Siege

Fair read here only I reckon. Strange title which plods for the first half but picks up quite nicely in the second. There are a few good action scene sections which I enjoyed but overall I thought there were too many sections between where I found it dull reading and it tended to plod a bit. So nothing bad about the title but also nothing to rave about either. Up to you middle of the road stuff here.

Mel Odom takes his turn at writing a thrilling tale here of action and adventure in the Mack Bolan universe. As he did in both the Deathlands and Outlanders universes, making them both richer in reading experiences, he does the same here for Mack Bolan. Odom has a good handle for action/adventure writing, and I wish he would continue writing for these 3 Gold Eagle series.

It took me a while to get into this monstrosity of a Bolan adventure, but it turned out to be a good book, I enjoyed it. The first half has Mack working more as part of a CIA team than his lone wolf mode. About halfway through this changed and he goes more independent for the rest of the book, with a little help from a woman ninja sidekick. Mel Odom writes some really great scenes, and my favorite in this novel is when the Hosaka brothers confront each other in Yemon's office. It was well done and had a shocking ending to the chapter that revealed a plot twist that I didn't see coming. Also while this was taking place both Bolan and the ninja infiltrated the building seperately, I liked those scenes also. Brognola has a bigger role than usual, I thought the scenes with him were done well, even taking on the bad guys while injured. There were too many bad guys in the book that were offing each other though, sometimes Mack was not around when some of the major players were taken out. This novel has a complex plot, kind of like a Clancy book with action scenes added. One thing though is it didn't feel like the action was taking place in Japan, the descriptions of surroundings were sometimes vague, like it could have taken place anywhere. But an entertaining read. Highly recommended for fans of Odom's work.

Terrorists are hitting Japanese-owned businesses in the US. Innocents are dying; it's time for Bolan to look into things. This was well-written action. The plot was a bit vague at times, but fairly cohesive. The reader was pulled in quickly when Bolan, in Japan on his was to meet Brognola, gets caught weaponless in an ambush. This scene is one of the all-time best. The book continues well, but does have some low points. The villain's motivations are somewhat nebulous -- is he fighting for America or trying to earn himself some dough. And "Siege" falls into the common trap of having Bolan end the mission on the last page. This is great for excitement, but it leaves the reader wondering, especially in this book. Bolan is wounded, in Japan, and possibly on the wrong side of the Japanese law. How does a wounded 6'3" caucasian get out of the country? Overall, though, the book is one of the best. While te plot line of Japanese buying out America is slightly dated, the book is still a great read.

A pretty good read that had a lot of action, and used Brognola more than usual. Grade: B