Reprisal

Excellent read here which will keep you entertained throughout with a plot that is believable and very well told. Able Team are in Northern Mexico and Phoenix Force are in Columbia on jointly executed missions where both blow up in their faces. It quickly becomes apparant they have been set up by someone through their own cybernetics section at Stony Man. Then communications between Stony Man and the Teams is jammed by the unknown enemy and it is discovered this enemy also has cracked all of their security codes and is listening in and watching everything coming in or out of Stony Man farm. The President issues directives for Stony Man farm to cut all access to the outside world immediately. The Teams are in deep with no access to Stony Man and seemingly being followed/chased/hunted by countless hordes which results in some very special writing in the currently running subplots in the title. Lyons is OUTSTANDING in this title in Able's sections and the jungle scenes with Phoenix,Mack,Jack and the DEA Fire Base sections are terrific with the standout as Jack does what he does with a goosed up helicopter. An excellent character introduced here in El Machetero with some of the things he does in the jungle and I winced when he was dis-armed good stuff. One of the better titles in this series without doubt docked this one star as I also thought with 30 pages to go it was pretty much downhill and predictable but it still was a good ride and recommended reading here.

This volume is definitely a time I will be going against the crowd. I felt Reprisal was tired and uninspired story. The characters were passable but the book failed on every other level. Michael Kasner delivers a lackluster and uninspired book that does nothing but bore. The entire plot and backstory is explained in the early pages of the book and no twists, surprises or even changes alter things as the book progresses. The villain in the CIA’s motivation is so thin that is descends into the realm of absurd that he would even devote the time and energy on attacking Stony Man Farm. I found myself groaning at the very prospect of such a ludicrous and contrives story. And then to have the whole thing explained at the beginning was inexcusable and amateurish. I didn’t even have to wait until the need to have that groan and roll of the eyes. The characterization of the teams are passable representations but they fail to inspire that same bravado and flair that is present in each of them. When even Carl Lyons is dull and unimpressive you know something is wrong. As the book plays out Kasner’s prose becomes muddled and unclear. There was more than one occasion where I had to stop and read carefully to understand the action in a scene. Such a style is not suited to action adventure stories as it removes the reader from the immersion of the story. All told, I feel Reprisal is dull and better left alone.

This book got off to a great start when Phoenix & Able Teams were cut off from the Farm. The crew at Stony Man were really on the ropes as well. It was good to see everyone struggling a bit and not knowing what was coming next. I felt that Mack and Jack had things a little too easy, as if the antiagonist didn't make any contingencies for them. That being said, the scene w/ Grimaldi attacking with his modified chopper was very cool. All three field teams really shined through in this one. Mcarter and Lyons both kicked butt! My only complaint was that w/ about 40 pages to go it was clear how things were going to shake out and the plot dragged a little. There was one very nice plot twist in thes end that took me by surprise. This is the first book I've read by this author and I look forward to reading more

Kasner did an okay job here, but like all the other 'attack on the Farm' books, I'm left wondering 'Why the hell do the neighbors put up with all this racket?'. I liked the action away from the farm in Colombia, though, and give Kasner an 'A' for coming up with a decent new twist on an otherwise uncredible -- and all too frequent -- storyline.

The knock-out cover drew my eye at a used book store and the book is every bit as awesome. Like some other reviewers, I thought there had already been too many books about attacks on the Farm, but Kasner did a good job breathing fresh life into the plot and orchesstrating all the subplots, especially the ones in Colombia. Great effort.

The scene depicted on the cover is supposed to include a Land Rover, not a Jeep!! :)

My first thought, as a longtime reader, was "Oh, no, not ANOTHER attack on Stony Man Farm." You'd think that after three previous attacks, security would be ultra-tight, especially in the personnel screening and cybernetic processes. This one manages to come up with a new wrinkle, naturally, one that was completely unexpected, and pulls it off rather well. Able Team shines bright in this one (and we finally get a glimpse of what makes Ironman one "very, very scary dude", as described by Mack way back in "Stony Man Doctrine"). Also notable is the way the writer brings a sense of continuity into the story, referring back to the first attack on the Farm; a look at Cowboy's methods of defense; and real pulse-pounding action. I really enjoyed this one. This one's a definite read-till-the-pages-fall-out.

Great read! This has got to be my favorite so far since I've restarted taking up the series. It was a fast, fun read. The characterization was excellent. The plot excellent. The action intense! Grimaldi had some great action in this one as well as Able Team. I'm starting to really like Able Team now!! The Stony Man Farm group had a lot of good action as well. A longer standoff with the ATF would have been a little nicer at the end, but a small suggestion. Otherwise, I was very very pleased with this installment. My favorite scene was probably the one with Grimaldi taking out the mercs with his hopped-up chopper.

I thought this one started off great, but lost steam near the end. I really enjoyed reading how both teams reacted to suddenly finding themselves as the prey, and not the hunters. It was good to see one of "our" guy's getting injured, and them dealing with it realisticly. Kasner's work was still interesting, but I didn't enjoy this as much as Rebels & Hostiles. I did, however, fully enjoy the Jack Grimaldi bombing scene near the end. The visual images were very sharp. Looking forward to reading more of Kasner's work with the series. - Dave

I expected this to be a lot better than it really was. Although Kasner kept things moving, he needs help with writing his action scenes. I guess I prefer the explosiveness of Fieldhouse. The book kept me interested, but not one of the better Stony Man 's overall. The bombing scene was the standout sequence.

It was pretty good. The bombing scene is the best. Also there was a tense moment between the stand off with the ATF. Not much offensive, but a pretty good story.

This book was awesome! It had a lot of action, and I liked how it was Stony Man being a target and having some federal acencies on their tails. It was cool because they were always on the run.

This was one of the best Stony man books ive read yet. It was cool when Lyons Captured all those ATF agents and set the place on fire. It was nice to see stony man as a target.

I'm only half way through this book, yet I think it is one of the best! Also by the author of another awesome one Breach of Trust, Michael Kasner is the best Stony Man Writer today!!!

This is one of my all-time favorites!! Kasner does his books well!! Able Team and Phoenix Force was in the book more than Bolan!! I don't recall Bolan killing many people if any.

A great installment in the Stony Man Farm with Able Team up against an old, familiar enemy... the CIA. And Phoenix's battle in Colombia was excellent. I was particularly glad to see Bolan operating on his own for most of the book, and enjoyed El Machetero's nod to the legend of Phoenix Force. Too bad El Machetero was so easily dis-armed... he'd have been a good foe for Phoenix. As for Carl and the boys... even though they weren't kicking tail wall to wall, they were very enjoyable to watch in action. Their antics were quite fun. Made me almost feel sorry for the cartel team though. A cornered Able Team is Able at its best.