Ice Cold Kill

Bolan goes to Russia to bring out a defector. I think that is a really fun plot and the action was fun in this one. The reason I am ranking it at 5 is just how it’s written. It was just hard to follow at times. I also feel like parts of it felt more like bond, which I also love but bond and Bolan are different, when he is drinking vodka and sleeping with the woman. He is behind enemy lines and on the run and gets drunk and falls into passion with the woman he is saving. Normally Bolan stays more focused. But the story was great, the characters were great, it just to descriptions of what’s happening slowed me down.

Well gotta say that I am pretty much with reviewer Doug on this title and am somewhat surprised on the abundance of gushing reviews submitted on this one. The good's are apparent with Strakhov included (one of our favourite villains) and the Big Guy behind the Russian lines trying to complete his mission with few to no weapons namely bringing a brilliant Russian scientist out of the cold who wants to defect but does not wish to go to the West but China instead. Unfortunately the bad's stack up over and over. Probably one of the main for me was when the Big Guy discovers that the scientist he has been sent to bring back is indeed a woman not a man. Further we are informed that she is a blond and drop dead gorgeous. Hello I thought to myself it is only a matter of time before he gets her into the sack and bugger me what happens. Further when he is in danger of being shot in cold blood with no weapon at hand what happens? Come on that was sticking out so far I am surprised the title didn't ship with a pronounced bump in it. Couple of stars added for the running around in the cold weather and trying to survive being hunted by the Russians which had some good reading but gee it ain't no masterpiece folks. Read it if you have to not recommended from me.

Strange and yet fairly entertaining book………..!!!! It was very easy to be in Bolan´s shoes during his encounter in Russia as you can really taste the surroundings, the cold, the smell and the general atmosphere in Russia. It was equally strange yet interesting twist to have a book where Bolan is without any arms or belt of gadgets to help him out on his mission. The female scientist was actually a kick ass fighter and wasn´t portrayed as another wining female screaming for Bolan every other page or so being a liability for him with her own agenda in the end. The instant Bolan´s mortal enemy, Strahkov, noticed Bolan during his limo ride in Russia was priceless and that little scenes added a lot to the book and was actually priceless one which added a bit of a bright flavour to the otherwise fairly dark and cold book. Bolan´s constant bad breaks and misfortune was interested and he was actually moving with his back against the Russian wall in every page constantly down on his luck searching for a way out of the fire just to step into another hotter one just around the corner. Read this book and prepare yourself for a trip to the cold in Russia (Iceland – 2006)

I remember reading this book in the course of one night. I could not put it down and finished it in the daylight. The descriptive narrative is outstanding. It was not often this era of Executioner so effectively projected the reader into a scene. Some of the characters are a bit stilted, but the human component between Bolan and the female protagonists, the conflicts between them as well as their alliance not only make for compelling reading but were a definitive reflection of U.S.- Soviet relations at the time. This is a great book and I encourage anyone who has yet to read it to find one and give it a try. Be prepared for a very cold winter in Russia.

The book "Ice Cold Kill" is something of a triumph. Never before have ridiculous action, meandering plot and pretentious prose been combined to create such a waste of paper. Mack Bolan begins this book by covertly crossing the border into the Soviet Union. The plan he has come up with for this is to -- wait for it! -- POLE VAULT! Yes, I said pole vault. Bolan parachutes into Romania to a point near the Soviet border (apparently with the pole), then sneaks up to the border and pole vaults his way across the fence. Why didn't he just land from his parachute drop on that side of the frontier? I have no idea. Since Bolan begins this comedy adventure armed only with a .357 magnum revolver and no extra rounds, the odds are stacked against him from the start. In fact the odds are so wildly and incredibly stacked against him that one is forced to ponder why Bolan didn't come up with a better plan -- or ANY plan. This entire mess of a story is just a continuing series of devastating bad breaks for Bolan followed by wildly improbable pieces of good luck. That might be a great formula for a Mad magazine bit, but it just annoys here. The action at intervals throughout the book but none of those scenes lasts very long except Bolan's initial hilarious infiltration. And none of the action is compelling anyway. The scientist Bolan has come to extract from the USSR turns out to be a beautiful blonde woman (of course) and he sleeps with her (of course). Bolan sure does have a hard time in the last few books keeping his mind on the mission. Neither the lady scientist nor any of the other supporting characters are very interesting although the author made one of Bolan's adversaries seem almost supernatural. Lots of opponents fall over dead, several things go boom. Yawn. This is a book that will waste several hours of your life. 2 stars for the sheer giggle effect of having Bolan pole vault into the USSR.

The first Leslie book was a great read.He kind of brings a Bond style into his books,which is good, I'm not a fan of every author trying to write the same style.Lots of action and adventure here.

One of the classic tales from the KGB war days. Bolan on his own behind the Iron Curtain was fantastic. My favorite scene was when Strahkov was obsessing about Bolan while riding in his limo in russia and turned and saw Mack walking down the street, his reaction was priceless.

A GOOD BOLAN ACTIONER THAT TAKES HIM BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN AGAIN WHERE HE IS AT HIS BEST. THE KGB SERIES WAS ONE OF THE MOST CLASSIC PERIODS IN THE BOLAN SERIES AND HE SURE TAKES DOWN SOME UNWORTHY OPPONENTS. THIS BOOK IS TESTIMONY TO THAT. I ALSO THINK THE WOMAN IS PRETTY COOL IN THIS ONE TOO{BUT I FORGOT HER NAME}.

This happened to be one of my favorite Mack Bolan books, and my absolute favorite Peter Leslie book. Nobody does a story with Mack being besieged on all sides by cunning, persistant and brutal enemies. Mack's battles with the Soviet Military machine and the KGB were fantastic. In fact, the lack of Mack's signature weapons made this book even more dynamic. I always liked the early hand-to-mouth days of Bolan's Mafia Wars, and this particular mission accomplished that feel exactly. Leslie is one of my favorite Bolan writers, and he delivers quite well, going with the old Chandler standby... "If you're stuck with where to take a story, have some guy with a gun come through the door." Slightly less formulaic than Newton, but both Leslie and Newton deliver nice, rousing, and lusty action packed slammers of novels.

Because I am the first to write about this book I just want to say that this was a very different type of Executioner novel. I liked the fact that Mack had none of his normal weapons to start the mission off, and that he had to play the whole mission by ear. A very enjoyable read.