Deadly Contact

I was a little disappointed with this story. One reason was because of the massive security breach - more on that later -but mainly because I expected the story to go to Bosnia and have something to do with the genuine massacres that happened there. Instead there was a generic runaround inside America and an never ending supply of cardboard cutouts for Bolan to shoot. I expected more from Mike Linaker but that was my error (not against Linaker because his story telling was ok, but the story itself.) So we have the character of Erica Dulkas who Bolan has to protect. She is a translator and seems to work for Stony Man Farm and as such seems to know the main players (apart from Bolan) and has the run of the place. Her pass isn't even checked when she leaves the grounds! What!?! This lady gets kidnapped on the first page! She could so easily spill the beans! So why have a translator working for Stony Man Farm when it would be far better to have her working at the DOJ and Stony Man personnel could use her from afar. This threw me out of the story right at the beginning and as such it took me nearly a week to plod my way through it. I couldn't get into this one which was unfortunate. Also the Apache helicopter on the cover isn't in the story at all. Couldn't the artist find another picture of a helicopter to copy and paste or was that asking too much?

The prologue details events from ten years ago of a slaughter of innocents in Bosnia which unknown to the perpetrator's (a group who are ripping off the aid coming into the country) has been secretly video taped. Now fast forward to today and the guy who arranged the taping feels the group are on the verge of taking him out so sends a copy to his neice in the States. Enter Erika Dulcas a friend of the said neice who is a translator working at of all places Stony Man Farm. Talk about excellent characters which have been introduced into these books this lady will blow you away with her talents and humour. Fastforward and Fastback here a couple of times in time which further cements the plot and away we go. From the start this title just starts cranking up and keeps on going. Too many excellent sections to mention or spoil for you this is an excellent read right until the end. You will be caught up and grabbed and dragged to the finish which comes TOO soon unfortunately if only it had been bigger. Now during the title a very good character named Bud Casper is introduced who in fact saves the lives of Mack and Dulcas is missing with Jack searching in a helicopter near the end of the title. Mack says "Any joy on Casper?". Jack says ""Sorry, Sarge." I would have liked something more.

An enjoyable read, with Bolan involved in a what becomes basically a long drawn out, but enjoyable nonetheless, chase across the snow-covered mountains of Colorado. I have a few gripes with this title. The occasional silly spelling errors, being one. Also the fact that in Bolan's initial meeting with Erika Dukas, where he rescues her from several armed thugs, he leaves his primary weapon out of arm's reach whilst untying her. Would a warrior of his calibre make such a mistake? But these are miniscule details that do not overly detract from the title.

Just finished this. Started out rather good. Went well up to Pavlec leaving the country. Except for action scenese the rest of the story development seems to lack the proper finishing touches it should have. Not enough on the victims killed is an example. I realize this is not an Superbolan, however the early Pendleton books did not lack a proper finish on the entire story. By this I am not talking about the end of the story, but the overal finish like that of a sho shine or a painting. Due to the overall undeveloped potential I am not rating this book. I leave it's overall ranking unaffected by me.

The story; a piece of evidence that can bring down an evil group of ruthless buisnesmen is sent to the U.S. , an unsuspecting Stony Man worker is drawn into the action, and Bolan shows up on the scene to save the day and secure the elusive disk. Sound original, not really, are the characters super original, no, but why I rated this one so high, is that its what this author does with it ! Its an action packed chase with Bolan barley staying one step ahead of the well armed mercs and cutthroat villains. From Washington to Colorado, through cilly snow covered mountains, this one was Awesome ! Eh Kay says, superb !

I liked this book quite a bit. It grabbed me right from the beginning and engaged me throughout. I had a few minor quibbles, such as two misspellings of the work "discomfort" (there's no K in that word) and a case where a person not in the room keeps speaking. But that is more of an editing issue. The plot was exciting and moved along very quickly. I look forward to reading more of this author's books.

In “Deadly Contact,” Bolan must save a Stony Man Farm interpreter from a evil conglomerate of Bosnian war profiteers and retrieve evidence for a mass execution. What makes this outing notable is the complexity of the plot and the background behind it, but then again, the rest of the plot is paper thin. I enjoyed the “survival” scenes in the snow and the final action sequences. I was disappointed with the several loose ends. The major themes of the Executioner series are judgment and sacrifice. I will not name character names. But by leaving their fate in the air like that, undercuts this. “Deadly Contact” moves fast with some notable action, but ultimately is an average entry. I haven’t read a Mike Linaker story since the Phoenix Force adventure, “Dirty Mission” fifteen years ago. I intend to read a lot more of his work.