Hostile Instinct

Well I basically thoroughly enjoyed this title and lets talk the good parts first. The jungle sections in the Congo where Mack and Phoenix Force are pitted against a character named Taibu (brilliantly written) who is the King of the newly resurected Simba army which indulge in some wild stuff in this book let me tell you including cannibalism. Some of the descriptions of what this bunch get up to during the title will entertain you. The ending of this section surprised me as Calvin is going to do something which will result in his certain death. It obviously didn't happen but why it didn't came out of nowhere for me I certainly didn't see it coming. As has been previously stated about time a nosy reporter set their sights on the farm and she is very well written here. Some of the stunts she gets up to and her attitude from the start compared to the finish when she realises what deep shit she really is in is fine reading. AND Jim Gordon who is a KGB agent who previously infiltrated the Farm is back infiltrating it yet again. Able Team are set on the job when he is finally identified but don't blink at the climax as it is all over folks before you know it which I thought was a bit of a let down as the character could have been taken to many more heights. Enjoyable read here recommended reading.

Great read, Make sure your not eating when you read it

I liked most of this book, apart from what Douglas stated before. Spatkin wanting to destroy Stony Man Farm, okay, but must not hurt that pretty lady. Very unprofessional, and a very disappointing demise of this bad guy. Other wise I though the rest of the book was great. That a reporter has finally twigged to the Farm was long over due, although I was curious about the locals not saying something like "A lot of helicopters fly in and out" or "Not so long ago there was a lot of flashes and bangs coming from that direction". The Congo story I enjoyed the most. Being hunted by the cannibals across the jungle, the rivers, and finally being hold up in an abandoned building, was great and wasn't over done. And to have President Kabila assassinated in the DR Congo on the same day that I finished reading the book added an extra dimension to the overall story. On another note, Michael Kasner has placed Phoenix Force close to several nuclear explosions now. Don't the guys glow in the dark after being exposed to so much radiation? Good book, Michael.

Fairly interesting follow-up to the Jim Gordon plotline, but overall, it was just an average effort. I didn't find any standout action sequence that Kasner will usually do. I did like the character of Bullis, and found the Bill Jordan character a hoot!

Finally, the storyline started in Betrayal comes to a head, and Able Team is about to go toe-to-toe with Jim Gordon... excuse me, I fell asleep there for a moment. Was I talking about something? All harshness to this anti-climactic clash of wits aside, Gordon/Spatkin was a weak enemy in this book, nothing compared to the awesome General Taibu and his Simbas, or even that scheming little witch reporter chick. The only contempt for Spatkin I developed was from the concept that "Oh... I must destroy Stony Man Farm... but I can't hurt pretty Barbara Price." Gah! That was so stupid I'd sprinkle him with the Ebola virus in suspension, and then hand him over to the Simbas to be eaten alive, and then empty an AK into the dying Simbas. And Able Team vs. the turncoat blacksuit? Don't blink, or you'll miss every single ounce of action in this one. Bolan and Phoenix's mission into the Congo was extremely good. I just wish that more had been put into Bullis' self sacrifice, maybe reminding the reader "I must destroy Taibu myself, because it was I who gave him the virus samples." Oh, and Taibu was great, even with the element of prophecy in his demise. This is fiction, so why not go with that kind of thing? I thought it was a nicely sewn up storyline. Very few villains in the Stony Man books are worth remembering, and General Taibu and his cannibalistic Simba warriors have stolen the cake so far this year in terms of power and scope and sheer grandeur. And Brognola? "We'll lose our main strike team." Right. I forget. Lyons and company are just supposed to babysit construction workers and fight lame Crocodile Dundee wannabes. Phoenix Force handles the real problems. G.H. Frost must be spinning in his grave.

Another quality book from Kasner and I pretty much agree with Doug and his review. I didn't like that Jim Gordon was so protective of Price, such a dedicated KGB sleeper agent who wants to destroy the farm wouldn't be swayed by some blonde floozy. To say the "final showdown" between Gordon and Able Team was anti-climatic is being kind - I know there is a page limit to the books but that could have been a little meatier. I did like the reporter storyline, I thought it related Stony Man Farm to a more everyday world environment that the readers live in, we can all relate to a nosy investigative reporter and "our sister's eldest who is out of work." I loved the Simba storyline, that was really cool and a little different from what we have been getting lately.