Book Review / The Spider Dance by Nick Setchfield

To avoid spoilers, below is the description for The War in the Dark, which is the first book in the series.

A genre-defying page turner that fuses thriller and speculative fiction with dark fantasy in a hidden world in the heart of Cold War Europe.

Europe. 1963. And the true Cold War is fought on the borders of this world, at the edges of the light.

When the assassination of a traitor trading with the enemy goes terribly wrong, British Intelligence agent Christopher Winter must flee London. In a tense alliance with a lethal, mysterious woman named Karina Lazarova, he's caught in a quest for hidden knowledge from centuries before, an occult secret written in a language of fire. A secret that will give supremacy to the nation that possesses it.

Racing against the Russians, the chase takes them from the demon-haunted Hungarian border to treasure-laden tunnels beneath Berlin, from an impossible house in Vienna to a bomb-blasted ruin in Bavaria where something unholy waits, born of the power of white fire and black glass . . .

It's a world of treachery, blood and magic. A world at war in the dark.

Published:     UK Release 16th July 2019
Publisher:  Titan Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 2
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

MY REVIEW

What an interesting second book in the series.   We are back with Christopher Winter but this time he knows a bit more about his history.  There are many twists and turns in this story, some I have to admit I was expecting but there were one or two that took my by surprise and I loved that! 

I always find it hard to put a full description of what happened in a second book in a series as I don't want to spoil the story for those who have not read it yet, but I am thoroughly enjoying this series - I am hoping this is going to be a series rather than just a duology!  For me, this was fast paced and action packed, along the same pace as the first book, The War in the Dark.   This is a great mix of mystery, thriller, action, supernatural-ish and something that I just can't put my finger on but I am sure there are many more genres mixed into this that I didn't realise at the time!

Would highly recommend picking this up but maybe read the first book in the series up first (The War in the Dark) so you can get the bigger picture of the story, in particular the back story of the main character Christopher Winter, before delving into this one. 

Book Review / The War in the Dark by Nick Setchfield

A genre-defying page turner that fuses thriller and speculative fiction with dark fantasy in a hidden world in the heart of Cold War Europe.

Europe. 1963. And the true Cold War is fought on the borders of this world, at the edges of the light.

When the assassination of a traitor trading with the enemy goes terribly wrong, British Intelligence agent Christopher Winter must flee London. In a tense alliance with a lethal, mysterious woman named Karina Lazarova, he's caught in a quest for hidden knowledge from centuries before, an occult secret written in a language of fire. A secret that will give supremacy to the nation that possesses it.

Racing against the Russians, the chase takes them from the demon-haunted Hungarian border to treasure-laden tunnels beneath Berlin, from an impossible house in Vienna to a bomb-blasted ruin in Bavaria where something unholy waits, born of the power of white fire and black glass . . .

It's a world of treachery, blood and magic. A world at war in the dark.


Published:     17th July 2018
Publisher:  Titan Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1  
(although Goodreads does not say this is part of a series, it is)
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

MY REVIEW

I can probably say with about 99% accuracy that I have never read a book quite like this one before.  It has a great mix of history, suspense and the supernatural.  I can sometimes find that picking up a book that is purely historical can be a bit dull but with this story adding in the suspense and a bit of the paranormal, it takes this story to a whole new level! 

We follow Christopher Winter in this story.  At the start, you don't really know that much about this character and, to be honest, I don't think he knew much about himself at that time.  There are secrets to discover in this book and even more that Christopher has to find out both in the story and about himself.  There is a very interesting twist nearer the end of this story that I really wasn't expecting but gave a whole new meaning to the story and the main character.  This is the part that I liked the most about this story, secrets and history, and I get the feeling that there will be a lot more to come in the next book!

This was such a fun read, if you can call such a dark and suspenseful novel fun!  I am very intrigued to pick up the next book.