Brothers in Blood

Finally...back on point. I enjoyed this book, and it was an original story line. Mack takes a vacation, meets a young boy who reminds him of times past, and runs headlong into a group that is trying to remove the Executioner from duty. Yes, this is a good book. I liked the idea of Bolan finally getting some R&R time. As he starts his time away from duty, he evidently gets identified enroute because a hit squad is in waiting at the vacation spot. Upon arriving, Mack meets a young man that reminds him of his brother. The author used this to refer back to the early Bolan books...a story-telling technique I think is valuable to the series -- reflecting on Bolan's past. The action sequences are entertaining, and the scenes on the river are well done. As was previously pointed out, the book had both a good finish and a solid epilogue. The epilogue brought closure to the story and reminded us of the sacrifices Mack takes in his war against terror.

I really enjoyed Brothers in Blood. The premise is pretty interesting, being a story of Bolan on vacation. Definitely something different from the norm. I also think this is Krauzer's strongest novel he wrote. It is very well written. I found it a very enjoyable novel with some small flaws. The first half was very solid. Bolan going on vacation, meeting some common folks, spending a few days as if he was an everyday common person. Then the trouble starts. Once the trouble kicks in I felt the plot kind of lost its way a bit. Not bad though, still a very enjoyable read. I would actually really like to see one of the current authors try and tackle another Bolan vacation novel and see how they would pull it off.

Well it would appear that from previous reviews lodged on this title the reader either loved it or hated it. Have to say that I am in the former section and found the title to be both entertaining and very readable in the series. The Big Guy is on holidays taking a well earned vacation (is he allowed to do this? ) but anyway he gets away with it and decides to test himself with some rapid water canoeing down a swollen river. He comes across a young man named Johnny (imagine that) who reminds him of someone from his past (indeed his own long lost brother Johnny) and even looks similar to him. That's fine what is not is the band of ex military mercs who are out to kill him and have staked out the river location to do same. What follows is a good read where the Big Guy meets the Bad guys head on in numerous encounters and prevails until the final section where they have staked out a location where he cannot escape from <cough> and he goes through them like a hot knife through butter. A good finish is to be had and also a good epilogue is included as well. I very much enjoyed the read and would recommend this for your reading in the series.

Probably no other book probes more deeply into the heart, mind & soul of Bolan as does this one. "The Trial" comes close, but in this book we see the human side of Bolan. He is not a superhero who is made of steel, but a human being, albeit a fictional one, with emotions. I know this sounds weird, but I like it when Bolan eats. In this book he takes the time to do that. Eating the two hamburgers actually made me hungry for them. I also loved the descriptive detail of the book. Some, I have read, did not, but I did. In some places it reminded me of a Louis L'Amour book. Some of the dialogue was over-the-top & borderline hokey. I also think the book ended to abruptly. All in all, it is a fantastic book that delves into the human nature of the man Bolan. Not The Executioner, not even Sgt. Mercy, not Bolan the Bast***, but the Man, Mack Bolan.

From the previous reviews, I didn't expect much from this book. Maybe because of my lowered expectations, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. Pros: 1. The relationship with Johnny. While it was a bit of a stretch that Mack runs in to a kid who is the spitting image of his own brother, these are men's adventure books, not nonfiction. I didn't mind the suspension of disbelief, because the payoff was an emotional connection that these books usually lack. 2. The outdoor adventuring theme mixed with the usual gunplay was a refreshing change. I became as involved with them navigating the dangers of the river as I did them fighting the badguys. 3. Mack having to improvise without his usual arsenal. I like when a character (and the reader) is taken out of his/her comfort zone. Cons: 1. Much like Krauzer's "Renegade Agent", the villans were faceless straw men with no exploration of their characters. The story was better in this one so the omission wasn't as obvious, but it was still there. 2. A little too much time was spent on the actual landscape of the area, etc. This got tedious after a while. Still, a good (not great) read. I'm sorry this was Steven Krauzer's last book.

Another entry with solid backstory--this time concerning Mack's feelings about Johnny. His introspection scenes were well done. The Johnny Kerr character was excellent. The first 140 pages was decent, with some exciting river rapids action. The shootouts were only average in my opinion. The last 40 pages was classic kill-mode for Bolan, decimating the thugs trying to kill him. In the end, it was entertaining but thought it might be better in the action department.

