Cleansing Flame

Maybe I've read too many of Newton's books, but I found this one insufferable. First of all, the neo-Nazi plot has been all but forgotten so that we can have ANOTHER drug cartel story. Did terrorists cease to exist in the mid-90's? It seems that at least 2/3 of the books in this time period are drug dealer related. For a change of pace, they make the cartel NOT Colombian. Most of all, Newton's "fill-in-the-blanks" writing style is on full display here. Rattling the cages (which means 2-3 page vignettes of Mack busting up some office/tavern/warehouse) followed by a 3 page section of the villan's mindset, filled to the brim with some of his choice phrases like "so be it," "who's to know," and "no matter" at least once per paragraph. I can't believe this is the same author who wrote The Trial and Eternal Triangle. My only hope is Mel Odom can salvage this turd of a storyline in the final book. Maybe Phoenix Force will even be in that one for more than 20 pages.

This second book in the Terror trilogy shifts Bolan's focus from California to Bolivia. Phoenix Force continues their assaults in Europe. Although there isn't much plot in this book, I was very pleased with this middle book. Bolan's blitz in Bolivia is fast and furious, keeping the bad guys on the run and also without their knowledge of just who they are dealing with. Several good scenes sprinkled throughout the novel made it an above average action thriller. As in the first novel, one of the major villains gets away from Bolan, and likewise another couple escape PF in Europe. These loose ends are obviously to be addressed in the final book. I thought this novel was actually a little bit better than book one. Both the Bolan side and the PF end were very well done, with good allys for both teams helping out. Crisp action scenes, evil villains, and tense adventure keep the pages turning. Grimaldi finally gets a piece of the action near the end after sitting on the sidelines from the beginning of the trilogy.

Reasonable read which is basically just book one of the trilogy doubled in size but it sets the trilogy up for the final book Inferno which I have just finished and get ready. If you have read book one of this trilogy you have to read this one so get to it and finish it quick as you can so you can read the final book. my two bobs worth........

IT WASN'T AS GOOD TO ME AS THE FIRST ONE, BUT GOOD NEVERTHELESS.

This was just a rehash of the previous book, but it was more of the same explosive action that I enjoyed immensely.