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Operation D3
Natalie Thompson wakes up in a basement without any memory of how she got there. With her memories a blur, she feels alone in a seemingly abandoned and very strange town. Within this town, creatures who can get a glimpse of human life through a portal are no longer content with their undead status.
With the works of a government conspiracy and a few megalomaniac scientists, the portals are expanding. Now these creatures are threatening our civilization, and our world is on the brink of destruction. Can Natalie control the artificial intelligence chip and regain her memory in time before all of humanity is lost?
With the works of a government conspiracy and a few megalomaniac scientists, the portals are expanding. Now these creatures are threatening our civilization, and our world is on the brink of destruction. Can Natalie control the artificial intelligence chip and regain her memory in time before all of humanity is lost?
Kindle Edition
Published January 6, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 1, 2021
For me the book was a snoozer. The most important thing for a work of fiction is for a reader to get caught up in the author's fictive dream. This story didn't reach me. It is a mash-up of genres. The main ones Zombie Apocalypse and secretive government agency traps people in an experiment (Dome by Patterson, e.g.) are basically turn-offs for me.
Superior writing might have overcome that. This tale is stocked with stock characters that have only the thinnest claim on the reader's emotions. The battle for domination of a new world evolving in another dimension doesn't get my juices flowing. The plans hatched by the opposing teams make no sense to me. The biggest problem: The new world they are fighting over stinks of death, doesn't have a single appealing feature but does have hordes of man-eating zombies.
I listened to the audio version of the book. I found the narration to be mediocre. I was repeatedly struck by the overuse of dialog tags that disrupted narrative momentum.
Superior writing might have overcome that. This tale is stocked with stock characters that have only the thinnest claim on the reader's emotions. The battle for domination of a new world evolving in another dimension doesn't get my juices flowing. The plans hatched by the opposing teams make no sense to me. The biggest problem: The new world they are fighting over stinks of death, doesn't have a single appealing feature but does have hordes of man-eating zombies.
I listened to the audio version of the book. I found the narration to be mediocre. I was repeatedly struck by the overuse of dialog tags that disrupted narrative momentum.
July 28, 2020
4-Stars!
This was a quick, thrilling, well-paced read that kept me hooked, but I believe the characters, setting, and narrative could have benefited from some more development, uniqueness, and detail. The plot and action kicks off very quickly, as readers are dropped into the shoes of Natalie Thompson, a college Junior, who finds herself waking up in a strange basement in a non-descript town she is unfamiliar with. Her early actions throughout the book include running around the small, desolate town that could really be anywhere in the USA, but lack the creative detail and quality to really make me feel like I was there myself.
While Natalie runs from place to place around the town meeting new characters, only a few of them were particularly remarkable or memorable. At the antique shop in the beginning, which I think is one of the best settings in the book, although under explored, we are introduced to Walter and Buster, who have huge roles to play throughout the rest of the book. From there, readers are delivered the plot, twists, and character development/progression in a steady, consistent manner. Homondie the world of the homondim is introduced here, and when you first learn about the world and those that inhabit it where most of the rest of the story will be taking place, it's pretty thrilling and well done, just as most of the book is.
In my opinion, the biggest hampering in the execution of this book are the missing details and character development, which could have had a greater opportunity to shine with an extended work. More could have been done to make the homondim a more menacing force to be reckoned with, and honestly outside of the three trees, no areas of Homondie are particularly memorable. As I've mentioned, the book pretty thrilling overall, and it kept me hooked most of the way. Certainly when the portals begin to open and the homondim attack it was pretty thrilling. As well as the investigation of the Homondie world, and the plotting of Jameson, Walter, Seth, and Victor, there is everything here which could have made this a 5-star read for me.
It's where the narrative doesn't go or isn't detailed enough for me that Operation D3 lost a star. You'll notice little things repeat themselves. How many times can Buster bark in exactly the same way? The homondim literally rip people apart and feast on them, but the detail just wasn't visceral enough for me that it lacked some of its potency. Lastly, while I enjoyed characters like Wade, Jameson, Victor, ect., I couldn't help but shake the feeling that the story kind of happens in a vacuum. Readers know Jameson and Walter are working together essentially from the outset, and I was pretty much able to see the final twist of the story coming from a mile away, but while people like Wade (an opposing government agent to Jameson and Walter) show up at the end, details and backstories are glossed over. This happens while the real world above is being systematically destroyed and spit out into Homondie, but it just felt significantly flat because there was enough detail and development there for me, to have grown attached. I could have cared more about this if the world above had felt more connected and important to Natalie. Or perhaps instead of only people being ripped through the portals (most killed in the process), survivors in Homondie discovering buildings and structures from Earth like the antique store could have shook things up, I think.
I'm not sure if I will come back around for a sequel, but this book shows promise and was certainly an enjoyable read for a few days. Best of luck to Donato in her continuing career.
This was a quick, thrilling, well-paced read that kept me hooked, but I believe the characters, setting, and narrative could have benefited from some more development, uniqueness, and detail. The plot and action kicks off very quickly, as readers are dropped into the shoes of Natalie Thompson, a college Junior, who finds herself waking up in a strange basement in a non-descript town she is unfamiliar with. Her early actions throughout the book include running around the small, desolate town that could really be anywhere in the USA, but lack the creative detail and quality to really make me feel like I was there myself.
While Natalie runs from place to place around the town meeting new characters, only a few of them were particularly remarkable or memorable. At the antique shop in the beginning, which I think is one of the best settings in the book, although under explored, we are introduced to Walter and Buster, who have huge roles to play throughout the rest of the book. From there, readers are delivered the plot, twists, and character development/progression in a steady, consistent manner. Homondie the world of the homondim is introduced here, and when you first learn about the world and those that inhabit it where most of the rest of the story will be taking place, it's pretty thrilling and well done, just as most of the book is.
In my opinion, the biggest hampering in the execution of this book are the missing details and character development, which could have had a greater opportunity to shine with an extended work. More could have been done to make the homondim a more menacing force to be reckoned with, and honestly outside of the three trees, no areas of Homondie are particularly memorable. As I've mentioned, the book pretty thrilling overall, and it kept me hooked most of the way. Certainly when the portals begin to open and the homondim attack it was pretty thrilling. As well as the investigation of the Homondie world, and the plotting of Jameson, Walter, Seth, and Victor, there is everything here which could have made this a 5-star read for me.
It's where the narrative doesn't go or isn't detailed enough for me that Operation D3 lost a star. You'll notice little things repeat themselves. How many times can Buster bark in exactly the same way? The homondim literally rip people apart and feast on them, but the detail just wasn't visceral enough for me that it lacked some of its potency. Lastly, while I enjoyed characters like Wade, Jameson, Victor, ect., I couldn't help but shake the feeling that the story kind of happens in a vacuum. Readers know Jameson and Walter are working together essentially from the outset, and I was pretty much able to see the final twist of the story coming from a mile away, but while people like Wade (an opposing government agent to Jameson and Walter) show up at the end, details and backstories are glossed over. This happens while the real world above is being systematically destroyed and spit out into Homondie, but it just felt significantly flat because there was enough detail and development there for me, to have grown attached. I could have cared more about this if the world above had felt more connected and important to Natalie. Or perhaps instead of only people being ripped through the portals (most killed in the process), survivors in Homondie discovering buildings and structures from Earth like the antique store could have shook things up, I think.
I'm not sure if I will come back around for a sequel, but this book shows promise and was certainly an enjoyable read for a few days. Best of luck to Donato in her continuing career.
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December 28, 2021DNF'ed
I set this one down with full intention to come back and keep trying, but once I had set it down I found the idea of picking it up too much. I hate to say this about another Indie and I won't discount claim that taste is a factor. Someone else might love this book, but that person is not me.
This book is just much more excited about its ideas than it is about the characters and I don't see that getting any better.
We're thrown directly into the action with no introduction with a character we don't know and the beginning at least has no interest in slowing down for ten seconds and getting to know her. It felt like we started in the middle, just before the climax. As a result I have no attachment to our MC and find myself wondering why I should care if she lives or dies. What is her personality? Why does she make the choices she makes? Who knows? Least of all her. Other characters appear and seemingly have whole arcs at the snap of a finger, just doing whatever the mile-a-minute plot needs. At one point the MC says "I didn't think too much about it" and I was like "I'm not convinced you think at all."
The pacing was abrupt and jarring. It reminded me of a kid telling a story. "and then this happened! Then this happened! Then *explosion noises *!!!!!" Maybe someone else would enjoy this stream of consciousness plotting, but it wasn't for me. This book doesn't so much hit the ground running as smash full force into the ground from orbit.
I feel this author wants to write like King, and they should read and study his books if they haven't already. The potential is there! The author could stand having a deep look at the way King handles characters.
Everything is extremely vague. I don't know what country this is set in. What language are they speaking? Who is "the government"? Specifics? No time!
So as sad as I am to not give this one more of a chance, I just don't have the mental fortitude to struggle through something I just don't think I'm going to enjoy.
I set this one down with full intention to come back and keep trying, but once I had set it down I found the idea of picking it up too much. I hate to say this about another Indie and I won't discount claim that taste is a factor. Someone else might love this book, but that person is not me.
This book is just much more excited about its ideas than it is about the characters and I don't see that getting any better.
We're thrown directly into the action with no introduction with a character we don't know and the beginning at least has no interest in slowing down for ten seconds and getting to know her. It felt like we started in the middle, just before the climax. As a result I have no attachment to our MC and find myself wondering why I should care if she lives or dies. What is her personality? Why does she make the choices she makes? Who knows? Least of all her. Other characters appear and seemingly have whole arcs at the snap of a finger, just doing whatever the mile-a-minute plot needs. At one point the MC says "I didn't think too much about it" and I was like "I'm not convinced you think at all."
The pacing was abrupt and jarring. It reminded me of a kid telling a story. "and then this happened! Then this happened! Then *explosion noises *!!!!!" Maybe someone else would enjoy this stream of consciousness plotting, but it wasn't for me. This book doesn't so much hit the ground running as smash full force into the ground from orbit.
I feel this author wants to write like King, and they should read and study his books if they haven't already. The potential is there! The author could stand having a deep look at the way King handles characters.
Everything is extremely vague. I don't know what country this is set in. What language are they speaking? Who is "the government"? Specifics? No time!
So as sad as I am to not give this one more of a chance, I just don't have the mental fortitude to struggle through something I just don't think I'm going to enjoy.
January 22, 2023
I like science fiction and this book had some elements of that, but there's also apocalypse, horror, and thriller. I'm not a fan of that kind of medley, and I especially don't like stories about zombies. To be honest, this isn't a book I'd ever pick. I just decided to read it because I came across it on Twitter.
I was debating with myself while reading. Should I rate the book based on how much I liked it (or didn't) or on how well I thought it was written? Three stars means I liked it well enough, but I was discontent most of the time. It could have been the zombies, the medley of genres, the fact that I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters, or that I found it predictable. Whatever caused it I gradually lost my enthusiasm in the second half (yes, I was pulled in and liked the early part of the story).
There are many other good vs evil stories I'd choose before this one. Still, as negative as I've been, this book is a nice read if you're into zombies or thrillers. I finished the book just half an hour ago, and it's a bad sign when I'm not excited about a book that has evoked strong emotions in other readers. It's a question of finding the right reader, and I don't think that was me.
I was debating with myself while reading. Should I rate the book based on how much I liked it (or didn't) or on how well I thought it was written? Three stars means I liked it well enough, but I was discontent most of the time. It could have been the zombies, the medley of genres, the fact that I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters, or that I found it predictable. Whatever caused it I gradually lost my enthusiasm in the second half (yes, I was pulled in and liked the early part of the story).
There are many other good vs evil stories I'd choose before this one. Still, as negative as I've been, this book is a nice read if you're into zombies or thrillers. I finished the book just half an hour ago, and it's a bad sign when I'm not excited about a book that has evoked strong emotions in other readers. It's a question of finding the right reader, and I don't think that was me.
March 11, 2025
I enjoyed how easily this story flows, and it's exciting from beginning to end.
The homindie are terrifying creatures and put chills down your spine. The story is full of suspense and plot twists that will keep you guessing who is good and who is evil. The heroine, Natalie, discovers things about herself and grows stronger throughout the story.
I highly recommend this book for all readers, especially those who are fans of Science Fiction and horror. The author perfectly blends the two with stories about government conspiracies and coverups.
The homindie are terrifying creatures and put chills down your spine. The story is full of suspense and plot twists that will keep you guessing who is good and who is evil. The heroine, Natalie, discovers things about herself and grows stronger throughout the story.
I highly recommend this book for all readers, especially those who are fans of Science Fiction and horror. The author perfectly blends the two with stories about government conspiracies and coverups.
January 31, 2019
In this breakthrough Novel by PF Donato, I was sucked in from the opening paragraph!! The twists and turns and ideas in this book are amazing. How Donato came up with this story line, I do not know, but I do know that I cannot wait to read more! Such detail and development of the characters made this an enjoyable and mind bending read. I cannot WAIT for more from PF Donato!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews