Mythical (Stone Soldiers Series) by C.E. Martin

Mythical (Stone Soldiers Series) by C.E. Martin

 

Genre: Paranormal/Military Thriller

Rating: ***** Five Stars (for a novella)

Estimated word count: 48,000 words

Availability:

Kindle:  YES  Nook: YES Smashwords: YES  Paperback: NO

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Author:

“C.E. Martin resides in the midwest with his wife and two daughters.

After serving four years in the USAF, C.E. returned to the midwest in 1994. Toiling by day as a civil servant, C.E. enjoys classic pulp novels and B Movies in his spare time. When not writing, C.E. can be found lurking around the internet or on Xbox Live–when his kids let him have the TV.”

My Two Cents:

This was surprisingly entertaining. Maybe I just went in with lowered expectations for a paranormal novella, but I was impressed. Mythical is set in an alternative timeline where “superheroes” are a mundane, and often pathetic, part of everyday life. That small percentage of the population with superhuman abilities pretty much all do contractor work for the government… or are hunted down by them.

To further live up to the title, the author tosses in magic, alternate universes, commandos, the entire menu of mythical creatures, ancient legends… even Medusa makes an appearance.

Despite being an action thriller, there’s also quite a bit of character introspection and slow suspense building. Personally, I found some of the dangers comically ridiculous (a dragon?!), but that doesn’t distract too much from the story.

Overall, this well-polished and professionally edited novella rates 5 stars, but with a caveat: only when compared to other novellas in its genre: paranormal military thrillers.

As is standard practice in this industry, I received a free review copy of this book.