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A review by obr
Winter by Rod Rees
4.0
I enjoyed this book far more than I anticipated. It was one of the impulse buys, but given I'm not a big fan of military sci-fi/fantasy, I wasn't holding out much hope. It's also long - very long for those of us with short attention spans. Yet it caught my attention with its cinematic storytelling and darkly imaginitive world. And, bonus points, it isn't actually the military sci-fi I thought it was. Don't get scared off by the mention of the US army and warfare, because while war is a major theme it isn't the focus.
The centre of the story is thus: The President of the USA's daughter has become trapped comatose, her consciousness locked inside the huge simulated world known as the Demi-Monde that's been used by the US army to train for unexpected combat. The only way to get her out: send in the cavalry... Or rather, an 18 year old African American student and part time jazz singer named Ella Thomas.
Yeah, this is where I decided it was going to be a hokey Hollywood blockbuster of a plot. It is. But dang, does it have a twisted kind of fun. Because the Demi-Monde is a circular world populated by "Dupes", or duplicates of real life people, some of them being rendered from history's nastiest annuls to spice the whole warfare thing up. People like Reinhardt "Final Solution" Heinrich, Aleister Crowley, Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins, etc etc. These people aren't programmed to be content with their overlording, oh no. They're out to take over the Demi-Monde. And after that is where it gets a tiny bit more complicated...
I found the beginning intriguing but slow. We meet Ella as she gets the low-down on the Demi-Monde and the nebulous reason for her being the only hope of rescuing the missing girl. These chapters could feel tedious as points about the Demi-Monde are repeated, sometimes verbatim. If they weren't interspersed with chapters about Vanka, a Demi-Mondian rogue and charlatan who comes to play a big part in the story, I may have had more reason to feel put off. His chapters really draw you into the squalid steampunk section of the world where the action will take place. Some characters here have annoying accented dialogue, but thankfully they aren't major players.
The major player is in fact the Demi-Monde itself, the action designed to showcase it in all it's terrible glory. It's one of those "what if" scenarios: put a group of people designed specifically to hate another group of people into various world settings (Anglo-European, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Far East, Sub-Saharan Africa) with mixed religions and philosophical beliefs (think raging misogynists living opposite misandrists, puritans across the road from hedonists and add in an unhealthy dose of white supremacists and anti-Semitic-type racism), have them lead by some of history's greatest big-bad strategists and see what/who falls over first. The world building is a terrible thing to behold - and I mean that in a good way. Just beware racist/sexist slurs used in historical context.
Another warning: don't over-think it. It is Hollywood blockbuster stuff, all characters running around getting caught up in the craziness of it all while finding out more about the world and each other. It's at the more intelligent end of the scale, but still, and history buffs and armchair debaters would probably want to take this book to task over how Person X would never do this, or Person Y wouldn't be seen working with Person Z. Take it at face value and it's great, slightly schlocky, fun.
My one big criticism that brings it down a notch for me was the individual character development. Things progress slowly and then clunk! They have a revelation that isn't shown but told. When attempts at showing things are made, they seem awkward and unnatural. Take the "romance" angle for instance - Ella's feelings towards Vanka are stated bluntly and without emotion (sorry male authors, I see this a lot with you guys), her weirdly forward habit of kissing him to show affection seeming just too much (she's only known the guy a few days and goes for the lips?! I'd buy a hug or something, but a snog of gratitude of all things, and that early? Blegh, romanticised male fantasy.) Trixie's character arc makes sense, but developed with a clunking "oh, sod this" moment where she goes all in to her new persona. This sort of thing might work in a movie where time is short and we can only get nuance from body language or lingering looks, but in writing where we have access to their innermost thoughts, even in third person? It felt rather dissatisfying.
There's also the irritating unexplained nature of Norma's entry into the world, hinted at but never really given context... And to be honest, Norma herself. She's a horrible teen rebel cliche. And the flip-floppiness of the character's personas in the early parts; they have a habit of stating one thing about themselves (Trixie's feminist/rationalist views that melt away into obedience seemingly without rouse, Ella's aversion to putting herself out there and in danger giving way to "ooh, this is kinda deadly fun!", and Vanka's little hot-n-cold flushes towards Ella that just get forgotten - because hot all the way amIright?)
I did generally like the characters though. While their development isn't perfect, it does make logical sense, and following characters who are wrestling with ideas designed to make us readers uncomfortable can be really interesting. We have to question our likes and dislikes as morality shifts with the fog of war. There's nothing so satisfying as a good unlikable character engaged in so many twisted plot threads it makes your head hurt even as you enjoy how everything binds together.
