San Diego Siege

This Book was ok. Liked seeing all the future members of able team in the same book I hope in future pendleton books the 3 members get to work together more. Carl does not resemble the "Iron Man" that I know and love. Any way good book pick it up if you dont have it and read it.

Howlin’ Harlin is dead. The man who trained Mack Bolan to be The Executioner has supposedly shot himself, but not all may be as it seems. Prior to his demise Harlin may have been involved with the Mafia and things look fishy. It’s up Bolan and the remains of the Death Squad, Gadgets and Politician, to find the truth. This installment isn’t as actioned packed as others, but it’s replaced with character development. Early on Bolan reminisces back to his days in Vietnam and when he first met Harlin which offers a good insight in to his character and it’s always interesting to see Bolan’s early days. Pendleton does a good job of getting in to the head of Big Ben, a mobster who knows Bolan will be coming for him eventually. It’s good to see that Bolan’s war actually makes a difference, even if it is just psychologically. I liked that the villain’s plan was very different from past novels and it required a lot more detective work from Bolan and his Able Team than usual. With the more intricate plot I thought it was a good idea to load the cast with returning characters. There’s less action than usual as Able Team realizes they need to investigate before they can go in guns blazing. Gadgets even says, “There’ll still be plenty of fireworks before we close this one”, almost as if it’s an assurance to the reader. The Executioner doesn’t even kill anyone until the 80th page, but it’s not a dull slog until then. It’s interesting to see Bolan and his allies work covertly and once the shooting starts, it lets Pendleton write more unique action scenes. With Bolan working solo he usually snipes or gets up close, but with a team of three he’s able to mix and match the dynamics. Last time we saw Gadgets and Politician they were being chased by the police, assumed to be arrested. However, they turn up here and never mentioned how they escaped. I would presume this was explained in a previous book but personally, I would have liked a couple sentences to satisfy my curiosity. Another issue I had was half way through the book, Bolan confronts a topless woman who then sics her guard dog on him. Dealing with the dog is a great moment that leaves Bolan scratched up. She then instantly takes Bolan inside to stop the bleeding and starts helping his cause. While I do give Pendleton credit for not having Bolan sleep with her, it was a very abrupt change to go from sending a dog to rip out a man’s throat to being his ally. Literally, it was a 180 degree flip that took place over the course of a sentence. While I thought the reduced emphasis on action was a good change of pace, it did seem to be a slow burn building to a massive firefight. Unfortunately, the final action scene was a bit of a letdown. It involves causing a car accident, blowing up the cars and then Gadgets and Politician taking out the survivors. Sounds good in theory, but the last part of that summary is just reduced to “Gadgets and Pol took position. Bolan left the remainders for them.” That’s it and it seems really anticlimactic. However, Bolan left them so he could personally execute the capo in the most epic scene I’ve read in the series so far. Somebody quoted it below and it does not disappoint. Not everyone will like this book because it is different but I liked it. I realize it is a bit of a contradiction to praise it for the slower pace but then complain about a lack of action at the end. That’s the fine balance that this book tries to walk and almost succeeds. Able Team Kill Count: 29

Bit of a different type of title here where the Big Guy comes into town as a result of a request from Gadgets and Pol in relation to another face from the past a Colonel who was very tight with the Big Guy in Vietnam and now in private corporate business and being chewed at around the edges by the Mob. The plan is to corner the horse track action in the country. The full gambit from bookmaking to layoff books to numbers' lotteries, racing wires, the whole thing. One that will put the Mob in undisputed control of a worldwide gambling wire setup. Ultra-sophisticated radio gear hijacked from the military and one of the towns leading citizens has dirty fingers over the deal. The guy heads an electronics firm that does government contract work and has been engulfed by the Mob. Major problems where the Mob does not have a firm control in any thing and it is impossible to ensure that innocents are out of the way before any strike. Gadgets and Pol play major roles in this title which culminates in the location of the stolen radio equipment and it's eventual destruction ending the plans completely. One of the nuggets when reading this series is as follows verbatim from the title and one of the major reasons I love reading this series. "I knew you'd get to my territory sooner or later," Lucasi muttered. "So go ahead. Kill me." Bolan replied, "All right." And he did so, the muzzle of the AutoMag making contact with Big Ben's little skull at that critical point directly between the eyes. He squeezed off once, sending 240 shattering grains exploding into that corruption, at a muzzle energy of a thousand or so foot-pounds. I'll spare you the following description of the exploding skull and brain sections. Great stuff (or am I becoming a little sick?) Nah this is a very good read a little down on action but yet again cementing the Pol and Gadgets characters for future titles. It's a great read grab it.

