A wonderful compelling alternate world look at the Great War (WWI) where the St. Lawrence Pact (Germany, Canada, Great Britain and France) attack the U.S. Where the doughboys use rifles as well as brass exoskeletons (like Star Wars At-Ats) that stomp around like awkward praying mantises and attack even larger mobile armaments called Goliaths.

And where some U.S. solders known as the Devil's Henchmen are given a serum that allows them to share current images and emotions with their fellow troopers.

Finally, the atrocities settle into an uneasy truce and we are plunged into an Art Deco world of flappers in gorgeous beaded gowns, long and slinking roadsters, fancy nightclubs and gleaming buildings pierced by monorails.

It's a different world out there, and it's fascinating.  And though the war is over, the President of the U.S., Leland De Pere (once a Henchman himself) has delusions of grandeur in the biggest way and wants to take over the world. The President's inadvertent tool for ultimate control is an entity called Echo and how it becomes increasingly aware is the ominous thread pulling the novel together. But the underground group called the Uprising is fighting against all this.

Morgan Aysana, a rich industrialist's son gets captured and infected by one of De Pere's creepy parasites which can turn him into a monster and Liam Mulcahey, his best friend, also a former Henchman with some unusual abilities are the focus of the Uprising and the President. Having fought in the Great War, Liam's tenure in the Devil's Henchmen and the serum he was given awakens in Liam some even more uncanny capabilities than mere mental communication. He can actually manipulate his environment so that others see what he does. This would really put a spanner in the works of De Pere's idea of world dominion by homogenizing everyone's thinking and creating a world of mindless drones. Liam would be an important asset to the President's agenda.

The Uprising is fighting to keep that from happening and rescuing Aysana as well. So, Morgan and Liam are constantly on the run avoiding being snared by the President's special ops forces. We go from Novo Solis (New York City) to the shores of the Great Lakes to floating cities buzzed by airplanes and dirigibles.

Bellecourt has developed a marvelous Deco punk world and with some fabulous characters all rushing to the crucial confrontation to thwart mind control over everyone.

This is a terrific debut novel which I hope will be followed up by more. ~~ Sue Martin