Jaeger by Simon Bestwick
Publisher – Black Shuck Books
Published – Out Now
Price – £7.99 paperback £1.49 ebook via publisher website
Roth-Steyr, the story of Valerie Varden (or to use her full name, Countess Valerie Elisabeth Franzsiska von Bradenstein-Vršovci, reluctant immortal and former assassin of the Habsburg Empire) wasn't quite like anything I'd written before. And almost as soon as I'd finished it, I knew Val had more to say. So I picked up her trail again, and found her making her way across a darkening Europe, hunted by a shadowy foe. Someone wants her dead: to find out who Val will need to remember everything she tried to forget. She must become, once more, an assassin. A killer. A Jaeger."
NB this book is sequel to Roth-Steyr by Simon Bestwick well worth your time!
Our pasts can haunt us, if you’re an immortal you’ll probably have a lot of past events to dwell upon and also perhaps enemies to keep your eyes out for. This is the premise for the exciting fantasy thriller road-trip that is Simon Bestwick’s new novella Jager where we return to the life of Valerie Varden (also known as Countess Valerie von Bradenstein-Vrscovi) who has returned to Europe in grief but soon finds that her past catching up with her and its heavily armed too.
In the previous tale we got Valerie’s origin story essentially in the collapse of the Auustro-Hungarian Empire we have two immortal groups created to wage war on each other. The villainous and evil Black eagles and the some would say equally determined Falkenjaegers of which Valerie is one. After WW2 Valerie had had enough and had been living a quiet human life until the two groups returned and in the process killed Valerie’s partner. Val has gone into Europe under new identities and a botched attempt on her life means Val need to find out who and why but her suspicion is that her old life is calling with a vengeance.
I really enjoyed this novella as it’s got a momentum that starts from very early on. A huge part of that is Val’s voice where Bestwick nimbly makes you feel like you’re travelling with someone who has lived through the last century’s big historical events; has carried the scars of war being a skilled soldier and yet also has had enough thanks to recent events. One minute Vak can share a joke; an anecdote of her life and then we feel the grief she is still going through. She is a fascinating character to follow along and if the first book was about who she really was this book tackles who is she going to be.
As with the first book Bestwick fills the story with historical detail and also this time we get a road trip through the modern incarnations of Germany and Austria. There is a touch of a new Cold War thriller to it as Val swaps disguises, escapes tails and often has gun battles with her enemies. This is a tale with a touch of car and mouse but with turns taken by Val and her unseen opponent. What I enjoyed here is how Bestwick explores the changes in cultures - Val is gay and so we have someone who saw Weimar liberties soon taken over by harder Nazi lines and then by the present day is almost ready to marry her girlfriend. Val has matured over the century and war isn’t enough but now with her partner dead she has even less now. It gives the story a lot of emotional power that worked well after the first book set everyone up.
As with the last book Bestwick fills the story with action too and Val as well as immortal has warrior skills and excellent healing which means she can handle quite large amounts of enemies at once. These scenes are fierce, bloody and propel the story towards a dramatic climax at the villain’s lair.
I found Jaeger a really interesting sequel and allows room for Val to return in other tales in the future. Those seeking a rattling good thriller with fantastic elements should pick this up!
