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Operation: Blackflag
Citizen, have you seen the black and yellow menace?
They may have already infiltrated your workplace, your school or EVEN YOUR HOME!
I'm talking about wasps. WASPS OF THE MUTANT AND MAN-EATING VARIETY! They hate you, they hate me and they hate America.
Has a wasp stung you or someone you love for no reason at all? Well that was probably just a regular wasp. They do that. Was the wasp THE SIZE OF A TRUCK at the time? Then you encountered a mutant wasp!
Perhaps a coworker has recently called in sick with a case of BEING PARALYZED AND THEN EATEN ALIVE FROM THE INSIDE OUT BY WASP OFFSPRING. This may be a sign he chanced upon a mutant wasp!
Be vigilant! If you see one, SPEAK UP!
The Army is standing by, ready to kill on contact and keep on killing—even though this whole mutant wasp business was DEFINITELY AND TOTALLY NOT OUR FAULT. Together we can squish this threat.
They may have already infiltrated your workplace, your school or EVEN YOUR HOME!
I'm talking about wasps. WASPS OF THE MUTANT AND MAN-EATING VARIETY! They hate you, they hate me and they hate America.
Has a wasp stung you or someone you love for no reason at all? Well that was probably just a regular wasp. They do that. Was the wasp THE SIZE OF A TRUCK at the time? Then you encountered a mutant wasp!
Perhaps a coworker has recently called in sick with a case of BEING PARALYZED AND THEN EATEN ALIVE FROM THE INSIDE OUT BY WASP OFFSPRING. This may be a sign he chanced upon a mutant wasp!
Be vigilant! If you see one, SPEAK UP!
The Army is standing by, ready to kill on contact and keep on killing—even though this whole mutant wasp business was DEFINITELY AND TOTALLY NOT OUR FAULT. Together we can squish this threat.
274 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2015
1 person is currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
Richard J. Kendrick
5 books3 followersRichard J. Kendrick proofreads deadly serious nonfiction by day and scribbles fantasy when he can find a moment. He spends the rest of his time spoiling his family and riding his bike.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 3, 2022
Damn. I really wanted to enjoy this. The cover/blurb had a near-perfect over-the-top cold war propaganda type feel, promising b-grade horror story with a satiric edge.
I wanted to read about WASPS OF THE MUTANT AND MAN-EATING VARIETY! My entire body squirmed at the idea of BEING PARALYZED AND THEN EATEN ALIVE FROM THE INSIDE OUT BY WASP OFFSPRING. I loved the idea that it was DEFINITELY AND TOTALLY NOT OUR FAULT.
Unfortunately, operation: BLACKFLAG never really does more than scratch the surface, and Richard J. Kendrick never delivers on the promise of his tale. There are glimpses of b-grade brilliance early on, especially with eccentric scientist at the heart of it all, but that's all they are . . . glimpses. There's no real horror to the story, and none of the gore that I was expecting. Instead we get a rather pedestrian, if mildly absurd, SyFy sort of monster flick that never lives up to its potential. What could have been a tightly focused, intense bit of bloody horror is diluted by a pair of subplots, one silly and one cliched, that really add nothing to the tale. What's more, the tension that was established early on goes nowhere. I kept waiting for the pay-off from that early sting, just waiting for that dead hand to explode with baby wasps, but instead it just . . .well, gets a little better. There is one aerial combat scene near the end that delivers some thrills, but it's too little, too late to salvage this.
Like cold war propaganda itself, this was all hype and no substance.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
I wanted to read about WASPS OF THE MUTANT AND MAN-EATING VARIETY! My entire body squirmed at the idea of BEING PARALYZED AND THEN EATEN ALIVE FROM THE INSIDE OUT BY WASP OFFSPRING. I loved the idea that it was DEFINITELY AND TOTALLY NOT OUR FAULT.
Unfortunately, operation: BLACKFLAG never really does more than scratch the surface, and Richard J. Kendrick never delivers on the promise of his tale. There are glimpses of b-grade brilliance early on, especially with eccentric scientist at the heart of it all, but that's all they are . . . glimpses. There's no real horror to the story, and none of the gore that I was expecting. Instead we get a rather pedestrian, if mildly absurd, SyFy sort of monster flick that never lives up to its potential. What could have been a tightly focused, intense bit of bloody horror is diluted by a pair of subplots, one silly and one cliched, that really add nothing to the tale. What's more, the tension that was established early on goes nowhere. I kept waiting for the pay-off from that early sting, just waiting for that dead hand to explode with baby wasps, but instead it just . . .well, gets a little better. There is one aerial combat scene near the end that delivers some thrills, but it's too little, too late to salvage this.
Like cold war propaganda itself, this was all hype and no substance.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
November 4, 2015
This novel is reminiscent of the Science Fiction B-movies of my youth. Yes, the story has been done and redone but I stilled enjoyed the quick read.
A research company is doing research on wasps and one escapes. A gruesome death occurs, the special op team comes out to annihilate the threat but there are complications with a local militia group.
The President has his hands full with various events around the world but he becomes personally involved.
operation: Blackflag is predictable but, if like me, you remember the giant ant, spider or whatever movies of the past you might enjoy this novel.
I received this ebook free from the author for review purposes.
A research company is doing research on wasps and one escapes. A gruesome death occurs, the special op team comes out to annihilate the threat but there are complications with a local militia group.
The President has his hands full with various events around the world but he becomes personally involved.
operation: Blackflag is predictable but, if like me, you remember the giant ant, spider or whatever movies of the past you might enjoy this novel.
I received this ebook free from the author for review purposes.
December 29, 2015
Started and finished it in a few hours. Really wanted it to be more exciting. There are in fact a few characters I wanted to read more about. I love big bug movies of the 50's and was hoping this was a mixture of that and lets say Starship Troopers. But my biggest gripe really is how short it is. Yes its 240 pages or so. But the font is quite large and there is a large border of empty space on each page. But. it was an interesting story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews