Wild Card

An explosive start but sadly the book looses shortly after that the momentum and focus and therefore making the only “wild card” in the deck what happens to Thorton in the end. Will he gain his balance and memory or will he keep on having the dilution that he is a major player in this motorcycle gang of death with only a very foggy idea of something called his past yet being unable to put his finger on the past personality and life? The best part of the book was actually Thorton and his “mind blackout amnesia” and how he dealt with it loosing his reality and personality and how he was hovering between realities and his past and present struggle was a great writing and really gave the book the only positive thing about this book. The mafia part lacks some serious consistency in the writing but it could have been dealt with in a different and more memorable way. The last few lines where cold, precise and to the point and a fitting way to finish the book After the explosive beginning the book thinned out very soon after that being confusing and very average till in the end when the book got some momentum again but sadly for me a bit too late to make any real impact. What happened to some of the key players in the book is beyond me as they just disappeared in the end without any explanation? If you want to read a good dialog about someone tripping on the razor sharp edge of reality and dream then this is a good book to read but for those who are not looking for just an average and passable reading then stay away from this book. (Iceland – 2006)

Pretty good book worth a read. The plot is good with interesting characters introduced I thought the deep undercover agent's memory fadeout was very well done. The ending is the best part of the book and I must admit I would have rated this book a 7 if not for the last sentence of the book. The last sentence well a shiver went up my spine and I thought YEAH !!! my two bobs worth..........

Early in the book it isn't a very explosive read, but Odom always brings his own style to the series, and Wild Card has the usual great scenes I like from this writer. The plot is pretty good, the characters have good depth to them, and I found myself getting more absorbed in the story the further I read on. Bolan has some good undercover scenes, I liked the one where he took the prisoner away from the police and then drove off in one of their cars. Classic role camaflage I always liked in this series. The ending was done very well, tense action, very suspensefull, and it went down to the very last sentence. Not in the top level of books, but I liked this one, I recommend it if you like Odom's books.

Bolan starts off on a solo mission, going up against a new drug pipeline. Hurray, a solo mission! Unfortunately Bolan starts too phone Brognola for help half way through the novel as things are getting "difficult". Brognola "advises" Bolan to get out of Miami as things are getting too hot!! What? I am reading an EXECUTIONER novel am I not? I always thought that it was Bolan that turned up the heat and the rest run off for safety. The DEA agent and the undercover agent story line started off okay but it did become repetative and boring after a while. The Mafia plot was, well, lame. There wasn't much of a story after the DEA agent sideline filled up the pages. Bolan, at one point, asked Brognola for information on the Toronto Mafia, but later phoned a contact in the Five Families, a contact that was an enforcer, but Bolan "actually liked him". Eh? Bolan likes a Mafia thug? What is the world coming to? The enforcer kept emphasising that he didn't know much when in fact the entire plot is spilled in two pages of dialogue. Anyway, this entry of Mel Odom's was poor. It most cetainly was not up to his usual standards.

Bolan heads South to Miami investigating a major cocaine pipeline. First stop -- a biker bar, where Bolan needs to get a prisoner who will lead him up the food chain. Great start for an Executioner, but, unfortunately, "Wild Card" doesn't keep its focus. Before long, female DEA agents and undercover amnesiacs start cluttering the book, and the pace deteriorates. Too many chapters in this book are from a point-of-view other than Bolan's. A few chapters about the villains plan may be acceptable, but the whole DEA agent and biker with amnesia plot was too much. It was unbelievable, and also a burden on the reader. The final scene was also a disappointment. For 200 pages, Bolan is chasing ten million dollars of cocaine; in the last 20 he is taking out Swiss arms dealers in Toronto. This was an unwelcome turn of events, and seemed like a half-assed effort to try and pull the novels diverse threads together. It was unsuccessful.

Another good entry to the series as well as Bolan's war on drugs.

GOOD STORYLINE IN THIS ONE. THE END MADE ME WANT TO CHEER.

This one got better as it went along. Finished as a pretty good read. But, I didn't care for the artist's misleading of Bolan having the Automag, which he didn't.