Line #41 Literature/TheColdestWar


1	[[quoteright:263:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Coldest_War_-_HardCover_2704.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:263:Basically? Things get worse from here.]]
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4	The second book of ''Literature/TheMilkweedTriptych'', preceded by ''Literature/BitterSeeds'' and followed by ''Literature/NecessaryEvil''.
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6	----
7	!!Examples
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9	* AdvancingWallOfDoom: [[spoiler:As the Enochian's start to destroy the world, they take the appearance of this.]]
10	* AwfulWeddedLife: Marsh's marriage has broken down under the strain of caring for their son.
11	* BadassNormal: Marsh, even 20 years older and out of shape.
12	* BalanceOfPower: The Soviet Union controls everything up to the English Channel, and has continued to develop the captured Willenskräfte technology. The United States is torn by internal strife and economic depression. The only thing keeping the Soviets from conquering the British Empire is the warlocks. Who are being killed off.
13	* CarFu: With no other option, [[spoiler:Marsh rams the supersoldier while he's using his fire powers, melting half his car but killing him.]]
14	* CassandraTruth: Marsh ignores Will's warnings about the Enochians. Pembroke ignores Marsh's warnings about Gretel. [[spoiler:Ironically Gretel engineers Pembroke's death because only Marsh is driven enough to use the Enochians to kill directly.]]
15	* TheChessmaster: The full extent of Gretel's machinations are finally revealed. For example, she drove Heike to suicide in book one ''just so she could get a glass jar at Arzamas-16'' so one of her Soviet guards would have it to drink from and be distracted from their escape. Although it's no news that she sent German bombers to kill Marsh's daughter, we finally get the reason. [[spoiler:Going back in time is the only way Marsh can save her life.]]
16	* CreepyChild: The British child warlocks.
17	* {{EMP}}: Milkweed turn Will's house into an improvised EMP bomb, among other booby traps. Unfortunately the batteries used by the Soviet supersoldiers are hardened against EMP.
18	* FakingTheDead: Will after his house blows up.
19	* GasLeakCoverup: Milkweed know a Soviet assassin with supernatural powers is going to murder Will in his home, so they evacuate the entire street to avoid witnesses and collateral damage under the gas leak trick. When the assassin does show up, he's disguised as a National Gas repairman. When the entire house and half the street burns up thanks to the assassin PlayingWithFire, the government has a ready-made explanation.
20	* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Reinhardt, aka Junkman has spent years scavenging electronic components in a desperate attempt to reconstruct the batteries and regain his Willenskräfte.
21	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident:
22	** The Soviet assassin uses his IntangibleMan abilities to reach into a warlock's chest and palpitate his heart, giving him the symptoms of a heart attack.
23	** After handing over the location of the warlocks to his KGB contact and turning down their offer of asylum in the Soviet Union, Will suffers a near fatal traffic accident as the Soviet's believe he's the last warlock on British soil.
24	* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Marsh doesn't care that [[spoiler: Will helped the Soviets kill all the British warlocks because he wanted revenge for the Missing, the people sacrificed by Milkweed to make the Eidolons help to win the war]]; it was done for the British Empire and that makes [[spoiler:Will]] a traitor.
25	* NakedNutter: Marsh's son John was born with an unnamed condition that has left him an EmptyShell at the best of times and violently irrational at worst. Also, he doesn't much like wearing clothes and will resist any attempts at dressing him, so his parents usually just allow him to remain stark naked. [[spoiler: It turns out that the "condition" is being a soulless pawn of [[EldritchAbomination the Eidolons]].]]
26	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Oh hell yes. [[spoiler:When Britain comes under attack from Soviet supersoldier infiltrators, Marsh orders the Eidolons to kill them directly. This gives the Eidolons the foothold they need to wipe out humanity. Though Gretel has foreseen that ''all'' timelines result in the Enochians destroying humanity.]]
27	* OneLastJob: Klaus agrees to help Marsh in exchange for a new identity far from her sister.
28	* OnePersonOnePower: As the British learn a bit too late, this is not true for the Soviet version of Westarp's supersoldiers.
29	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: [[spoiler:Gretel's goal is revealed to be to create a new timeline in which she and the rest of humanity are spared from the Eidolons. Marsh refuses to go back in time so that Gretel will die with everyone else, but she already anticipated this back in [=WW2=], and points out that this way Marsh can save his daughter's life.]]
30	* ShoutOut: As Marsh is flipping through the channels of a radio, he lands on one playing "modern music from a [[Music/TheBeatles group out of Liverpool]]." He doesn't think much of it and flips to a Big Band station.
31	* SovietSuperscience: The Soviets have made use of the intelligence they captured during the war to develop their own version of the super-soldier program.
32	* VerbalSaltInTheWound: When the two of them meet again, Gretel gleefully needles Will over what happened during their last meeting and [[TraumaCongaLine its disastrous aftermath]] by asking "has your finger healed yet?"
33	* VoiceOfTheLegion: [[spoiler:Marsh's son after being taken over by the Eidolons.]]
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Context Literature / TheColdestWar