Gemini Cell

Reawakening Trilogy #1

by Myke Cole

Gemini Cell takes place in the SHADOW OPS universe, but is a prequel, taking place many years before the events in CONTROL POINT.

Myke Cole continues to blow the military fantasy genre wide open with an all-new epic adventure in his highly acclaimed Shadow Ops universe—set in the early days of the Great Reawakening, when magic first returns to the world and order begins to unravel…

US Navy SEAL Jim Schweitzer is a consummate professional, a fierce warrior, and a hard man to kill. But when he sees something he was never meant to see on a covert mission gone bad, he finds himself—and his family—in the crosshairs. Nothing means more to Jim than protecting his loved ones, but when the enemy brings the battle to his front door, he is overwhelmed and taken down.

It should be the end of the story. But Jim is raised from the dead by a sorcerer and recruited by a top secret unit dabbling in the occult, known only as the Gemini Cell. With powers he doesn’t understand, Jim is called back to duty—as the ultimate warrior. As he wrestles with a literal inner demon, Jim realizes his new superiors are determined to use him for their own ends and keep him in the dark—especially about the fates of his wife and son…

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Military Fiction, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Magic

402 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 27, 2015

About the author

As a security contractor, government civilian and military officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from Counterterrorism to Cyber Warfare to Federal Law Enforcement. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. After hunting terrorists and criminals in real life, he kept up the job on TV, first tracking fugitives on CBS’ 2017 show Hunted, and UFOs on Discovery Channel’s 2019 show Contact.

All that conflict can wear a guy out. Thank goodness for fantasy novels, comic books, late night games of Dungeons and Dragons and lots of angst fueled writing.

Reviews

[Mark Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myke Cole's a nice guy but with one huge character flaw ... the thing I really hate about him is the way each book he writes is better than the last by a fair margin. That kind of thing gets really irritating by book #4.

Anyway. This book is set before his Shadow Ops trilogy at a time when magic is just starting to creep into the world and very few people know about it.

As in the previous books our protagonist is a military man. In this case the most hardcore to date, being a special ops guy. The expectation perhaps, being that our hero is a hard case bristling with weaponry and there's kick-ass magic waiting in the wings, is that this will be a shallow adrenaline-filled explode-'em up. And it's true, a lot of weaponry is discharged and cars are tossed left and right with super-powers. Not for nothing did Peter V Brett invoke the combination of Black Hawk Down and X-Men when describing the earlier books.

_However_ putting aside all the adrenaline-filled exploding ... Myke Cole writes great characters, he catches the subtleties of relationships and brings his people to life in a way that really makes you care if the burning engine fragments hit them or not. Seriously, you could subtract the chaos and have a good story just about people here.

The combination is compelling stuff.

There's no requirement to read the earlier books first. Start here no problem. You'll want to read them after but you'll miss nothing - it's a wholly self contained start to something new.

Sex, violence, feels, good writing ... it's all here. Read it.


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[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a neat trick and no bones or grafted body parts about it: Cole's writing is improving by leaps and bounds with each book.

The novel starts with a lot of great gory action perfect for all you special-forces fans with a hankering for a huge kill-count. I'll be honest, however. It took a while before the strange finally kicked in and before we got the magic, the jinn, the undead, and all sorts of nasty feral flesh crafting, but it was quite worth it.

Don't assume this is a normal UF, though, it's Fantasy-Military fiction, and our main character has ALL of these little elements within just little old him. :)

More than all the other novels that Cole has written, this one is the most character-driven, focusing more on family and his relationship with his wife, and also there's a lot of PoV from her, too. There's a lot of buildup, discovery, confusion, and development. I might say, firmly, that this is the novel's main strength. Or maybe that strength is tied with all the gory goodness that goes on between all the character developments. :)

This can be considered a distant prequel to his other novels, all early days of magic and full of deep-cover ops... preferably head wraps to hide the cadaver stare, actually. :)

Quite good. Quite fun. Still popcorn fiction, but there's a definite trend toward deeper goodness going on here. This time we've got some VERY interesting PTSD. :)

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

So it's pretty well known in the SF community that Myke Cole and I have been friends for a long time. We met in high school back in 1990, which is... shit. 25 years ago now.

Wow. I feel old.

Myke and I have a long and sordid history including Dungeons & Dragons, head-shaving and podcasts.

We also have a long history of creative support. I say with all honesty that I would likely not be a professional author without the countless hours of soundboarding, encouragement and advice he has given me. Even Skull Throne, my upcoming Demon Cycle novel, has a few distinct Cole fingerprints on it.

I say this for full disclosure of bias, but this does not change the fact I speak honest word when I tell you that GEMINI CELL IS ON SALE TODAY AND YOU SHOULD TOTALLY BUY IT BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME.

While technically set in Cole's Shadow Ops universe, Gemini Cell tales place many years before the other books, when the return of magic to our world is in its infancy and the rules are different. It's a great place for readers who have never tried Cole before to jump on without any need for knowledge of the other books.

For those who have read Myke's books before, don't think for a moment you've seen all his tricks. Myke is one of the rare authors out there who gets better with each successive novel, even while maintaining the book-a-year schedule I have always felt was out of my reach. There is no harder working author out there, and Myke deserves every success.

Like his other books, Gemini Cell has muscle-clenching action scenes influenced in no small part by Cole's real-life military combat experience, but also a deep exploration of character, giving us a warrior whose love for his family and country transcend even death.

Urban fantasy. Military SF. Zombie Romance. Black Hawk Down Meets the X-Men. Call it what you will, Gemini Cell is a waterslide of awesome that pulls you down fast and ends with a splash.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Myke Cole's best book to date, and it's really not close. He's improving by leaps and bounds with each novel. For those of you who haven't tried him yet, this is a great place to start.

It's set ostensibly in the same world as his previous novels, but you wouldn't really know it. It feels like a whole new series, with a whole new set of characters. There's a fantastic romance to the novel, and a boat load of pulse pounding action.

Honestly, if you've been thinking about reading Myke Cole, do yourself a favor and make it this one.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Reawakening--the rebirth of magic in the modern world--has begun, but the world is still pushing the snooze button.

Jim Schweitzer has his feet planted in the nonmagical world. He has a nice home, a four-year-old son, and a wife whose art career is beginning to blossom. He also kills people. Professionally. But when an assignment goes terribly wrong, Schweitzer’s life takes a turn for the weird. Suddenly, he finds himself in a world where death is no longer the end and where magic is a contagion that the U.S. government is determined to stop.

In general, I’m not particularly fond of prequels. They tend to tell a story whose outlines have already been sketched in the “real” book, and most of the suspense is killed by the author’s need to paint within the lines, both in terms of plot and characters. However, Gemini Cell is definitely an exception. It takes place long before the events of Shadow Ops, Cole's other series in the same world. While Schweitzer runs into Shadow Ops magics such as Renders, Cole also introduces jinns: human spirits that can reanimate corpses and co-inhabit with the original soul. Gemini Cell takes place during the birth of the Supernatural Operations Corps, before magic is acknowledged, before the terms of “Latents” and “Probes” and “Selfers” have come into usage. But at the same time, elements of the future are present. From the government’s initial reaction to magic, the writing is on the wall. The big question of the Shadow Ops series is the balance between freedom and security, and that struggle begins in Gemini Cell.

I originally became interested in Cole after reading his blog post on PTSD. This is, finally, the PTSD book. Several of the characters go through traumatic experiences that leave them hypervigilant, unable to find safety or reassurance in the world they find themselves thrown back into. There are also several beautiful descriptions of loss from characters consumed by grief:

“She’d stopped going to the gym, whiled away the hours in front of her laptop, scanning emails she couldn’t bring herself to answer, watching her social media scroll by, a flowing current of a world that kept on turning as if nothing had happened, as if her life hadn’t been suddenly snatched away from her, crumbled into a lumpen ball, and handed back with a note attached that read, FIGURE THIS OUT. GOOD LUCK!”

Characterization in Gemini Cell is much stronger than in any of the Shadow Ops books. Sarah, Schweitzer’s wife, is the most rounded and interesting female character that Cole has written thus far. At the same time, Gemini Cell kicks the graphic imagery and violence up about ten clicks. The horrific scenes were intensified by Schweitzer’s own nature. I couldn’t come to grips with the idea of a man seeing killing as a job or an art form, and found his belief that passionless professionalism somehow made his role more acceptable to be profoundly disturbing. Yet although he has the same worryingly rock-hard moral certainty as Cole’s other protagonist, Oscar Britton, I found him more likeable, even though I wasn’t sure I actually wanted to like him.

Schweitzer thinks of himself as a warrior, a “paladin” whose wars are “sanctified.” Although it isn’t really explored in this book, I strongly suspect that later books will examine and challenge who is doing the sanctification, and how noble their motives really are. Schweitzer sees his cause as righteous, but he is also driven by a deep-seated desire to be special, someone his wife can admire and his son can look up to. As Schweitzer’s world is turned on its end, even he begins to wonder about his own nature. He is a weapon, but is he merely a tool, or something more? He fixes even more firmly upon his identity as a “warrior” and an artist of death:

“It was in the killing that the SEAL distinguished himself from the enemy. Schweitzer killed with a professional’s precision, a cold calculation made holy by its service to his country’s cause. It was what made him an artist instead of a thug.”

Personally, I don’t understand why “professionalism” somehow improves the “killing” bit. How does killing efficiently make him less of a killer? A trigger man? A murderer? Schweitzer’s definitions of “right” and “wrong” are certainly not mine, but that made the book all the more interesting to read. One of the things I like about Cole is the unreliability of the third-person narrators. Even if Schweitzer is currently assured in his own righteousness, that won’t stop the rest of the series from turning his beliefs upside down. This is hinted at in one of my favourite scenes:

“Why do you call them bad guys?” she’d asked.
“Because they’re bad.” [...]
“Do you really believe that?”
“Sure. Sometimes. No. It doesn’t matter. We have to think that.”
“Why?” He felt her head shift, knew she was looking at him now.
“Because you can’t do the job if you’re thinking about their mothers, or their kids. You’ll choke up. You’ll get yourself killed. You’ll get your teammates killed.”
“I don’t believe in bad guys.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t think there’s such a thing as evil. Some people are crazy. Others are terrified. Others are stupid or too proud to reverse what they know is a bad course. Nobody’s evil. Not in a mustache-twirling way.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter.”
“No, sweetheart. It doesn’t. The scalpel isn’t the hand that moves it. You can’t be both the hand and the blade, Sarah. That’s how you get juntas. I don’t worry about the nature of evil. There are no good guys or bad guys. There’s only alive or dead. Mission objectives accomplished or failed.”

If you're interested in trying Myke Cole and looking for a place to start, then Gemini Cell is the book for you. While it contains much more graphic violence than any other book so far, I think it also is a stronger novel than the start of the Shadow Ops series. I found Schweitzer's predicament to be especially interesting in light of the events of Shadow Ops, but I also think the book stands on its own, without any dependencies on other works.The story weaves in elements of thriller, fantasy, and even romance, and ties it together with some troubling questions about our world and our system. I can't wait to see where it goes next.

**Note: this review is of an uncorrected advanced reader copy. While the included quotes may not reflect the final phrasing, I believe they speak to the nature of the novel as a whole.**

Excerpted from my review on BookLikes, which contains additional quotes and spoilers that I was too lazy to copy over.

~~I received this ebook from the publisher, Penguin, in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!~~

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Review: http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.c....

Myke Cole continues to blow the military fantasy genre wide open with an all-new epic adventure in his highly acclaimed Shadow Ops universe—set in the early days of the Great Reawakening, when magic first returns to the world and order begins to unravel…

US Navy SEAL Jim Schweitzer is a consummate professional, a fierce warrior, and a hard man to kill. But when he sees something he was never meant to see on a covert mission gone bad, he finds himself—and his family—in the crosshairs. Nothing means more to Jim than protecting his loved ones, but when the enemy brings the battle to his front door, he is overwhelmed and taken down.

It should be the end of the story. But Jim is raised from the dead by a sorcerer and recruited by a top secret unit dabbling in the occult, known only as the Gemini Cell. With powers he doesn’t understand, Jim is called back to duty—as the ultimate warrior. As he wrestles with a literal inner demon, Jim realizes his new superiors are determined to use him for their own ends and keep him in the dark—especially about the fates of his wife and son…

Myke Cole’s Shadow Ops trilogy was one of my favourites of the last few years and had an excellent finale that really worked. The combination of military and urban fantasy in a modern day setting and the exploration of a variety of interesting, compelling characters really worked and established Cole as an author to watch for sure. Control Point, Fortress Frontier and Breach Zone were excellent novels and even though Gemini Cell may not feature the same characters and take place a few years before the main story, I was hooked from the get go once again, with Cole knocking it out of the park.

I’d like to kick off this review by bringing your attention to the cover. It looks awesome, doesn’t it? Myke Cole’s UK Covers have always been excellent but personally, for me, Gemini Cell is the strongest looking one yet and it just really gives that extra awesome feel to the book that screams “read me now”. So naturally, when I brought this book to read during the last week which I spent mostly in Spain, It didn’t take me long to get stuck in and once I did I couldn’t put it down. It’s just that good, and if you’ve enjoyed the previous novels, then you’ll certainly find that Gemini Cell will once more be something that you should really enjoy.

