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Praise for the
Milkweed Triptych
"A major talent... I can't wait to see more."
—George R. R. Martin
"Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics? Yes please, thank you. Tregillis's debut has a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters-- an unstoppable Vickers of a novel."
—Cory Doctorow on Bitter Seeds
"Ian Tregillis triumphantly concludes his astonishing, brilliant, pulse-pounding debut trilogy, The Milkweed Triptych."
—Cory Doctorow on Necessary Evil
"Tregillis' conclusion of the Milkweed Triptych is the pièce de résistance of the series. Necessary Evil is a perfect marriage of science fiction, fantasy and alternate history."
—RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars, Top Pick) on Necessary Evil
"Darkly fascinating…A thoroughly fascinating conclusion to an imaginative tour de force."
—Kirkus on Necessary Evil
"A cross between the devious, character-driven spy fiction of early John le Carré and the mad science fantasy of the X-Men... Despite the jaw-dropping backdrop and oblique plotting, the narrative is driven by character and personal circumstance...
Grim indeed, yet eloquent and utterly compelling."
Grim indeed, yet eloquent and utterly compelling."
—Kirkus on The Coldest War
"The characters come alive via [Tregillis's] imaginative dialogue and his storyline will keep readers spellbound and on the edge of their seats with an intense sci-fi/alternate history thriller plot."
—RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars, Top Pick) on The Coldest War
"Well-drawn characters and a feel for time and place make this an excellent journey into an alternate Britain."
—Library Journal on Bitter Seeds
"Engrossing... Tregillis ably mixes cold war paranoia with his mythology."
—Publishers Weekly on The Coldest War
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The Shawshank Waterproofing
Recent Blog Entries:
The End: NECESSARY EVIL Is Out! - 5/1/2013, 10:29 AM Because I Haven't Posted About tDCS In A While - 4/8/2013, 04:07 PM Announcing the NECESSARY EVIL Signing Tour - 4/5/2013, 05:15 PM Nuclear Deterrence in a Blood Magic World - 2/22/2013, 09:41 AM Guest Post #2 at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/17/2013, 04:41 PM Guest Post at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/15/2013, 09:17 PM A Conversation with Charlie Stross - 2/8/2013, 11:06 AM NOW OUT in the UK: THE COLDEST WAR - 2/7/2013, 12:22 AM Clarion Is Accepting Applications for the Class of 2013 - 1/27/2013, 06:38 PM Holy Smokes! Cover Art for Something More Than Night - 1/23/2013, 09:44 PM
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The End: NECESSARY EVIL Is Out! - 5/1/2013, 10:29 AM Because I Haven't Posted About tDCS In A While - 4/8/2013, 04:07 PM Announcing the NECESSARY EVIL Signing Tour - 4/5/2013, 05:15 PM Nuclear Deterrence in a Blood Magic World - 2/22/2013, 09:41 AM Guest Post #2 at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/17/2013, 04:41 PM Guest Post at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/15/2013, 09:17 PM A Conversation with Charlie Stross - 2/8/2013, 11:06 AM NOW OUT in the UK: THE COLDEST WAR - 2/7/2013, 12:22 AM Clarion Is Accepting Applications for the Class of 2013 - 1/27/2013, 06:38 PM Holy Smokes! Cover Art for Something More Than Night - 1/23/2013, 09:44 PM
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Thursday, October 13 2011, 07:00 AM
I'm having a little work done on my house this week. Part of it involves digging a trench alongside the house and excavating a pipe for the purpose of improving the waterproofing for my basement. (I haven't had a water problem, and I intend to keep it that way.)
Overall, the work seems to be going well. Loren, the contractor, is fantastic and very efficient. And up until yesterday afternoon, there were no big surprises, just the usual quirks of New Mexico construction: "Hmm, that pipe isn't on any of the drawings. Wonder who put it there, and why." Which is pretty much par for the course in these parts.
But then, yesterday afternoon, he sent me a cryptic message.
"Look what I found stuffed inside the drain pipe," he wrote. And attached this photo:
So, um... Yeah. That's a pair of handcuffs.
Let me repeat that.
He found a pair of handcuffs stuffed inside a buried drainpipe attached to my house.
Loren (he of the Santa Fe backhoe) has described the moment of discovery in his comments on this blog post. Bones, indeed. Maybe we should consider ourselves lucky that the cuffs didn't have part of a person attached to them. Because the ensuing investigation would inevitably reveal my house to be built on a former graveyard attached to a hospital for the criminally insane.
Theories welcome. The floor is open.
Close PermalinkComments (8)
Prison Break -
Melinda, Thursday, October 13 2011, 10:34 AM
So here's my story, back in 1952, Buddy got arrested and Rose, his girlfriend, helped bust him out of the cop car, and they made a run for it back to her house where she got him out of the cuffs. Then frantic to hide the evidence of their daring escape they stuffed the cuffs down a drain pipe, and headed for Mexico.
So here's my story, back in 1952, Buddy got arrested and Rose, his girlfriend, helped bust him out of the cop car, and they made a run for it back to her house where she got him out of the cuffs. Then frantic to hide the evidence of their daring escape they stuffed the cuffs down a drain pipe, and headed for Mexico.
.... -
loren, Thursday, October 13 2011, 11:49 AM
Good story, but you got one of the details wrong, Rose wasn't his girlfriend, she was a hooker with a heart of gold...
Good story, but you got one of the details wrong, Rose wasn't his girlfriend, she was a hooker with a heart of gold...
untitled -
Alex, Thursday, October 13 2011, 12:38 PM
Hmmm...my only theories involve sexcapades of the sexiest order. I'm thinking 70s era swing parties. So no corpses of the criminally insane buried in your backyard, but I'd rethink installing that blacklight.
