Monthly Archives: May 2015

GEMINI CELL by Myke Cole – Audiobook Review

GEMINI CELL by Myke Cole and narrated By Korey Jackson is Cole’s prequel to his Shadow Ops series which is military urban fantasy.   If you relish the thought of a zombie navy seal performing a tactical assault with some superhuman feats of strength, intrigue, and a pinch of gore for added pizzazz then look no further.   And if that’s not enough Cole has cleverly camouflaged the book so you’d never suspect it’s really… a love story.17888374

I’ve listened to all the previous Shadow Ops installments so I was ready for the thick helping of military life, well explained jargon, and of course combat Cole delivers. The listener is given a window into the orderly chaos that is military service and the consequences to that service member and their loved ones.   The angle Cole takes with the book keeps the story fresh. The pace is quick and the action set pieces kept me wanting to see what was going to happen next. In fact, I listened to this in entirety in one go.

The Shadow Ops series are particularly special as the author gives us a fresh take on the modern profession of arms. It’s worth noting in GEMINI the magic is primarily on display in the form of resurrection, enhanced strength, and body morphing. You won’t see teleporting, fireballs, or accelerated entropy here although some of it is referenced.

Our primary protagonist is US Navy SEAL Jim Schweitzer. Schweitzer’s team is dispatched on an operation aboard a cargo ship where they find frozen bodies being transported for yet unknown reasons. Despite a hiccup or two the operation is a success and Schweitzer goes home to his wife and kid. During the night Schweitzer’s home is attacked and he and his family are gunned down apparently in retribution for the earlier operation. Schweitzer wakes to find his soul sharing his now decomposing body with a bloodthirsty and powerful magical spirit and together they can really kick some ass, if they can get along. I’m a fan of the pursuit of right and justice in a story so this was up my alley as Schweitzer battles the demon forced to share his resurrected corpse.

Again, GEMINI CELL is a love story in its bones. We follow Schweitzer in his journey to discover who killed both himself and his family. Unbeknownst to Schweitzer, his wife and son did not die during the attack. Schweitzer’s wife Sarah, like her husband, has a spine of steel. The Navy has told her that her husband died during the attack but she doesn’t buy it. Sarah has to work through her grief and figure out why she refuses to accept her husband’s death. There’s also a subplot involving Schweitzer’s best friend and his relationship to Sarah and her son now that Schweitzer is dead. If I had read this paragraph before picking up the audiobook I would have groaned loudly but Cole keeps things moving well enough that the action and pace didn’t suffer from the mushy-feely stuff.

Schweitzer is the apotheosis of military excellence. The man’s got fantastic physical condition, keen mind, granite integrity, and an indomitable spirit. Anyone who follows Myke Cole on twitter knows he is not-so-secretly Captain America. Cole is passionate about the military and it shines through perfectly in Schweitzer. Schweitzer is also a sufferer of PTSD and Cole gives us a glimpse how some service members are able to cope with the disease. Cole tackles the character of Sarah very well. She’s no shrinking violet which I suppose is expected since it likely takes a person of considerable mettle to tame a Navy SEAL.

Korey Jackson narrated all of the previous Shadow Ops audiobooks and his delivery is firm and voice well suited for the military tone. There are some spots where I felt the narration could have benefited from more takes or perhaps better editing but overall I appreciate his work here. Cole’s dialogue flows smoothly and there are moments of prose that are quite elegant. Cole maintains the intrigue of Schweitzer’s situation versus his family’s survival just long enough so there was no shouting at the characters to ‘get on with it’.

I enjoyed GEMINI CELL by Myke Cole. The quick action and deep love between Sarah and Schweitzer pulled the story along for a fun read. I’m ready for JAVELIN RAIN.

 

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M.R. Carey – Audiobook Review

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M.R. Carey and Narrated by Finty Williams is a horror novel with a new (to me at least) slant on the ever popular zombie apocalypse.  This time around we are met with a civilian medical research team located in a protected military outpost attempting to find a cure for the fungal pathogen responsible for the zombie outbreak.THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS

GIRL is a beautiful and touching piece with bits of horrific imagery for flair. One of our protagonist’s, the young Melanie’s desperate longing to be loved by her teacher Ms. Justineau is simply heart wrenching.  Likewise Ms. Justineau’s compassion for her class was spot on for her character. Aside from Dr. Caldwell all the characters took on real depth. Caldwell’s single-mindedness, however, is very much in character so I don’t believe this is a flaw in writing or editing.

The tale takes us on a journey from the remote outpost to Beacon, which is the major city/base for humanity in England. Along the way we see the small group wrestle with their own flaws and try to survive, pressing-on in hopes of Dr Caldwell finding a way to cure the plague. This is a tale of attempted redemption or reconciliation and I felt like a commentary on what it means to be human, and to love.

I very much liked Ms. Justineau’s character. As someone who often thinks I’m missing out by not raising a child, Justineau’s commitment to Melanie’s safety touched home. Also Ms. Justineau showed some satisfying bad-assery at times, although she did get to the point of being a flat out bully. Again, I didn’t care much for Dr. Caldwell. Her focus on finding a cure led to some pretty nasty things and I think this speaks to what it would mean to leave humanity behind while trying to save it. There are times I think her aim was simply selfish glory rather than good intentions.

I’m not a deep thinker so I bet there is lots of commentary going on here that I am overlooking. Perhaps something said about the mentality of survivalists, on display here as The Junkers, and where that could lead should the real world take that turn for the worse.

M.R. Carey’s writing came across in the narration as very fluid and natural. All the dialogue seemed on point and no filler content to speak of nor overdone world building. There were times where Dr. Caldwell sounded like a broken record and Ms. Justineau as well but again I think that speaks more towards their characters commitment to their individual causes than an oversight in editing or revision by the author.  The reader/listener is presented with some pretty ghastly sites and the overall tone of the story feels very real. Finty Williams’s clean and crisp narration lends to this well.

Overall I felt THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS was a delight. When I understood it was a zombie novel I expected a horrific-action-romp, not to *feel*. I don’t have children, and likely never will, but if I did I would want them to be like Melanie… except maybe not the whole wanting-to-eat-my-face thing.