With the early days of the Great Reawakening used as a backdrop, Cole introduces us to US Navy Seal Jim Schweitzer. He’s a family man, and good at his job. Against normal threats, he’s hard to kill. However, when he sees something that he shouldn’t on a mission, he’s brought down and killed. Now, normally, that would be the end for Jim, however, he’s brought back, resurrected by a sorcerer and recruited for a top secret unit specialised for dealing with occult problems, called Gemini Cell. Nobody can know that they exist. However, as Jim soon discovers, his own superiors aren’t exactly the most trustworthy people on the planet, making things a lot more complicated than they were originally.

If you’ve never tried Cole’s novels before, you can jump on here and feel right at home. The rules of magic aren’t quite the same as what they would be further down the line, and all the characters are different as well, so you won’t be lost with overarching continuity, with the characters featured here being just as new to someone who will have read all of Cole’s books as they will be to someone trying his work for the first time. It makes the book feel fresh and exciting, an also allows for unpredictability, which isn’t really the case with prequels that feature the characters that you already know and love.

Once again, Black Hawk Down meets the X-Men is a more than appropriate comparison used to describe Cole’s work. If you like those two, then chances are, much like with the other books, you’ll love this. There's enough here to make it feel both as though it's set in the same universe but also can stand on its own as an individual work, and as a result there's no reason why anybody who loved the first trilogy should be put off by this latest offering.

The character development is paid as much attention to as the action and this is great to see, with Jim Schweitzer really being a character that gets fleshed out well. It’s interesting to see what happens to him when he gets thrown out of his depth and he works as a pretty compelling character for readers to follow over the course of the book.

Gemini Cell is another winner from Cole and serves as a successful prequel that doesn’t disappoint. I never did make a ‘most anticipated’ list for 2015 but this title would most certainly be near the top. And because it turned out to be as good as it was, Gemini Cell is probably going to end up at the top when that list turns into a ‘best of’ 2015 as well.


VERDICT: 9/10

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Executive Summary: This one wasn't quite as good as I was hoping, but good enough that I'll continue on with the series later this year before the third book is released.

Audiobook: Korey Jackson does another great job with the audio. This series is the only thing I've heard him narrate, but he's got a great voice for military fiction.

Full Review
I'm in the middle of like 20+ series. I enjoyed the original trilogy of this series, but I wasn't exactly itching to jump into the prequel series. I decided I'd wait a bit until this new trilogy was closer to completion.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I'd hoped. It's not a bad book, but after his last two books, my hopes were a bit higher. I probably liked it more than Control Point, but I found it a tough listen and slow going at times.

I'll start with the positives: I found Jim Schweitzer far more likable from the start than Oscar Britton. The other new characters, especially his wife were all pretty good as well. I also think the quality of Mr. Cole's writing has improved with every book. Additionally I really like the world that he has created.

That said, I was pretty bored for awhile. The struggle between Schweitzer and the Jinn was, well tedious. The book felt like a lot of setup. I think he wanted to make this book an entry point for new readers, and not just a prequel for those of us who read the original trilogy.

I'm tired of comic book movies constantly doing origin stories, and I think some of that carries over here. I already knew a lot of the details of the world. I would have liked to see Schweitzer interact with the world more, and learn more of the backstory of the conflicts of the original trilogy rather than so much time being spent on Schweitzer's own particular struggles.

I thought the ending was much stronger than the rest of the book, and it gives me hope that I'll enjoy Javelin Rain more than this one, much I like I did with Fortress Frontier.

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

What was I thinking? For some reason I thought I'd like this & yet it was exactly the kind of macho garbage I detest & I know I detest it. At least they didn't give a paragraph description of every weapon, but otherwise it was pretty typical of the subgenre.

[Timothy Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Myke Cole is famous for writing military fantasy, focusing on magically enhanced soldiers in modern day. I love just about everything about what he did with this book. The main focus is on a Navy Seal and his inner battle between doing the job he is best at and being the husband and father who can enjoy his family and not put them at risk. As far as that emotional battle goes, Myke completely nailed it. It was hard to keep reading at times because it was so painful to endure the main character's heart struggle. That also meant I had to finish the story, though, so that's a good thing. I'm a little confused about the ending, but this is only the first book in the series so maybe the last page will be explained more in the next book.

The next thing Myke did well was taking the magical supersoldier idea, adding the jinn twist, which is something I've yet to see as a magic based system, and then really drive the power/weakness battle. At times it felt a little much when the character was stuck in prison or even out on the field, the back and forth became a little tiring. The action became a little tiring as well, but in the end Myke did well resolving the back and forth with a surprise.

Great read that only gets knocked from a five to a four star because of the scenes where the action and jinn back and forth went on for a little too long. The main heart of the story is the main character and his family, and because he's not with them for most of the middle-to-end, I had a chunk that I had to push through to get to the resolution. Other than that, many elements in this story are top notch and therefore makes this a high recommendation.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a review of an advanced copy which may differ from the final version of the book.

I give this book five stars for the extent I relate to it and how it personally affects me, four stars on a purely objective evaluation.

This is a prequel to Myke Cole's SHADOW OPS series. It takes place years before the events of the first book of the aforementioned series. This is a perfectly fine –perhaps even ideal-- introduction to Mr. Cole's works. The understanding and appreciation of this series is not dependent on having read the first series – SHADOW OPS. In some ways, beginning with this book may be a better progression. GEMINI CELL is a kind of origin story of the Supernatural Corps, the prominent group in Mr. Cole's SHADOW OPS series. This prequel details the beginnings of the United States' attempt to rein in and inject organization into the magical chaos that randomly manifested in society.

Jim Schweitzer was a Navy Seal, an elite among elites. He was skillful, competent, a leader. He is proud of and loves being part of military aristocracy, almost as much as his love of, and pride in, being a husband and father. While on a mission, he stumbles upon a well-guarded secret, becomes a target for elimination, and is overpowered and defeated.

When he comes to, he does so in the tattered remnants of his physical body, sharing a consciousness with a foreign spirit, both of them plucked from oblivion and conjoined by a sorcerer. Amid all this confusion, Jim is once again called into service by his country as part of the ultra-secret Gemini Cell, an undead army of sorts. The resultant fused and resurrected being is fiercely powerful and Jim must relearn the capabilities and limits of his own body. He must further grapple with the other spirit inhabiting his corporeal being as well as with some problematic demands and orders of his new superiors.

