Gemini Cell

Written by Myke Cole

Narrated by Korey Jackson

Nothing means more to US Navy Jim Schweitzer than protecting his loved ones, but when an enemy brings the battle to his 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 secret unit known only as the Gemini Cell. With powers he doesn't understand, Jim is called back to duty - as the ultimate warrior…

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Mar 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781471284311

Myke Cole

Following a long career in the military, intelligence, and law enforcement, Myke Cole is a fire/rescue responder in NY's Hudson Valley. He is a freelance historian and writer, and has published ten novels with publishers including Penguin Random House and Macmillan in addition to his history books for Osprey. Myke's short work has appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, McSweeney's, and Slate. He's starred on TV shows on CBS and Discovery, and has featured on NPR.

Reviews for Gemini Cell

[seitherin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[thegreatape-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was entertaining enough, but nothing particularly special in terms of plot, characters, or worldbuilding. Was nice to read military SFF that's not xenophobic jingoism plus dragons and/or spaceships, though.

[glennis.leblanc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a prequel to the Shadow Ops series. We are introduced to Jim, a Navy Seal very much in love with his wife as he leaves her art opening to go on a mission. Jim ends up seeing something he shouldn’t and is targeted by the bad guys. They break into his home and kill him. Jim then wakes up in government custody and is told he will fight for his government in a new secret branch that uses magic since the terrorists are also using it. His soul has been placed back into his body along with a jinn and he is now fighting for control of his body and trying to get answers about who killed his family.
Of course not everyone is telling the truth in the course of the story and the reader knows the truth long before Jim does. This is the second book of Cole’s I have read and again the things that are done by the government to people in the name of safety are just too dark for me to enjoy. The book is well written and there is a thread of a love story with Jim and Sarah and it does give a bright spot to what is overall a dark read.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

[cats57_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Gemini Cell by Myke ColeThis is a fantastic book from the Military/Fantasy genre. It is actually a prologue to the Shadow Ops series I don’t really like Zombie based speculative fiction, but I liked how Mr. Cole handled it. However, how this book is written may keep this series to a smaller audience. There are a lot of strong kick-butt scenes –with a few slightly quixotic relationships. It may be better to stick with the kick-butt, politicking and fighting relationships and leave the romance alone.I have a feeling that I would not have been so disappointed in this book had I read the others in this series. However, as a set up for exactly what the ‘Gemini Cell’ is, this book is fantastic and has even tempted me to try the first book.It would be difficult to describe to a possible reader just what the Gemini Cell is – but I can tell you that they are part of a secret branch of the government (naturally!). So far, the ‘experiment’ in using these ‘people’ is not working out too well.What I did have larger issues with is Mr. Coles’ world of magic is explained away very much like the one in Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series. In addition, the Zombie aspect is very much like Kate’s Vampires. I realize that this is a genre in which some authors ideas may overlap – but this part of this world seemed to overlap quite a bit for me. Later in the book (the ending actually) Mr. Cole breaks Jim out of the mold and I really loved this aspect. This is why I want to follow my instincts and read more of the series. I think the rest of the series will break the mold.ARC supplied by publisher.