Writer - Myke Cole
Series - Shadow Ops #1
Published By - Ace
Urban fantasy is a genre that is plagued with mediocrity, that is why it is quite a pleasurable experience when you find something enjoyable in this genre. Mostly known for its romance and female protagonists it is quite nice to have something like Control Point which is a break-neck paced action-packed story with a cool magic system as well as world-building. Although it lacks a bit on the character department as a debut it is really something to be appreciated.
From the start this book takes us on a high speed ride with the protagonist Oscar Britton, a relatively normal army personnel who ends up working with a squad which apprehends so called "selfers", people who use unauthorized magic. After a clash with some teenage selfers while recovering in the hospital he finds out he has a magical ability too, which is one of the prohibited school, so naturally he runs. And thus we are plunged into a game of magic, of responsibility of great powers and of non-stop action with both human and non-human antagonists and also is introduced with other magic users and a fantastic parallel world.
The magic system is quite nice with air, fire, earth and other elements as well as heal or decay/rend type of stuff, there is also some really rare form of abilities and naturally the main character possesses one such ability. The parallel world is also depicted very nicely with its indigenous species, and the overall dynamic between the powered and non-powered individuals is quite realistic.
The main character seems somewhat annoying due to his point-of-views and rash actions but there is a sense of realism in him that is quite undeniable. His stubbornness is just a part of his background and can be somewhat attributed to his poor decision making, but nevertheless he is one of the weakest point of the book. The other characters are also a bit generic and not really fleshed out to compliment the nice world-building and magic system rather hinders it somewhat.
Despite some flaws this book was a very fun read that really puts back some life into a somewhat life-less and unidirectional genre and obviously a breath of fresh air. Lets just hope the next books have much stronger characters or at least more cool new abilities. This really is X-men meets Black Hawk Down witch is just a plain and fun read at the end of the day.
This book gets 4 out of 5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment