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fudgepopz's review against another edition
4.0
Best of the trilogy. Very exciting read and seemed to wrap up all the story lines.
tani's review against another edition
4.0
The lack of a fifth star is probably more due to personal preference than anything. Although this book is about morals, it's also a big-time battle book. I'm not a big battle-book person, which means that battles are less likely to hold my interest.
That said, where this book excelled for me was actually backstory. I really fell in love with Grace, to the point where I want to just label the entire thing Grace's story. I wish, so desperately, that things did not end the way they do for her, though I certainly don't fault any of the characters for them. I was also really truly impressed by Cole's ability to make me like Harlequin. Not a character I would have thought I'd be empathizing with.
Now, if only we could have one more book. I really want the negotiations and politics beyond the war. I want to see the change and be assured that it really does happen. Battles are great and all, but I really want to see societal change. Maybe there will be a book four? Or at least something else set in this world, so we can see how things turned out?
That said, where this book excelled for me was actually backstory. I really fell in love with Grace, to the point where I want to just label the entire thing Grace's story. I wish, so desperately, that things did not end the way they do for her, though I certainly don't fault any of the characters for them. I was also really truly impressed by Cole's ability to make me like Harlequin. Not a character I would have thought I'd be empathizing with.
Now, if only we could have one more book. I really want the negotiations and politics beyond the war. I want to see the change and be assured that it really does happen. Battles are great and all, but I really want to see societal change. Maybe there will be a book four? Or at least something else set in this world, so we can see how things turned out?
wyrmdog's review against another edition
4.0
So the really interesting thing about this book isn't that it's a novel-length battle sequence, or that the author has managed to get some actual character-building into the book, or even that he's fundamentally changed the world he created. It's not that the whole thing was fun, and the interludes were never tedious.
No, it's the ambitious ending. I don't mean that it was difficult or that it wasn't predictable in the outcome of the conflict. What was ambitious was the stakes he set to follow his own series. While nothing may ever come of this world again, it's ripe with possibility and potential and it never shies away from bringing in rough elements, elements that no one could just wave off. It's a believable and satisfying conclusion that doesn't close the door, but doesn't promise you more than it just delivered.
Cole continues to impress.
No, it's the ambitious ending. I don't mean that it was difficult or that it wasn't predictable in the outcome of the conflict. What was ambitious was the stakes he set to follow his own series. While nothing may ever come of this world again, it's ripe with possibility and potential and it never shies away from bringing in rough elements, elements that no one could just wave off. It's a believable and satisfying conclusion that doesn't close the door, but doesn't promise you more than it just delivered.
Cole continues to impress.
boredpanda's review against another edition
5.0
This is the thrilling conclusion to the Shadow Ops trilogy. This time it's reversed and the indigs from the Source pay our plane a visit! The story concentrates mostly on Harlequin and Bookbinder, and it dips back 6 years into the past. We'll learn more about the limbic dampner and how Scylla became who she did. All in all, a very fun read. Even though Myke is a "new" author, he has a way with words that surprised me many times. All in all, very fun military fantasy, and I recommend it warmly. :)
Did I mention there are gahe? Lots and lots of gahe. And goblins.
toynbees's review against another edition
4.0
This is the series that really sold me on this niche sub-genre of fantasy (or is it sci-fi? Maybe both) and Breach Zone is honestly a perfect tie up to a perfect trilogy. I'll admit I feel like the ending is a bit rushed, but the book is so fast paced at times that it's expected. Regardless, I love it and I'll be picking up more Myke Cole books when I can.
jarichan's review against another edition
5.0
Der dritte und abschliessende Teil der Shadow Ops-Reihe liest sich tatsächlich wie ein grosser Schlusskampf. Die Helden kommen kaum zur Ruhe, es geht Schlag auf Schlag. Damit das nicht zu viel wird, gibt es immer wieder Ruhepausen, in denen wir in Harlequins Vergangenheit eintauchen. Diese Sequenzen tun der Geschichte wirklich gut und machen Harlequin und Scylla greifbarer.
