Stonelands
By Joseph Malik
Have you ever heard of hard military isekai? Hard in this case carrying the same meaning as in hard science fiction. No? Haven’t heard of it? Me either – except this.
I wouldn’t be surprised if its actually a thing already, with its own fandom of hardcore followers who argue over the impact a ley line would have on the ballistics of small caliber weapons.
People like that would love Stonelands.
As a teenager, I read my fair share of action/techno thrillers. Stories of badass operatives with amazing gadgets on secret missions behind enemy lines. Adventure stories, but with a heavy focus on the gadgets and skills and knowledge of the people involved. It’s not just about shooting the enemy, it’s also about the weapon, the bullets, the aiming, and the history of covert operations warfare. In other words, it’s about all the little detail.
Perhaps most importantly, these are stories told with the kind of confidence that removes any doubt at the moment of reading.
Books like that fascinated me, but none of them ever included a portal to a magical world. None of them had elves or magic, until now.
Stonelands, as well as the author’s previous books, are built around the idea of what would happen if a fighter/warrior/soldier, with cutting edge expertise from today’s real world, were to end up in a fantasy world. I don’t think that idea is necessary new, but the way it’s executed here is (at least to me).
We don’t end up with an earthling human being an awesome superhero who beats up everyone and their unicorn. What we get is a detailed imagining of what it actually might be like to introduce earth’s tools, knowledge, and technologies to fantasy warfare.
It’s not someone’s self-insert power fantasy, it’s detailed and well-researched speculation – kinda like hard scifi.
In Stonelands a portal to a different world has been located by a secret military operation (with nearly unlimited funding), and on the other side, they’ve found a rare but incredibly valuable substance they want to get their hands on.
Logan, a retired commando and our main character, gets asked to spearhead the operation. Then, there are complications, and yes, those complications include elves and dragons and the effect of the foreign world’s atmosphere on sniper fire.
The complications also include some pretty serious conflicts within the team sent through the portals. It all gets very messy very fast, and it’s highly enjoyable.
What I’ll whine about
Romance and sex. I don’t mind a good romance, and I’ve enjoyed reading about people having sex. Unfortunately, the romance part of the story doesn’t merge well with the military action parts. The techno thriller aspect of the story is brilliant and full of confidence, and it’s a joy to read. The romance lacks that depth and attitude, and the contrast between the two parts of the story becomes a little jarring.
What I’ll gush about
Confidence. You may have caught on already, but I really enjoyed the confidence of the story. The narrative voice is heavy with authority, and as a casual reader, there’s no doubt that what I’m reading is accurate. What I described about the story’s focus on details and mechanics might make it seem dry and boring, but the way the story is told, these details become fascinating facts that make me feel like I’m the expert in the room just for knowing them. Silly, perhaps, but very enjoyable in the moment.
Theme. One of the main themes of the story is that everything is chaos. There are no big conspiracies to cover up the dark and dirty secrets of the world. People are just scrambling to compensate for all the things that keep going wrong all the time – usually for entirely mundane, but stupid, reasons.
This aligns very well with my own world view, so it was fun to read something that played into that.
Final Words
If you ever wondered what a mix of portal fantasy and techno thriller would be like, check out Stonelands.
