Control point

The human race is evolving. Across the world, super powers are manifesting in ordinary people. But the US government has deemed many of these powers to be illegal. Lieutenant Oscar Britton is a loyal army man, even working alongside the Supernatural Operations Corps to police the new law. Selfers, those who choose to run, must not be allowed to live. When SOC murder a teenage girl after she had been subdued, Britton starts to doubt his duty. Then the unexpected happens; he manifests a rare and prohibited power. He can either run or choose to die.

This might seem a bit out of my comfort zone, and you’d be right, but I was intrigued by the idea of a supernatural military. It jumps straight into the action at the beginning and whilst there is a glossary provided at the back, I found all the military jargon went over my head and found the action hard to follow. If I were ever in a real combat situation, I’d be all “What? I don’t understand!” just before getting shot. I am willing to concede that action-based books aren’t really my thing but Control Point shifts its focus about a third of the way through.

The probes (that’s people with prohibited magic powers) are sent off to a magical military school. So we know one character is definitely a teenager, but does that explain why all the recruits sound like them? Including Oscar, who was definitely introduced as a full-grown man. He suddenly seems to be acting like a sullen boy. I could have easily lifted out a section and presented it as young adult. The whole situation is classic YA dystopian; kids ruled under an iron fist by unfair and prejudiced leaders (that would be the military officers). But I really don’t think they are meant to be kids. And Oscar repeatedly saying “She’s just a kid” gets rather annoying.

So, you’re probably wondering why I carried on reading. Around half way, it starts to settle into some common ground between military and magic school and a goal is introduced. Finally, something to aim for! Plus there are several interesting minor characters. The passages with Marty the goblin healer were the best bits and I’d seriously read a spin-off series about him and his fellow goblins. Scylla, locked away in her box, also piqued my interest although she never panned out to be a complicated enough character for my taste. Indeed, many of the characters are a bit obvious.

Each chapter is headed by a faux quote from a person of authority, official document or the media. These are actually pretty good and shouldn’t be skipped over (unless you’re all about the action). They form a sort of oral history of the world post “re-awakening”, which in turn makes up for the lack of world-building within the main text. There are some valid points in there and I’d liked to have more of a political slant. If you strip away the magical elements, it doesn’t paint a rosy picture of how the military can handle things. I got to the end not really understanding why they were at war and with who, something that unfortunately happens in the real world.

I am calling Oscar Britton by his first name as that’s more natural for me, but most the time he is referred to as Britton. I’m pretty sure this is a military thing and the formality around a lot of the characters is a bit hard to get past. Maybe that’s why Marty and Scylla appealed. Also some of the characters are referred to as their power, eg. the hydromancer, instead of their names. I found this very confusing, especially as a lot of the powers had been glossed over.

I wouldn’t run to read Fortress Frontier straight away, but there was enough of an improvement in the second half that I would consider picking it up in the future.

Overall, I loved the premise, and many of the scenes were quite interesting. That being said, I found the inconsistencies and plot holes in the book to be very distracting.

The viewpoint character was not even remotely likable. Without going into too much detail: Oscar Britton is a career military man who seems to refuse to take any order he doesn't agree with or fully respect. Having manifested magic powers, he is now in the special forces community and is being trained to control his powers. He has to decide what side he is on.
The problem being: The beginning of his conflict can be described as "That guy lied to me because I didn't have security clearance and he was trying to save the life of someone who, by international law, should be executed (just like me!). THEY ARE ALL EVIL!!!" and later evolves into "One of my friends is a goblin, that means we shouldn't hurt ANY goblins, even if they are actively trying to slaughter us. Also, my drill sergeant is a dick. I don't know if I can work with these people even though I was perfectly happy to be helping people by killing just a day ago!"
I understand the point was to be thought provoking, but there was never any true motivation for Oscar's angst and confusion. All of his problems boil down to "My drill sergeant is mean and I don't want to serve the military that I was serving freely just a few weeks ago"
This is especially jarring considering just about everyone else is able to understand that, while they might not be working for the nicest people in the world, they are doing more good than bad. It is especially hilarious when the young person (who is constantly mocked for being brainwashed) acts like a career member of the military while the ACTUAL former pilot freaks out and throws hissy fits.

Also, the rules of magic are inconsistent and contradictory. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those "Magic needs to be science!" people. If the author doesn't explain something, I am perfectly okay with assuming "a wizard did it." The problem is that Myke Cole DID try to explain it, but never stayed even remotely consistent, resulting in plotholes out the whazoo.

There are a few schools of magic. Some are allowed, others are prohibited. The problem being that the definition of "school" remains inconsistent, with most of the prohibited schools just seeming like different applications of the allowed ones (to the point that all healers are renders, and all terramancers are whisperers). I am willing to give Cole the benefit of the doubt that later books will explain "Everything is linked. All magic is one" as a way to make Oscar even more powerful, but it was quite jarring. Using any prohibited school is an instant death sentence, but apparently every prohibited school is just a case of using "allowed" magic incorrectly.

But my real complaint is the plotholes that Cole's magic system opens up. A big deal is made about the ability to suppress magic and "skill beats will". Essentially, any trained magic user can "suppress" another magic user by blocking their abilities, rendering both magic users as normals for the time being. And Cole makes it a point to explain that proportions are not important: The weakest magic users are trained to be suppressors, and it only takes one suppressor to stop just about anyone. But any time two magic users fight, nobody thinks to suppress anybody unless a monologue is needed. The climax of the book involves an incredibly powerful magic user (who is already established as being suppressable) going up against an entire army of magic users, and nobody thinks to suppress said opponent. Instead, everyone tries to fight with magic.
Does this make for a more entertaining book? Sure, but it also makes for inconsistencies and plot holes, with the reader forced to question: Is this scene a real conflict, or is it going to end logically? Because unless it is the publisher-mandated fight scene, people are going to be professional and end it immediately through suppression.

I'll probably take a look at the next book in this series at some point, but it isn't a priority.