Was mir ebenfalls sehr zugesagt hat, ist, dass Myke Cole auch hier das übliche Gut-Böse-Schema aufweicht. Natürlich wissen wir, dass Scylla "die Böse" ist, doch auch sie hat Gründe und Argumente. Und um diesen Kampf zu gewinnen, muss sich Harlequin mit unerwarteten Verbündeten zusammentun. In diesem Zusammenhang wird sehr Tiefgründigkeit entwickelt.
Nur weil Cole selbst militärische Erfahrung hat, heisst das nicht, dass in seinen Büchern das Militär über allem steht. Genau wegen seines Hintergrundes finde ich die angebrachte Kritik noch glaubwürdiger und somit freue ich mich umso mehr, dass es noch die Prequel-Reihe zu "Shadow Ops" gibt. Natürlich werde ich mich nun auf diese stürzen!
Was mir ebenfalls sehr zugesagt hat, ist, dass Myke Cole auch hier das übliche Gut-Böse-Schema aufweicht. Natürlich wissen wir, dass Scylla "die Böse" ist, doch auch sie hat Gründe und Argumente. Und um diesen Kampf zu gewinnen, muss sich Harlequin mit unerwarteten Verbündeten zusammentun. In diesem Zusammenhang wird sehr Tiefgründigkeit entwickelt.
Nur weil Cole selbst militärische Erfahrung hat, heisst das nicht, dass in seinen Büchern das Militär über allem steht. Genau wegen seines Hintergrundes finde ich die angebrachte Kritik noch glaubwürdiger und somit freue ich mich umso mehr, dass es noch die Prequel-Reihe zu "Shadow Ops" gibt. Natürlich werde ich mich nun auf diese stürzen!
jazin's review against another edition
5.0
Talk about a page turner. Book number 3 in the shadow ops series and it starts fast from page one and never let's go. It was great to see how everything unfolded. Love this universe and the charters involved.
mferrante83's review against another edition
5.0
When I reviewed Myke Cole’s first Shadow Ops book, Control Point, back in 2012 I found that the book had a great premise, a fascinating world and thrilling action. I was less than enthused with the novel’s main character Oscar Britton. In Fortress Frontier, the second Shadow Ops novel, Cole expanded the characters and the world by introducing Colonel Bookbinder. The split perspective of that novel, primarily between Bookbinder and Britton, made for some better reading and the expanded world made for amazing set pieces. Breach Zone takes things to the next level and (re)introduces Lieutenant Colonel Jan Thorrson, aka Harlequin, as a central figure. After the events of Fortress Frontier, and with the previous Presidential administration on the outs, Thorsson has become the public “face” of the Supernatural Operations Corps (SOC). At the same time General Bookbinder has been moved into an advisory role thanks to his borderline “treasonous” actions in Fortress Frontier. All of that changes when goblins and other creatures, lead by Scylla, invade Manhattan. Pulled out of his PR position, Thorsson is placed in charge of the defense with limited support from SOC brass.
Listen you should probably just stop reading this review now. No. Seriously. Go out, grab yourself a stack of Myke Cole novels and settle in for a few days. It’ll be worth it I swear. Shadow Ops is a scary good series. I’m not sure “military fantasy” existed as a genre before Myke Cole but I know now that I want more. Cole has used fantasy in the same vein as science fiction taking magic (rather than science) and imagining how its appearance might affect our world and society at large; managing to tell a damned fine story in the process. Breach Zone is probably the most familiar feeling of the series as it is a “last stand” story as Harlequin and forces try to hold Manhattan against a force with superior numbers. However, while telling the tale of Harlequin’s battle in Manhattan Cole interweave’s a tale from Harlequin’s past. It’s a narrative device the works well expanding the lore of Cole’s world while providing important context for the story taking place in the present.