It is difficult not to be intrigued by the magic surrounding the unusual triumvirate of sorcerer, spirit and soldier, an inherently problematic yet seemingly symbiotic relationship. A new world is emerging suffused with magic nobody yet understands much less control. Yet magic is power and power will always be sought after and fought for. It is certainly at the top of the wish list of the U.S. Government.

GEMINI CELL is unquestionably Myke Cole's most polished work to date, by a considerable margin. The characters are more diverse and complex-- alternatingly sympathetic, frustrating and deplorable, but all parts fascinating, not the least of which for their monumental miscalculations, erroneous judgment, and failures. It is worth noting that Jim Schweitzer is married to what is described as a singular, formidable woman. I must reserve judgment here, however, as for about three-quarters of the book, this was more of a tell rather than show introduction. I hope to be regaled by the specifics of Sarah's unique brand of tough in the next installments.

Cole shows no qualms placing any of the characters in jeopardy, often of the potentially fatal kind. It is a fearlessness echoed throughout the book. You cannot be other than dauntless when attempting to demystify the inner workings of the military. Myke Cole succeeds in a curious thing-- the humanization of a soldier. He does this by giving equal attention to all other things a soldier may be-- son, father, husband, friend, man. An ordinary person's perception of the military is largely informed by the media which portrays it as a juggernaut subsuming individuals into its overarching superstructure. Training is intended to render response rote and reflexive, hierarchy is primordial, and obedience to orders is non-negotiable. While service is the underlying consideration, the most immediate objective of a deployed soldier is to survive: "It was better to be judged by twelve than carried by eight." Or this more extensive explanation:

“ xxx The scalpel isn't the hand that moves it. You can't be both the hand and the blade, Sarah. That's how you get juntas. I don't worry about the nature of evil. There are no good guys or bad guys. There's only alive or dead. Mission objectives accomplished or failed.”

Yet the instinct for survival exists side by side with the desire to protect those one serves with and it is not uncommon for one's individual moral parameters to be at odds with operational directives he is given. Philosophy has the luxury of examining morality in a vacuum. Combat does not enjoy the same luxury. The portrait of the exigencies of war is almost totally awash in grey. Yet through it all, the individual strives to assert itself: “It is the very last inch of us, she said of integrity, but within that inch we are free.”

Once again, Cole delves into the clash between individual rights and the governmental assertion of the common good. Analyzed in isolation, each side is rational and defensible; their interaction in the same space, however, will always be fraught with complications. There are definite instances when they are mutually exclusive and one or the other must prevail. What is admirable is the balance Cole achieves in presenting the different sides to this dilemma. There is no transparent agenda or endorsement of any particular point of view. In the examination of the fictional characters' differing positions, however, a reader is spurred to thought that may lead to the development of his or her own personal stance.

GEMINi CELL also deals with trauma from different sources-- loss, injury, violence. Symptoms, reactions, responses are varied and unpredictable, gripping fear the only constant. Trauma is singular and distinct, resisting comparison, and forever changes a person.

For the following lines alone, GEMINI CELL will always stand out for me:

“This was the thing about religious types she hated so much. They never missed a chance to proselytize. No tragedy was sacred, no setback off-limits. They would solemnly enter your private space, regal and pompous as crows, full of righteous self-importance. Then, when she was at her weakest, they would tell her why the unacceptable was acceptable, why it was okay that she'd lost the love of her life because an invisible man in the sky (and it was always a man, wasn't it?) had willed it.”

The above-cited lines are so insightful and fearless. It describes with a sharpshooter's accuracy the ultimate loneliness of grief and the almost wholesale ineffectiveness of attempts at comfort, particularly those consisting of religious platitudes. This is an amazingly insightful observation about the ritual of consolation-- how it often forgets that loss and grief ought to be about the griever not the consoler, how cliches and pro-forma condolences provide the very opposite of comfort, how it is perhaps better to remain silent than to say the absolute wrong thing.

I have not forgotten the action. In a way, I always assume that a Myke Cole book would have a considerable amount of action and GEMINI CELL is no exception. It bears noting, however, that this book more seamlessly integrates other sub-genres into Cole's trademark military fantasy-- science fiction, mystery, romance.

GEMINI CELL feels novel and fresh and trumpets the start of another must-read series by Myke Cole. To paraphrase a character in the book: this is something new. The fun--and the reward-- lies in discovering how. But don't tell Mr. Cole-- he abhors fun.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zombie macho testosterone soldiers. Not what I expected. The action sequences are pretty good, but it's just unrelentingly macho.

[Jon Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting. I'm not sure how to classify this except Military/SF/Fantasy Fiction. It's unlike anything I've read and I loved it.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 3 out of 5]

I starting this out with kind of a meh feeling, which is sad because I do appreciate the author and enjoyed Control Point. I do think it's a good idea to start a story in the middle of the action, but not having context left me a bit confused. I wasn't seeing the paranormal angle, and the way it's revealed is not that intriguing. By and large, I spent more time than I would like feeling that this book wasn't to my taste. That sounds harsh, but as I said, I did expect more from the story based on the first book. Frankly, I think that this story needed more meat on its bones than it had. It has some interesting concepts, but they just needed more developement. However, I found myself drawn into emotional journey of the main character, Navy SEAL Jim Schweitzer. That's really what compelled me to keep reading even when I was tempted to abandon this book.

It's a terrible situation for Schweitzer. His character is well-developed, which I appreciated. While I think he could have showed more emotional range, overall, his viewpoint kept me interested in the story. The reader is able to journey along with him as he evolves through some very harrowing and disturbing circumstances. I am obviously not in the military and have not lived that life, but I believe a theme of this novel is how men are made into monsters and killing machines for the sake of fighting wars and conflicts (for various reasons). They lose a part of themselves because it becomes about being efficient and technically proficient (dealing the maximum, surgical damage) instead of dealing with the reality of what they do everyday. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with fighting and serving in the military for your country, but servicepeople also should be allowed to process and emotionally/mentally engage with what their job means. Schweitzer struggles deeply with the duality of his identity as a special forces operator and a husband and father, well aware that he has not succeeded equally in both roles, and often puts his family duties aside. This a point of contention in his marriage that he and his wife are unable to resolve before the inciting event for this novel occurs and changes everything.

By and large, my biggest issue with this book was the underbaked secondary characters. Many felt very disposable and like mere plot devices. For Schweitzer's wife to be so imporant to him, Sarah was disappointing in her development, and she was a source of frustration far too long into the book. Unlike Schweitzer, I didn't find her POV that interesting. To me, she read as a paperthin proxy of a "strong woman", but she does grow over the course of the book. However, by the end, I found myself rooting for her.

