Interception

Interesting note: Victor Bout is a real life Russian arms dealer who is currently in Russia being protected by Putin after a prisoner swap. In Interception Bolan, of course, kills him off. I had to remind myself that this novel was published almost 20 years ago and Croatia of today bares no resemblance to it. But even when reading I thought that the author must be referencing research material that was already 10 years out of date. It didn't feel quite right. I will agree with another reviewer about the first 50 pages, especially the North Korean train sequence - it was very Mission: Impossible and very enjoyable. We start the adventure in Split, Croatia, go off to North Korea and then back to Croatia with a stop off at Stony Man along the way. To be honest, it could have been any generic city as what was described would have fit anywhere and I was disappointed in that. No mention of the Roman part of the city or any other historical references, just bland buildings. The plot is minimal. The Russian arms dealer has joined up with a geneticist to do something but we are not told what. Bolan, Grimaldi and Charlie Mott attempt to get to geneticist but eventually fail to keep him alive. The story is one gunfight after another. By the end Charlie Mott is barely alive and Bolan and Grimaldi are fairing little better. There is no description of what our three heroes look like so they do come off as pretty cardboard. The book is enjoyably written, but thin on plot and characterizations and there was little sense of how long the story took as Bolan globe hopped a bit in the first hundred pages.

Surprisingly fast-paced outing that had Bolan stealing a flash drive with sensitive info, blasting apart a train and rescuing a hostage all in the first 50 pages. When he enters Split, it's non-stop action as the big guy takes on the Russian criminals underworld forces to secure the stolen technology. A spectacular raid on Bout's fortress using heavy MG's and grenade launchers kicked this one into overdrive. Although, I do have to say, Bolan and Co.'s escape and harried pursuit by Bout's men went just a tad overboard. Finished with a final battle of chopper vs. hovercraft, which made this novel a satisfying read.

WOW second time author in this series and he has opened this title with probably one of the best opening sections of a title in this series you WILL be impressed and you WILL certainly enjoy what you read. As for the rest of the title if you enjoy over the top action scenes again and again and even another again THIS IS FOR YOU MATE !!! This title has an EXTENDED section where the Big Guy, Jack and Charlie Mott who are along for the ride SHOULD die on every page for 100 plus pages yet manage to survive and the way the author manages to maintain the excitement and suspense blew me away you just cannot put the bloody thing down. If you are into deep plots and interesting characters being introduced you should probably look elsewhere but if you are interested in a non stop action fest title which WILL entertain you here it is. I Loved It Highly Recommended.

Non stop mind numbing action, my brain was on auto pilot, I lost track of what exactly Bolan was up to, other than gunning down and endless wave of useless bad guys, I had no idea what was going on. I guess I could have gone back to reread the beginning, but naw, whatever. If you like non stop endless fighting, this is one for you!

Spoiler This was just another in a long line of awful books by this author. The scenes are just re written from other stories ( downstairs through the whorehouse and into the office of the redpole (triad leader) does anyone else remember that?)There is no congruity in the plot, Bolan just goes here and there and shoots people, putting uninvolved people in harms way was never the Bolan I read. This starts out with bolan jumping "halo" in. He then takes some drugs. "Go Pills" is the euphemism the author uses. "all the air force uses them". Drugs? because he cant stay awake or handle the strain? Has Nathan ever even read a Bolan book. Bolan gets in a long gun battle and fires "full auto" over and over again, he changes magazines 1 time after 100 rounds or so and then the mag was half full. From then on I started half reading and finally gave up and put it on the shelf. jmho

This was a good comeback for Nathan Meyer after the mediocre Executioner Collision Course installment he wrote last shipment. The action throughout the novel was intense and violent, which I always enjoy. The plot was done a lot better than collision course. For the most part, Bolan works by himself till the very end of the novel when he gets help from Grimaldi and Mott. The ending was amazingly insane because it was set up as one exciting action sequence after another. Overall another well done novel.