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Dark Operator #1
Dark Operator
Legion Dark Ops has always been a unit shrouded in secrecy. Tasked with performing covert missions, its kill teams are filled with the best warriors from within the ranks of the Legion. Kel Turner is one of the youngest legionnaires ever to be selected to its ranks. After many battles and trials, he is faced with the greatest challenge of his life - operating by himself on a remote planet at the galaxy's edge, a foot soldier for the policies of the duplicitous House of Reason, tasked with solving a crisis that would take ten kill teams to resolve. Diplomats, spies, shadowy terrorist groups, and an enigmatic general work with and against Kel as he fights to save a society from itself. What can one operator do alone, separated from his kill team, fighting a war that has no name? This lone operator doesn't know what it will take to win. He only knows he's not going to lose. U.S. Army special operations veteran Doc Spears teams with Anspach & Cole on his debut novel, a thrilling new military science fiction series that captures the drive, sacrifice, and discipline of those worthy of becoming Dark Ops.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 26, 2020
575 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
September 8, 2020
I'm a massive fan of the Galaxies Edge series, Jason Anspach and Nick Cole are a duo that hammers out smart action packed science fiction that blends in humor and emotional moments that make you care about the characters and their struggles.
Doc Spears does not do this. His protagonist Kel is perfect, perfect as in utterly and totally without flaws or imperfections. He is also apparently the only competent individual in the book other than the other members of his Kill Team who are absent after the prologue. At one point he's on a Republic Navy vessel and he teaches a group of deployed Marines how knives work... not fancy Dark Ops moves, but literally that you need to slice someone with the sharp end, while the marines gaze upon him with utter hero worship.
The point I finally gave up on this book was when after spending so much of the book contriving a convoluted way to get to the planet for his mission undercover. After a long stretch of the Brady Bunch in space he states in his internal monolog that it won't really matter since he won't be undercover once he gets there... so why the hell didn't he just have a Repub Navy courier ship take him?
To sum it up this author treats his audience like morons who can't handle the complexity of having a protagonist with character flaws.
Galaxies Edge is top notch Science Fiction, and this mediocre attempt to expand upon it by Doc Spears should be struck from the record.
Doc Spears does not do this. His protagonist Kel is perfect, perfect as in utterly and totally without flaws or imperfections. He is also apparently the only competent individual in the book other than the other members of his Kill Team who are absent after the prologue. At one point he's on a Republic Navy vessel and he teaches a group of deployed Marines how knives work... not fancy Dark Ops moves, but literally that you need to slice someone with the sharp end, while the marines gaze upon him with utter hero worship.
The point I finally gave up on this book was when after spending so much of the book contriving a convoluted way to get to the planet for his mission undercover. After a long stretch of the Brady Bunch in space he states in his internal monolog that it won't really matter since he won't be undercover once he gets there... so why the hell didn't he just have a Repub Navy courier ship take him?
To sum it up this author treats his audience like morons who can't handle the complexity of having a protagonist with character flaws.
Galaxies Edge is top notch Science Fiction, and this mediocre attempt to expand upon it by Doc Spears should be struck from the record.
December 24, 2022
Although the stories are very different the flow of the story was very similar to Legionnaire. It was a bit slow through the first part of the book as the author established the characters. The read could be a bit chaotic as well with flashbacks intermixed into the story arch. But in the end it all comes together. Totally worth the read! Well done Mr. Spears.
July 23, 2020
Great character development....
Kel is one of my new favorite characters. Enjoyed going along with him on his dark ok adventure and seeing how he interested with non military personnel. Looking forward to his next mission.
Kel is one of my new favorite characters. Enjoyed going along with him on his dark ok adventure and seeing how he interested with non military personnel. Looking forward to his next mission.
August 28, 2021
It's sort of fun, how international relations are given here.
June 16, 2020
Almost everyone in the story was very polite.
July 30, 2021
Yeah, I had an iffy feeling about this book from the get-go. One major issue that this book has is its pacing. You wouldn't know that from its length, but while I found the first chapter interesting, it dragged in a sense that there is just way too much exposition and not enough character-driven interactions. The characters do interact, it's just the dialogue is interrupted with 3+ pages of exposition. Exposition that's important to the plot and helps the reader understand the world, but at the same time, it drowns out the role of the characters in the story.