I will give Krauzer credit for getting the backstory of Mack's war against the mafia right in those flashback scenes but thats about all I liked about it. The scene where there was a flashback to Mack's childhood was also a very nice scene. We learnt something about his childhood. What I hated. 1) This had incredibly long sections of travelogue. It took so long to get to the rapids and there was a description of his route, the history of the area and population census. Blah. Ok one shootout along the way. I also found myself bored with the description of the river and area - but that wasn't as bad as the trip. 2) It took Mack 10 minutes to learn as a young child how to flip in a certain way from under water to above water what it takes adults and pros months to do. This dealt with whitewater rafting. I know Mack is a great fighter but this was stretching it soooo much. Maybe memory/nostalgia for Mack. 3) This bonding by Mack and Johnny Kerr was sweet and it showed how much Mack misses his young brother but maybe because of the times we live in but Mack calling Johnny Kerr "brother John" was just creepy. Actually on this bonding and memory part I actually liked. The "brother John" part was just creepy but then it could be the times we live in that is clouding my viewpoint. Although in todays world I doubt a 15 year old would tolerate an adult 30-something male being called "brother John". 4) What I hated the most was why can't Mack simply go on vacation in peace? If he was "ordered" to go on vacation why not use SM trasportation and safehouses? Also lets see you are pushed all the time physically and mentally so you chose whitewater rafting and later a long cave in Norway (book 90)? Plus both vacations get shot at and nearly killed. I actually liked book 90 more then this one if you have to read a vacation novel read this one. I also didn't like the fact that there we no scenes with just the villians even one would be nice to understand Vigoury more. A very blah, below average novel.

The review from Addiboy for this one pretty much says it all for me. Not a bad story but average material, not living up to the hype this book got back then.

Well, what should I say about this book??? The truth and that is the book is very flat and not as interesting as I had hoped for. There is too many pages basically covering the beauty of the land and the details of each part of the river making the assination plot stay in the back seat of the book until in the end where Bolan´s confrontation with Vigoury ends without them ever really meet face to face. It blew my mind that the final battle was short and Bolan never really caught up with his assassin wanna-be. However what gave the book a certain charm was Johnny Kerr and Bolan´s thoughs for his own brother reliving part of his past meeting with his brother. Also what added a certain flavor to the story was the Stony Man part like April, Brognola and Kurtzman and their brief but touching part of the story. Anyway, this is a book for those who love with wilderness and river rafting but sadly the book didn´t life up to the promises it made to me during the first few pages!!!

A vacation for The Executioner in the rugged Idaho wilderness turns a raging river into a hell-ground as Mack Bolan is hunted by an army of hard-men after his head. With a young companion caught up in the action Bolan has his hands full with the business of survival. This book has what I think is the best story of a Bolan book since "Battle Mask" way back in Executioner #3. Even though there were stretches of the book without blazing action the excitement and tension were steady due to the wonderful narrative about Bolan the man and the white-kunckle danger of just running the river. The action is filled with more tension because in this story Mack is unprepared for a war, without his customary arsenal and packing only a small handgun initially. Of course that doesn't stop the warrior from brining destruction and death to the destroyers of men. This book with it's different plot of Mack as the prey and the exploration of his loneliness through the use of his relationship with the young Johnny Kerr really hit on all cylinders. I only have one slight criticism and that concerns the final battle: it didn't seem as well paced and as realistic as the rest of the action and the whole rest of the book. For that one shortfall I'm keeping this one as a 9 star rating.

This is probably the best Mack Bolan so far (I'm reading them in order). So many of them I forget what happened as soon as I finish the book. But this one I will remember and I plan to even reread it. I think the difference is the emotion. I felt a lot for Jonny Kerr and Mack in this one. Most of the rest seem so bland and unemotional. I hope there are a few more like this one in the series.

Excellent entry into the series. This book came across well for a lot of reasons; the forshadowing here was subtle but good - the references to Johnny Bolan, the idea that John Phoenix may the target of larger conspiracy to eliminate him, R&R for Mack Bolan is impossible without a firefight and Bolan pondering the idea of being a lone-wolf operative once again.

ANOTHER GOOD ONE FOR THE SERIES. THE RESEMBLANCE OF JOHNNY KERR TO JOHNNY BOLAN IS PRETTY CAPTIVATING. THE FIRST R&R BOOK FOR BOLAN THAT UNFORTUNATELY GETS CUT OFF QUICKLY FOR HIM HITS THE HIGH MARK. IT ALSO OPENED THE QUESTION OF WHETHER JOHNNY BOLAN WAS GOING TO COME BACK INTO THE SERIES. A DEFINATE WINNER!