War Tides

Fair read here just with one star added for the ending. The major problem with this title is that basically nothing happens for long extended periods where the reader thinks to himself "bugger is something actually going to happen soon?" but unfortunately it doesn't. I agree with the previous reviewer in relation to the action scenes where there wasn't a lot of them but the ones within the title were pedestrian at best. So have read much better in the series than this one maybe just for the in order readers.

Another worthy effort from Guenther. While Able tries to find the terrorist launching base stateside, Phoenix tracks down the bad guys with the nuclear material in Africa. Equal time among both teams is always a big plus, with good shootouts and banter between the boys. The sea-based finale with both Able and Phoenix was a change of pace somewhat, but done well. Good stuff as usual.

War Tides is mediocre at best. It seemed that the action sequences were hurried along without a lot of description so you lose that sense of urgency while reading. Yes there are brains and gores hitting the wall but the descriptions are so plain and hurried that you kind of miss the point that we just gruesomely killed some bad guys and won the battle. The action sequences were also overshadowed by “what if” scenarios. In other words the author has you in a battle scene and there is a pause to mention two or three other ways the battle could have gone. The really disappointing (incorrect IMO) interjections were James diving and performing a maneuver in an SUV that McCarter was so envious that he told James he’d have to teach it to him sometime. Hmm, what happened to McCarter’s superb driving skills and rarely letting anyone else drive? Then we have The Farm personnel admitting to Brognola that “sloppiness” was at hand in delivering vital information so late in the game. Lastly, Phoenix Force had to do battle dressed up in radiation suits. We have James complaining that it was awkward and couldn’t remember a more difficult way to do battle. Oceans of Fire comes to mind for me (underwater battle sequence).