Blitz

September 22, 2023 10:38 PM

In this historical fantasy, a new recruit to the most powerful supernatural intelligence agency on Earth is accused of going rogue—and must go on the run to clear her name. Book 3 in the The Checquy Files by Daniel O'Malley
posted by soelo (9 comments total)

This one follows two women, Lyn and Bridget, in two different time periods. Their stories are connected.
posted by soelo at 10:41 PM on September 22, 2023

Well in the interest of trying to get more FanFare activity because I love it and get so much from it.... I have not read this book/series but I have now borrowed the first from my local library as I had not heard of it but it sounds like something I would like.
posted by Lesium at 4:47 AM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Rook is a great opener and the FF thread is here.
posted by soelo at 12:46 PM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

I enjoyed this one - the WWII part of the story reminded me of Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis. Rook is still my favorite of the series.
posted by DowBits at 4:00 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

There were some fun Easter egg references to other British literature in this one.
posted by bq at 6:55 PM on September 24, 2023

Oh, really interested in this. I thought Rook was a lot of fun, but didn't like Stiletto much at all.
posted by PussKillian at 11:03 AM on September 25, 2023

I only just heard this book existed! Got it but haven't had time to start it yet, grr. Glad there's a thread for later.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:22 PM on September 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

I was delighted to discover that this had been published, having seen this thread. Thank you soelo! I had read Rook and Stiletto but wasn't aware O'Malley was working on a third entry.

I think on the whole, I enjoyed Rook the most as well, but I'm also a sucker for stories told in different time periods that converge, so that was a rewarding part of Blitz for me.

One of my favorite features of the series is the seemingly endless trove of bizarre anecdotes, side stories, and histories about the world in which the Checquy operates that are woven throughout the plots of the novels.
posted by audi alteram partem at 3:49 PM on May 18, 2024 [2 favorites]

OMG, y'all, I just finished the book nearly a year later. How sad is that for a speed reader? Honestly, a lot of it is that the book is SUPER HUGE to carry around and most of the time I'm on the go, so no slipping this thing into my purse (bought hardback), finally ended up reading it at work during lunch when I had a free lunch. It felt super long to read even for ME, but was interesting?

I kind of wonder why the two books were combined. Frankly, since the two stories don't connect together much at all* and both would have been a fine 300-ish page novel on their own, one being the distant sequel to the other. I also enjoy the very weird side stories of the Checquy (dueling, pregnant men!), but sometimes they derail for so long even I, who loves crazy exposition, is all "hey, can we tie it back to the story/circle back?" It takes this author awhile. I wish the two stories had tied together more, but I don't think they really do. Lyn's plot is easier to follow, whereas the WWII cases--missing Nazi, artifacts, etc--got kind of jumbly to keep track of for me. The revelation that the Checquy was secretly prepared to work for Hitler if they had to (rather than letting members fight against him or get involved in the war) was super creepy and no wonder Pamela was disturbed.

* spoiler: Lyn's descended from the Nazi in the WW2 plot...and that's about it. I was expecting baby time travel or that Bridget would turn up pregnant and Lyn would somehow be a descendant of hers or...I dunno, anything more interesting really? More interlocked? Wattleman being in both is the other tie-in, I suppose.

I liked all of the characters (rooting for Bridget and Gerald!), even naked horny Henry. I felt for Lyn both having to start a new life, then being on the run (justified), and then finally meeting the other lightning members of the family. I hope she keeps that up. I was surprised Lyn could keep mostly away from the Checquy since it was pretty well established in The Rook that even Myvanwy 1.0, a genius at that stuff, might have been hard pressed to disappear.

I miss Myfanwy (who had a cameo). I realize it might be hard for the author to tie her into everything now that her main life problem has been...grown into, I guess? ("Resolved" doesn't seem quite right). Odette had a nice cameo.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:03 PM on August 28, 2024