‘A major talent’ George R. R. Martin
‘A confident and thrilling debut’ SFX
Bitter Seeds is the first novel in Ian Tregillis’s Milkweed Triptych series – a dark and thrilling masterpiece featuring a twentieth century much like our own, but also chillingly different.
The year is 1939. Raybould Marsh and other members of British Intelligence have gathered to watch a damaged reel of film in a darkened room. It appears to show German troops walking through walls, bursting into flames and hurling tanks into the air from afar.
If the British are to believe their eyes, a Nazi scientist has been endowing German troops with unnatural, unstoppable powers. And Raybould will be forced to resort to dark methods to hold the impending invasion at bay.
But dealing with the occult exacts a price. And that price must be paid in blood.
Praise for Bitter Seeds:
‘A white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters – an unstoppable Vickers of a novel’ Cory Doctorow
‘Bitter Seeds may rival Naomi Novik’s Tales of Temeraire as a sustained historical fantasy’ Booklist
‘Tregillis delivers a dynamite first novel’ SFREVU
‘Exciting and intense . . . The clash of magic and science meshes perfectly with the tumultuous setting’ Publishers Weekly
‘Receives my highest recommendations’ SFFWORLD
The Milkweed Triptych
Bitter Seeds
The Coldest War
Necessary Evil
Also by Ian Tregillis:
The Alchemy Wars
The Mechanical
The Rising
The Liberation
‘A confident and thrilling debut’ SFX
Bitter Seeds is the first novel in Ian Tregillis’s Milkweed Triptych series – a dark and thrilling masterpiece featuring a twentieth century much like our own, but also chillingly different.
The year is 1939. Raybould Marsh and other members of British Intelligence have gathered to watch a damaged reel of film in a darkened room. It appears to show German troops walking through walls, bursting into flames and hurling tanks into the air from afar.
If the British are to believe their eyes, a Nazi scientist has been endowing German troops with unnatural, unstoppable powers. And Raybould will be forced to resort to dark methods to hold the impending invasion at bay.
But dealing with the occult exacts a price. And that price must be paid in blood.
Praise for Bitter Seeds:
‘A white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters – an unstoppable Vickers of a novel’ Cory Doctorow
‘Bitter Seeds may rival Naomi Novik’s Tales of Temeraire as a sustained historical fantasy’ Booklist
‘Tregillis delivers a dynamite first novel’ SFREVU
‘Exciting and intense . . . The clash of magic and science meshes perfectly with the tumultuous setting’ Publishers Weekly
‘Receives my highest recommendations’ SFFWORLD
The Milkweed Triptych
Bitter Seeds
The Coldest War
Necessary Evil
Also by Ian Tregillis:
The Alchemy Wars
The Mechanical
The Rising
The Liberation
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Reviews
Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics? Yes please, thank you. Tregillis's debut has a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters - an unstoppable Vickers of a novel
Bitter Seeds is nothing short of an awesome read as far as I'm concerned. It's a testament to what Tregillis has done here that I'm already of the opinion that he keeps writing then I'll keep reading his work. Can you tell I'm excited? Read Bitter Seeds and you'll see why.
A damned entertaining novel. If Bitter Seeds is any indication of what's to come, then Tregillis will have a fertile writing career. The novel receives my highest recommendations
An excellent first book, and I am eagerly awaiting number two
A confident and thrilling debut
A major talent . . . I can't wait to see more
Tregillis delivers a dynamite first novel in Bitter Seeds
I found the tale both convincing and absorbing, and the strong story line had me galloping along towards the final page at a breakneck pace. The backdrops too are atmospheric, the plot lines strong and the characters full of life and interest. I found Bitter Seeds to be a real breath of fresh air, perhaps with subtle aromas of H.P. Lovecraft here and there. I certainly can't wait to read book two.
Bitter Seeds is an incredible debut that Tregillis should be very noted for. It blends a hodgepodge of literary genius, horror, paranormal and history with some amazing dark tones and incredibly believable, tragically flawed characters . . . This is easily one of the most impressive debut works I've read
Bitter Seeds shines in its characters about which we get to care a lot, and in the style which is just superb . . . the one novel of 2010 I would recommend to anyone who believes that speculative fiction cannot compete with "literary" novels
