This jumbled novel was book-ended by a few good shootout scenes. The rest had a lot of extra scenes of the Neutron cannon being used, and the teams running around trying to locate the bad guys.
Able's opening salvo in the apartment complex was done well, and Lyons' Atchisson carnage is always a welcome addition. Phoenix had a tense opening battle against auto-sentries. Then it just fell into way too much happening with other characters and not enough action with the teams. I figure this would sound good on GraphicAudio, but as a novel, it falls in the middle.
Able had a nice finale battle, but not enough to lift this one up.
Well this is this author’s fifth crack at a Stony Man title and yet another excellent title to follow the last four. Not quite as good as the standout Sky Killers (if you have not read that title do yourself a favour) but is a rollicking ride with an excellent plot and some standout characters introduced (and there are quite a few of them).
The storyline had me rapt when reading this as the plot twists and turns taking some unexpected paths with some of the characters involved in the title keeping you turning the pages. Add in some (lots of) excellent kick arse action scenes with some original writing involved and you know you are reading some fine stuff.
Have to agree with the previous comments regarding glaring editing errors especially in the later part of the title and the Carol Lyons blew me away I thought to myself "what the f..." and thought it was a tad unnecessary, not enough to dock any stars though.
This is a fine title in the series with everything you read this series for contained within. If you have read this author’s previous titles you will get a feeling of continuity with his writing style and I for one love it.
Highly recommended reading here.
Jumbled in a mess of continuity errors, technical inaccuracies and some sloppy Gold Eagle editing, lays the heart of a good story. I liked that the twists were happening to everyone in the story, rather than just the protagonists. What I did not like were passages like: “Delahunt fondled the air with the cybernetic gloves she wore, opening files.” (p.44). She needs a better query tool. And since when does McCarter have an SAS tattoo? And what happened to Encizo? “Encizo was less than handsome, his face carrying the scars of too many battles. But the looks beguiled the razor-sharp mind inside.” (p.80). Poor Encizo, he’s been also given a minor role in this novel. The last few chapters seemed like it was hacked to death by Gold Eagle editors, who apparently used a chain saw rather than reading it. Carol Lyons? Come on.
The story is solid, and with some radical streamlining here and there, the pace flowed. The tight race against time for both teams had the tension and captivated me. The better action scenes are found in the first two-thirds of the story. This is a good idea, hobbled with some problems at execution. The editors really let down the author on this one.
It could justifiably be said that Nick Pollotta is a one-trick pony when it comes to Stony Man novels. They almost always involve a nigh-unstoppable weapon that has ben unleashed upon the world, and it's up to the Boy in Bad-ass to stop the killers behind the weapon. Having said that, it's a formula that has stood Mr. Pollotta in good stead, and though this novel is by no means this reviewer's favorite, it is still no exception.
The tension is high throughout the book, and therefore the book is definitely hard to put down. There's a scene involving an auction of sorts which is qute suspenseful--a bit surprising, given the circumstances behind it, but thanks to the author's skill, I was on the edge of my seat.
One challenge I had with the book was the number of characters involved. There are lots of anmes to keep track of, and it sems that these threads could've been tightened up a bit. By the end of the book, I found I was reading through the climactic battle without caring too much about who was getting hurt or killed, keeping my eye open for familiar names.
I also enjoy Mr. Pollott's inserting of little in-jokes into the story. This book includes a delightful nod to a certain patrioticly-inspired Broadway play.
One other factor that made this book frustrating is not really the fault of the author, but it was so distracting I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it in this review--namely, the horrid editing done by whoever is responsible for such things at Gold Eagle. "The"s and "of"s were left out of sentences all over the place. If that were all, it would've been bad enough--but there were other more grievous editing goofs. My personal favorites are: "... away below an array of hot pipes, cold pipes and an insulted gas line. ..." (I'm assuming that's supposed to be an "insulated" gas line; then again, I've heard those gas lines are quite sensitive. Never know what might happen if you insult them.) My other favorite oops occurs in the epilogue, where Barbara Price engages in conversation with a certain Carol Lyons. Sigh. Sister? Wife? Who knew?
To sum up, if you are new to Nick Pollotta's work, I recommend you grab a cop of "Sky Killers" or "Sky Hammer" rather than this book. However, if you do find yourself reading this book intead, I think you'll be happy with the reading experience, for the most part. Just be prepared to take copious notesof merc names, military officers nd such ... and try *not* to take notes on correcting the editor's slip-ups. It's a tough task, I realize, and one might believe resistance is futile ... but one whiwch I'm sure everyone--especially Carol Lyons--involved appreciates.
