History Literature / ShadowOps

* SociopathicSoldier: Harlequin, the SOV Aeromancer who pursues Britton through the first parts of ''Control Point'' is a textbook Type 1; [[PatrioticFervor deeply patriotic]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist convinced of the necessity of his work]], and genuinely sure that [[YouRebelScum unregulated Latents are scum]] who [[KickTheSonOfABitch deserve whatever he does to them for running]]. However, he also [[AxCrazy genuinely enjoys his work]], whether it be killing Selfers or even just hazing reluctant SOC trainees. [[spoiler:And neither he nor his superiors have any problem with killing mundanes who give aid and comfort to Selfers: case in point, he killed Swift's pregnant girlfriend without blinking while arresting him and never thought about it again.]]

[[caption-width-right:278:"''Franchise/XMen'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Film/BlackHawkDown''"]]

The series provides a uniquely realistic and military spin on the traditional UrbanFantasy setting with abundant GrayAndGreyMorality. While there are political undercurrents, they are largely background elements. It has been described as "''Franchise/XMen'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Film/BlackHawkDown''" due to its combination of themes of metahuman superpowers and military fiction.

** A group of sentries who jump Britton and Downer attempt to rape her. One of them, a Pyromancer, sets himself [[{{Squick}} partially ablaze as he takes off his belt]]. [[spoiler:Britton manages to push through the Suppression, PortalCut the sentry suppressing Downer's powers, and she [[HoistByHisOwnPetard makes fire elementals out of the flames forming around the would-be rapist's crotch]].]]

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Scylla convinces [[spoiler:the ''Gahe'']] to work for her by essentially kicking the crap out of them herself.

* ArcWords: "Skill Beats Will." Latents with SOC training are better killers than Selfers. Interestingly, the author himself disagrees with this; [[http://www.blackgate.com/2012/05/08/playing-favorites-a-talk-with-myke-cole/ in his words]],
-->'''Myke Cole''': ''The key to any kind of unarmed combat is commitment. If you see two people squaring off to fight, watch them closely. The person backing up is more than likely going to lose. [[TheDeterminator The person advancing is more than likely going to win.]] There’s also a principle of “explosive violence,” which I learned here (it’s one of the bigger schools where security contractors are trained before deploying). It’s funny, one of the mottos I have in the SHADOW OPS universe is “Skill beats Will.” That works for magic, but in real life, it’s the opposite. Explosive violence is a low skill, high will approach.''
** [[spoiler:And in the end, he justifies this with the true capabilities of Limbic Dampener - when it is given to otherwise untrained Latents, they immediately gain control and power comparable to the SOC's "Sorcerors". "Skill beats Will" only applies because the government monopolizes Limbic Dampener.]]

*** In ''Breach Zone'', his FreudianExcuse is detailed, finally fully humanizing him; [[spoiler:He became Grace Lyons' lover while she was developing Limbic Dampener, learned she was a Negramancer, and turned on her at the critical moment, driving her insane, turning her into Scylla, and giving both her and the Dampener monopoly to Entertech. Afterwards, as long as he kept killing and enslaving Latents for the SOC, [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget he didn't have to admit to himself]] that he [[MoralEventHorizon committed a monstrous betrayal]]. Only when Walsh told him to do something ''[[UpToEleven even worse]]'' - leave hundreds of skilled and dedicated soldiers to die to protect his lie - that he balked. And it still took an [[WithUsOrAgainstUs ultimatum]] from Britton for him to go the distance]].

* MightMakesRight: The [[NotSoDifferent only difference]] between SOC and the Selfers. The SOC has mind-stabilizing drugs, state-of-the-art weapons, and most importantly, the US Armed Forces' tried-and-true methods of turning teenage dropouts into skilled killers. "[[ArcWords Skill Beats Will.]]" [[spoiler:And the drugs were stolen by the SOC explicitly to enforce Might Makes Right - see Mega Corp above.]]

* NotSoDifferent: In the end, Britton realizes that this is the case with the Selfers and the SOC - both kill to enforce their will, neither have any care for innocent people caught in the crossfire, and the SOC are simply [[MightMakesRight better killers]].

* TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler:Britton]] eventually does this after realizing Selfers and SOC are NotSoDifferent - both kill to enforce their will, the SOC are just [[MightMakesRight better killers]]. His solution is [[spoiler:a return to his original ethics as a [[BandOfBrothers non-magical soldier]] - the first step being [[ThouShaltNotKill "Don't Kill If You Don't Have To"]]; convincing Swift to spare a helpless Harlequin.]]

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: President Walsh, singlehandedly responsible for much of the illegal and corrupt actions of the SOC, is [[spoiler: exposed at the end of ''Fortress Frontier'']]. Following the usual PresidentEvil trope and the dystopian nature of the setting, one would expect him to recover from this, to use his political clout and personal power to fight back, violently, and become the true BigBad of the series. And in ''Breach Point'', he ultimately [[spoiler: ends up being ''immediately'' impeached for his criminal actions.]]

