Order History
Premium Membership & Rewards
Help Center / FAQ
The Witch Who Came In From The Cold Expertly Melds Magic and Spycraft
The Cold War was bad enough when the phrase was only a metaphor. In The Witch Who Came in from the Cold, a bind-up of Serial Box Publishing’s fantasy series, a band of intrepid authors come together to show a different side of the decades-long conflict between the Soviet Union and America. In this alternate reality, espionage is occurring not only on a national level, but on a magical one as well. The book showcases the various sides, perspectives, and goals of the witches within Ice, a group of magicians dedicated to preserving the world order, and their smoldering counterpart the Flame, who would rather see it all burn than save it. In the middle of Prague in 1970, KGB and Ice associate Tanya Morozova works to keep her alliances strong as Flame associates begin to make their moves. Meanwhile, an American spy, Gabe Pritchard, is forcibly introduced to the world of sorcerers around him when a mysterious illness he picked up in Cairo turns out to be more than a headache. Much more.
Like the other Serial Box productions, this one is a joint effort from a team of authors—Cassandra Rose Clarke, Ian Tregillis, and Michael Swanwick—working in a sort of “writer’s room” alongside creators Max Gladstone and Lindsay Smith, who function as “executive producers.” Half the fun is seeing how each author picks up the ball and runs with it, creating a book that works together as a whole even as the flavor changes from chapter to chapter. Smith and Gladstone have assembled a team that can balance intricate character work, supernatural spookiness, and sleuthing spycraft with ease, and they all come together to craft a deep, intriguing, dangerous, enormously fun world of spies and sorcerers. The balance between heavy magic episodes—as Ice and Flame dagger back and forth at one another across Prague rooftops—and those focused on the spy stuff—stalking safe houses, securing assets, and double-guessing everyone you meet—is perfect. And it’s even better when those worlds intersect, as when Gabe and Tanya both work a party for the Prime Minister’s wife, each seeking answers to questions both normal and paranormal.
While the worldbuilding is relatively self-contained, and allowed to be more mysterious than explained, the true spell cast is on the reader, as Gabe and Tanya circle each other, wary at all times, but forced to trust one another for Ice business. The secondary cast, including British Intelligence and Ice sorcerer Alestair; nervous new-spy-on-the-block Joshua Toms, who is forced to hide his sexuality; and straight-laced human machine Nadia, provides background color, but Gabe and Tanya are the true main event, and watching their relationship develop is a highlight of this season one collection.
Ships in 1-2 days.
Gabe is not some piece of muscle who will do anything for the USA, but rather a sensible, if cynical, man who wants to do right by his country in a conflict he despises. When shoved into the operations of the Ice, who claim they can help him with his “headache” problem, that sensibility doesn’t change, and often, his fervor to do the right thing in the face of the Ice’s bureaucratic nonsense gets him into hot water. Tanya, for all her belief in her causes—of both the KGB and the Ice—never knows which alliance to put first. She takes inspiration from her grandfather, who toed the line for both groups, but can only speak with her through a magical construct. Watching as she argues for both groups she is beholden to—while trying to figure out what she actually wants—is engrossing. The moments of honesty between these two, whether its asking for help, or just admitting exhaustion, provide some of the most rewarding moments of the series.
The Witch Who Came In From The Cold is an action-packed, thoughtful, and above all fun reconsideration of an era when the slightest slip or provocation could’ve spell doom for millions: the international intrigue we know and love, with the added layer of sorcery and world-ending catastrophe on top. Season One ends with a ton questions still floating about, and the resolutions it does offer only lead to deeper mysteries, stranger answers, and terrifying consequences for the next season. Gabe and Tanya will return.
The Witch Who Came in from the Cold: Season One is available now.