I feel that the concept of being part of a team is touched on, The other team members feel surface deep, with the except of Steven Chang. It was disapppointing that the others in his team are barely developed. I was irritated at the treatment of Schweitzer's friend, Steve. I actually felt more attached to him than Sarah. He had some flaws to his personality, but was also compelling. He's made out to be a much more important character with his own hero's journey to undertake, but ultimately, it was pretty anti-climactic. What was the entire point of all that?

It was an interesting spin on the subject matter of, shall we say, reanimation, and "jinn". The idea of having to share your body and consciousness with a monster is terrifying. That part was handled well, how Jim has to come to terms with it, and is able to overcome in that situation. There's a lot of violence in this book, but it is handled with care, not gratuitously or relishing in the gore. While something put me off about the writing in the opening scene, I would say that violence is important to the story. It acts as an impetus for many events in this admittedly thoughtful exploration of the line between man and monster.

Betrayal is a common theme, as well as sacrifice. Schweitzer puts a large focus on his sense of self as an elite operator, which is a point of contention in his marriage. I wish that this was handled better, to be honest. While I can't imagine how it is being married to an special forces operator, I think there could have been more on page dialogue and interaction between Schweitzer and Sarah exploring why that was such a big part of his personality and how that was something that had to be understood by Sarah as his spouse. And her frustrations needed to be aired as well with Jim. As we fall in love with people, we have to love all of them and embrace who they are in totality, and work through those issues that arise. Maybe that will happen more in the next books.

So will I continue this series? Yes, I'd like to follow the story and see where it goes. I listened to the audiobook and I did like the narrator. So I'd listen to the other books as well. But #JusticeForSteve!

[Kelly]

The movie Lone Survivor was my introduction to what a U.S. Navy SEAL is. Before then, I had a vague idea they were something like Marines in wetsuits. I realise I’m denting my own credibility here, but not all of us know everything there is to know about every branch of the military and there is so much misinformation out there in fiction and movies. The film begins with a look at the training a SEAL must go through in order to get their pin. It’s…insane. It really is. The rest of the film clearly demonstrates why that insanity is necessary, however, and these were the men I had in my head when I picked up Gemini Cell by Myke Cole.

Jim Schweitzer is a Navy SEAL. When a mission goes south, he doesn’t just duck and cover. He pushes through to complete his objective, regardless of the cost – which could have been the life of his best friend and brother in the SEALs – all for a container of dead bodies that get torn up in the crossfire. Questions follow him home where his wife makes it clear she’s less than supportive of his career. He’s always gone and could be gone again, anytime. All it would take is a phone call.

When the mission follows Schweitzer home, the consequences are dire. In an attempt to protect his family, he is cut down in a scene that is so brutal, I actually held my breath while reading. But that’s not the end of the story. Having already read the first three novels of Myke Cole’s Shadow Ops series I already knew there was magic in this world. Gemini Cell serves as a prequel, so I was expecting Schweitzer’s death to be short-lived. It is. Returned to his reanimated body by a sorcerer, Schweitzer begins his second ‘life’ with a neighbour, a jinn who will share his skin. Ninip is the soul of an ancient warrior that has been plucked from the void. Together, they will control Schweitzer’s patched up body. Together, they will continue to serve their country as a new type of soldier, as part of the experimental program known as the Gemini Cell.

Schweitzer soon proves that the tenacity that earned him his SEAL pin is what separates him from the other operators in the Cell. His battle for dominance of his body continues long after others have succumbed to the power of the jinn tethering them to not-death. These other operators end up properly dead or caged, used like rabid dogs on missions where subtlety is unnecessary. Schweitzer’s battle isn’t only physical, however. He and Ninip clash intellectually over what it is to be a soldier and a warrior. Their ideas on honour differ, as does their take on operational procedure. This facet of the book: Schweitzer’s examination of self and the comparison between a warrior of old and a modern soldier, a modern army, is deeply thoughtful and delightfully chewy. In a book of extremes, the battle between life and death, love and honour, this is the middle ground. What ties it all together and makes the mission, any mission, worthwhile.

There is plenty of action, though. Schweitzer is sent on missions as mysterious as the one that got him killed and each provides a clue to the puzzle of his existence and the tragedy that befell his family. But it’s the information he doesn’t have that will force him to take control of his not-death.

Myke Cole’s books are an intriguing mix of fantasy and military fiction. They read like science fiction set on an alternate version of our planet where magic is flowing back into the world. There are several things to love about this setting. One is the magic, itself. This isn’t a quasi-medieval world where magic replaces science. This is a world like ours, where any of us might wake up one day only to discover we can set fire to the cat. Er, breakfast. What would you do with that sort of power? Cole explores this dynamic thoughtfully and realistically. I find the fact the US Military immediately creates a unit for magically endowed soldiers amusing. It’s also a rather fatalistic, yet forward-thinking view. Honestly, who knows how we would respond to spontaneous cat barbecues or actual zombies serving in the armed forces. It’s an interesting quandary and one he explores thoroughly in all the books.

It’s not all operational procedure. Each book has a good dose of action and intrigue. They’re subtitled ‘Shadow Ops’ after all. The covers are adorned with soldiers in body armour. Truth in advertising.

I also love Cole’s characters. They’re very human, despite their abilities. Flawed and prone to second-guessing themselves. Not always the best operators, but always honourable. That’s a mix I like. Finally, not all his heroes are men. In Gemini Cell, there are female Navy SEALs! One of them is chief and she’s not overly feminizsd or masculinised. She just is who she is and that’s true for all the women who feature in Cole’s books. They’re good, evil, nice, nasty, solid operators and doubting sorcerers. As a dedicated science fiction reader who just happens to be female, I appreciate the balance.

It’s tempting to say Gemini Cell is Cole’s best book so far, and it is outstanding. But Breach Zone, the third book of the Shadow Ops trilogy, is my favourite so far, probably because it was the grand finale for a great plot arc. Here, we’re just getting started. Gemini Cell is different sort of story, though and I kind of expected that. Every book Cole writes is different. We’re not being told the same story over and over or even the same story from a different point of view.

It’s obvious Myke Cole hasn’t finished exploring his world and there really is room for a lot of new angles. The story might begin with Gemini Cell, but I hope it doesn’t end here.

Written for SFCrowsnest.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

US Navy SEAL Jim Schweitzer is a consummate professional, a fierce warrior, and a hard man to kill. But when he sees something he was never meant to see on a covert mission gone bad, he finds himself—and his family—in the crosshairs. Nothing means more to Jim than protecting his loved ones, but when the enemy brings the battle to his front door, he is overwhelmed and taken down.