* RealityEnsues: President Walsh, singlehandedly responsible for much of the illegal and corrupt actions of the SOC, is [[spoiler: exposed at the end of ''Fortress Frontier'']]. Following the usual PresidentEvil trope and the dystopian nature of the setting, one would expect him to recover from this, to use his political clout and personal power to fight back, violently, and become the true BigBad of the series. And in ''Breach Point'', he ultimately [[spoiler: ends up being ''immediately'' impeached for his criminal actions.]]

* SpiritualAntithesis: To TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}. In the RPG, when TheMagicComesBack, Indian tribes drive the government off their ancestral lands with magic and {{Mega Corp}}s are able to seize power from national governments in the chaos. In Shadow Ops, RealityEnsues. The military is the first to refine magical power to a fine edge, the US military is among the best in the world, and quickly increase government power by means of "[[MightMakesRight Skill Beats Will]]." Therefore, the tribes are in an ongoing war to keep the territory, and only holding on due to their willingness to use BlackMagic. Corporations have been denied Latent assets at SOC-point - in ''Fortress Frontier'', Scylla is revealed to be a Fortune 500 [=CEO=] the SOC snatched up as legally as a loose penny [[spoiler:along with her invention, [[FantasticDrug Limbic Dampener]], as part of a conspiracy to enslave all Latents.]] As for [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld Japanese ascendance?]] They're dependent on American assets for defense, so they probably have to surrender their Latents to the American SOC. ''China'' has a healthier economy than America in Shadow Ops because their government shares Latent assets with their corporations.

* WhatTheHellHero: Britton gets this from ''everyone'' in ''Fortress Frontier''. The first couple of chapters involving him deal almost entirely with him dealing with [[RealityEnsues the reality]] of the aftermath of his [[spoiler: rebellion against the SOC and the destruction of both part of FOB Frontier by releasing Scylla and the killing of Billy]].

* DrillSergeantNasty: Warrant Officer Fitzsimmons, aka "Fitzy" is one of the nastier sorts.

** [[DishingOutDirt Terramancy]]: Controlling earth, dirt, rocks, etc. Also allows the terramancer to control plants and animals. Allows for the creation of earth elementals.

* GroinAttack: When a Pyromancer tries to rape Downer and sets his crotch on fire, she [[spoiler: creates fire elementals from it.]] ''Ow.'' On a lesser note, Fitzy seems really fond of doing this to Britton

** Most Probes in general, as Whispering, Necromancy, and Elemental Conjuration effectively allow them to field entire armies at the drop of a hat.

* PetTheDog: Scylla won't hesitate to massacre her captors, but when [[spoiler: she escapes from her Suppression and starts slaughtering the SOC guards around the SASS compound, she deliberately avoids harming any of the students/prisoners because she cares about them.]]

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The Naga Raajya is a more subdued example, but they're still an example of this based simply on the opulence of their palace and how they treat their rulers and humans.

* MutantDraftBoard: All Latents who manifest are required to report in and given the choice of imprisonment or military service. Latents who run, or Probes (anyone who manifests in a Prohibited School or uses a legal school in a prohibited way) are killed. [[spoiler: [[FirstEpisodeSpoiler Okay, that's not right.]] Probes are recruited, end of story. They aren't allowed to accept imprisonment ''or'' to be killed; those who are too recalcitrant are lobotomized and forced into service anyway. Latents who run get the same treatment if capturing them is possible; SOC doesn't kill Latents unless they have no other choice.]]

** ''Gemini Cell'' defends the idea at one point, when Schweitzer says that the same person can't be both the blade and the hand that wields it, because that's how you get juntas and military coups. Of course, later Schweitzer indeed has to go rogue because Gemini Cell is corrupt to the core. (If it sounds like there isn't a clear {{Aesop}} in this, that's intentional.)

* InhumanableAlienRights: Latents in general. The best a Latent can expect from SOC is to be treated as a useful tool. Stop being useful and they'll just lobotomize you and use you like a piece of machinery.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: On several points, most glaringly anything to do with Apache and Indian religion or culture.

* MutantDraftBoard: All Latents who manifest are required to report in and given the choice of imprisonment or military service. Latents who run, or Probes (anyone who manifests in a Prohibited School or uses a legal school in a prohibited way) are killed. [[spoiler: [[FirstEpisodeSpoiler Okay, that's not right.]] Probes are recruited, end of story. They aren't allowed to accept imprisonment ''or'' to be killed; those who are too recalcitrant are lobotomized and forced into service anyway. Latents who run get the same treatment if capturing them is possible; SOC doesn't kill Latents unless they have no other choice.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Britton's reaction when he [[spoiler:thinks he's killed his father]] and later when [[spoiler: he lets Scylla loose]]. Harlequin goes through this over the course of ''Breach Zone''.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Harlequin's opinion on the SOC. But when President Walsh essentially [[spoiler: orders that there be no rescue attempt for FOB Frontier until after the next election (''in eight months!'') to avoid the horrible press that would result]], Harlequin decides that he's had enough.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: The [=McGauer-Linden=] Act, which allows the government to imprison or conscript Latents into military service - especially as a huge number of Latents are ''[[ChildSoldier teenagers]]'' - is ''extremely'' unconstitutional. In US law, no Congressional act or executive order can violate the Constitution, and the [=McGrauer-Linden=] Act is among the most extreme imaginable violations of due process, which is protected by the Fifth Amendment.
** In addition, the mere existence of FOB Frontier is a violation of the War Powers Resolution, which says that the President must inform Congress within 48 hours of a foreign military deployment and must withdraw them within ninety days without a Congressional authorization of military support. [[spoiler:It's no surprise that the President is really, ''really'' unhappy with the idea of FOB Frontier becoming public and is willing to let everyone there die to keep it a secret.]]
* ArtisticLicenseReligion: The series takes... ''liberties'' regarding depicting Apache religions, depicting them as worshipping the ''gahe'' shadowy demon-like creatures. Hinduism is also treated inaccurately with Hindus worshipping nagas, and apparently having Sikhs worshipping the same beings (which would be akin to having a Christian or Muslim worshipping Odin).

* VillainHasAPoint: Scylla was completely correct that the government wouldn't voluntarily allow Latents their freedom. She was equally correct that they would never change the laws as Britton demanded, as the government was firmly in Entertech's pocket. Attempting to take over America with an army of genocidal goblins, ''Gahe'' and Selfers isn't really much better, but [[spoiler:the threat she poses forces Entertech to surrender its Limbic Dampener stockpiles and eventually permit the government to play ball with Britton and his rebels. [[DoWeHaveThisOne Without the threat of Scylla to bring them to the table, the military-industrial complex would have never let Latents be free]].]]

* ''Siege Line'' (2017/10/31)

* ''Siege Line'' (2017)

* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: The Awakening brought chaos to the world, and many governments in the world has increased their authority to PoliceState levels to "protect" the {{Muggles}}.

The first novel in the series, ''Control Point'' (released January 31, 2012), centers on Lieutenant Oscar Britton of the United States Army. Britton finds himself supporting the Supernatural Operations Corps (SOC), a branch of the United States military tasked with responding to and policing supernatural threats, including people manifesting magical powers. After responding to an incident involving two teenage "Latents" who go on a rampage in a high school, Britton suddenly begins manifesting the ability to create magical gates. Unfortunately, this power is one of several "prohibited" abilities, and Britton finds himself a sudden fugitive, sent on the run for abilities he has no control over. Captured by the SOC, he is given a simple choice: be "hired" as a "private contractor" for the SOC, or be killed because of his excessively dangerous powers. Taking the choice that will keep him alive, Britton is put to work using his gate-creating powers to support military operations as part of a unit known as "Shadow Coven" - a small squad of magic-using contractors with skills in using the dangerous prohibited schools of magic. As the book progresses, Britton is forced to grapple with issues of personal and national loyalty, freedom versus security, and his own status as a superhuman who is effectively enslaved by his own government and military.

The second book, ''Fortress Frontier'', was released on January 29, 2013. In addition to continuing Britton's story, it introduces a new character, Colonel Alan Bookbinder, who is drafted into the SOC after turning up Latent, with an as-yet-unknown school. In the aftermath of a violent disaster at the climax of the previous book, he has to take command of the remaining forces at FOB Frontier, deep within the Source, and lead them to safety.

The third book, ''Breach Zone'', was released on January 28, 2014. Scylla, the secondary villain from the first two books, returns to attack [[BigApplesauce New York City]] with an army of monsters gathered from the Source, and it is up to a badly outnumbered military force under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jan "Harlequin" Thorssen to save the city.

The first in a prequel trilogy, ''Gemini Cell'', was released on January 27, 2015. It takes place during [[TheMagicComesBack the Great Awakening]], after high-level government agencies discover that many individuals have gained supernatural abilities but before it becomes public knowledge. Starring Jim Schweitzer, a commando brought BackFromTheDead by {{Necromancy}}, it focuses less on the "individual versus society" drama of the first trilogy and more on a soldier's internal conflict between his duty and his conscience - with the ever-present threat of death for disobedience.

The second book in the prequel trilogy, ''Javelin Rain'', was released on March 29, 2016. Schweitzer has fled his handlers, and is now on the run with his wife and son. However, the government [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman no longer considers him human]]; instead they see him as a [[EmptyQuiver missing]] WeaponOfMassDestruction - one to be reclaimed or destroyed at any cost.

The third book in the prequel trilogy, ''Siege Line'', will be released on on October 31, 2017. Though having successfully captured a key political backer of the shadowy organization that murdered and reanimated him, Schweitzer and his son are still on the run. However, his actions have turned the Gemini Cell into a rogue agency - and the government is offering him amnesty in exchange for his help in taking them down. All he needs to do is prevent a powerful group of magical adepts from controlling a dangerous source of magical power in MysteriousAntarctica. Well, as the [=SEALs=] always say, "The only easy day was yesterday." And he ''died'' yesterday.