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MWSA Review
Readers of action thrillers will appreciate Skylark: The SEAL Saga Book One, although they will encounter variations in this example of the genre. Contemporary popular culture features many smart, beautiful, female soldiers, detectives, and spies; but in this long novel Megan Mitchell gives more space than most authors to the emotional and psychological complexity of these figures.
The work begins with a mission undertaken by a team of Navy Seals, ten men led by one woman, Navy Commander Rachel Ryker. They have served together on a number of missions, each has a specialty, and all are very good at what they do. The men's respect for their commanding officer is deep; so the social dynamics of this group is the reversal of a traditional patriarchal society.
In much of Western history a few men have been at the top of the social pyramid, and other men and all women form the base. Skylark's inversion of that structure makes sense in several ways. Rachel is driven by a hatred of patriarchy. Having always felt she had to excel beyond all others in training and performance simply to pursue her career, she resents the system that puts roadblocks based on gender in her path. A mission to find terrorists working in Afghanistan gives her an opportunity to help women subjugated by the Taliban at the same time she attacks men identified as enemies to America.
There is plenty of action in the novel, hand-to-hand as well as with multiple weapons; and readers feel the tension about the mission's outcome. However, beneath the surface of this drama we suspect are forces from Rachel's past that will be revealed later in the novel. One derives from Rachel’s growing up within a conventional patriarchal social order in which she found reasons to rebel and resist the roles she was pressed to accept. She also begins to be more aware of the similarities of social structures around the globe; so her battles occur at home and abroad.
The conventional dynamics of this kind of service is always present. Rachel and her team must deal with the guilt and sorrow at having to take human lives but remain conscious of the necessity and benefits of success. For some the result is PTSD and therapy; for all, it is drink, physical exertion, and casual sex. The alternation of intense military action and intense recreational outlet derives from the conventional trope that if you take on the role of a Navy SEAL (or other law-enforcement professional at the highest level), a conventional life of romance, marriage, family, and community is impossible. Yet many who take on this role come from conventional backgrounds and, to different degrees, want to return to it. How their drive to be warriors can be reconciled with other fundamental needs is hard to anticipate, especially when this is the first in a novel series.
The central romantic tension of the story involves Rachel and Lt. Commander Christopher Williams who have strong feelings for each other as friends and fellow soldiers; but their physical and emotional desire to be with each other is consciously subdued and controlled as against regulation and destructive of their professional identity. Still, we sense early on this balance is probably unsustainable.
A trigger for these conflicts to come out into the open is memories of an earlier mission about which readers know no more than that it had occurred. We suspect, of course, that the details will rise to the surface in Rachel and Christopher’s consciousness and to the forefront of the narrative eventually. It’s almost impossible to imagine a resolution to these professional and personal dilemmas, but that motivates us to read to the end.
The novel's fifty-seven chapters are divided into three parts (Duty, Valor, Honor); and the author skillfully guides readers’ interest through each with a separate set of issues, all coming together by the end in the uncovering of clandestine international dealing.
The central characters’ grappling with emotions is not a once-and-done deal. They wrestle with desire and regret but put them into the background of their consciousness so they can pursue their duties; but they come back to it, sometimes simply rehashing the same questions and doubts. Over time, however, there is realistic movement forward.
This vacillation is a strength of the novel, as we all return to fundamental challenges in our life time after time. The high physical demands of their SEAL life and the potentially horrific consequences of failure remind us that their professional actions are not a lark. But neither are the current battles to maintain personal integrity and a sense of self-worth in the tradition of patriotic service.
Review by Michael Lund (March 2025)
Author's Synopsis
Being the first female Navy SEAL is no easy job, but someone's got to dismantle the patriarchy. Rachel Ryker, call sign ‘Skylark,’ can outrun and outgun just about anybody, and with her second in command, Christopher Williams, by her side, she’s practically unstoppable. Christopher would follow Rachel to hell and back… or maybe just to the Middle East. When a top-secret malware code is stolen from the CIA, Rachel and Christopher lead their SEAL team through the Middle East in an attempt to recover it.
They both have their own reasons for fighting, but as the team gets closer to finding the stolen malware, Rachel discovers that the man they're looking for may be closer to her than she thinks. Will Rachel’s obsession with completing their mission override her common sense and causes her to lose sight of what is really important- keeping women and children safe from the oppressive patriarchy they are all living in?
With secrets, pride, and a strict no fraternization policy keeping them apart, falling in love would mean sacrificing everything Rachel and Christopher have worked for. But when Rachel gets injured in combat, everything changes. Now Rachel will have to choose: does her devotion to the Navy outweigh her love for Christopher?
Format(s) for review: Kindle Only
Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction
Number of Pages: 348
Word Count: 142,522