That should be the end of the story. But Jim is raised from the dead by a sorcerer and recruited by a top secret unit dabbling in the occult, known only as the Gemini Cell. With powers he doesn’t understand, Jim is called back to duty—as the ultimate warrior. As he wrestles with a literal inner demon, Jim realises his new superiors are determined to use him for their own ends and keep him in the dark—especially about the fates of his wife and son…


This is my first foray into the world the Myke Cole has created and despite being effectively the fourth book in the series, it serves as an excellent jumping off point for those late to the game.

In this book we see the ultimate golden boy hero get his head blown off and turned into something different. Jim’s body is reanimated and merged with the spirit of an ancient warrior of such strength and power that his soul has survived and his abilities have become close to god like. So we have the devastating willpower, controlled discipline and completely unimpeachable integrity of our protagonist combined with a fucking attack dog that knows nothing of modern technology but can literally change the body he is in to turn into a weapon. It is an interesting battle between the two and serves as much of the basis of the dialogue. The perspective is an interesting one as we also get to see those around him witness it for the first time with an excited scientist babble the is reminiscent of every stupid scientist that has ever come too close to his creation. Like the guy in Deep Blue See who gets arm bitten off by giant super intelligent shark, the idiots in Alien 4 the try to train the soldiers with liquid nitrogen and Kevin Bacon in Hollow Man you know they have it coming and you cant wait to see one get squished.

The blurb above nicely sums up the narrative and my only criticism would be is that I feel I have been here before in terms of the revenge tale structure as it certainly has hints of Darkman and Robocop. It was written as an introduction to an already well-developed world though so there are many people who have read the first three books that love the characters and the world who wanted to know how it all began and I believe this book is for them.

There is a ton to enjoy in the book, particularly the high-octane action scenes and the overall coolness of Jim Schwietzer. I loved a small scene where our internal demon showed himself standing out in front of an army shouting and daring the enemy to come at him while Jim’s response wass to show him a soldier lining him up with a sniper rifle and simply blowing his head off. It brings a quick realisation to this other world power that this human dead shot might not be as useless as he assumed.

There are a few twists and turns in the plot that really threw me for a loop and the side characters of Sarah and Steven get a nice arc that adds depth and contrast to the story in comparison to the events being dealt with by our protagonist. I’d have liked a better wrap up but hey that’s why there are sequels.

I’m going to go and read Control Point and start from there and might well find myself meandering back this way when I am done with those ones.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review.

This review and more can be found at www.areadingmachine.com

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

An action filled intense explosion of a story! Magic, SciFi, Special Forces, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Thriller, this book is skittle of everything with a lot to like.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“For the dead, war never ends.” That’s the somewhat ominous tagline on the cover of Myke Cole’s newest military fantasy novel Gemini Cell. Set in the early years of the Great Awakening, the novel shows how humanity first reacted to the sudden appearance of magical powers in random people—a process that would eventually lead to the militarization of magic as portrayed in Cole’s first three Shadow Ops novels: Control Point, Fortress Frontier, and Breach Zone.

Gemini Cell is in a sense a prequel to that trilogy. It doesn’t share any characters with the first three books, but it’s set in the same world during an earlier age, more or less setting the stage for what’s coming down in Control Point. A prequel in the L.E. Modesitt Jr. sense, maybe.

There’s two bits of good news here. First of all, if you’ve always been curious about the action-packed military fantasy Myke Cole excels at, this book is an excellent entry point to the series, as it basically requires zero knowledge of the other books. The second bit of good news: it’s also the best novel he’s written so far.

Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!

[Dyrk Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me back to my youth, reminding me of the thrill I got reading Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm series and even Ian Fleming's Bond novels, but especially The Destroyer (Created, the Destroyer) series with Remo Williams by Murphy and Sapir and Jack Higgins's thrillers like The Eagle Has Landed. Gemini Cell is a new take on the resurrected-agent theme, combining the kind of action-thriller, fantasy and sci-fi that I love. I think I'd have to call it The Destroyer meets Hellboy. In the best way, of course. I mean, soldiers and sorcerers, magic and machine guns - what's not to love?

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with the other authors who said that Myke Cole improves as a writer with each book. The prose and stylings of this novel are superior to his past books for sure, and he's clearly grown as far as writing about personal relationships and character growth.

That said, this was not my favorite of Myke's books - I enjoyed it, but I'd put it behind his trilogy as far as overall content. It felt a bit more anemic of a story than the trilogy, lacked the cool world pieces and history. The action sequences were as good as always, but his focus was so much more on the interpersonal relationships, and it ended up bogging down the story a little bit.

Overall, still very enjoyable of a book, and would be a good starting point for people new to Myke's work. I hope if people do pick this up as their first read by him, they'll follow up and read the Shadow Ops trilogy, which is excellent.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I'd picked this prequel up first, instead of Control Point I'm not sure I would have even finished it let alone read the others. It's darker, and messier (in the deaths), both making it not quite as much to my taste, but the writing itself is descriptive and - unlike many SF/F books - makes it easy to follow the author's imagination. I also suspect that part of the plot-messiness here is down to the sheer chaos of accidentally stumbling across such things in magic. I'll still read the sequel though, see where it goes.

[new_user · Rating 4 out of 5]

Military fantasy fans and action romance fans would enjoy this equally. While not plotted like a romance, the protagonist's journey largely revolves around his family, his conception of himself and his purpose. Author Myke Cole checks a lot of the boxes: elegant prose, visual, exciting action, character introspection, and admirable heroes. I also appreciate the side helpings of ethics, philosophy, etc. Also, very cool that the hero is the walking dead. Not a glamorous vamp, something much more grisly and gruesome but powerful. Who manages to be noble and romantic.

[John McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow ! Deadpool meets Frankenstein's monster meets The Incredible Hulk in action packed military fantasy! Amazing!

[Mark Lindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myke Cole presents his online persona as a completely serious, anti-fun person. He also presents himself as a very morally straight man. He’s a member of the Coast Guard (I think), and is always seen haranguing people about the importance of trigger discipline. This may have affected my expectations for his books, giving me the perception that Gemini Cell would be a straightforward military by the numbers novel, even though I had already read the first of his Shadow Ops books, Control Point, and knew it was not like that.

He happily disabused me of this notion within the first handful of pages of Gemini Cell, which starts with a bang. Several bangs, in fact, and characters who make very questionable decisions, characters who are not, in any way, perfect ideals. When I picked up the book, I wasn’t able to stop until probably 60-70 pages in, more than I had anticipated being able to read. It was a pleasant surprise, and the rest of the book was just as gripping, not giving me a single boring moment to complain about.