This happens throughout the book, in every chapter and it makes the chapters feel longer than need be. You will know more about the world this author created than the characters themselves. I can't tell you anything about these characters besides what the author straight-up told me about them. But I can tell you about this world.
Speaking of the world, this book supposedly takes place in the far future, where the human race is a spacefaring, galactic spanning civilization and rules over less-technologically advance alien races, but even with all that said and done, this book severely lacks that space opera feel like Star Trek or Babylone 5. It feels more like a contemporary military fiction novel and the aliens just feel like anyone who isn't American.
The first chapter is an actual facsimile of Afghanistan beat for beat. The aliens on Planet Afghanistan are just reskinned Afghanistani and the terrorist aliens on the planet are reskinned Al-Qaeda. Even the military op on Planet Afghanistan was literally the same breach and clear ops the military perform in real-life Afghanistan.
Look, man... this book is supposed to be set 1000 years in the future! Where is the imagination!? Where's the science fiction angle to this?
I only made it to about page 50 before DNFing this. Like I said before, the pacing, heavy exposition and stilted dialogue made this a very slow read. I might not pick this book back up or move on to its sequels. It's rare I rate one stars, but this book just wasn't for me.
This happens throughout the book, in every chapter and it makes the chapters feel longer than need be. You will know more about the world this author created than the characters themselves. I can't tell you anything about these characters besides what the author straight-up told me about them. But I can tell you about this world.
Speaking of the world, this book supposedly takes place in the far future, where the human race is a spacefaring, galactic spanning civilization and rules over less-technologically advance alien races, but even with all that said and done, this book severely lacks that space opera feel like Star Trek or Babylone 5. It feels more like a contemporary military fiction novel and the aliens just feel like anyone who isn't American.
The first chapter is an actual facsimile of Afghanistan beat for beat. The aliens on Planet Afghanistan are just reskinned Afghanistani and the terrorist aliens on the planet are reskinned Al-Qaeda. Even the military op on Planet Afghanistan was literally the same breach and clear ops the military perform in real-life Afghanistan.
Look, man... this book is supposed to be set 1000 years in the future! Where is the imagination!? Where's the science fiction angle to this?
I only made it to about page 50 before DNFing this. Like I said before, the pacing, heavy exposition and stilted dialogue made this a very slow read. I might not pick this book back up or move on to its sequels. It's rare I rate one stars, but this book just wasn't for me.
January 14, 2021
I don’t know how I stumbled on to this series, in fact, I didn’t even know that it was an entirely different series than the original “Galaxy’s Edge” series, but it is. Still, I’m very glad I found this book and will look forward to reading many more in this specific series if they can be as good as this book.
Special Forces Operators are some highly trained and unique individuals. I’ve never really know one so I can’t say how accurate this story is, but I can say it seems very, very detailed and would seem very plausible. Our operator is Kelkavan (Kel) Turner, Sergeant, Republic Legionnaire. He is a very highly trained expert in warfighting and beyond. I cannot image men (or women) being more dedicated to their craft than these guys. If this is really a sample of how a Special Forces Operator operates, then we should all be in good hands. Sgt Turner is one very competent soldier. His mission for this book is an individual mission, something he has done before, but no mission is exactly the same. This mission will require him to find out what is causing some major unrest on the planet Meridian.
As a Sergeant, you normally operate as part of a unit with subordinate soldiers below you for which you are directly responsible. You do have your superiors and usually very many of those. If you’re in a good unit, you’ll get orders that make sense, the time to carry them out, but very little instructions on how to accomplish your mission. The “how” is often up to you within given mission parameters. That’s the usual scene for a Sergeant, but not for a Dark Operator.
