Review: “Operation Syria,” William Meikle

Pros: Creepy!
Cons: …
Rating: 5 out of 5

That’s odd. I could have sworn I’d written my review of William Meikle’s military-vs.-monsters horror novel Operation Syria (S-Squad book 6), but apparently not! I apologize for posting it out of order. Once again, Captain John Banks, Sergeant Hynd, and Wiggins (along with several new people) get sent on a dangerous mission. In this case, there’s been a call for help on an archaeological dig in Syria. The squad jumps in at night and heads for the dig, where they find evidence of a firefight. They soon realize, however, that rebels are the least of their troubles. While Banks and a couple others head out to rescue hostages, the rest of the squad babysits the remainder of the archaeological team at the dig–where some truly awful giant spiders have arrived.

The characters are, as always, simple-yet-interesting. The squad dynamics have some detail to them, particularly with the new recruits added. The living members of the archeological team are strong and interesting, particularly Maggie Boyd. And, as always, Wiggins is the comedian of the group who brings the occasional needed laugh that keeps the squad from getting overwhelmed.

“Where’s Sigourney fucking Weaver when we need her?” Wiggins said at Banks’ back.

There’s a nice added bit of archeological interest to this volume, including ancient tunnels and mosaics depicting Romans fighting giant spiders. The hostage crisis gives us the chance to see how the spiders can take on an entire town. (Content warning for child death.) And the sheer number of spiders–oh my! This fight won’t be easy on our heroes!

These books are fairly short and simple, but are wonderful examples of the military-vs.-monsters genre. They’re brief and seriously enjoyable–kind of like candy–and I can’t wait for more!