Myke Cole brings The Reawakening, his second trilogy featuring a world very much like our own aside from the reemergence and militarization of magic, to a close with Siege Line. From the first page to the last, he does not relent in his pacing, characterization, or pure narrative power.
In Myke Cole’s latest high-octane, action-packed military fantasy, the fate of undead Navy SEAL James Schweitzer will be decided—one way or another…
The Gemini Cell took everything from Jim Schweitzer: his family, his career as a Navy SEAL, even his life. Hounded across the country, Schweitzer knows the only way he can ever stop running, the only way his son can ever be safe, is to take the fight to the enemy and annihilate the Cell once and for all.
But the Cell won’t be easily destroyed. Out of control and fighting a secret war with the government it once served, it has dispatched its shadowy Director to the far reaches of the subarctic in search of a secret magic that could tip the balance of power in its favor. Schweitzer must join with the elite warriors of both America and Canada in a desperate bid to get there first—and avert a disaster that could put the Cell in control.
Jim Schweitzer, the protagonist of these three books is dead and beyond broken. With little left to fight for, his goal is to take down the Gemini Cell, which reanimated his body by merging his soul with a demonic Djinn. He’s on the run, being pursued, fueled by hatred. Cole introduces readers to another character, equally strong-willed with as much presence: Wilma “Mankiller” Plante, sheriff of the small Canadian “village” where Schweitzer eventually finds his journey leading.
Hunting Schweitzer and trying to keep the Cell together, not for the Country as it was originally intended but rather for his own ego and selfish goals is a character only known as “The Director.” Largely in the shadows for the first book in the series, The Director came more into prominence in Javelin Rain, and is the full on Big Bad here in Siege Line. Cole has planted only a couple of seeds throughout those first two novels with regard to The Director’s true identity allowing for a powerful reveal when Schweitzer and The Directory finally come face to face at the powerful climax of Siege Line.
As wonderfully as the characters come alive (Mankiller, I am looking at you), the whole atmosphere of the novel comes alive, too. From the frantic nature of Schweitzer’s trailblazing, to the initially laid back nature and “small town” feel of Mankiller’s jurisdiction, I felt like I was in the story with the characters. Wilma and her friends help to make the Territories of Canada come to life and makes for an interesting clash when Schweitzer inevitably arrives.
If you can say one thing about Myke Cole, it is that he can tell one helluva story, balancing character, plot, thoughtfulness, and emotion remarkably well. He did this quite well in his first novel, but his skills at balancing since then have grown. If you can say another thing about Myke Cole and his storytelling/writing, is that rather than utilizing “comfortable” characters, he presents characters who are revelatory in their backgrounds and make up (i.e. not just white dudes) that manage to be both familiar and fresh for the unaccounted for perspective that have far too long been absent from speculative fiction, a genre that claims to look beyond the known borders and expectations.
I read this book in three sittings over the course of a couple of days, the magnetic power of the narrative made it so I didn’t want to put the book down. In fact, my wife was running a 10-mile race on the morning I finished the book and as I was waiting at the finish line, a big part of me was hoping she wouldn’t be one of the first to finish the race. Cole’s pacing was such that his narrative pull was more powerful than the majority of race runners that day.
Six books in six years, broken into two trilogies. An impressive consistent level of output, outmatched only by the quality of the novels. Siege Line brings Jim Schweitzer’s story to a close, at least this major chapter, and tells us how it is so integral to the early days of the Awakening and Supernatural Operation Corps. Despite six books now on the shelves giving a glimpse of this world, it seems as if Cole has only scratched the surface. Whether we see more of this world or any other Cole chooses to share with readers, I will be at the front of the line ready to read his tale(s).
Highly Recommended
© 2017 Rob H. Bedford
Published October 2017
http://mykecole.com/
Excerpt available here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/314760/siege-line-by-myke-cole/9780425269664/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Ace
