A review by jefffrane
Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis

5.0

I held off reviewing Bitter Seeds for some time because I thought, and still believe that the book is worth more attention than I'm going to give it here. Maybe it's time to reanimate my blog. At any rate, Bitter Seeds was easily the most creative sf/fantasy novel I've read in many years. Alternate history with more imagination than any others that come to mind. It's also incredibly bleak and dark, with barely a glimpse of hope through the darkest hours of WWII and the Blitz. As the story slips quietly away from our timeline it's with authenticity that at times it feels drawn from our history rather than the created history.

Tregillis' writing is superb, his characters interesting and well-drawn, the atmosphere that fills the book is perfectly tuned and seriously disturbing. From what I've read, the next two novels in the triptych get no more light-hearted. While I'm looking forward to The Coldest War I'm in no hurry to sink back into those chilly waters. I need a break, maybe cheering myself up with some Leonard Cohen.