Publisher Description
The first novel in a new Cold War fantasy series, where the Berlin Wall is made entirely of magic. When a breach unexpectedly appears in the wall, spies from both sides swarm to the city as World War III threatens to spark.
AFTER THE WAR, THE WALL BROUGHT AN UNEASY PEACE.
When Soviet magicians conjured an arcane wall to blockade occupied Berlin, the world was outraged but let it stand for the sake of peace. Now, after ten years of fighting with spies instead of spells, the CIA has discovered the unthinkable...
THE WALL IS FAILING.
While refugees and soldiers mass along the border, operatives from East and West converge on the most dangerous city in the world to either stop the crisis, or take advantage of it.
Karen, a young magician with the American Office of Magical Research and Deployment, is sent to investigate the breach in the Wall and determine if it can be fixed. Instead, she discovers that the truth is elusive in this divided city--and that even magic itself has its own agenda.
THE TRUTH OF THE WALL IS ABOUT TO BE REVEALED.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Arcane magic meets Cold War intrigue in this alternate history series opener from debut author Goodwater. Karen O'Neil is a researcher and magician whose sexist coworkers demean her for being a woman, while the public distrusts her for using magic. Her father, a veteran who saw firsthand how horribly magic was used in battle, is particularly scornful. Eager to prove herself, Karen leaps at a request from the State Department to investigate a growing breach in the Berlin Wall, which in this universe is an enormous construct of magical energy that divides the city and the world. Plots criss-cross and double-cross as Karen learns the truth of the Wall's creation and the weapon it hides. Goodwater sprinkles powerful truths about the nature of power into this entertaining tale of magic and espionage. The novel's ambitions get the better of it sometimes, with a few plot holes and underdeveloped characters as well as a startling absence of non-white people, but the well-constructed world and thrilling vibe more than make up for it.
