The Invisible Assassins

Wow. Very disappointing read here. The poor was confusing, the characters hard to keep track of, the action was almost non-existent and Bolan just didn't have the typical personality I am used to in earlier books. I'm guessing a new(er) author wrote this who didn't have complete familiarity with the Bolan character. The part where Bolan just gets in the car with King without any second thought even after it had been mentioned he suspected him to be involved with the enemy was just dumb. The forest action even dumber. The bullet train fight scene lacked any excitement and the ending felt extremely rushed. Still somewhat enjoyable like almost all Bolan reads are not not one I'll ever want to read again.

Huhhhhh, "Invisible Assassins" the first entry by Alan Bomack which is obviously an anagram. However, there is an extra A in the name. Whatever the reasons for Alan's secrecy it's unnecessary. I disagree with most ratings related to this title as I'm giving it a 9. It was clearly a high water mark in the early Gold Eagle days. Maybe, I'm somewhat biased since I recently read Phoenix Force's "Tigers of Justice" but the throwback Ninja theme is clearly hitting me the right way. I didn't feel the narrative was slow but rather evenly paced. My only complaint is that the Japanese Ninjas seemed extremely inept in this storyline. With Bolan's first encounter in Shinoda's apartment, the Ninja's "fingers of steel" found a "vital pressure point" which knocked Bolan out but the Ninja apparently didn't have time to finish him - REALLY! However, after the first encounter Bolan just ASS kicked them all with no trouble! I think it would have been a tighter story if Bolan continued to struggle fighting against the ninjas throughout the story and was luckily able to survive the confrontation similar to his first encounter. I also didn't mind how the main villain Yamazaki was revealed towards the end of the book. It may be somewhat comic bookish but again; for some reason it hit me the right way.

The Invisible Assassins is below average and somewhat boring. At times it felt a little James Bond-ish, which I don't really mind. However, the overall story did indeed drag on at times. I also thought it a little lame that at the start of the book, Bolan has nothing for an attaching ninja. However, toward the end, he marches through ninjas as he moves through the castle to get to the Lord of the Red Sun. The setting -- in Japan researching the death of a biochemist -- isn't too bad and Bolan quickly realizes this crime is much larger that the death of the biochemist. I also found the history presented about the ninjas, Jonin, and Japanese dynasties to be interesting as well. However, overall the books was not good.

Disappointing novel. I don't mind Bolan's that feature less action and focus more on a mystery plot. That's fine if it is done correctly. This was just a snooze fest. And, as mentioned in earlier reviews, is just a plot composed of pieces from earlier Bond films and novels. Would not recommend.

Very slow title here which is painfully slow to read at times. Set in Japan where the Big Guy travels to investigate the murder of a biochemist by unknown ninja assassins the actual story is not too bad where you won't know who can be trusted from the start. The investigation continues and the Big Guy eventually catches up with the main villain late in the title who actually wasn't too bad either but comes into the title so late that very little time is given to introducing him to the reader. A quick finish is had and I guess a feeling of a somewhat letdown at the finish where a feeling of it could have been so much better than it actually is happens. Read it if you have to not particularly recommended by me.

A fairly action-light entry in the Executioner series, Mack Bolan travels to Japan after an American biochemist is killed by a ninja assassin. The book spends a surprising amount of time hitting the highlights of the Japanese scene -- a sumo match, a kendo practice, the bullet train -- while slowly moving forward with its conspiracy plot. If INVISIBLE ASSASSINS has a shortcoming (aside from the relative dearth of action) it's that its villain doesn't tip his hand until so late in the book that the climax seems rushed. There's a Bondian feel to the proceedings, especially when the full extent of the villain's plot is revealed, and in some of the quips tossed off by our hero. Certainly those looking for heaps of ninja action are not going to get what they want here, and neither are those who want set piece piled on to set piece. The book is a resolutely average volume with a few nice touches, nothing more.

Remember the 80's, when Ninjas were all the rage? Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja (my favorite!), American Ninja. Then I found this novel, Ninjas AND Bolan. My whole group of friends were so excited, we all took turns reading and fighting over who would read it next. Fast forward 20 some years. I was so excited when I picked this up ! I couldn't wait to relive that old feeling ... but sadly I was disappointed. This is a pretty dull, uneventful lackluster entry. More of a mystery than an action adventure novel, definitely not a keeper. Eh Kay says - Revenge of the Ninja Rocks ! This novel does not !

Being the first book I read that got me instantly intrigued into the series... that gets 5 stars. I liked the fact that it was in Japan, and Japan is a country I've been into since I was a little kid... that's 3 stars. Doug's right, the main villain was pretty lame, and thoughts of You Only Live Twice came about quite often so it seemed kind of a ripoff of the Bond flick... minus two stars. But all in all it was an interesting and decent read... plus one star.

I suspect the Author is a pen name made from jumbling the letters in Mack Bolans name. Or maybe coincidence.Anyway I would say this book is a good story, I don't care if the body count is low, I like a good story and this book delivers. Anybody who might not like the body count style books as much should pick up a copy of this one. Its good.

The Invisible Assassins. Hmm, where do I begin? OK, the idea of Bolan taking his war to Japan seemed pretty cool. I think it might be in some other book. Not this one though. The action here is mighty slow indeed. Bolan doesn't shoot anybody until page 101. Yep, that's right. In a book that ends on page 185, The Executioner doesn't shoot anybody until over halfway through the book. And after he shoots that one fella Bolan waits to shoot anybody again until page 150. Now that doesn't mean there isn't stuff going on for long stretches. There is. Just not much of it is action. Or interesting. There is an attempt at a "big battle scene" at the end but it wasn't really very good and the villain was ridiculous. The plot is actually not too bad. Problem is it's the same plot used in the James Bond book "You Only Live Twice" with a little bit of that Bond movie thrown in and a jail cell escape from another Bond film. Once I saw what the plot was, and since there wasn't any action going on, I was bored mightily. Even picking holes in the technical aspects seemed unfulfilling. Bolan seems OK, he is just a bit lethargic here. The other characters are OK too for what that's worth (except that the main villain is pretty much just Blofeld from the book "You Only Live Twice.") High points. Let me think. Oh, Bolan fights with a couple guys on top of a speeding bullet train which was surprisingly not very exciting. A couple other various fights and an attempt on his life (kind of echoing a technique used against the SPECTRE guys in "You Only Live Twice.") I'm giving this one 3 stars because there was some interest in Bolan's early confrontation with the Tanaga character and because there is something cool about Bolan in Japan, even if it was mostly wasted here.

I found this to be fairly slow, and not the normal kick-ass Bolan adventure. The action scenes were few and far between. The biggest plus was the mentioning of past Able and Phoenix novels as reference to the threat posed by the Yakuza and Ninja killers.

ANOTHER GOOD ACTIONER FROM THE HEYDAY OF THE TERRORIST WARS.

ONE OF MY FAVORITES. THE TRAIN SCENE WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE BOOK.

not the greatest but a good read.