Cambodia Clash

Really disappointed by this entry to the series. I really expected a lot more from the first book in the KGB War. Very disappointing. But I guess this was a real hot back then. 3 stars for this book.

What a blunder. Bolan teaming up with the Khmer Rouge? Are you for real? Under a more competent author like Newton or Mertz this concept might've worked, but Tom Jagninski (literally who?) totally blew it. Far as I can tell, he was trying to have Bolan team up with the lesser of 5,000 evils...and fucks it all up right off the bat when Eng has a traitor killed, along with his family. She and Bolan are teammates, in case you haven't read this one yet. Bolan later kills the wife of the KGB representative in Cambodia because reasons. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen! The book also seems to be really unfocused. It has about two million villains, none of them lasting any longer than the chapters they're introduced in. So we get a big body count at least. Bolan and Eng hop around from location to location, getting into shootouts but not really getting anything done and it's not until the last 50 pages or so that the plot actually starts to move forward. The book also can't decide what it wants the climax to be. There's the attack on the mine, followed by the tank scene on the cover (which proved to be underwhelming), and finally a half-assed helicopter chase against enemy faction #9,001. One thing I'll give the book credit for is that it doesn't exactly have a happy ending. The POWs get to go home but are sworn to secrecy over their imprisonment, since the US government didn't want to pay their 50 billion dollar ransom. It's a real sucker-punch after what Bolan went through the rescue them, actually. There was an important story arc happening in the series at the time, and while it's obvious he knew about it, it doesn't look like Jagninski gave a shit. A shame, really. The following book, Orbiting Omega, suffered a similar problem.

Cambodia Clash was a good read with only one slight negative critique. Overall, the book was well-written with a great plot, well-placed intrigue, and constant tension throughout the heart of the book. A charitable group hires Bolan to go into Cambodia searching for proof that American POWs remain. With the help of a national named Eng, Bolan infiltrates the foreign land and fins POWs not only in Cambodia, but also in Laos. Through a series of well-written and exciting scenes, Bolan uses the help of many to pull of a daring rescue of both sets of POWs ... not only American POWs, but also from several other countries. The action sequences contained armies against armies, tanks, air warfare, etc. It was indeed a nicely written book. My only criticism would be in the broader context of the Bolan-verse. In following the serial context through 62 and 64, it seemed a little out of place to take Bolan from DC, pledging to fly solo from this point forward, right into Cambodia to search for POWs. The author used the first few pages of Cambodia Clash to layout Bolan's history, so it seemed like too large a jump for me. That's the only negative...but the book was great.

Wow this guys second and last entry to the series and reading this one I was struggling to understand how this is the same author who gave us #61 Tiger War which was rubbish this time around he has presented a very readable title in the series. Now everything I said in regard to his previous title remains as the Big Guy is just a leader of hundreds BUT the difference this time around is the background story is interesting where the title relates to the release of American MIA prisoners from the Vietnam war. Lots of good stuff to read on a LARGE scale where if this is your thing you would no doubt enjoy it, personally I normally don't enjoy these titles with a huge cast but this one seemed to appeal to me. What did not appeal to me was the murder of the Russian Lieutenant and his wife which is totally out of character for the Big Guy. This title is set after Day of Morning where once again the Big Guy is out on his own with no assistance from the farm or anyone else so probably the title slots pretty well into the time frame of the series. Lots of better titles out there than this one but considering this authors first effort this one probably deserves to be recommended for your reading if you can overlook the blatant character flaws of his nibs. Recommended reading in this series JUST ... up to you.

After reading the reviews trashing this book, I decided to go back into my library and re-read this one. Keeping in mind that Bolan may be a little out of his mind, with the recent death of April Rose, and needing to make himself scarce after the killing in the Oval Office, it would seem the Executioner, no Sgt. Mercy here, is out to kill anyone who stands in the way of the mission. He is somewhat a curly, lone wolf in this book. But to be fair there were a couple people Eng wanted to waste that Bolan saw as senseless killing. And the high altitude parachute jump into the bastion was something great to read. The tank scene was riveting, but don't know how practical. Though I am in the minority here, I did not find this book boring, nor did I find it that atypical. Just another chapter to give us more exposure into the heart and soul of Mack Bolan. And I enjoyed it as I do all the other GOLD EAGLE chapters in Bolan's life. Semper Fi.

This is bottom of the barrel offensive TRASH !! I only made it 47 pages in and Bolan has let the family of a traitor , thats wife and kids, be gunned down by his ally , then he stands by while his allies shoot an unarmed woman in the head, THEN Bolan shoots an unarmed handcuffed KGB agent in the back of the head as the guy tries to flee ... THEN even worse , he strangles to death another UNCONCIOUS KGB guy, THEN he lures that guys unarmed wife into his room where he proceeds to bludgeon her to death !! THEN he tosses the body into the closet and goes to bed ! with the Khmer Rouge chick !! This is absolute freaking crap ! This is freaking offensive ! It deserves a zero !! I'd like to slap the author of this in the head ! Eh Kay says ... this is the WORST !!!

