False Front

With this effort, Jerry goes to the top of the list of my favorite author's writing for the Bolan series. This book was a late-night page turner with, once again, a very believable plot dealing with missionaries and terrorists -- in the Philippines. There is much good about this novel. We once again get insight into Bolan's character and thought process. His leadership ability is also on display as he build a team of "combatants" that work together searching the jungles and cities of the PI in searching for the hostages. To make matters worse for the Executioner, two of his teammates in this novel are shady, and Bolan has a very difficult time in trusting them. While he can't quite figure out why, he lacks complete trust and confidence in these two men. With this one feature about the book itself, the author creates a suspenseful flavor to "False Front" that is not necessarily contained in all the Bolan books. This is a must read for Bolan fans and a good choice for a book to give a first-time reader.

Fair read but not one of the best of this author's work. Early in the title the author gives a wonderful description of different swords and blades used within the Philippines when the Big Guy is trying NOT TO KILL ANYONE which is different. The hostages are tracked down and rescued and the title progresses and not sure if I have read where the Big Guy has smiled or grinned as many times in the series as he does in this title or where Charlie Mott interrogates a prisoner? Liked a lot of the characters in this one with the Tiger's convert who was convinced he was dead anyway probably the standout but Latham the Texan along for the ride was very good as well. What else to say ? Nothing up to you if you wish to read this one but I would suggest there is much better in these series indeed by this author.

This book started out on a pretty chilling note: The decapitation of a hostage by terrorists apes what's been going on in real life. I thought the plot had potential: a 9-11-like attack on the U.S., but I wasn't pulled in with the narrative. I enjoyed Latham and the Philipino terrorist who thinks he has AIDS. But the traitor in their midst was no surprise, and the action scenes were just okay. With the finale scene where Bolan and Co. track down the terrorist mastermind in NYC, it reminded me of The Peacemaker with George Clooney, but that particular scene had much more suspense to it.

I've been waiting to find a really good, solid Bolan book to get my brother into the series ... and here it is. I couldn't put this book down! It had great characters, particularly Charlie Latham, great action sequences, and a solid plot. The only thing keeping me from giving it a full 10 rating was the abrupt ending. I like my Bolan reads to have a bit of denouement. Strictly a personal preference, but there it is. Thanks, Mr. VanCook, for a brilliant read!

One of the more memorable Bolan books to come out lately. The hostages have been taken by a fundamentalist terrorist group led by yet another foe that Bolan must defeat. The grizley way in which one of the hostages is killed brings back very bad memories for anyone that cares to remember that brutal beheadings that we have all seen form the middle east in tha past few months. Mack must do anything and work any leads he can find that will give him the break he needs to rescue tha rest of the hostages. To put it simply. Beautiful Imagery, Loads of Action, Plenty of Supporting Cast. All allow me to give this book an easy rating of 8 out of 10 stars. But the fact that the book moves along at such a brisk pace forcing me to finish it in a two day marathon of reading pushes this Bolan Novel over the edge and makes it a solid 9.