The magic system here is very interesting. Myke has shown us the same world before, in the Shadow Ops series. Given that the Shadow Ops series is set after Gemini Cell, this could easily have turned out to be nothing more than a money-grab prequel… But it is much more than that. It gives us a glimpse of magic that is utterly different than that in the Shadow Ops series, and takes us on a journey with a completely different set of characters. The magic, a form of necromancy, gives Jim not only incredible powers that are amazing to read, but also a very interesting internal battle, for the spirit that inhabits his body is constantly fighting him for control of it. It provides an interesting dual perspective, internal and external, and asks more questions than it answers. Also, since this story is so different from the Shadow Ops series, they can be read in either order, with minimal, if any, spoilers.

Jim’s wife, Sarah, could easily have become an accessory, a side character placed in the story solely to give Jim a mental anchor and provide conflict. But she isn’t, and Sarah becomes almost as fully fleshed out and engrossing as Jim himself. Myke did a fantastic job with her, and with the couple’s child, Patrick. Her actions, while some of them are ones you would want to say that you would never do yourself, are understandable given the extreme situations she is placed in.

I should stop here and note that there is a strong content warning on this book. Not only is there bloody, brutal, morally disgusting violence, there is also sex. However, this is not in the book as fanservice, nor is it there simply to make the novel more raunchy and sell copies. It’s there, every time, to advance the plot of the novel and show and shape the characters. It’s one of the few times where I am not complaining about the amount of sex in the book, though generally I find even once to be excessive.

Perhaps my biggest complaint with the novel is Steven’s storyline. Given the things he did, and how his story ended, I am truly not sure why we had the viewpoints from him that we did. That is not to say that they were boring; rather, I was expecting them to go somewhere and have an impact and they… didn’t.

If you’re looking for a satisfying, complete story, Gemini Cell is not the book for you. While it has plenty of action and a very intense, game-changing ending, it is unabashedly the first part of a much larger story, one that I will be continuing to enjoy as soon as I can get my hands on a copy of Javelin Rain, which Myke is currently in the process of editing. I would suggest reading the Shadow Ops series instead, as it is a completed trilogy, though I have not personally finished them. I read the first book, Control Point and enjoyed it, and I own the entire trilogy. I have bumped them up considerably on my TBR after reading Gemini Cell.

The ending of Gemini Cell will surprise you. It may not be a Sanderson-type twist, but I thought through the second half of the novel that I knew who the characters were and where they were going, and I was very wrong. There are several revelations near the end that will leave you clamoring for Javelin Rain, but Gemini Cell is certainly entertaining and powerful enough to be a satisfying read on its own.

In summary, Gemini Cell is an intense, military sci-fi novel with a sex/violence content warning that follows some amazingly nuanced morally grey characters though the re-emergence of magic into the world, and has a gripping, twisty ending that begs for the sequel, which I am glad is already in progress. Five of Five stars, and highly recommended if you can handle the intensity.

Review originally from my blog, here

[Gregoire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough for me to read in one night The reviews of some of my GR friends marks it as one of the best of the Shadow Ops series
i must confess that I have not read the first three but i nonetheless agree with them : it was
a rather nice mixture of horror, military and fantasy Not sure it hooks me enough to read all the book in this series but i will keep the author's name in my list of "to follow up when I've got the time "

Une histoire qui réunit les qualités et les défauts d' un bon film d'actions à effets spéciaux : on passe un bon moment mais il ne reste pas grand chose le jour d'après. Apparemment, il s'agit d'une préquelle bien que le livre soit le quatrième publié donc pas de soucis si on n'a pas lu les 3 premiers
les actions s'enchainent, le style est plaisant même si le héros est parfois "trop" (trop bon mari, trop bon soldat, trop bon ami, etc etc bref je préfère ceux qui ont quelques faiblesses qui les rendent moins superhéros et plus humain...)

[Margit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what happens when you mash up a romance novel with Spec Ops, magic, and zombies. It was very much a love/hate read.

[Sachin Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted here on my blog : http://bit.ly/15qgGrb

After a highly successful outing with his blistering take on Military Urban Fantasy in the Shadow Op trilogy series, Myke Cole returns back to his gorgeously realized world that has seen the “Great Awakening” – with this new novel, Gemini Cell. And this time, he is in unstoppable scintillating form.
Gemini Cell is a sort of prequel set in the same world – years before the events that are detailed in his first series. So the magic is still unexplored or unexplained. People going “latent” or manifesting their magical abilities are just about popping up around this world. The US Military SOC is still in its infancy and shrouded in secret. And into this setting ripe for exploring, Myke drops his protagonist Jim Schweitzer – a US Navy SEAL struggling to comprehend what really struck him.
Myke’s novels have tremendous mass appeal – He brought the curtains down on the tale of Oscar Britton, Book Binder and Harlequin versus Scylla (For those of you who have not read the Shadow Ops trilogy – do yourself a favor and go read them! Refreshing, original take on Urban Fantasy with enough explosions and kick-ass action to satisfy your Michael Bay cravings!!) in full style. Here, the tale of the Great Awakening continues in Gemini Cell – with a fresh new “hero”. Myke shifts gears this time and tackles newer themes. I won’t be surprised if people come up with new “sub-genres” after this. (Military Zombie Fantasy anyone?)
As usual, while Myke’s novels really are genre-defying stuff – filled with exciting, original and absolutely dazzling material that speaks to his enormous talents – Gemini Cell could well be the shining sparkly gem on that tiara. He is improving with every other novel and in this, he really outshines himself with the writing. A taut thrilling plot-line that involves a “dead” US Navy SEAL brought back into commission through sorcery – who still retains his “humanity” and thus is an enigma to the recruiters, The Gemini Cell. Hell breaks loose as Jim realizes the truth about his “dead” wife and kid and that he’s been pretty much fed lies by the authority to be used to their own sordid needs.
The summary really doesn’t do justice to the character of Jim Schwietzer. Suffice to say that of all the protagonists that Myke has etched up in his previous trilogy, this guy is miles ahead of all of them. A consummate professional SEAL, Jim’s struggles to comprehend his “unlife” after he is brought back from the dead by the Gemini Cell; made to co-inhabit his own body with a dead “Jinn”, his confusions and wavering loyalty is beautifully drawn up. Myke punctuates his non-stop cinematic action sequences with generous doses of humor – especially the banter between Jim and his Jinn is absolutely hilarious. Beneath all that kinetic, blistering action thriller storyline lies a heart. Jim and his wife Sarah’s romance that is a strong underpinning to the entire plot and actually is the key element that pistons the story forward to a fabulous climax. It’s a self-contained story and yet Myke leaves things wide open for more stories to filter through in this setting.
There is obviously a much stronger nod towards magic in this book – Jinns and sorcerers – their ability to “summon” spirits from the great void of souls, the ‘Undead’ soldiers of combat and themes of after-life. Myke paints all this effortlessly making the whole premise pretty rich and intriguing. Jim Schweitzer is a fully realized character with an absorbing backstory – haunted in his after-life by his “inability” to have protected and saved his wife and son. The pain and the vulnerability of this “fierce warrior” is nicely drawn up. And so with Sarah as well – a “wolf”-mother who would go to any lengths to protect her son.
The pacing is crisp and well balanced – starting out strong in the beginning where we are introduced to Jim “the artist with a carbine” – a man who loves his job as a US SEAL dearly – right in the middle of this covert mission that goes a little awry. From here on, the story spins on crazily forward moving in short bursts of speed – pausing only to further etch out Jim’s or Sarah’s characters. Action is a staple in any Myke Cole novel and he doesn’t disappoint this time either.