Despite the magnificent Gil Cohen cover art, there really isn't much to recommend in "Cambodia Clash." Easily forgettable, it's strictly by the numbers and the action sequences are perfunctory.

Wpw Doug was kind to this book. Lets see there is only one piece of good news. This writer never wrote again in the series. Who in f***ing h*** was this writer writing about? He not only was off the mark but if he read even one prior novel I would be shocked. 1) The racist language like referring to Vietnamese as Orientals and primitives that would be shocked at hearing their voice on a recorder. Mack was a hero to the Montengards yet he killed off a leader because he was suspicious. 2) Killing a russian officers wife because she could be suspicious? Since when did he start killing noncombatents. 3) This is the cardinal sin committed. To me this was the most unforgivable part of the novel. Mack referring to Eng as a friend. This is a woman who had a traitor and his family killed to serve a lesson. 4 children were killed on her command. Killers of children which she was and she used the lamest excuse possible was someone Mack would not have hesitated in killing. Yet he thought of her as a friend fighting a good war. No. Mack has gone into berserk mode if anyone kills children or harms them even with the mafia killing children was taboo and very, very rare. Also why the hell didn't he try to stop them from being killed? Is it because the writer considered American lives worth more then Vietnamese/Cambodian? Mack has never once thought in these terms. Yet he was written as one who took this basically as a "so what" position as long as he could free the American POWs. Innocent blood was so much on Mack's hands. Also Mack and gang grab the American POWs yet orders were made not to rescue the others? WTF????? Lets see the logic. Go in pull out all the Americans then trot out. Next everyone knows the POWs are home yet we didn't rescue other nationalities when they were in the same camp? Gee. I would love to see how the State Department would handle this one "yes Prime Minister your soldiers were at the camp with our POWs. Why didn't we rescue them?" Totally unrealistic - not in the same camp - the fallout would be astromonical.

To be brief, this book suffers mostly from problems with the Mack Bolan character. Bolan seems to have been replaced by a mean-spirited imposter here in long stretches of the book. Maybe more ice-cold than mean. He joins forces with the Khmer Rouge, which is pretty awful on its own. While in their camp he sees a whole family, including small children, being led off for execution because of the father's treachery. Does Bolan swing into action to stop the slaughter of the children? Of course not, because he's working with the Khmer Rouge so he'll go along with their brand of brutality. Bolan murders the wife of a KGB agent he has killed because she might start looking for him and raise an alarm. Huh? Is this the same Bolan I've read about in over 60 previous adventures? The short answer is "no". There hasn't been a book that was so off the mark in handling Bolan's character since "Sicilian Slaughter". Man, oh man, do I ever miss Don Pendleton! This one gets 2 stars because there is some decent action (not all of it, mind you, but some of it is passable.)

This was my very first bolan ever,way back in May of 84. I loved it!.I had never read such cool stuff before. It still remains as one of my favorites of all time. Of course its not the best example of a classic Bolan, it was written with a different style than the rest of the series, but we all liked the first bolan we ever read, even though later on it wouldn't stand out from the pack. I would definitely recammend it to anyone who hasn't read this book.

Bolan is free of the government, beginning his "Lone Wolf" struggle to root out terrorism. Or so it was promised at the end of "Dead Man Running". Instead, he investigates a POW camp in Cambodia that may hold Americans. The book falls flat. I don't think that the author has a really good grasp on the Bolan character. In one instance, Bolan kills a KGB officer so Bolan can impersonate him and infiltrate the camp. Then Bolan realizes that the officer brought his wife, so Bolan kills her. Bolan always has trouble taking a female life. He'll do it, but usually with fleeting regret. This woman is an innocent. I can't believe Bolan would kill her. After the camp is infiltrated, it begins to be a war book, not and Executioner novel. Bolan takes command of troops, and spends the combat barking out orders, rather than using his special talents. Jagninski also did this in his only other Bolan book, "Tiger War". While it's interesting to see Bolan in a command role, it's not what he's best suited for. Stick to combat! Interesting novel, but feels like someone took a Vietnam book and Search/Replaced the main character with "Bolan". Does not read like an Executioner.

A SO-SO ENTRY INTO THE SERIES. THE TANK SCENE DEPICTED IN THE COVER WAS THE BEST PART OF THE STORY.

THIS ONE KIND OF BORED ME.

Not one of the best. A so-so book.