural heritage.

Bitter Seeds is an alternative history set in the years 1939 to 1941. Intelligence officer Raybould March is sent to Spain to witness the last phase of the Spanish civil war. It has been known for a while that the Germans have received permission from Franco test new weapons on the Republican faction. Now, a German defector is ready to turn some of those secrets over to the British. Before he can reveal much more than his terrible fear of the German experiments the informant is killed however. March is forced to flee with a half burned suitcase containing what remains of the documents the informant meant to turn over to the British.

What little remains is pieced together back in London. Together with Raybould's personal experiences it is enough to raise suspicions of the terrible nature of the German experiments. The creation of the Übermensch seems to be at hand. A task force is set up to counter the unnatural German experiments, headed by a man who will stop at nothing to defeat Germany. Under the name Milkweed a group of British warlocks is assembled to counter the German attempts to invade Britain. The influence these warlocks can exert are a valuable contribution to the war effort but there is a price to be paid in blood.

This novel is Tregillis' first but I am not entirely unfamiliar with his writing. The author has contributed to George R.R. Martin's Wild Card series of which I have recently read Inside Straight and Busted Flush. Tregillis contributed to both these volumes. I wonder if Tregillis has taken something of that comic heroes format with him to his solo work.

Tregillis changes the history of the second world war significantly in this book. With characters capable of seeing the future, walking through walls and making people and objects combustion spontaneously Germany has a powerful weapon to force the increasingly isolated British to their knees. It results in a very different outcome of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk for instance. By the end of the book the shape of the war has changed almost beyond recognition. For readers interested in the history of the second world war Bitter Seeds may not be the best choice. There are two more books planned in this setting and the ending of Bitter Seeds seems to hint at books where history has diverged so far from our own world that very few parallels remain.

The Nazi experiments on people have been an inspiration for many writers, Tregillis is certainly not the first to write about what some of these experiments could have resulted in. The author takes these experiments way beyond what would be realistically possible, planting his tale firmly in the realm of speculative fiction. I always feel that this is quite a risk to take with a world war two story. The reason for this is twofold. First, as a reader, I don't want to end up in Castle Wolfenstein. It would be very easy for the scientist conducting the experiments in Bitter Seeds to turn into Joseph Mengele squared. The embodiment of all evil, completely insensitive to human suffering and perfectly capable of turning any human being into a lab rat. Unfortunately Tregillis' Doctor von Westarp doesn't entirely escape that cliché.

The second reason is that a lot of books on the second world war overdo the vilification of Nazis in general. I am well aware that they did a lot of terrible things but these atrocities were perpetrated by human beings, not anonymous devils in German uniform. Here Tregillis does a lot better. By creating a point of view character close to von Westarp he manages to inject a measure of humanity into Raybould's enemies that prevent to book from turning into a black and white caricature of history. In fact, unethical actions seem to be spread around equally with both British point of view characters committing some very distasteful acts of murder and sabotage over the course of the book.

And there we hit on something that will probably divide the readers of this book. Tregillis offers us three main characters and each is as unlikeable as the next. One lies to his wife, one flees in alcohol and drugs, a third is capable and quite willing to slay enemy soldiers in way that will make your blood run cold and all of them are willing to sacrifice the people they are supposed to protect in large numbers. It's a very dark tale the author is telling but I suppose that fits the period. Personally I don't mind flawed or downright evil main characters but if you are looking for a heroic victory over the evils of Nazism this is not your book.

So what does Tregillis offer us? Bitter Seeds is a dark tale set in one of the darkest periods in European history. Readers will find little comfort in the ending of the book, knowing the price that must be paid is almost as bad as defeat. The author leaves a number of broken characters behind to pick up the pieces in the second volume. I quite liked the way Tregillis turns history upside down and completely redraws the battlefield as the book progresses. He certainly sets up an interesting situation for the second book. In the early stages of the story I had my doubts as to whether Tregills would be able to make this a convincing story and maybe there is a touch of Wolfenstein in the book but not to the point were it is distracting. I'm on board for the second one.

Book Details
Title: Bitter Seeds
Author: Ian Tregillis
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 352
Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2150-3
First published: 2010