Breach Zone brings together all of the lead characters seen in the series so far but leaves the primary narrative to Harlequin and Bookbinder. Harlequin, who in Control Point, was a strong believer in the SOC and it’s cause has changed somewhat thanks to previous event’s in the series. His change of opinion, predicated mainly on doing what is right by those who served beneath and alongside him, is a fascinating and enthralling journey. The change, while gradual, isn’t a complete reversal of his beliefs and Cole does a magnificent job of describing, primarily through flashbacks, how Harlequin became so entrenched in, and enthralled by, the system. With Bookbinder in Fortress Frontier and Harlequin in Breach Zone, Myke Cole has absolutely stepped up his characterization game offering two well-rounded and dynamic characters who, flaws and all, feel like living breathing people. Taking things a step further Cole actually manages to humanize Scylla. There are moments in the story where beneath the facade of the mother of monsters there is glimpsed someone else entirely. Rather than seeing Scylla simply as the bogey(wo)man Cole manages to tap into a rich vein of human drama that lends a more personal air to the action unfolding on the streets of Manhattan.
Each Shadow Ops novel has improved considerably over the last and Breach Zone definitely continues that trend. Shadow Ops stands strong as a trilogy with this latest novel bringing the current story to a satisfying conclusion while still leaving room for potential exploration later down the line. Myke Cole is an author to watch. With Breach Zone and the Shadow Ops series Cole has brought military fantasy a modern touch creating a memorable and vivid world that I would love to read more about. The bottom line is this: read the Shadow Ops series.
Listen you should probably just stop reading this review now. No. Seriously. Go out, grab yourself a stack of Myke Cole novels and settle in for a few days. It’ll be worth it I swear. Shadow Ops is a scary good series. I’m not sure “military fantasy” existed as a genre before Myke Cole but I know now that I want more. Cole has used fantasy in the same vein as science fiction taking magic (rather than science) and imagining how its appearance might affect our world and society at large; managing to tell a damned fine story in the process. Breach Zone is probably the most familiar feeling of the series as it is a “last stand” story as Harlequin and forces try to hold Manhattan against a force with superior numbers. However, while telling the tale of Harlequin’s battle in Manhattan Cole interweave’s a tale from Harlequin’s past. It’s a narrative device the works well expanding the lore of Cole’s world while providing important context for the story taking place in the present.
Breach Zone brings together all of the lead characters seen in the series so far but leaves the primary narrative to Harlequin and Bookbinder. Harlequin, who in Control Point, was a strong believer in the SOC and it’s cause has changed somewhat thanks to previous event’s in the series. His change of opinion, predicated mainly on doing what is right by those who served beneath and alongside him, is a fascinating and enthralling journey. The change, while gradual, isn’t a complete reversal of his beliefs and Cole does a magnificent job of describing, primarily through flashbacks, how Harlequin became so entrenched in, and enthralled by, the system. With Bookbinder in Fortress Frontier and Harlequin in Breach Zone, Myke Cole has absolutely stepped up his characterization game offering two well-rounded and dynamic characters who, flaws and all, feel like living breathing people. Taking things a step further Cole actually manages to humanize Scylla. There are moments in the story where beneath the facade of the mother of monsters there is glimpsed someone else entirely. Rather than seeing Scylla simply as the bogey(wo)man Cole manages to tap into a rich vein of human drama that lends a more personal air to the action unfolding on the streets of Manhattan.
Each Shadow Ops novel has improved considerably over the last and Breach Zone definitely continues that trend. Shadow Ops stands strong as a trilogy with this latest novel bringing the current story to a satisfying conclusion while still leaving room for potential exploration later down the line. Myke Cole is an author to watch. With Breach Zone and the Shadow Ops series Cole has brought military fantasy a modern touch creating a memorable and vivid world that I would love to read more about. The bottom line is this: read the Shadow Ops series.
texaswolfman's review against another edition
5.0
The blurb on the books says, "Black hawk down meets the X-Men." Great description. This is a third and final book in a series. Loved the attention to detail on the action scenes and the fleshed characters he introduced over the the other two books. Great read. Definitely will reread again.