Hmmm...my only theories involve sexcapades of the sexiest order. I'm thinking 70s era swing parties. So no corpses of the criminally insane buried in your backyard, but I'd rethink installing that blacklight.
Feynman -
Steve Halter, Thursday, October 13 2011, 02:54 PM
I'm going with those being the lost cuffs that Feynman used while working out how to pick handcuffs.
They probably ended up in the drain pipe through some sort of very interesting side effect of a cool experiment involving quantum states or maybe strippers--Feynman understood both of those.
I'm going with those being the lost cuffs that Feynman used while working out how to pick handcuffs.
They probably ended up in the drain pipe through some sort of very interesting side effect of a cool experiment involving quantum states or maybe strippers--Feynman understood both of those.
something like this? -
Andrew, Thursday, October 13 2011, 03:27 PM
"If I catch you playing Houdini one more time..."
"But, Mom." I said, "My friends like locking me up in the closet."
"And that doesn't concern you?"
Shrug. "Should it."
Muttering, "Who sells children handcuffs, anyhow?"
"Bought them from kid, who'd traded them for his bike. Who got them from a..."
"Are you serious?"
"I guess."
"That's it! Down the toilet."
"But Mom..!
----
Cleaning out a septic tank and being greeted by an odd number of white floating hands was quite a shocker. Turned out to be surgeon gloves filled with cocaine...
"If I catch you playing Houdini one more time..."
"But, Mom." I said, "My friends like locking me up in the closet."
"And that doesn't concern you?"
Shrug. "Should it."
Muttering, "Who sells children handcuffs, anyhow?"
"Bought them from kid, who'd traded them for his bike. Who got them from a..."
"Are you serious?"
"I guess."
"That's it! Down the toilet."
"But Mom..!
----
Cleaning out a septic tank and being greeted by an odd number of white floating hands was quite a shocker. Turned out to be surgeon gloves filled with cocaine...
untitled -
Susan Loyal, Thursday, October 13 2011, 04:38 PM
Just shows you how far out of hand things can get when you're suddenly startled by a very large, mutant spider. :0
Just shows you how far out of hand things can get when you're suddenly startled by a very large, mutant spider. :0
The truth -
Charlie Greenberry, Thursday, October 13 2011, 05:23 PM
In light of the recent comment you left on my blog, in which said, "First of all, it wasn’t a a body, it was a finger. And secondly, I didn’t find it, my neighbor the retired exorcist did. He won’t tell me why he was sifting through my garden with a pitchfork in the middle of the night, but that’s for the best because then I don’t have to explain what I was doing with the binoculars at 2am. Anyway, the cops don’t know about this, and probably shouldn’t," I'd say your lies are coming back to haunt you. Enjoy that.
In light of the recent comment you left on my blog, in which said, "First of all, it wasn’t a a body, it was a finger. And secondly, I didn’t find it, my neighbor the retired exorcist did. He won’t tell me why he was sifting through my garden with a pitchfork in the middle of the night, but that’s for the best because then I don’t have to explain what I was doing with the binoculars at 2am. Anyway, the cops don’t know about this, and probably shouldn’t," I'd say your lies are coming back to haunt you. Enjoy that.
Anomaly house -
Tengland, Thursday, October 13 2011, 09:17 PM
You have a basement?! In Santa Fe?!
Either the house is old or someone thinks they're in the Midwest.
From the photo, the 'cuffs don't look that old, but it's hard to tell. Nearby the area you live -- Casa Solana, essentially -- there once was a CCC camp in the '30s-'40s. During the war, the camp was used as a Japanese internment camp, and the inmates were single men. If the 'cuffs are old enough, who knows? Perhaps a troublesome inmate had to be cuffed. (The pipe looks like PVC, a material not yet available at the time. But the place has been built over so many times, old objects easily could have been washed into the sewer.)
Or a policeman or deputy came home for lunch or dinner, then used the bathroom. As he reached to flush the toilet, his sleeve caught on the 'cuffs and flipped them into the bowl, but before he could react, he hit lever. Try to to explain that to your sergeant.
You have a basement?! In Santa Fe?!
Either the house is old or someone thinks they're in the Midwest.
From the photo, the 'cuffs don't look that old, but it's hard to tell. Nearby the area you live -- Casa Solana, essentially -- there once was a CCC camp in the '30s-'40s. During the war, the camp was used as a Japanese internment camp, and the inmates were single men. If the 'cuffs are old enough, who knows? Perhaps a troublesome inmate had to be cuffed. (The pipe looks like PVC, a material not yet available at the time. But the place has been built over so many times, old objects easily could have been washed into the sewer.)
Or a policeman or deputy came home for lunch or dinner, then used the bathroom. As he reached to flush the toilet, his sleeve caught on the 'cuffs and flipped them into the bowl, but before he could react, he hit lever. Try to to explain that to your sergeant.
Add Your Comment:
Unwalkers interview [English | French ]
Interview with Speculate! Podcast Interview with Adventures in SciFi Publishing
Ian Tregillis on the Sword and Laser Podcast
Ian Tregillis on John Scalzi's The Big Idea
Interview with Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview with SFRevu
Interview with Mad Hatter Book Review
Interview with Apex Books
Interview at Literary Musings Interview with Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
An interview with the authors of Busted Flush at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview with Travis Heermann at The Write Line
9-way interview with the contributors to the Wild Cards novel Inside Straight at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview in the February, 2008 newsletter of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
An extended interview with Ian Tregillis by Ty Franck, on www.wildcardsbooks.com.