This one now, is different type of warfare we haven't seen in any of previous battlegrounds! Sure there's that Bolan Effect, but it's not fast and furious like in the others. This one is more like playing cat and mouse game to pry out mafioso fingers from the citizenry! Overall, I rated this one an 8 due to it's complexity of creating a scenario where Bolan had very few set targets and shrouded in mystery of who is actually "guilty". It was really great seeing Gadgets and Pol again in this one. For the series, keep truckin' on! Bolan cleaned up once again! Recommended read since this is just a preview of what Bolan can do later. Sig

The best Pendleton Bolan since Miami Massacre -- I really enjoyed this story. Firstly, it was great to see the old comrades -- Pol & Gadgets & Carl -- in this story. Almost makes me want to grab an Able Team next, but I need to follow Bolan to Philly. Seeing Pendleton bring these characters back into the series, and continue to develop there character was a breathe of fresh air to the series. Secondly, this story had great characters. Did I already say that? The Able Team crew, along with the Tatum, bring a solid story-line often missed in the modern-day Bolan books. Thirdly, it was great to get some Bolan history, with the Death Squad crew in the book, and the "Howlin" theme, granted Pendleton the opportunity to talk of the Vietnam days. Lastly, the ending chase scene on hwy 5 was fantastic. Pendleton again demonstrated a wonderful "action-sequence writing" style that has drawn and kept me a fan of this series. Easily 9 stars ... now, on to Philly ...

My buddy was recently transferred overseas and gave me "custody" of his Bolan collection which features many of the early books. This is the first one I read, because I had just returned from a trip out to San Diego - having some local knowledge of the city added to the enjoyment of the story. This was the first Bolan book I read by Mr. Pendelton and there is a very different feel to them vs the newer books. The language in this story is stronger, but appropriately so. This book was published approx 30 years ago and I really enjoyed the 70's feel to it - although I found myself getting lost in some of the slang of the day. Good action without relying on as much graphic violence as current novels. Bolan even had a moment of self-doubt! In all of the Bolan books I've read prior to this one, the Big Guy was an agent of the US Government, so it was interesting to see him working outside the law in this one. As other reviewers pointed out, it was fun seeing the beginning of Able Team. Great cover too - Austin Powers eat your heart out.

One of the early greats! Sows the seeds for Able Team in the future, and if you were a fan of Death Squad, this one is quite enjoyable in that Pol and Gadgets return for the first time! A must read and a great cover!

First off I'll say I may like this book a little more because I live here. That said it's still a damn entertaining tale. Bolan comes to San Diego at the request of Gadgets and the Politician who return after their first appearance in Death Squad. They're out to help a former comrade from their army days who may be in mob trouble. Things get tricky from the very beginning and the "Able Team" has to make a finesse play to open things up in the boder town. But even the finesse of the Executioner carries plenty of punch. The action begins small with some probes but things go boom as the plot unfolds and everything comes to a head in a dessert shootout. I'm giving this one 8 stars. I'm tempted to tack on another star just because so much of the action happens within about 5 miles of my house but I'll resist. 8 stars it is.

Nothing really special. Having the future members of Able Team in this one was a plus. the high point was the hit on the mobster's mansion.

A good book. The battles in this novel were well thought out and quite interesting. The entrance of the three Able Team warriors is an interesting twist in and of itself.

This is a must read because Mack teams up with Gadgits and Pol who we haven't heard from since "Death Squad"[executioner #2]. Carl Lyons is also in this one planting the seed for which the Able Team emerge. A good read!