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At the Table of Wolves Is a Superpowered WWII Thriller
World War II has fueled more speculative fiction than any other conflict inhuman history. Writers of alternate histories and “what if?” stories have been drawn to the period’s horror and romance, its great heroism and tremendous villainy. The sense that it was a time when the entire history of the world teetered on a knife’s edge makes it easy to imagine the world-altering consequences if only events had tipped this way or that (even when the “that” involves the presences of magic). Kay Kenyon’s new novel At the Table of Wolves takes a slightly different approach, making verisimilitude a priority as it explores the effects a major shift in the timeline would have on everyday women and men, rather than on the sweep of history. Set largely in England during the rise of the Third Reich, it is a spy thriller in a world with superpowers, but no superheroes.
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Kim Tavistock is a test subject at Monkton Hall, a discreet scientific research facility suggestive of the real-life Bletchley Park and other country estates called to service before and during the war. She’s one of the people affected by the bloom, a phenomenon that began shortly after World War I, and was, it is suspected, triggered by the trauma and horror of that war-to-end-all-wars. Whatever the cause, people began to develop special abilities. Generally, the powers are subtle and of minimal value, but the English, and their German counterparts, are intent on gathering together those newly talented who are of the most potential use. Kim is a former journalist whose power is called the spill: casual conversations with relaxed partners frequently end with whoever she’s speaking to revealing some deeply held secret. It’s not that she compels truth—she has no real control over the ability; something about her subtly encourages people to…well, spill.
Kim has no experience in espionage (she worked, and failed, as a journalist in America before her estranged father invited her home to Yorkshire to take over the crumbling family estate), but her talent draws her into the world of spycraft. Monkton Hall has a leak, it seems, one that might have sprung all the way at the top, and it’s hoped Kim can plug it up. After some sly attempts to work out the secret of the mole, she falls in deeper: the answers lie with a German officer in the country, Erich von Ritter, an appropriately nasty (though strangely seductive) chap whose own talent is at least a match her own. The Germans are gathering individuals with a particular talent, though no one can figure out why—it seems to be leading to an invasion, but a skeptical British leadership, higher-ups sympathetic to the German cause, and a country with no taste for another war are all standing in the way of efforts to sort truth from speculation. In the mix are a gay SS officer looking to defect, a maid in whom the Germans are mysteriously interested, and Kim’s own father, who, it soon becomes clear, is working behind the scenes for one side or the other.
Kim is not only an engaging character, she’s a clever construction: even she admits she’s no heroine, but she’s not a coward either, which sums up her appeal. She is smart and competent, but also in way over her head—as would be anyone with no experience in the world of high-stakes espionage. Her talent gives her an edge, but von Ritter’s own abilities are more than a match for it. Though the (rather cool) cover hints at an Agent Carter vibe, Kim is much more relatable, even if she is the heiress to a British country estate. She’s not a martial arts expert, and she’s generally ambivalent about her talent, having developed a strict code about keeping the secrets of others, which she only very reluctantly sets aside in the face of the looming Nazi threat. She’s entirely at sea in the world of spies, but plunges ahead when she comes to realizeshe’s the only one in a position to make a difference.
At the Table of Wolves is a remarkable bit of alt-history, transforming what could have been nor more than a fun, over-the-top spy romp into a grounded story with genuine characters and stakes. The relative balance of power between the two sides makes the book an effective thriller in which the talents add a layer of complexity to the intricate chess game the real-life Germans played with Europe and the UK in the lead-up to the war. The period details and references are all in place: Wallis Simpson, an interest in eugenics, and a leader named Winston Churchill, who at least half the country saw as a war-hungry maniac at the time. It’s Kim Tavistock who’s the real draw, though: she’s not ordinary, precisely, but she’s utterly believable as a woman who dives into the deep end, going undercover among some of the greatest monsters in history only after she realizes there’s no one else to do it. It’s a period spy thriller with superpowers, sure, but it’s also a story about standing up for your beliefs in difficult times, no matter the cost. So maybe there is a superhero in here after all.
At the Table of Wolves is available now.