A single Dark Operator like Sergeant Tuner has been assigned to go to the planet Meridian and find out who is behind some recent terrorist attacks that seem to be getting out of hand. The planetary police, known as the National Police have asked for Republic help so you are sent as a direct representative of the House of Reason. You don’t seem to nervous doing this mission. You’re going to be part of an Embassy staff primarily assigned as responsible for security of the Ambassador and other embassy people and property. But, for your to find out what’s going on on this planet, you’ll have to figure out a way to get involved with the three different police forces on the planet. What is remarkable about this book is the details that you’ll read about what Sgt Turner does on almost a daily basis. He’s responsible for his on schedule for the most part. He doesn’t actually have to report to anyone and he has credentials that protect him from any kind of prosecution while conducting his mission. He also gets to benefit from some royal treatment while on the planet. Most Embassy people he will work with are civilians and as a Dark Operator he’s used to working out of uniform. No one is supposed to know who he is or what his mission is. He keeps that to himself, but he finds out that the General in Charge of the National Police can easily figure out who and what he is. While this could have been a problem, it turns out to be perfect for Kel and makes his mission accomplishment that much easier.
I really enjoyed the writing. The story seemed to just flow and was every interesting even though it covers things like Kel doing daily PT and making time for the firing range to ensure he and his equipment are in top shape. There is some fighting, but it’s more of police activity than an army fighting an known enemy. Kel finds himself deep into the process of advising the local authorities and even training those he observes when they are deficient. How he conducts his interpersonal relationships is very interesting. I don’t know any soldier that I have ever know who could have accomplished his mission as he did. His training as a Dark Operator makes him one very competent individual. When he operates with his 5-man kill team of Dark Operators, they would be supremely dangerous to anything or anyone that go after.
After read the book, I think you’ll agree that for a Sergeant to accomplish what he did is remarkable. I’m not so sure it could be done, but this is the far future and I don’t have any insight into how Dark Operators are trained although you do get to flash back and forth in Sgt Turner’s past to see how he became a Dark Operator in the first place. He was a very good Legionnaire, obviously. It’s good to know that his is the first book in a news series and it seems that Sgt Kel Turner will continue to be the main character in future books. I plan to read these as long as they keep being published. This was a very good book.
Special Forces Operators are some highly trained and unique individuals. I’ve never really know one so I can’t say how accurate this story is, but I can say it seems very, very detailed and would seem very plausible. Our operator is Kelkavan (Kel) Turner, Sergeant, Republic Legionnaire. He is a very highly trained expert in warfighting and beyond. I cannot image men (or women) being more dedicated to their craft than these guys. If this is really a sample of how a Special Forces Operator operates, then we should all be in good hands. Sgt Turner is one very competent soldier. His mission for this book is an individual mission, something he has done before, but no mission is exactly the same. This mission will require him to find out what is causing some major unrest on the planet Meridian.
As a Sergeant, you normally operate as part of a unit with subordinate soldiers below you for which you are directly responsible. You do have your superiors and usually very many of those. If you’re in a good unit, you’ll get orders that make sense, the time to carry them out, but very little instructions on how to accomplish your mission. The “how” is often up to you within given mission parameters. That’s the usual scene for a Sergeant, but not for a Dark Operator.
A single Dark Operator like Sergeant Tuner has been assigned to go to the planet Meridian and find out who is behind some recent terrorist attacks that seem to be getting out of hand. The planetary police, known as the National Police have asked for Republic help so you are sent as a direct representative of the House of Reason. You don’t seem to nervous doing this mission. You’re going to be part of an Embassy staff primarily assigned as responsible for security of the Ambassador and other embassy people and property. But, for your to find out what’s going on on this planet, you’ll have to figure out a way to get involved with the three different police forces on the planet. What is remarkable about this book is the details that you’ll read about what Sgt Turner does on almost a daily basis. He’s responsible for his on schedule for the most part. He doesn’t actually have to report to anyone and he has credentials that protect him from any kind of prosecution while conducting his mission. He also gets to benefit from some royal treatment while on the planet. Most Embassy people he will work with are civilians and as a Dark Operator he’s used to working out of uniform. No one is supposed to know who he is or what his mission is. He keeps that to himself, but he finds out that the General in Charge of the National Police can easily figure out who and what he is. While this could have been a problem, it turns out to be perfect for Kel and makes his mission accomplishment that much easier.
I really enjoyed the writing. The story seemed to just flow and was every interesting even though it covers things like Kel doing daily PT and making time for the firing range to ensure he and his equipment are in top shape. There is some fighting, but it’s more of police activity than an army fighting an known enemy. Kel finds himself deep into the process of advising the local authorities and even training those he observes when they are deficient. How he conducts his interpersonal relationships is very interesting. I don’t know any soldier that I have ever know who could have accomplished his mission as he did. His training as a Dark Operator makes him one very competent individual. When he operates with his 5-man kill team of Dark Operators, they would be supremely dangerous to anything or anyone that go after.
After read the book, I think you’ll agree that for a Sergeant to accomplish what he did is remarkable. I’m not so sure it could be done, but this is the far future and I don’t have any insight into how Dark Operators are trained although you do get to flash back and forth in Sgt Turner’s past to see how he became a Dark Operator in the first place. He was a very good Legionnaire, obviously. It’s good to know that his is the first book in a news series and it seems that Sgt Kel Turner will continue to be the main character in future books. I plan to read these as long as they keep being published. This was a very good book.
July 5, 2021
Dark Operator, the first book in the five book series by John “Doc” Spears, Jason Anspach, and Nick Cole is the most thrilling example of careful planning, diligent preparation, and conscientious execution that I have ever read. And yes, I’m totally serious about that.
Doc Spears has a remarkable biography. Green Beret. Osteopath. And now writer. Special Forces or surgeon would constitute a complete career for most people, so doing both stands out in my view. That background also gives this book a remarkable depth, it is packed full of the distilled experience of a man who has been there and done that.
As the title and the cover might suggest, you will get operators doing operator things: killing people and breaking stuff in spectacular fashion. However, you also get something that is far more interesting in my opinion: the hard work and preparation that makes for true excellence.
In the main Galaxy’s Edge series, we get to see kill teams in action, but it is here that we see some of the process of recruiting, training, and team building that makes the kill teams what they are. And once the protagonist, Kel Turner, gets selected for a solo mission, then we get to see that being in Special Forces means much more than being a crack shot. Kel spends most of his time in the book observing, advising, and training others. As talented as he is, his true value is in his knowledge and experience being shared with those who need it.
While I do not know first hand the ways elite operators, I do know the thrill of being on a small team of highly experienced professionals with a high degree of autonomy and trust. You can get some remarkable things done that way in many avenues of life, and I feel that the dynamics of such a team are captured well in Dark Operator.
That solo mission is to the world of Meridian, a planet settled by Greeks that maintained their ancestral language and traditions partly by long isolation from the rest of the galaxy. Kel’s mission is to advise and assist the rulers of the planet with political unrest that is threatening to spiral out of control. The government of Meridian is undemocratic and repressive, but useful to the powerful, so the regime is secretly propped up by the quietly competent servants of empire, men like Kel. The setup mirrors the political situation of Greece in the 1970s, when it was ruled by a junta, but also a key Cold War ally of the United States and part of NATO.
Kel’s experiences on Meridian are so well portrayed that I would have found it plausible that this book is a thinly fictionalized memoir of Spears’ time there when he was a Green Beret, except that the dates don’t match up, not to mention that would have been the wrong part of the world for the units he served in. It just seemed real, which is a testament to the skill of the authors.
Another element that adds to my impression of realism is Kel’s uneasy relationship with his erstwhile allies in Republic intelligence. Soldiers are often straightforward and unsubtle men, motivated by duty, while spies have a tendency toward moral flexibility and find duplicity as natural as breathing. While on Meridian, Kel stumbles upon the kind of shady cover operation that the United States intelligence agencies were notorious for running during the Cold War. Compartmentalization and operational security work just as well at shielding you from the attention of your own government as your opponent.
Kel’s intense discomfort with the moral ambiguity of his mission and his own role in bringing about the political machinations that occur on Meridian war with his pride for a job well done and his sense of duty. There is at least a hint that perhaps Kel’s work on Meridian served the greater good, but in his world as in ours, the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike, and only at the end of days shall accounts truly be settled.
I very much enjoyed this book, and I look forward to seeing what other trouble Kel Turner finds himself in.
I purchased Dark Operator myself, no review copy was provided by the authors.
Doc Spears has a remarkable biography. Green Beret. Osteopath. And now writer. Special Forces or surgeon would constitute a complete career for most people, so doing both stands out in my view. That background also gives this book a remarkable depth, it is packed full of the distilled experience of a man who has been there and done that.
As the title and the cover might suggest, you will get operators doing operator things: killing people and breaking stuff in spectacular fashion. However, you also get something that is far more interesting in my opinion: the hard work and preparation that makes for true excellence.
In the main Galaxy’s Edge series, we get to see kill teams in action, but it is here that we see some of the process of recruiting, training, and team building that makes the kill teams what they are. And once the protagonist, Kel Turner, gets selected for a solo mission, then we get to see that being in Special Forces means much more than being a crack shot. Kel spends most of his time in the book observing, advising, and training others. As talented as he is, his true value is in his knowledge and experience being shared with those who need it.
While I do not know first hand the ways elite operators, I do know the thrill of being on a small team of highly experienced professionals with a high degree of autonomy and trust. You can get some remarkable things done that way in many avenues of life, and I feel that the dynamics of such a team are captured well in Dark Operator.
That solo mission is to the world of Meridian, a planet settled by Greeks that maintained their ancestral language and traditions partly by long isolation from the rest of the galaxy. Kel’s mission is to advise and assist the rulers of the planet with political unrest that is threatening to spiral out of control. The government of Meridian is undemocratic and repressive, but useful to the powerful, so the regime is secretly propped up by the quietly competent servants of empire, men like Kel. The setup mirrors the political situation of Greece in the 1970s, when it was ruled by a junta, but also a key Cold War ally of the United States and part of NATO.
Kel’s experiences on Meridian are so well portrayed that I would have found it plausible that this book is a thinly fictionalized memoir of Spears’ time there when he was a Green Beret, except that the dates don’t match up, not to mention that would have been the wrong part of the world for the units he served in. It just seemed real, which is a testament to the skill of the authors.
Another element that adds to my impression of realism is Kel’s uneasy relationship with his erstwhile allies in Republic intelligence. Soldiers are often straightforward and unsubtle men, motivated by duty, while spies have a tendency toward moral flexibility and find duplicity as natural as breathing. While on Meridian, Kel stumbles upon the kind of shady cover operation that the United States intelligence agencies were notorious for running during the Cold War. Compartmentalization and operational security work just as well at shielding you from the attention of your own government as your opponent.
Kel’s intense discomfort with the moral ambiguity of his mission and his own role in bringing about the political machinations that occur on Meridian war with his pride for a job well done and his sense of duty. There is at least a hint that perhaps Kel’s work on Meridian served the greater good, but in his world as in ours, the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike, and only at the end of days shall accounts truly be settled.
I very much enjoyed this book, and I look forward to seeing what other trouble Kel Turner finds himself in.
I purchased Dark Operator myself, no review copy was provided by the authors.
July 19, 2021
How to review this book? It is difficult. Since Galaxy's Edge series is some of the best writing of Sci-Fi I've ever read and have read the entire series over and over again, what to do with this book's rating? I like the whole Dark Ops thing. Always have. This book is like the Boy Scouts version before the sexual misconduct allegations, meaning every one is like sunshine and rainbows enjoying candy gumdrops.
Read it. But don't expect the excellence and gritty humor and pulse quickening action of the main series.
Kel is like-able enough, but he is NOT alike any of the awesome main characters from GE. At some point in the book I was hoping he'd show a mere mortal side, but he never does. The worse thing he has to suck up like a butter-cup is the cover-up and shady dealings of the front company for the Republic's Intel dept on the Meirdian.
I liked the flash backs establishing TA as Tem and all of the stuff about the Legion's legend Big.
The Callie cargo ship stuff leaves me oddly unsatisfied, I like that Kel adopted them as some sort of family project but would've maybe liked it more if he had at least banged the Captain's daughter.
I will continue the series. If I can read all the books of the goodie-two-shoes Rev character in JN Chaney "Sentenced to War" Sci-Fi series, the least I can do is finish this one too.
Read it. But don't expect the excellence and gritty humor and pulse quickening action of the main series.
Kel is like-able enough, but he is NOT alike any of the awesome main characters from GE. At some point in the book I was hoping he'd show a mere mortal side, but he never does. The worse thing he has to suck up like a butter-cup is the cover-up and shady dealings of the front company for the Republic's Intel dept on the Meirdian.
I liked the flash backs establishing TA as Tem and all of the stuff about the Legion's legend Big.
The Callie cargo ship stuff leaves me oddly unsatisfied, I like that Kel adopted them as some sort of family project but would've maybe liked it more if he had at least banged the Captain's daughter.
I will continue the series. If I can read all the books of the goodie-two-shoes Rev character in JN Chaney "Sentenced to War" Sci-Fi series, the least I can do is finish this one too.
February 13, 2021
I give this book a four star rating because it was a bit slow, a lot of world building and character development, not enough action.
First of all I enjoyed this book a lot. I gave it a four out of five stars because there was a lot of world building, character development and not enough action. I personally do not like flashbacks in developing a character story, but I understand why the author did it this way. I’ve read some of the reviews that said the main protagonist is too perfect everybody likes him, he’s great. I believe that’s what we need today, with these depressing times we need a hero who can kick butt, has very little flaws, and people like, because we want to project ourselves in the shoes of that hero. If you want to read about people who have flaws just open the Internet and click on a news article. Some of the most read books have heroes that have very little flaws and that everybody likes or most people like. Read the omega four series, The hunter legacy series by trip Ellis,Kurtherian gambit series and there are others I could mention. I will go on to read the next book and maybe the main protagonist will develop some flaws, who knows.
First of all I enjoyed this book a lot. I gave it a four out of five stars because there was a lot of world building, character development and not enough action. I personally do not like flashbacks in developing a character story, but I understand why the author did it this way. I’ve read some of the reviews that said the main protagonist is too perfect everybody likes him, he’s great. I believe that’s what we need today, with these depressing times we need a hero who can kick butt, has very little flaws, and people like, because we want to project ourselves in the shoes of that hero. If you want to read about people who have flaws just open the Internet and click on a news article. Some of the most read books have heroes that have very little flaws and that everybody likes or most people like. Read the omega four series, The hunter legacy series by trip Ellis,Kurtherian gambit series and there are others I could mention. I will go on to read the next book and maybe the main protagonist will develop some flaws, who knows.
April 18, 2022
A beggining
Military Sci-Fi generally revolves around groups as they confront a variety of opens in space or on the ground. Elite forces, scruffy mercenaries, beleaguered spacefleets, trying to survive and do some kind of good to balance the violence of their existence.
In Dark Operator a lone soldier extremely well trained in a boggling myriad of specialized functions is given the task of guiding a planets security forces toward the galactic ruling body's goal. As usual the ruling body wants to expand its own power and wealth. Yet the mindset of the soldier advisor, trainer, evaluator is to build a force to insure peace and well being for the general populace. One person to change the course of an entire planet. Kel Turner has the training and experience but will the powers around him have the same goals in mind?
Military Sci-Fi generally revolves around groups as they confront a variety of opens in space or on the ground. Elite forces, scruffy mercenaries, beleaguered spacefleets, trying to survive and do some kind of good to balance the violence of their existence.
In Dark Operator a lone soldier extremely well trained in a boggling myriad of specialized functions is given the task of guiding a planets security forces toward the galactic ruling body's goal. As usual the ruling body wants to expand its own power and wealth. Yet the mindset of the soldier advisor, trainer, evaluator is to build a force to insure peace and well being for the general populace. One person to change the course of an entire planet. Kel Turner has the training and experience but will the powers around him have the same goals in mind?
March 11, 2021
If there’s a story can be heartwarming while at the same time featuring stacks of bodies, this is that story. It’s full of likable, honorable people doing their duty, and that’s both it’s strength and weakness. It was nice to see people who just want to do their job get to do their thing— even if that thing is filling terrorists full of holes— but I was expecting more shoes to drop than ever did. Not that there weren’t moments of betrayal, but they never seemed to have the impact I’d expected.
Still, though. Dark Operator is about as cozy a story as special forces novel can be without suffering unduly diminished quality. I rather enjoyed it— and, of course, anything that fleshes out the wonderful Galaxy’s Edge universe is welcome.
Still, though. Dark Operator is about as cozy a story as special forces novel can be without suffering unduly diminished quality. I rather enjoyed it— and, of course, anything that fleshes out the wonderful Galaxy’s Edge universe is welcome.
August 5, 2020
Spycraft and Dark Ops - great detail with bursts of action
If you enjoy detailed operational military action, Doc Spears is your guy. This story has a good tempo and details how a special operator helps local militia and police forces on a world at the galaxy's edge. Working solo, Kel must try to work in the gray areas between politics and military specialists to eliminate a terrorist threat. This book will be especially entertaining for fans of Tom Clancy, Lee Child, and Clive Cussler. The action is well-paced between the intelligence gathering and building of asset cooperation and respect as the Dark Operator does what he does best - eliminate the threats.
If you enjoy detailed operational military action, Doc Spears is your guy. This story has a good tempo and details how a special operator helps local militia and police forces on a world at the galaxy's edge. Working solo, Kel must try to work in the gray areas between politics and military specialists to eliminate a terrorist threat. This book will be especially entertaining for fans of Tom Clancy, Lee Child, and Clive Cussler. The action is well-paced between the intelligence gathering and building of asset cooperation and respect as the Dark Operator does what he does best - eliminate the threats.
September 14, 2020
This is another superb story from some of the very best authors in the business.
This is the first story about an operator, Kel Turner.
He’s a bad ass and can KTF (kill them first) with the best of them, but he’s also extremely intelligent and can play many different roles, be it military, politics, espionage, assassination, mediator, etc.
He’s the full package and will get his assignment done or he’ll come home in a body bag.
Simple dedication to do what is right.
Galaxy’s Edge consistently puts out the best military sci-fi work you’ll ever read.
I loved this book!
This is the first story about an operator, Kel Turner.
He’s a bad ass and can KTF (kill them first) with the best of them, but he’s also extremely intelligent and can play many different roles, be it military, politics, espionage, assassination, mediator, etc.
He’s the full package and will get his assignment done or he’ll come home in a body bag.
Simple dedication to do what is right.
Galaxy’s Edge consistently puts out the best military sci-fi work you’ll ever read.
I loved this book!
August 6, 2021
I love the Galaxies Edge world. I love the Galaxies Edge weapons. I love the Epic battles with a diverse spread of far out bad guys. I do not love the disgustingly perfect main character of this book. Kel is the type of character that one might encounter in a weekly TV drama where the hero always makes a clever move and outsmarts the bad guy (week after week after week). My perception is that every character or group of characters in the book besides those associated with the legion were portrayed as stupid and inept.
August 16, 2021
Boring, stopped after 5 hours into the audio-book, I just didn't care anymore, didn't care about the story, the characters or the world, a real snooze-fest. Maybe leave out Kel's full work out sessions in the next books, that was very, very tedious. The knife fighting teaching session was borderline cringe. You basically had two of the same characters in different places, the two elderly female cooks who were total tropes, "Fatten you up, find you wife". You pulled me in with a joint Hamster siege operation then slowly put me to sleep.
It was well edited, well written and well narrated.
It was well edited, well written and well narrated.
June 11, 2020
A fun book. Set before the "main" series, but after the Savage Wars. Focusing on a single Dark Op's operator, and his mission of being embedded with a non Republic planet's military. I enjoyed it, fleshes out some of the history of what Dark Op's does in the universe. I'm just a fan of the whole series. Sometimes it gets a LITTLE heavy handed with some topics...Zhee come to mind, but I continue to read what they put out, and continue to love it.
July 17, 2020
Excellent addition to the Galaxy's Edge collection. As a former 18E and attending the SF O&I course at Fort Huachuca, I was impressed with the accuracy that Spears brought to Kel's narrative. The mixture of life experience as an 18D and 18F as well as weapons, sniper, and CQB training came through better than almost any other novel that I've read in the Galaxy Edge universe. I have already purchased the second book in the 'Dark Operator', looking forward to reading it.
November 17, 2020
I enjoyed the hell of this one. It's very much a, in my opinion, Republic Commando spiritual successor and Doc Spears does a great job of balancing realism with fiction.
The story is gripping, and has all the vibes of RC, 13 hours and a little bit of the operator fiction that gets told via stuff like Arisen in a nice package.
If you're a Galaxy's Edge fan, this is about as good as it gets. It's a lot like Legionnaire, so if you enjoyed that then you'll enjoy this one.
The story is gripping, and has all the vibes of RC, 13 hours and a little bit of the operator fiction that gets told via stuff like Arisen in a nice package.
If you're a Galaxy's Edge fan, this is about as good as it gets. It's a lot like Legionnaire, so if you enjoyed that then you'll enjoy this one.
May 12, 2021
I stopped reading at 8%. There was nothing in the way of initial character development and the exposition goes on tangents to the point where I just ceased to care. The first 6% of the book is a "kill team" raiding an alien encampment on another aliens world. It was very analogous to American troops raiding a terrorist camp full of Saudis in Afghanistan. The scene took entirely too long and became acronym salad.
August 22, 2020
Mil SciFi with heart
Fantastic story. I love this new character and the earlier timeline. He is a thinking feeling, very well rounded character. I can’t wait to read more of his and Team 3’s adventures. The ending was a real guy punch And I’m interested to see if it has flow on affects in the sequels. Buy it, you won’t be disappointed.
Fantastic story. I love this new character and the earlier timeline. He is a thinking feeling, very well rounded character. I can’t wait to read more of his and Team 3’s adventures. The ending was a real guy punch And I’m interested to see if it has flow on affects in the sequels. Buy it, you won’t be disappointed.
May 15, 2021
Epic
This one starts off slowly, and a lot of world & character building goes on. But when it gets going, boy does it ever. As with all GE books, there's plenty to think about, morality and the like. There's always a twist somewhere and the twist in this book was really emotional.
This one starts off slowly, and a lot of world & character building goes on. But when it gets going, boy does it ever. As with all GE books, there's plenty to think about, morality and the like. There's always a twist somewhere and the twist in this book was really emotional.
August 14, 2021
I started this book more than a year ago, didn't go past the first chapter for one reason or another. Last week decided to pick it up again. I quite enjoyed it and can't stop reading it. To me, it's one of the "light" stories for Galaxy's edge series. Not the regular action packed, adrenaline filled stories one would find in the series. I'd rather say, quite sweet.
November 3, 2021
Fantastic first entry
You know a book is good when you are sad its over. When finishing it feels like leaving a vacation or saying goodbye to your friends after a night out.
Kel expresses a similar feeling in the novel, and is look forward to riding into battle with him again. KTF!
You know a book is good when you are sad its over. When finishing it feels like leaving a vacation or saying goodbye to your friends after a night out.
Kel expresses a similar feeling in the novel, and is look forward to riding into battle with him again. KTF!
October 1, 2023
This is the five-star rating system I use:
★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.
If for whatever reason, I go back and reread a good book, I will change the rating to five-star because I read it again.
★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.
If for whatever reason, I go back and reread a good book, I will change the rating to five-star because I read it again.
October 23, 2025
That was a rough start. It's a considerable step down in quality from the rest of the Galaxy's Edge novels. Kel Turner is about as cardboard a character as you could encounter, and the plot, if one can call it that, is on rails.
The Kindle edition also has a number of janky proofreading errors, with several chapters duplicated.
The Kindle edition also has a number of janky proofreading errors, with several chapters duplicated.
September 8, 2020
Very well done
Most galaxy edge books rate four stars at least, but this is a solid five stars. Familiarity with the concepts shows. As an example, the sub orbital drop sequence would be familiar and make sense to those Airborne qualified.
Most galaxy edge books rate four stars at least, but this is a solid five stars. Familiarity with the concepts shows. As an example, the sub orbital drop sequence would be familiar and make sense to those Airborne qualified.
December 9, 2020
Outstanding
I could not put it down and was amazed when it was over- it flew by in a flash. very unique ekitet mil special forces/country team story- like a -Green Beret or Seal operator. Can't wait for the follow up book.
I could not put it down and was amazed when it was over- it flew by in a flash. very unique ekitet mil special forces/country team story- like a -Green Beret or Seal operator. Can't wait for the follow up book.
December 23, 2020
I liked it.
It reminded me of some of the work I did in the service, the similar parallel experiences the main character goes through ring true to me. A good look at another angle on military force being another tool for politics.
It reminded me of some of the work I did in the service, the similar parallel experiences the main character goes through ring true to me. A good look at another angle on military force being another tool for politics.
June 10, 2021
Excellent military sci-fi
A good book, great story and relatable characters. Quick moving, but with detailed world building. The best part for me is that, although part of a series, it is a full book on it's own.
A good book, great story and relatable characters. Quick moving, but with detailed world building. The best part for me is that, although part of a series, it is a full book on it's own.
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