You know what I genre I rarely ever see? Military Urban Fantasy. We have plenty of Military fiction and plenty of Military Science fiction and plenty of Military Fantasy set in the medieval past. But how many books have you seen about magic re-entering the world in the modern setting? Granted, I could be talking out my ass here. I'm not very into the military fiction genre in general. I am big into fantasy, and when Urban fantasy comes up, it's usually ordinary people that are in the forefront of that story. Hell, when the books got a spike in sales on amazon, they were classified as Military Sci-fi, to the author's chagrin.
I found these books when I made a friend that used to be in the military. He encouraged me to look at more military fiction, which the finding of the Shadow Ops series, in which all the protagonists are military soldiers.
And you know, the reason I always am weary of military stories is because I'm not all that for the glorification of militaries. I don't have a bone of patriotism in my body, and while I often feel like there is good moral dilemma's that can be explored, a lot of the time I feel it's shortchanged for the thrills of the battlefield itself. Perhaps that's an unfair assessment, because like I said, I don't read that much MF, so maybe I just have a misconception of it, but it's not a condemnation, I'm just explaining the reason why I personally haven't read as many military books.
Shadow Ops doesn't do that. It has plenty of action, sure, but the heart of the books is very personal. There are two trilogies in the series.
The one that came was published first is centered around an the dilemma of how does society deal with people with superpowers. Think X-men, except they mostly figured out what powers are and are not possible instead of the mutant gene producing anything. In their case, they decide the solution is to press them into military service, giving them essentially the choice of either working for the government or being killed or imprisoned for life in a cell no one can find. THis is done because they are unable to control their powers and are a danger to both themselves and others. It's a very grey area that the main character, Oscar Britton (who is black, for those that believe diverse presentation is important) where he discovers that his magic awakens in a forbidden school (Different types of magic are called schools, and some (The main elements of fire, water, earth, and wind) are legally allowed into military service while others (such as necromancy) are illegal due to moral questionability and destructive scale potential) and is put on the run. Books 2 and 3 gain other protagonists as they go and struggle with this moral dilemma. I think the characters are pretty good, and I think each of them has surprised me by defying the stereotype that the narrative (mostly Britton, as he's our audience surrogate, being introduced to many elements of how the Supernatural Corps work that were hidden from him until he manifested) initially fit them in. Sometimes the narrative drags a bit, the main characters make a dumb decision once or twice, but it's mostly a pretty solid story.
The main thing I actually want to criticize though might actually be a good thing. The characters move through the world mostly holding to their own plotlines, so when we come across something interesting, they might or might not explore it. Here is one spoiler example. It's minor, but for those that want to enter the series as cleanly as possible, I marked it.
And yes, I am aware of the irony of my wanting this even though I just mentioned that I didn't like it when military stories abandon the moral dilemma's for brainless action. It's natural to want epic fights, I guess, but it's probably for the best that the author focus' on the actual moral dilemma's that make the series as interesting as it is for me.
The second trilogy is a prequel to the first, but includes none of the characters or story arcs the first main trilogy. It's a second entry point, and you could easily read it without reading the first trilogy and not miss a thing other than the occasional reference that doesn't really matter. While Magic in the first has existed long enough for society of have established laws around them in the first trilogy, in this second one, magic is new and secret military intelligence is aware of it as of now, with the general public unaware of it's existence. I feel this is almost the better entry point, as the readers discover the magic along with the protagonist, though things are by no means confusing in the first trilogy.
It's hard to talk about the premise without giving away some early spoilers, which some might not mind, but I'll spoil it just in case. The main protagonist is Jim Schweitzer and
And I think he's the best character the author has written so far. He's far more likable and personable, maintaining a relatively upbeat attitude (not overly so, but more than any of the protagonists of the first trilogy) even though life's recreational activity seems to be to shit on him from the fucking sky. He's a different flavor of soldier from the previous protagonists, who questioned even their roles in the military. He does that too, but not in the same way, not in the slightest being ashamed of his role as a killer of terrorists, while never seeming psychopathic about it. He's in fact very empathetic, thoughtful, and compassionate. You might notice that I am talking much more about the main characters actual character here than the plot premise. That's what I feel separates these main two trilogies. Where the first trilogy is mainly focused on the societal problem of dealing with the resurrection of magic, this is felt far more like a character drama. That's an oversimplification, as both trilogies have both elements, but one leans more on one, and the other leans more on the other. And with this, the main point of tension is Jim's personal happiness as he keeps encountering situations that challenge his morals, identity, and safety, and it works very well.
