Age of War

This story was okay but was not as mind blowing for me as for other reviewers, and I was disappointed by the inclusion of the 'dirty bomb' towards the end of the novel as it seemed that the author came up with the ending at the last moment, and rushed it in. The Blackhawk helicopter on the front cover is not in the story by the way. However, this novel was miles better than the previous one that I read by the author - Shock Tactic - and the Turkish village sequence was well done. But a rushed ending and the nuke of the week spoiled it all for me.

Quite the ass kicking yarn that is only let down (slightly) by a couple factors. The plot has kind of been done so the only way to keep it fresh is with characters and action and this title does deliver in both aspects. Mack is kinda bland off and on throughout when it describes his encounters with others (I mean describing himself as a government "Flyswatter" made me roll my eyes so hard it hurt) but it is tolerable. The bad guys are absolute bastards in this too, oh will you feel the anger. And it even gets emotional. I do appreciate when the author can take some time to detail the effect on the populace. There were a couple scenes where Mack catches up with the aftermath of some terrorist action and describing the passing of an innocent person who was just in the way at the time was equally touching and incensing. Great throughout with action and an awesome cameo with Grimaldi. Unfortunately, and as with most entries, no epilogue, and the last couple pages take you on a up and down rollercoaster that just completely and utterly STOPS with no warning.....ONLY reason I didn't give this a 10.

Well whenever I start one of these titles after reading the back cover and the first page with a snippet of what is coming I always check the author and must admit now when I come to this guys name I think to myself this will likely be good and so it is again with this title unfortunately his last in this series I for one hope for another in the future. A terrorist group which have to be hunted down with a nuke section at the end and we are talking about subjects which have been absolutely flogged to death in these series but the author has managed to produce a wonderful read which will certainly keep you turning the pages. Lots of times with these storylines the terrorists are wooden ducks which are mowed down in the dozens or hundreds throughout the title but not here where the group doesn't number all that many right from the start which allows the author to bring forward lots of character traits of who has been introduced and I thought the leader was terrific as were some of his underlings. Action scenes abound as usual with this author and again some original stuff which will keep you interested add on a very good storyline and what more could you ask for. Loved it and highly recommended. Incidentally after I write one of these reviews I normally check out the other reviews lodged on the title. Maybe I forgot something I wanted to mention or maybe I agree/disagree with something someone else reviewed and how often I come across something like the following... "Coincidentally, the number of stars equals the number of chapters this piece of lame crap held me for." Uhuh so you read 76 pages of a 350 page title and post a review like you did? Umm why bother?

The extra star didn't get added until the last 40 pages. The story was decent, even though some might call this a "nuke of the month" book, etc. Bolan globe-hops to try and stop a small terrorist cell from their ultimate act of destruction. Action scenes were only average. When we get to the finale, I was surprised at the amount of the innocent carnage the writer injected. Haven't seen that since the decade of the '80's. Bolan and Grimaldi tracking the final members of the cell in a Cobra Huey was great stuff.

Not much to say about this one other than the fact that I was disappointed, not only by the cardboard characters and wooden dialogue, but the whole lazy, cliched terrorist storyline. I kept expectling to read that the full name of this outfit was not just Al-Jabar but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Six stars is generous enough.

Oh boy. More flat-as-paper Muslims with no more motivation than "Americans must die!" get their hands on a nuke. As for the "action-packed" prologue, I can scarcely believe that this was the book that Gold Eagle wanted to launch its new covers with. My, a pretty new cover. Let's read what's inside? Oh look, Mack once more being pushed around by "Feds" to perform jobs for them. Oh look, a villain who couldn't be more obtuse and comic-book if you had him twirling a mustache. Every one of his bad guys had the same setting - kill the white man. And Bolan was happy to return the favor, killing without thought, without motivation, just being "Democracy's face" by killing with the same aplomb as the terrorists he battled. Dan Schmidt has been lambasted for painting the enemies in his books with the same broad strokes and uniform lights, but at least Schmidt, when he makes a villain, makes them with more motivation than "them am not us." Age of War? Let's try "Age of Bore." Coincidentally, the number of stars equals the number of chapters this piece of lame crap held me for.

I haven't read the Executioner books in many years and this one was a great way to return to the saga! I liked everything about this book. The plot was engrossing. Mack Bolan and the Stony Man team were in-character exactly as I remembered them. The terrorists weren't just faceless 'generic' bad guys, but interesting (if despicable) characters, themselves. From the action-packed PROLOGUE in Pakistan to the final showdown between Mack and Al-Jabbar the novel's pacing is relentless. It would make one hell of a great movie! This is one of the best books I've read all year. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys well-written adventure fiction. Mike

I agree with the previous reviewers. This one was a great read. Some SuperBolans tend to lag in spots but this puppy keeps you turning the pages from beginning to end. I particularly liked how the author delved into the vicious mindset of the terrorists. The first line set the stage: 'Malik Sharek enjoyed killing Americans'. Reminded me of how Pendleton always began a book with a great line. The chase aspect has been done to death, so when I first saw the back cover, I wondered if the writer could pull it off. He sure did. The tension builds and builds until you can't wait to get to the end. That, to me, is what a good BOLAN, or any book, is all about.

This was my first Bolan book ever read and it was something sweet. Not even a day after picking it up, I was finished it. I just could not put the book down, well, aside from eating and sleeping. It was just damn good and, thus far, any of the others that I've read have not been up to it.

though it was written recently, it was my first Bolan book. Man it was good. I finished it in 2 days (had to eat and sleep). I liked to see them Arab terrorists get shot up. It was kinda scary how the terrorists simply waltzed into our country with a cobalt nuke in a crate. Some freak could pull that off and there wouldn't be no Mack Bolan there for us. That was cool how that Sefu guy could get out of his house when the FBI was watching him and he just observed closely to figure it out. They had the lights off and everything and that loser still figured it out. I'd recommend this book, even to a first time Bolan reader.