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Luz O”Malley
# 1
BY S. M. Stirling
Penguin Random House
July 3rd, 2018/ ISBN 9780399586231
Science Fiction/ Alternate History/Espionage
Reviewed
by Elise Cooper
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Black
Chamber by
S. M. Stirling is part alternate history and part thriller involving
spies, secret identities, and daring acts. The historical timeline
deviates after Taft dies, allowing Theodore Roosevelt to win
the presidency instead of Woodrow Wilson. The difference at
having Roosevelt at the helm can be felt throughout the book
as America considers entering World War I in 1916.
It is obvious the author admires Theodore Roosevelt. “I
wrote much of who Roosevelt was through the main character’s
eyes. Teddy was the first President to drive an automobile,
fly in an aircraft, and to go down in a submarine. Teddy was
very different than Taft, who he described as a ‘walrus
on legs,’ and Wilson as a ‘prissy, sissy Princeton
professor,’ a dry stick who is a man dominated by theories.
If the facts do not agree with the theories, so much for the
facts. He was a ‘wus,’ and quite a contrast from
Teddy who knocked out a gunman with his fists shot Grizzly Bears,
and arrested bandits. His adversary, Kaiser Wilhelm, had Teddy
envy. He wanted to be everything Teddy was: a real soldier,
reformer, and a great popular leader. The Kaiser imitates Teddy
a lot. In my “BC” universe he believed in government
scientific research and the development of a spy organization.”
Black Chamber
is a CIA-type organization, a secret spy agency to protect
America. Luz O'Malley Aróstegui, the cunning spy, is
assigned to find how the Germans plan on preventing America
from coming to the rescue of Allied nations. She boards a
flying vessel, a zeppelin airship, destined for Amsterdam.
Her mission is to go deep undercover, portraying a Mexican
revolutionary. She meets with the German contact, Imperial
Sword, who turns out to be a good-looking German by the name
of Baron Horst von Dückler. Finding out that the Germans
are planning something nasty, Luz uses all her skills to get
the information and thwart the horrific danger to America.
It appears to be in the German DNA to gas people. “During
my research, I found out Germany invented chemistry and poison
gas, and being better than Hitler’s Nazis is a pretty
low bar. The Germans started WWI and drove the brutalization
and radicalization during the War. They had no conception
of how to deal with a beaten opponent except grab them by
the throat and squeeze until their eyes popped out. They shot
hostages and deported people for slave labor. In this book,
Germany developed nerve gas. A pint of it could kill hundreds
of thousands of people. It is the DDT for people.”
Luz is a great character that uses Sherlock Holmes traits
of deduction and action type talents of James Bond. Coming
from Irish-Cuban American heritage, she speaks numerous languages
that allow her to infiltrate the enemy’s circle. She
is tough, clever, charming, and has a thoroughly modern outlook.
Stirling noted, “She is an exceptional person who did
extraordinary things. Luz is an only child whose father was
an Irish American engineer and her mother Cuban Luz goes deep
undercover, portraying a Mexican revolutionary after radical
Mexicans brutally killed her parents. She wants revenge and
decides to join the Black Chamber. She enjoys riding, shooting,
and climbing, skills she uses as a spy. Luz is an American
nationalist, highly intelligent, adventurous, and frivolous.
She is almost invincible as a spy because she is a woman,
thus is underestimate.”
Readers learn about the culture, setting, and values of America
during that period. For example, a scene on how Luz dresses,
“There were situations where a woman could wear trousers
without attracting too much attention.” Acceptability
comes from Roosevelt, a Bull Moose Progressive Republican,
having Congress pass the Equal Rights Amendment instead of
"just" women's suffrage. Although Stirling takes
author license with dates and issues of the day, the way he
infuses these historical events allows for a more interesting
story.
The secondary characters are very well-developed. Ciara is
a woman that understands mechanics and technology who becomes
an ally of Luz. The German Horst is a very powerful man, strong,
smart, and charming. Theodore Roosevelt is more of a background
character, and his views and insights are understood through
Luz’s thoughts.
Stirling offers readers a carrot, the fabulous, engaging protagonists,
and a stick, the power of the plot. He employs Theodore Roosevelt’s
“Big stick diplomacy,” through the many intense
action-filled scenes. After reading this first in a series
of “Black Chamber” novels, people will look forward
to reading the next novel involving these believable and gripping
characters.
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