However, while I can safely recommend the whole trilogy of the first series, I can only recommend the first book of this new one, since I've only read the first book. The second book just came out today. But I feel the author has been on a relatively steady incline in quality. I actually like the first book of the Oscar Britton trilogy the most, but most other people seem to like the second the most, and I think everyone feels the third is a relatively good conclusion. But I feel that Gemini Cell was his best of all, and I'll update this thread once I finish the new one, which I have high hopes for.
I found these books when I made a friend that used to be in the military. He encouraged me to look at more military fiction, which the finding of the Shadow Ops series, in which all the protagonists are military soldiers.
And you know, the reason I always am weary of military stories is because I'm not all that for the glorification of militaries. I don't have a bone of patriotism in my body, and while I often feel like there is good moral dilemma's that can be explored, a lot of the time I feel it's shortchanged for the thrills of the battlefield itself. Perhaps that's an unfair assessment, because like I said, I don't read that much MF, so maybe I just have a misconception of it, but it's not a condemnation, I'm just explaining the reason why I personally haven't read as many military books.
Shadow Ops doesn't do that. It has plenty of action, sure, but the heart of the books is very personal. There are two trilogies in the series.
The one that came was published first is centered around an the dilemma of how does society deal with people with superpowers. Think X-men, except they mostly figured out what powers are and are not possible instead of the mutant gene producing anything. In their case, they decide the solution is to press them into military service, giving them essentially the choice of either working for the government or being killed or imprisoned for life in a cell no one can find. THis is done because they are unable to control their powers and are a danger to both themselves and others. It's a very grey area that the main character, Oscar Britton (who is black, for those that believe diverse presentation is important) where he discovers that his magic awakens in a forbidden school (Different types of magic are called schools, and some (The main elements of fire, water, earth, and wind) are legally allowed into military service while others (such as necromancy) are illegal due to moral questionability and destructive scale potential) and is put on the run. Books 2 and 3 gain other protagonists as they go and struggle with this moral dilemma. I think the characters are pretty good, and I think each of them has surprised me by defying the stereotype that the narrative (mostly Britton, as he's our audience surrogate, being introduced to many elements of how the Supernatural Corps work that were hidden from him until he manifested) initially fit them in. Sometimes the narrative drags a bit, the main characters make a dumb decision once or twice, but it's mostly a pretty solid story.
The main thing I actually want to criticize though might actually be a good thing. The characters move through the world mostly holding to their own plotlines, so when we come across something interesting, they might or might not explore it. Here is one spoiler example. It's minor, but for those that want to enter the series as cleanly as possible, I marked it.
There is another dimension in the series called the Source, where all sorts of supernatural creatures (both animals and civilizations) lie. My main desire is to have that area explored, and while the characters do that when it's pertinent to their journey, they don't go further than that. Given the militaristic narrative, I'd have thought that World War III (Or Dimensional War I might be the more appropriate term) is like the most natural end point of this kind of series, which would be one epic campaign...but it never happens and there isn't any indication it's going there. And probably for the better, as there isn't as much human drama in the politics between humanity and this other dimension and I feel it would devolve into a generic alien invasion story.
The second trilogy is a prequel to the first, but includes none of the characters or story arcs the first main trilogy. It's a second entry point, and you could easily read it without reading the first trilogy and not miss a thing other than the occasional reference that doesn't really matter. While Magic in the first has existed long enough for society of have established laws around them in the first trilogy, in this second one, magic is new and secret military intelligence is aware of it as of now, with the general public unaware of it's existence. I feel this is almost the better entry point, as the readers discover the magic along with the protagonist, though things are by no means confusing in the first trilogy.
It's hard to talk about the premise without giving away some early spoilers, which some might not mind, but I'll spoil it just in case. The main protagonist is Jim Schweitzer and
he dies in the first few chapters, before coming back as a zombie from a necromancer. He still has his own intelligence, but he has to share his body with a bloodthirsty jinn, and the only life left to him is to serve in Gemini Cell, a black ops unit that makes use of zombies like him because they're basically super soldiers.
However, while I can safely recommend the whole trilogy of the first series, I can only recommend the first book of this new one, since I've only read the first book. The second book just came out today. But I feel the author has been on a relatively steady incline in quality. I actually like the first book of the Oscar Britton trilogy the most, but most other people seem to like the second the most, and I think everyone feels the third is a relatively good conclusion. But I feel that Gemini Cell was his best of all, and I'll update this thread once I finish the new one, which I have high hopes for.