Gemini Cell: A Shadow Ops Novel (Shadow Ops series Book 4)

PRAISE FOR

SHADOW OPS: BREACH ZONE

“Cole’s managed to cover a hero’s journey story, a quest story, and now a running battle interspersed with a romance. It works spectacularly . . .
Breach Zone
is Cole’s best novel yet, and it’s the perfect end to the trilogy.”

—
io9

“[The Shadow Ops series is] a set of three excellent, action-packed novels that combine elements of contemporary magic and superhero fiction with the type of atmosphere genre readers usually only get in military SF . . .
Breach Zone
is such a tense and action-packed ride . . . Full of desperate, back-against-the-wall combat scenes. Right from the start, it feels like a ‘last stand’ type of story.”

—Tor.com

“
Breach Zone
is filled to the flanks with action, intrigue, and simply all-out mayhem . . . A book that you simply shouldn’t miss.”

—
Fantasy Book Critic

“Cole wraps up the Shadow Ops trilogy with a magical battle royal . . . Action-filled, adrenaline-powered adventure.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“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.”

—
King of the Nerds

“A stunning novel . . . Well written, emotional, exciting, and a superb end to the Shadow Ops trilogy.”

—
The Qwillery

“Cole has really impressed with a stunning all-out war novel that never disappoints. This series is arguably one of the definitive military fantasy novels and delivers an excellent payoff that’s well worth your time. Highly recommended.”

—
The Founding Fields

“Executed brilliantly . . . [Cole] seamlessly blends the realities of the modern military with the imagination of D&D to mind-blowing result.”

—
Staffer’s Book Review

“Pulse-hammering action . . . Myke Cole has outdone himself.”

—
52 Book Reviews

PRAISE FOR

SHADOW OPS: FORTRESS FRONTIER

“For fans of military fiction and fantasy, the Shadow Ops series is the best thing going. Not reading it would be a crime against good fiction.”

—
Staffer’s Book Review

“[Cole] proves that an action blockbuster can have heart and emotional depth, while never skimping on the fireworks and explosions.”

—
Fantasy Faction

“Propulsive . . . Highly entertaining . . . Reads like an intense game of Dungeons & Dragons.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“This action-filled adventure holds the reader’s attention with occasional glimmers of hope that someday the oppressed magic-users might finally force those in power to respect them.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“It is a book that will have something for fantasy readers of every kind and pays homage brilliantly to Tolkien’s legacy . . . Myke Cole is an absolute gift to urban fantasy and military fantasy subgenres.”

—
Fantasy Book Critic

“This book is awesome . . . This is one heck of a whirlwind ride, and right now, Myke Cole’s Shadow Ops series is quickly becoming the best that military fantasy has to offer. Top-notch stuff.”

—
The Founding Fields

“There are some truly surprising twists and turns . . . If you enjoyed Myke Cole’s debut, you should love this sequel.”

—Tor.com

“This generation’s
The Forever War
 . . . Myke Cole is the most exciting SFF author to come along since Joe Abercrombie.”

—
Neth Space

“The action is again pretty much nonstop, the narrative is tense, energetic, and above all
convincing
.”

—
SFBook Reviews

PRAISE FOR

SHADOW OPS: CONTROL POINT

“It’s not
just
military . . . It’s just a great book.”

—Patrick Rothfuss, #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Slow Regard of Silent Things

“Hands down, the best military fantasy I’ve ever read.”

—Ann Aguirre,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Havoc

“Fast-paced and thrilling from start to finish,
Control Point
is military fantasy like you’ve never seen it before.”

—Peter V. Brett, international bestselling author of
The Daylight War

“Cross
The Forever War
with
Witch World
, add in the real-world modern military of
Black Hawk Down
, and you get
Shadow Ops: Control Point
, the mile-a-minute story of someone trying to find purpose in a war he never asked for.”

—Jack Campbell,
New York Times
bestselling author of The Lost Fleet series

“Myke Cole takes you downrange where the bullets fly and the magic burns with precision-guided ferocity that’ll put you on the edge of your seat before blowing you right out of it.”

—Chris Evans, author of the Iron Elves series

“
Control Point
 . . . sees the beginning of something new and awesome: guns ’n’ sorcery. Blending military fiction with urban fantasy, this novel was an absolute blast to read—action-packed, tightly written and plotted, intense and utterly gripping.”

—
Civilian Reader

“Realism is tightly interwoven throughout Cole’s writing, giving the book such power . . . A nonstop thrill ride that’s almost impossible to put down.”

—
Fantasy Faction

“An intense masterwork of military fantasy that grips you from start to finish.”

—
The Ranting Dragon

“[Cole has] created a military urban fantasy for the twenty-first century, with all of the complexity and murky gray areas that entails. The action is sharp and vivid.”

—Tor.com

Ace Books by Myke Cole

SHADOW OPS: CONTROL POINT

SHADOW OPS: FORTRESS FRONTIER

SHADOW OPS: BREACH ZONE

GEMINI CELL

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

USA • Canada • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China

penguin.com

A Penguin Random House Company

GEMINI CELL

An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

Copyright © 2015 by Myke Cole.

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.

ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-63675-6

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Ace mass-market edition / February 2015

Cover illustration by Larry Rostant.

Cover design by Diana Kolsky.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For Murph, the Protector.
You made the right call, and then you made the right call.

If there’s one thing military service teaches you, it’s that no one does anything alone. Even the most independent operator is the tip of a very long spear, made up of thousands of support personnel, from administrators to food-service workers to logisticians and intelligence officers. Writing is much the same. Readers of my work may be getting tired of hearing the same folks thanked over and over, and that’s just fine by me. Nobody ever got a hernia from gratitude. The book you’re holding has been made possible by an army of publishing staff: the folks at Ace/Roc and Headline. It would never have even made it to publication without the concerted efforts from my US agents at JABberwocky and my UK agents at Zeno. It would have been a terrible book if not for the incredibly helpful feedback from Justin Landon and Carrie Vaughn. I would have gone insane without the support of a small army of friends: publishing professionals like the Drinklings, and writers like the disciples of the Holy Taco Church, named here because I haven’t named them before: Kevin Hearne, Wesley Chu, Sam Sykes, Brian McClellan, Stephen Blackmoore, Delilah Dawson, Django Wexler, Jason Hough, and Chuck Wendig (actually, I have named him before, but throw me a bone here). I also want to thank Maria Dahvana Headley, for reasons she knows.Thanks also to Yosef Lehrman, Tony Bulathwelage, and Gilbert Flecha, whose humor and discipline have helped me to lock it up and get back to work to keep Gotham safe. Thanks also to my command staff at US Coast Guard Station New York, who daily keep me from walking off cliffs, flying off the handle, or engaging in other stupid junior-officer tricks: Chief Warrant Officer Drew Reyes, Master Chief Thomas LePage, Senior Chiefs Patrick O’Sullivan and Michael Callanan, and all the rest in the Chiefs’ Mess. Peter V. Brett is always last and never forgotten. I choked up thanking him in person when I accepted the Compton Crook, which I hope conveys how much I mean it. I hope each book shows you all those hours on e-mail and over the phone were time well spent.