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Caballistics, Inc #novel 1
Hell on Earth
¿Show me your sins¿ are the last words heard by the town of Boswell before it is incinerated by a powerful force in 1944. Old news until the biblical being buried by the wartime Q Department is awoken by Helen Earth's apocalypse cult. Facing explosive leylines, the reanimated dead, troglodytes and a fallen angel intent on bringing about Judgement Day, it's a busy day at the office for Caballistics Inc.
- GenresHorror
252 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 12, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 10, 2019
Crossover urban-fantasy/horror/espionage thriller where privatized government paranormal counterinsurgency Op thwarts a remnant Nazi attempt to trigger Judgement Day.
Urban-fantasy crossovers are my shame. However, I feel less-badly when beach bullies kick sand on books like this than great works. A mate has been pimping this book to me for a while along with The Clown Service by Guy Adams (my review). He’s a reliable and discerning urban-fantasy reader. Most of the time he’s spot-on, but not always.
British Intelligence has eschewed the paranormal. Department Q was their Paranormal Counterinsurgency Op. It was created to battle the Nazi supernatural threat. In modern times it was privatized and re-badged as Caballistics, Inc.. The threats still exist, but it’s organizationally easier for mercenaries to be H.M.’s Ghostbusters. Caballistics is a team of modern talents anyone with a fantasy MMORPG gaming background would recognize. In the story, a horrifically destructive improperly closed Department Q case from the last years of WWII was revived by the Nazi occult underground. Caballistics to the rescue! The story is very British and takes place in several UK locations. Well-trod genre tropes received enough rework to be interesting. The author creates a credible, but unoriginal atmosphere. Prose can be humorous in places and is generally good, but could be better. The story moves quickly with a graphic novel-ish style. There was a moderate amount of infotainment involving popular culture references. Finally, the story sets-up for the series that follows.
My dead-tree copy was a slender 250-pages. Original UK copyright for the story was 2006. Reading pace was both fast and slow.
Mike Wild is a British author who writes in fantasy and science fiction. He's written several episodes of Dr. Who for TV. This is the first book in his Caballistics, Inc. series. It’s named after the privatized H.M.’s government’s Department Q that handled paranormal investigations and mitigations in the UK since WWII. There are two (2) books in the series. The last book in the series was written in 2007. Note this series eventually became the The Complete Caballistics Inc. series of graphic novels.
Prose was good. The book was written in an informal British style. The dialog was better than the descriptive prose, because the team’s badinage was humorous. Action sequences were a bit perfunctory. The narrative, was very hip (10-years ago) and British flavored. It also included a fair number of popular culture references. There were seven (7) POVs with all but one of the Caballistics team getting mini-chapters. Unfortunately, with this ensemble-like character arrangement, the true protagonist remained unclear. The author also flashbacks between WWII and the present to provide backstory. Both the switching between POVs and flashback were well handled in their own chapters. Unfortunately, the book's chapters were very brief.
There was no explicit sex, or drug abuse in the story. Sexual situations both het and non-heteronormative were discussed, sometimes humorously. Alcohol was used to either self-medicate or was part of hard drinking recreational usage. Violence was physical, edged-weapons and firearms. It was moderately graphic. Descriptions of physical trauma and gore were likewise moderately graphic being in-line with Lovecraft-style horror. Body count was genocidal.
The main characters were scantily executed, and relied on being ID’d as well-known fantasy arch-types updated for modern consumption. Characters included (in order of my interest): Ethan Kostabi, Jonathan Brand, Jennifer Simmons, Hannah Chapter, Lawrence Verse, Solomon Ravne and Mikey Ness . Kostabi is the business mogul owner of Caballistics. He’s got an agenda, and would likely be classified a public threat—if anyone knew. Brand is the brains of the operation. He always connects the dots. The job has made him a functional alcoholic. Simmons is Brand’s demon possessed fiancé. Brand’s not happy about that. (It’s driving him to drink.) In her Baarish-Shammon demon form she’s the teams most powerful Warrior talent. She’s a danger to friend and foe. Chapter & Verse (get it?) are a team within a team. Chapter is a lesbian, Action Girl. Her sexual orientation consumes a good part of the team’s banter. Verse is a de-frocked priest. Not surprisingly, he’s the team’s Priest talent. Ravne is a black sorcerer. He’s a danger to friend and foe too. Ness is the berserker tank character, with rough edges. His dialog is rendered with a bad Glaswegian accent. He does not contribute a POV. The nominal antagonist, Helen Earth, was a remarkably well preserved member of Sonderkommando Thule, the Nazi elite occult warfare Op. She’s a classic Omnicidal Maniac.
The plotting was straight forward. A surviving remnant of the Nazi Sonderkommando Thule tries a second time since WWII to activate a paranormal Doomsday Weapon. The legacy Department Q’s obfuscation of its dirty deeds complicate saving the world. . A graphic novel format was discernible. The author leverages fantasy, horror, and WWII OSS -like tropes in the story. I suppose that makes this a dark fantasy story? The author’s major riffs are on the " Occult Detective " Plot with his heroes functioning like a dark, contemporary version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . Several paranormal and horror tropes are (re-)used. I thought there was a well-done riff on Demonic Possession with the Simmons character. Espionage tropes are in the flavor of the Ghostapo trope .
Action takes place in the UK outside of London. The use of tourist sites for scenes was minimal.
There was a liberal use of 00’s popular culture infotainment and puns. Dr. Who references come up more than once. The characters also frequently compare their current circumstance with popular and cult horror films. This could be informative. I found out about The Lair of the White Worm (1988), from the story. I found myself wanting to try a Jack in Black cocktail, despite it being an Action Girl drink. Frequent punning was also found. For example the previously noted Chapter & Verse and also "Helen Earth".
This was a graphic novel in book form with an ensemble set of characters. I liked the dialog, but the plotting was crap. I continued reading it for the hipper-than-thou references, which I didn’t catch all of. The dependency on well-known urban fantasy/horror/spy genre tropes made for an easy read for readers of these genres. The riffs on these tropes were just enough to be interesting and to hold my attention. However their use deprived the story of any depth. Development of the ensemble list of characters was also patchy. The best efforts at character development were left for subsequent books as part of the long term plot lines. That Kostabi, Ravne and the possessed Simmons are closet antagonists almost makes me want to read the next book. The story was somewhat humorous, although I didn’t laugh-out-loud. (I chuckled several times at the louche humor.) In summary, this would have made a better graphic novel than a novel.
I’m likely not to read the next book Caballistics Inc: Creepshow, but I will check out the previously mentioned The Complete Caballistics Inc. .
Readers interested in a similar story should try the The Clown Service series referenced above.
Urban-fantasy crossovers are my shame. However, I feel less-badly when beach bullies kick sand on books like this than great works. A mate has been pimping this book to me for a while along with The Clown Service by Guy Adams (my review). He’s a reliable and discerning urban-fantasy reader. Most of the time he’s spot-on, but not always.
British Intelligence has eschewed the paranormal. Department Q was their Paranormal Counterinsurgency Op. It was created to battle the Nazi supernatural threat. In modern times it was privatized and re-badged as Caballistics, Inc.. The threats still exist, but it’s organizationally easier for mercenaries to be H.M.’s Ghostbusters. Caballistics is a team of modern talents anyone with a fantasy MMORPG gaming background would recognize. In the story, a horrifically destructive improperly closed Department Q case from the last years of WWII was revived by the Nazi occult underground. Caballistics to the rescue! The story is very British and takes place in several UK locations. Well-trod genre tropes received enough rework to be interesting. The author creates a credible, but unoriginal atmosphere. Prose can be humorous in places and is generally good, but could be better. The story moves quickly with a graphic novel-ish style. There was a moderate amount of infotainment involving popular culture references. Finally, the story sets-up for the series that follows.
My dead-tree copy was a slender 250-pages. Original UK copyright for the story was 2006. Reading pace was both fast and slow.
Mike Wild is a British author who writes in fantasy and science fiction. He's written several episodes of Dr. Who for TV. This is the first book in his Caballistics, Inc. series. It’s named after the privatized H.M.’s government’s Department Q that handled paranormal investigations and mitigations in the UK since WWII. There are two (2) books in the series. The last book in the series was written in 2007. Note this series eventually became the The Complete Caballistics Inc. series of graphic novels.
Prose was good. The book was written in an informal British style. The dialog was better than the descriptive prose, because the team’s badinage was humorous. Action sequences were a bit perfunctory. The narrative, was very hip (10-years ago) and British flavored. It also included a fair number of popular culture references. There were seven (7) POVs with all but one of the Caballistics team getting mini-chapters. Unfortunately, with this ensemble-like character arrangement, the true protagonist remained unclear. The author also flashbacks between WWII and the present to provide backstory. Both the switching between POVs and flashback were well handled in their own chapters. Unfortunately, the book's chapters were very brief.
There was no explicit sex, or drug abuse in the story. Sexual situations both het and non-heteronormative were discussed, sometimes humorously. Alcohol was used to either self-medicate or was part of hard drinking recreational usage. Violence was physical, edged-weapons and firearms. It was moderately graphic. Descriptions of physical trauma and gore were likewise moderately graphic being in-line with Lovecraft-style horror. Body count was genocidal.
The main characters were scantily executed, and relied on being ID’d as well-known fantasy arch-types updated for modern consumption. Characters included (in order of my interest): Ethan Kostabi, Jonathan Brand, Jennifer Simmons, Hannah Chapter, Lawrence Verse, Solomon Ravne and Mikey Ness . Kostabi is the business mogul owner of Caballistics. He’s got an agenda, and would likely be classified a public threat—if anyone knew. Brand is the brains of the operation. He always connects the dots. The job has made him a functional alcoholic. Simmons is Brand’s demon possessed fiancé. Brand’s not happy about that. (It’s driving him to drink.) In her Baarish-Shammon demon form she’s the teams most powerful Warrior talent. She’s a danger to friend and foe. Chapter & Verse (get it?) are a team within a team. Chapter is a lesbian, Action Girl. Her sexual orientation consumes a good part of the team’s banter. Verse is a de-frocked priest. Not surprisingly, he’s the team’s Priest talent. Ravne is a black sorcerer. He’s a danger to friend and foe too. Ness is the berserker tank character, with rough edges. His dialog is rendered with a bad Glaswegian accent. He does not contribute a POV. The nominal antagonist, Helen Earth, was a remarkably well preserved member of Sonderkommando Thule, the Nazi elite occult warfare Op. She’s a classic Omnicidal Maniac.
The plotting was straight forward. A surviving remnant of the Nazi Sonderkommando Thule tries a second time since WWII to activate a paranormal Doomsday Weapon. The legacy Department Q’s obfuscation of its dirty deeds complicate saving the world. . A graphic novel format was discernible. The author leverages fantasy, horror, and WWII OSS -like tropes in the story. I suppose that makes this a dark fantasy story? The author’s major riffs are on the " Occult Detective " Plot with his heroes functioning like a dark, contemporary version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . Several paranormal and horror tropes are (re-)used. I thought there was a well-done riff on Demonic Possession with the Simmons character. Espionage tropes are in the flavor of the Ghostapo trope .
Action takes place in the UK outside of London. The use of tourist sites for scenes was minimal.
There was a liberal use of 00’s popular culture infotainment and puns. Dr. Who references come up more than once. The characters also frequently compare their current circumstance with popular and cult horror films. This could be informative. I found out about The Lair of the White Worm (1988), from the story. I found myself wanting to try a Jack in Black cocktail, despite it being an Action Girl drink. Frequent punning was also found. For example the previously noted Chapter & Verse and also "Helen Earth".
