World War II, the years leading up to it, and the aftermath is [obviously] one of the most historic eras of modern human history. It is also one of the eras most rife for positing “What If?” at the heart of the Alternate History subgenre, although most often that question is focused on the War itself and the aftermath. When a writer of the considerable talents of Kay Kenyon focuses her story on the years leading up to World War II, readers are in for a treat. Kenyon posits a world where Talents (superpowers) emerge in about 1 in 1000 people as a result of the bloom, the trauma that World War I engendered in the world in 1918. A bit hand-wavy, sure, but the quality of everything Kenyon throws into the page makes it an easy pill to swallow.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy meets X-Men in a classic British espionage story. A young woman must go undercover and use her superpowers to discover a secret Nazi plot and stop an invasion of England.
In 1936, there are paranormal abilities that have slowly seeped into the world, brought to the surface by the suffering of the Great War. The research to weaponize these abilities in England has lagged behind Germany, but now it’s underway at an ultra-secret site called Monkton Hall.
Kim Tavistock, a woman with the talent of the spill—drawing out truths that people most wish to hide—is among the test subjects at the facility. When she wins the confidence of caseworker Owen Cherwell, she is recruited to a mission to expose the head of Monkton Hall—who is believed to be a German spy.
As she infiltrates the upper-crust circles of some of England’s fascist sympathizers, she encounters dangerous opponents, including the charismatic Nazi officer Erich von Ritter, and discovers a plan to invade England. No one believes an invasion of the island nation is possible, not Whitehall, not even England’s Secret Intelligence Service. Unfortunately, they are wrong, and only one woman, without connections or training, wielding her talent of the spill and her gift for espionage, can stop it.
At the center of Kenyon’s story is Kim Tavistock, an American Expat and journalist living in UK with her father Julian. She was one of the select few to manifest a talent, in this case the Spill, which when in effect, gets people to open up and tell her secrets or information they would have otherwise kept close to the vest. When it is learned that the Germans are looking to harness people with Talents as weapons, the British take measures to assure they are not overmatched.
Kim is working for Monkton Hall, a secret testing site for organization that examines people with Talents and determines the extent of their abilities. What Kim doesn’t know is that her father is also undercover, working higher up for the same organization. He is cold enough emotionally and plays to the extreme viewpoint enough that Kim questions whether or not he is loyal to Britain or is turning to the Germans largely due to his high societal relations with people who have been identified as German sympathizers.
There are layers of subterfuge here, which is to be expected in a novel dealing with spies and people keeping secrets, like the superpowers they are manifesting. The withholding of truth between Kim and her father is a great deal of tension, understandably, and fuels much of their relationship. It is a strong thread and surprisingly, not always in the negative for their relationship.
This is very clearly the opening of a series, Kenyon does a wonderful job of introducing the characters and laying the foundation for more to come especially in the glue that holds everything together in her protagonist Kim. There are many things to appreciate about this wonderful character, her intelligence, her honor, her belief in doing what she believes to be right. What I also respected about the story was that Kenyon didn’t allow nepotism to be a reason for Kim’s advancement in Monkton Hall. Her drive and intelligence secured her position, impressed her co-workers and superiors.
That same drive and intelligence also attracted and impressed a German officer, Erich von Ritter, who is entangled with the people upon whom Kim was assigned to spy. Here again Kenyon’s characterization and ability to tell a believable, plausible story make for such a great novel. It would be easy to paint a proto-Nazi as a vile creature, but what makes for a better story is crafting a character who has some attractive qualities, like charm and intelligence. Kim realizes this man has the potential for vile deeds, but finds some things in common with the man. What is also evident in her dealings with von Ritter is how inexperienced a spy Kim is. But Kim is also whip-smart.
I came to this with high expectations, having read Kenyon’s brilliant The Entire and Rose four book sequence. Once again, Kenyon knocked it out of the park. This is a wonderful novel for many reasons – it tells a full story in and of itself and also sets a foundation for many stories to be told. In that respect, with a blending of history and people with “talents” I was a bit reminded of the Wild Cards books spear-headed by George R.R. Martin. The difference here is one voice is controlling the narrative here like/unlike Kenyon’s Dark Talents series. I know future books are on the horizon, I hope there are many to come.
Highly Recommended.
July 2017 | Saga Press
Hardcover | 421 Pages
http://www.kaykenyon.com
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Saga Press