But as I said before, come for the frenetic bursts of some highly charged explosive -“US Navy SEAL” -style action but stay mesmerized by the rich vein of human drama that unfolds. Even with a zombie for a “protagonist”! Trust me, this is Myke’s most ambitious project yet that fully catapults him into the top league of fantasy writers. He is building that unbeatable legacy in a new sub-genre called “Military Urban Fantasy” and this book pretty much clinches it for him. Go Myke!!

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When you cannot have a thing, sometimes you hunger for it anyway. The closeness of it, the taste of it, the feel of its heat. It is a pale reflection of the truth, but a reflection is better than darkness.”

First of all.. THANK YOU, MYKE COLE. THANK YOU FOR INDICATING THAT THERE IS A GLOSSARY OF SLANG & ACRONYMS THAT CAN BE FOUND AT THE BACK OF THE BOOK!! That is seriously such a nice touch & one many authors seem to neglect.

Gemini Cell is a prequel that takes place within the Shadow Ops universe. The original Shadow Ops books are Control Point, Fortress Frontier and Breach Zone. I haven't read that series yet, but I will. Oh yes.. I WILL! I decided to begin chronologically, rather than publication date. Because that's what I chose to do, okay? I DO WHAT I WANT!

Much like Myke Cole does with Gemini Cell. Is it science fiction? Is it fantasy? Military? Maybe a bit of horror? The answer is all of the above. Cole is like this mad scientist dumping beakers of sorcerers, reanimated zombies, bloody shootouts & even a healthy serving of romance into this huge pot that come together to form a story. It sounds bonkers, but it worked!

As a longtime reader of SFF, who happens to be female, women aren't always represented the greatest in these genres. At least they hadn't been. We are finally seeing a resurgence of strong female characters who aren't just used as props or, in some cases, completely erased from these stories. I will always appreciate when someone values women's voices. Because representation matters. So goddamn much. Myke Cole handles this with such care & attention. Jim's wife Sarah was written with such depth & complexity. She could have easily become a stereotype, but Myke didn't allow that to happen & I am incredibly grateful for that! Mostly, Sarah is believable. I dug the hell out of her character!

There are some really heavy topics dealt with in this book. PTSD & the effects of warfare, for example. This may feature magic & zombie soldiers, but the anguish these characters go through feels deeply real. The emotions are sincere. Myke Cole truly excels at combining the two. 

This felt quite nostalgic for me. I was reminded of discovering the Doom novels as a teenager. I love those fucking books & have poured over them too many times to count! There's a similar quality to this.

Gemini Cell is gritty, dark as fuck, intensely emotional & just a shit ton of fun!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Mykes books because they are different than anything I have come across before and he writes extremely well. I feel I am taking away a lasting experience. He imparts a lot of his professional know how through his books and it adds layers of enjoyment for me as a reader.

While I absolutely loved the magic and systematic governmentalization of what you are allowed or not allowed to do once you've manifested in the previous novels, Gemini Cell is more human. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely loved Alan Bookbinder, Oscar Britton and Jan Thorsson, all of whom really related the human story of being a sorcery in the employ of and against the country they love. But... Their stories don't bring home the emotional power that as a reader I felt for Jim Schweitzer.

If I had to pick a word, I would pick two. Tragedy and perseverance. I came in expecting a wider scope of the world as the Great Reawakening commenced. What I got was something much more profound. I don't want to say anything too specific but this is a powerful story that brought tears to my eyes. I felt so strongly for Jim and his family and the unfairness of the world. Myke leaves you thrashing against the restraints of reality, wanting so much to dive into the story he weaves so well to help Schweitzer and tell him what's going on.

I found myself unsatisfied with the ending, wanting a firm resolution. I understand that leaving a bit for the readers imagination to run with it, leaving me wanting more. It is well done. I just felt so strongly for a hero that I wanted badly to end with the much deserved sunshine and rainbows, even though right from the beginning I should have known better. That resolution was never a real possibility.

Gemini Cell is a very well written book and I look forward to the next from Myke Cole.

I feel obliged to thank Myke personally for the signed hardcover copy of Gemini Cell that he mailed me for one of his contests. It really is something special as a reader to receive something like that. So thank you Myke. If I stilled worked for that little independent book store, I would still be staff picking your work.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know this is a prequel but I haven’t read the other books in this series so for me it’s a start fresh and new out of the gate storyline.

Myke Cole creates a dark and gritty magically enhanced world. It has the feeling of a military suspense thriller but we are introduced to the Jinn, which enable the power that be to reanimate corpses and share their souls/beings with the deceased giving both re-life.

In this story Jim Schweitzer is taken from his family, wife and son and created into the Gemini Cell, a relationship with the jinn. He is told his family is gone and given special missions of execution. You get the feeling this is a test to see how these special operatives will react to becoming something new.

Like I said, the scenes are raw, dark and gritty. Graphically descriptive, it’s not for the light hearted reader…but serious conveys the emotions of the scenes through it’s in your face writing style. Even Schweitzer feels himself an artist of death. He seems to thrive on being the best killer but never committing be being a killer but merely doing his job...in a tribute to his "dead" wife.

In the end, I’d have to say this book was more on a science fiction horror story for me. I didn’t need to read the early works to understand this story. The characters where complex, extremely deep and even though their thoughts and beliefs don’t echo my own, I found it riveting and very unsettling.

I'm going to sum it up with the train wreck scenario. I just couldn't look away but really wanted to. Although the story was very unsettling, Cole makes it to real not to want to see it come to a conclusion.

I received this ARC copy of Gemini Cell from PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL / Signet Romance, DAW in exchange for a honest review. This book is set for publication Jan. 27, 2015.

[Jovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs more characterisation. I love the premise of the book, but the characters are underdeveloped and the plot is moving at the breakneck speed without much explanation of the background or the motives of the Gemini cell.