This was a graphic novel in book form with an ensemble set of characters. I liked the dialog, but the plotting was crap. I continued reading it for the hipper-than-thou references, which I didn’t catch all of. The dependency on well-known urban fantasy/horror/spy genre tropes made for an easy read for readers of these genres. The riffs on these tropes were just enough to be interesting and to hold my attention. However their use deprived the story of any depth. Development of the ensemble list of characters was also patchy. The best efforts at character development were left for subsequent books as part of the long term plot lines. That Kostabi, Ravne and the possessed Simmons are closet antagonists almost makes me want to read the next book. The story was somewhat humorous, although I didn’t laugh-out-loud. (I chuckled several times at the louche humor.) In summary, this would have made a better graphic novel than a novel.
I’m likely not to read the next book Caballistics Inc: Creepshow, but I will check out the previously mentioned The Complete Caballistics Inc. .
Readers interested in a similar story should try the The Clown Service series referenced above.
August 31, 2009
This is pretty dark stuff, but I enjoyed it. I don't know, but the supernatural world is very interesting to me. I really don't want to have anything to do with most of this stuff in real life, but I like reading fiction of those sort sometimes. All the members of Caballistics are pretty gray morally, some more than others (almost black). I enjoyed how this ties into the fight against the Thule Society, which was trying to exploit occult means to win the 2nd World War. The fallen angel part was SCARY. Good book.
July 27, 2007
This is a good book, albeit short. It can be convoluted at times as major points of the story occurred in times before the book, i.e WWII and aren't revealed until later. This novel is based on a comic serial published by 2000AD.
September 13, 2012
Having stumbled upon Hell on Earth by Mike Wild after a random recommendation, I was extremely surprised to find that this book is pure class from start to finish. Why had I never heard of Caballistics, Inc or this author before?
The story is a mix of horror, action, thriller and comedy all rolled into a perfect ball of hilarious, gory, nerdy, fun that had me laughing out loud and eager to read more about the characters involved within its pages.
I found the story to be very reminiscent of Hellboy – being it involves a cast of characters who all work for a paranormal investigative group (Caballistics, Inc), who travel the length and breadth of Britain to fight evil in all forms, from vampires to demons or Nazis to werewolves. But that’s where the similarity ends. These characters and this book are far more dark and adult in orientation and the comedy is a hell of a lot funnier.
The plot of this book is exciting and enthralling and has obviously been well thought out and planned before execution as every scene and twist perfectly blends into the next one leaving no stone unturned and leading to an explosive climax that has left me thirsty for more.
I am also interested to see what Mike Wild has to offer with his other books as his writing style is easy to read and very entertaining.
The story is a mix of horror, action, thriller and comedy all rolled into a perfect ball of hilarious, gory, nerdy, fun that had me laughing out loud and eager to read more about the characters involved within its pages.
I found the story to be very reminiscent of Hellboy – being it involves a cast of characters who all work for a paranormal investigative group (Caballistics, Inc), who travel the length and breadth of Britain to fight evil in all forms, from vampires to demons or Nazis to werewolves. But that’s where the similarity ends. These characters and this book are far more dark and adult in orientation and the comedy is a hell of a lot funnier.
The plot of this book is exciting and enthralling and has obviously been well thought out and planned before execution as every scene and twist perfectly blends into the next one leaving no stone unturned and leading to an explosive climax that has left me thirsty for more.
I am also interested to see what Mike Wild has to offer with his other books as his writing style is easy to read and very entertaining.
August 23, 2016
This thrill-a-minute read manages to pack everything I like into one book. It's almost too fast at times, which has the unfortunate effect at the beginning of rendering it slightly superficial in terms of character development, but in-between all the action Mike Wild somehow manages to get around to that too. If you want folk horror, freemasonry, demonology, ley lines. occult nazis and demonology, all crammed into one quick read, this is your book. Once I've taken a breather I expect I'll buy the follow-up.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews