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A review by adamrbrooks
Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis
4.0
A fantastic book about the costs of war, the awful/amoral decisions that must be made, even if you're on the just side (which everyone always thinks they are) or even in defense. It was like nothing else I've ever read in the stark, horrifying realities and costs of those decisions, even if set in a somewhat magically tweaked version of our world.
I wonder if it would have been as powerful in a pure fantasy setting. Perhaps, but I think the comparison to World War II strengthens the argument, even if it's easy for a general read to know which side was right and which was wrong in that conflict. Even in a true good v. evil battle, the good guys probably have to do evil to win, or even to survive.
I might have given this book five stars, but I'm just feeling bitter about the sense that ever decent book is actually not a book. Oh, no. It's part one of a series. At least Tregillis got it done in ~400 pages, rather than 800 or 900. Maybe that's how we know this is more sci-fi than fantasy.
Still... I plan to pick up the next edition.
I wonder if it would have been as powerful in a pure fantasy setting. Perhaps, but I think the comparison to World War II strengthens the argument, even if it's easy for a general read to know which side was right and which was wrong in that conflict. Even in a true good v. evil battle, the good guys probably have to do evil to win, or even to survive.
I might have given this book five stars, but I'm just feeling bitter about the sense that ever decent book is actually not a book. Oh, no. It's part one of a series. At least Tregillis got it done in ~400 pages, rather than 800 or 900. Maybe that's how we know this is more sci-fi than fantasy.
Still... I plan to pick up the next edition.