History Literature / TheWinterQueenContingency

* BeingGoodSucks: A consistent Ashe staple. These heroes rarely feel good about being heroes.

* TheCavalry: [[spoiler:Cassandra and Newland for Mike and the Master Sergeant, just as they were running out of ammo against a horde of the infected.]]

* FakeOutTwist: [[spoiler:Angelina's infection is a straight example of The Reveal, but the hinted-at use of Chloe's deadly t. gondii, a possible threat to Sarmat and the Infinite, is implied to be in Julio's staff that she's using to feign injury. Sarmat senses it's some kind of weapon and knocks it away. But the real deadly use of that t. gondii is her painted nails/claws. However, Julio's staff ''is'' a weapon, but a long-distance one (i.e., contains a bow and arrow) used to kill all the watching Infinite via ArrowsOnFire to ignite Cassandra's preset flammable field.]]

* BloodKnight: The once-principled master warrior Elias becomes this [[spoiler:after Cassandra's deaths and the new attacks on humanity, as he fears for his family to the point of fanaticism]] along with his enemy Sarmat.

* BadassBoast: Angelina always speaks of peacemaking first, but when her brother asks what she will do if Sarmat is hellbent on killing off her people, she responds, "Then I will kill the king."

* InspirationNod: The Prologue to Part Two ends with a rephrasing of the famous "night" narration from VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest. The title is also similar to "The Winter Contingency" stage/directive in VideoGame/HaloReach [[spoiler:which shares Part One's themes of a Dwindling Party of military elites and a coming global catastrophe. And there's a very subtle reference for the exact calendar day the nuclear war happens; three days prior was mentioned as August 26th, thus it happened on the 29th . . . as it was expected to in Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay.]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[spoiler:Part Two picks up 30 years after nuclear war, with many horrors noted (e.g., rampant cancers, starvation, street violence) and quickly notes that the human race that once numbered in billions now numbers in ''thousands''. (Later noted as at least 100k in North America. Even if it was 900k globally, that would be about 0.01% of the globe's current 7.8 billion.)]]

* SecretWeapon: [[spoiler:Angelina figures that even her secret infection might not tip the battle with Sarmat in her favor. So she "goes vintage" by using Chloe's 30-year-old serum in her nail polish for an effective edge, making it a Curbstomp against a previous undefeated foe.]]

* TooMuchAlike: Mirroring violent hatred, mortal enemies Elias and Sarmat each sail further over toward the MoralEventHorizon with whom they target (both including the relatively peaceful Sevens), revealing themselves to be even more bloodthirsty than first demonstrated.

* {{Tuckerization}}: Many side characters, especially in Part One, are named after buildings from Ashe's undergraduate alma mater, Appalachian State. [[spoiler:And of those, the ones who die are buildings that have been demolished since Ashe graduated, i.e., Welborn, Gardner, and Coltrane. He already used Whitener, where he took classes for his Political Science major, in his debut novel.]] Chloe's name is also a combination of three cats Ashe had since childhood, i.e., Chester, Molly, and Sophie, with features matching the latter.

* InspirationNod: The Prologue to Part Two ends with a rephrasing of the famous "night" narration from VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest. The title is also similar to "The Winter Contingency" stage/directive in VideoGame/HaloReach [[spoiler:which shares Part One's themes of a Dwindling Party of military elites and a coming global catastrophe). And there's a very subtle reference for the exact calendar day the nuclear war happens; three days prior was mentioned as August 26th, thus it happened on the 29th . . . as it was expected to in Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay.]]

* WhamLine: [[spoiler:The last line of Part One, informing the reader that the infected ''survived nuclear war'' and, as the government predicted from Mike's studies, were indeed taking over the ruins. In the Prelude to Part Two: "The human race that once had been counted in the billions was now counted in thousands." In Angelina's one-two punch final fight, "Underneath of which was her bright, blazing red eye" and answering Sarmat's question if that was her last trick, "No, ''this'' is." Between infected powers and Chloe's super-serum in her claws, it turns from his Curbstomp to hers.]]

* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Ultimately averted for Angelina's love interest Shannon, who initially seems to have perished in a nuclear attack, but survives. They eventually break up for unnamed reasons.]]

* SmugSuper: Sarmat. He may have held back when at war with who he saw as a WorthyOpponent in Cassandra, but then makes a point to dismiss the remaining Remnant, specifically Angelina, with a TheSocialDarwinist viewpoint. [[spoiler:Even though Angelina is actually ''stronger'', at least with her secret weapon, but her soft-spoken nature is intentional to use his pride against him. Note that Mike discussed the pitfalls of pride with her in the first book.]]

* CrazyPrepared: Cassandra playing an exceptionally long game that eludes to the title. Part Two is basically just her implied plan from Part One playing out. [[spoiler:Also Angelina and Jeremiah when facing Sarmat. He's well-established as both powerful and malicious, but they have ''several'' tricks up their sleeves.]]

* CrazyPrepared: Cassandra playing an exceptionally long game that eludes to the title. Part Two is basically just her implied plan from Part One playing out.

* IntrovertedCatPerson: Mike. This along with guitar playing is CreatorThumbprint.

* MauveShirt: [[spoiler:Newland is the only named member of the Special Forces escort, and the only one to survive, albeit wounded. He's promoted to a GoldShirt General by Part Two.]]

* ImpliedDeathThreat: [[spoiler:Whereas Sarmat outright says he'll decapitate Angelina, when they actually meet, she tries to engage in small talk by asking about movies, dropping Film/JurassicPark and its appeal of "''biting'' smarmy lawyers" (law being one of Sarmat's previous professions). Moments later . . .]]

* AscendedExtra: [[spoiler:Angelina was a side character in the first book, and barely mentioned in Part One in this one, but then becomes the main character of Part Two.]]

* RedEyesTakeWarning: The glowing, yellowed eyes of the infinite gradually get redder as they grow more powerful. [[spoiler:Sarmat's popping open to Alpha reveal he's alive and kicking into One-Winged Angel. The trope culminates with this quality being The Reveal of Angelina's infection, just before she kicks the shit out of Sarmat, ''despite'' him going One-Wingel Angel on her.]]