There is a lot of weirdness to this book, and a lot of heavy content to ponder over. Make it past the first few chapters and it's ridiculous but intelligent Hollywood blockbuster fare. I pretty much had to get my paws on the next book, because despite that major page count, there's still so much more to come.
The centre of the story is thus: The President of the USA's daughter has become trapped comatose, her consciousness locked inside the huge simulated world known as the Demi-Monde that's been used by the US army to train for unexpected combat. The only way to get her out: send in the cavalry... Or rather, an 18 year old African American student and part time jazz singer named Ella Thomas.
Yeah, this is where I decided it was going to be a hokey Hollywood blockbuster of a plot. It is. But dang, does it have a twisted kind of fun. Because the Demi-Monde is a circular world populated by "Dupes", or duplicates of real life people, some of them being rendered from history's nastiest annuls to spice the whole warfare thing up. People like Reinhardt "Final Solution" Heinrich, Aleister Crowley, Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins, etc etc. These people aren't programmed to be content with their overlording, oh no. They're out to take over the Demi-Monde. And after that is where it gets a tiny bit more complicated...
I found the beginning intriguing but slow. We meet Ella as she gets the low-down on the Demi-Monde and the nebulous reason for her being the only hope of rescuing the missing girl. These chapters could feel tedious as points about the Demi-Monde are repeated, sometimes verbatim. If they weren't interspersed with chapters about Vanka, a Demi-Mondian rogue and charlatan who comes to play a big part in the story, I may have had more reason to feel put off. His chapters really draw you into the squalid steampunk section of the world where the action will take place. Some characters here have annoying accented dialogue, but thankfully they aren't major players.
The major player is in fact the Demi-Monde itself, the action designed to showcase it in all it's terrible glory. It's one of those "what if" scenarios: put a group of people designed specifically to hate another group of people into various world settings (Anglo-European, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Far East, Sub-Saharan Africa) with mixed religions and philosophical beliefs (think raging misogynists living opposite misandrists, puritans across the road from hedonists and add in an unhealthy dose of white supremacists and anti-Semitic-type racism), have them lead by some of history's greatest big-bad strategists and see what/who falls over first. The world building is a terrible thing to behold - and I mean that in a good way. Just beware racist/sexist slurs used in historical context.
Another warning: don't over-think it. It is Hollywood blockbuster stuff, all characters running around getting caught up in the craziness of it all while finding out more about the world and each other. It's at the more intelligent end of the scale, but still, and history buffs and armchair debaters would probably want to take this book to task over how Person X would never do this, or Person Y wouldn't be seen working with Person Z. Take it at face value and it's great, slightly schlocky, fun.
My one big criticism that brings it down a notch for me was the individual character development. Things progress slowly and then clunk! They have a revelation that isn't shown but told. When attempts at showing things are made, they seem awkward and unnatural. Take the "romance" angle for instance - Ella's feelings towards Vanka are stated bluntly and without emotion (sorry male authors, I see this a lot with you guys), her weirdly forward habit of kissing him to show affection seeming just too much (she's only known the guy a few days and goes for the lips?! I'd buy a hug or something, but a snog of gratitude of all things, and that early? Blegh, romanticised male fantasy.) Trixie's character arc makes sense, but developed with a clunking "oh, sod this" moment where she goes all in to her new persona. This sort of thing might work in a movie where time is short and we can only get nuance from body language or lingering looks, but in writing where we have access to their innermost thoughts, even in third person? It felt rather dissatisfying.
There's also the irritating unexplained nature of Norma's entry into the world, hinted at but never really given context... And to be honest, Norma herself. She's a horrible teen rebel cliche. And the flip-floppiness of the character's personas in the early parts; they have a habit of stating one thing about themselves (Trixie's feminist/rationalist views that melt away into obedience seemingly without rouse, Ella's aversion to putting herself out there and in danger giving way to "ooh, this is kinda deadly fun!", and Vanka's little hot-n-cold flushes towards Ella that just get forgotten - because hot all the way amIright?)
I did generally like the characters though. While their development isn't perfect, it does make logical sense, and following characters who are wrestling with ideas designed to make us readers uncomfortable can be really interesting. We have to question our likes and dislikes as morality shifts with the fog of war. There's nothing so satisfying as a good unlikable character engaged in so many twisted plot threads it makes your head hurt even as you enjoy how everything binds together.
There is a lot of weirdness to this book, and a lot of heavy content to ponder over. Make it past the first few chapters and it's ridiculous but intelligent Hollywood blockbuster fare. I pretty much had to get my paws on the next book, because despite that major page count, there's still so much more to come.