The saying goes that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but in the case of Blades of Winter, the book delivered exactly what was promised by the cover: loads of action. Our hero is one Alix Nico, a young agent in the US government's Extreme Operations (ExOps) agency. In a word, she is a superspy, but superspies have been institutionalized in this alternative history. But Alix is motivated to rise through the ranks, especially because of her father's death in service to the same agency. It wouldn't be a story without conflict, however, and there's plenty of it in this book, both within ExOps and without.
In this story, Germany wasn't conquered in WWII, and Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalists maintained control of China. This has led to a four-way Cold War between the superpowers of the US, Russia, Greater Germany, and China. As the stakes of the dangerous spy game (known as the Shadowstorm, which gives the series its name) rose, so did the technology which aids the combatants. Modifications and enhancements to the human body are standard issue for the agents of ExOps and their foreign counterparts, collectively known as Levels. Missions are ranked by the same system: a Level 12 job is meant to be accomplished by a Level 12 operative. Our hero Alix has such enhancements as night and infrared vision, enhanced joints and bones for extra speed, and an internal drug delivery system that pumps her with synthetic adrenaline for combat. She also has her father's old gun, which connects to her other internal hardware via a connection on her palm, giving her not a heads-up display, but an Eyes-Up display for identifying and dispatching targets.
I hope I've given enough of a taste to intrigue you without giving the whole story away. Superspy vs. superspy is a wonderful setup for intense action, and this book delivers marvelously. There are also tense scenes of infiltration, where Alix needs to cool her hot head and try not to be noticed, which gives the story excellent dynamics. I personally love the setting, being a bit of a history buff. Exposition for the setting takes place mostly between chapters in the form of news articles and the like, which serve to develop a picture of the world of the Shadowstorm.
Like all good stories, this one delivers quite a few impressive twists, but not so many that it ties the plot up in Gordian knots. I enjoyed being kept guessing at points, but there was also the satisfaction that comes with correctly identifying on occasion how our hero will escape this latest mess. Both chaos and predictability work well in Blades of Winter and deliver a satisfying action thriller.
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