''Black Chamber'' is an

alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alter ...

novel by Canadian-American author

S. M. Stirling Stephen Michael Stirling (born September 30, 1953) is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author who was born in France. Stirling is well known for his The Domination, Draka series of alternate history (fiction), alternate history no ...

, published in 2018. The novel is the start of a series wherein

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

's bid for the

U.S. presidency The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in 1912 was successful. The story begins on September 1, 1916 and features a "

Black Chamber The Black Chamber (1919–1929), also known as the Cipher Bureau, was the United States' first peacetime cryptanalytic organization, and a forerunner of the National Security Agency. The only prior codes and cypher organizations maintained by the ...

" that is much more than the historical U.S. government code-breaking agency.

Plot summary

Preliminaries

When

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

, Theodore Roosevelt's opponent in the 1912 presidential election dies of a heart attack, Roosevelt's election is assured. After Roosevelt takes office, the United States conquers

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

"for its own good" and begins a rigorous progress agenda.

Main plot

In September 1916, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

has not yet declared itself a participant in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. President Roosevelt wants to stay out of World War I. However, the war is going very well for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Roosevelt learns that the Germans have a new weapon whose characteristics are unknown. Luz O'Malley Aróstegui is a senior field operative for the Black Chamber, a U.S. spy and security agency. Luz, who is ethnically Cuban-Irish, impersonates a Mexican-Irish revolutionary in order to contact a German agent who she learns is Baron Horst von Dückler. They become lovers and Luz learns that the weapon, called "The Breath of Loki", is a

poisonous gas Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as Chemical weapon, weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN defen ...

that kills on contact. Luz convinces Ciara Whelan, an Irish-American with a grudge against the U.S. to help her. Eventually, Luz has to deal with a German plan to keep the United States out of the war by bringing the poisonous gas to the East Coast.

Characters

Factual

, President of the United States * General

Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor-General of the Philippi ...

, chief of the US general staff *

John Wilkie John Elbert Wilkie (1860 – December 13, 1934) was an American journalist and Chief of the United States Secret Service from 1898 to 1911. Journalist At age 19, Wilkie joined the staff of the '' Chicago Times'' as a reporter. His father, Fran ...

, director of the

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

and the Black Chamber * John Hoover, an operative with the Black Chamber * General

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fro ...

, chief of the general staff,

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

* General

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. ...

, quartermaster general (second in command), German Army * Colonel

Walter Nicolai General Walter Nicolai (August 1, 1873 – May 4, 1947) was the first senior IC (intelligence) officer in the Imperial German Army. He came to run the German military intelligence service, Abteilung IIIb, and became an important pro-war p ...

, chief of German military intelligence

Fictional

* Luz O'Malley Aróstegui, Senior Field Operative with the Black Chamber * Ciara Whelan, a

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

at the beginning * Captain Baron Horst von Dückler, assigned to German military intelligence

Critical reception

* Liz Bourke called ''Black Chamber'' a "rattlingly good spy thriller" and liked the characters but disliked that none of the characters could truly be considered good and was troubled by the main plot involving the use of chemical weapons on civilians. * ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' in a

starred review A starred review is a book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece ...

praised the "lavish historical, linguistic, and cultural detail—including sly digs at real-life figures, such as a youthful J. Edgar Hoover—enhance well-rounded characters to make this a highly enjoyable espionage romp."

References

External links

* http://smstirling.com/books/black-chamber/ Tales from The Black Chamber series Novels set in Germany Novels set in the Netherlands Novels set in Massachusetts 2018 Canadian novels American alternate history novels Novels by S. M. Stirling 2018 American novels Ace Books books {{2010s-ah-novel-stub