Deadly Payload

This is good but be warned there is bucket loads of stuff contained within the covers so you will have to actually concentrate on what is going on, this is definitely not one of the titles where you can just skim read if you wish to enjoy this entry. Loved the plot here which has been years in the making and the thousands of drones nuclear equipped programmed to drop into hundreds of cities across the planet and basically destroy life as we know it was good. As has been said it's a who's who from the Farm with everyone on board including the Big Guy and Jack but with Able Team and PF taking the majority of the title. The action scenes as per usual with this author are slick and exciting as is the rapport between the members of the Teams coupled with the strong knowledge the author displays when writing one of these titles all means this is one you should read in the series. Recommended reading here folks.

The timing of this novel is problematic. The last title in this entry had a very similar premise with a number of parallels and coincidences, even right down to the nationality of the enemy commander. Comparing the two, I believe that this one is slightly better, not drawn down by the gadgets and gimmicks of the first one and a more realistic reaction to the nationwide calamities, simultaneously occurring, leaving the Stony Man teams a bit thin. A roll call of all the Stony Man teams are fielded here, new ones, old ones and not-so obvious ones. The cyber-team is the only unit I still have problems with, and I am still amazed Price still has a job after the stunt with Air Force One towards the end. Even if it was not exactly what it seems, not telling her supervisor before it happened (or during) should have be firing offense. The broad scope and action also gives the novel a different look and feel. After back to back world-killer threats, I would appreciate a novel that takes a different tact, to show a smaller-scale action could be just as emotional and more relatable. I got lost a few times in the underground fighting, where detail of scene and surroundings often gave way to speed and expediency. I do appreciate the author not only tying into the classic novels from the eighties, nineties and today, but also his own previous works. No other author has tried this in fifteen years for either Able Team or Phoenix Force. He succeeds in creating his own niche, his own universe here that lives, breathes and remembers where it came from. “Deadly Payload” is the latest installment and I eagerly anticipate the next one.