Vector Three

Just finished this one and had a great time. The good parts have been covered by others. And the only bad part was a couple of minor technical errors. Well, errors in that they didn't fall in with the real US Army, and one that may have just been how I interpreted how the passage was written. But despite these minor hiccups, the story was action-packed and flowed well.

Very good read here where all of the characters are included and given equal billing but the author has also managed to include some more interesting new characters and like everyone else I thought the female character was great. Many many sub plots featuring individual characters in this title and has been mentioned a link back to TJ's past here which was good reading but the standout for me was the sections featuring James gripping reading. Tension builds and builds with some good reading but I think it would be fair to say the ending of this title drags it down a bit as it is a bit of a disappointment. But certainly worth a read.

Special Guest Star: Colonel Khaddafi And Introducing Jayne Bahn as a reoccurring character. After a lengthy hiatus, Ron Renauld, a former Able Team author, returned in 2001 to write “Vector Three,” a well crafted Stony Man novel. Of all the current writers, I consider him the complete novelist. He writes fewer pieces, but makes up for it with his excellent (and expansive) plotting, characterization and detail. Only his action scenes needed improvement. This novel has a surprisingly good number of set-piece action sequences and plot threads. Intriguingly he divides Phoenix Force to separate members, embedding themselves with the multiple storylines running throughout this novel. With five members of Phoenix Force, Able Team and then Bolan/Katz in the mix, there are large number of ongoing threads that run into each other, merge, and shoot off in different directions in unpredictable ways. A logistical nightmare to write, I’m sure. Multiple continuity references, including one to his Able Team run, works well here. He even expands the continuity with Hawkins’ own past as a Ranger. A few of the passages were very long winded and exposition-filled, but not enough to get in the way of the enjoyment of reading this novel. Recommended.

With all that's going on the world these days people tend to overlook Khadaffi, so it was nice to come across a book that puts the strongman in the cross-hairs. Great story here, rounded out with good action, solid writing, and a super subplot involving T.J.'s confronting a ghost from his past. LIked the Jayne Bahn character a lot, too.

Two great things about this book. First off, great writing, not only in terms of plotting and action, but also dialogue and characterization. Secondly, the subplot about T.J. Hawkins looking to settle an old score dating back to his military service ranked up with some of the best Bolans in terms of getting into a main characters head and showing him to be more than just a killing machine. I agreed with the reviewer who said real countries should have been used instead of fictional composites, but that was a small quibble for me and not enough to keep this from being a 10. I, too, liked seeing Katz back out in the field alongside Bolan. And having the bad guys get nailed by their own bomb at the end was a sweet bit of poetic justice. All in all a super Stony Man, one of the few books in the longer series that didn't feel like it was padded to fit the page count.

This was a well-plotted book with some excellent characterizations, especially with T.J. Hawkins, who comes up against his arch-nemesis. Like others, I enjoyed the Jayne Bahn character, too. There's ample action and even Katz gets into the fray along with Bolan at one point in a cool chase through a game preserve. I had a small quibble with the use of fictionalized countries, but not enough to keep this from being a tenner. A must-read for STony Man junkies.

Okay, felt this one was far from a 10, but it was a good effort from Renauld. Like I said before, his stories seem better when they're longer. The story was well written, but the action scenes on the whole paled for a Stony Man. Liked the banter between Hawkins and Bahn. Kept me reading, but not the explosive gem it was made out to be.

This is prably my favorite so far of the Stony man books. I enjoyed the mix of action on the home front and africa backwoods then to Libya and Egypt. I was also excited by the vivid scenery of the african out back. I want to see more of the geologist, Lili Carlton. But I enjoyed seeing an old love enterest enter the picture. Not to mention an old enemy as well. A very good book. Loved it.

Upon further thought, I wish to change my original rating for this book. It deserves *FAR* more than a 7. I'll give it a 9.5, but it's not possible to do, so it will get a 10. This is the kind of book that you would want to introduce a newcomer to the action/adventure genre. This was a fairly good book by Ron Renauld. It had lots of characterization, the plot was interesting -- basically an all-around good book for the masses to enjoy. One more thing I wanted to add to my review. Ron Renauld did a great job, and showed a remarked improvement over his past Able Team books. My original complaints in those books certainly would not apply for this book. Great book.

i don't like these STony Man covers because they all look alike but I was glad I bought this one because it was a real rocker. Even Katz gets in on the action for a change. I agree with ovther reviewers about the Jayne Bahn caharacter, too. She's very sassy and brassy and kiss-assy and if they ever decide to add a woman to this series, she'd get my vote. My only complaint was that the book ended quicker than I wanted it to. I was hoping that Hawkins' old nemesis, the Swedish major, would somehow get away so there could be a sequel where he Hawkins wind up in a final showdown.

T.J. Hawkins is my favorite guy in Phoenix Force and this book put him front and center, having him get a chance to go up against the guy who screwed up his military career while he was serving in Somalia. In these books you usually don't get much sense of the character's history but this was an exception. And all the surrounding action and plotlines were well-crafted, too, which made me really want to read it through in one sitting. My only real problem was that with Bolan and Able Team and Phoenix Force and all the folks back at Stony Man Farm having their hands in the story it was hard to keep track of everybody, but I think this is just the nature of the beast in Stony Man books. IT was cool at the end of the book where the bad guys wind up getting hit by missle they thought was headed somewhere else.

I bought this mostly to find out what the hell the title stood for. Guess what? No mention of Vector Three in the entire book. Guess what else? A few chapters in, I didn't care. This was a gripping, well-crafted book with some superb insight into our guy's personalities, especially T.J. Hawkins, who figures prominently because a ghost from his past turns out to be the major bad guy. I didn't mind the fictitious countries as much as some reviewers, and I agree with whoever mentioned the Jayne Bahn character. She really livened things up and I was actually a little disappointed that there wasn't any follow-through on a brief mention at the Farm that she might make a good addition to the team. My only quibble was with the quick ending. I would've like the ride to have gone on a little longer. Grab this one if you see it.

This story was quite enjoyable, with many tense moments written into it. I particularly liked the way that T J Hawkins past comes back to haunt him in the form of the main villain, who was quite a nasty piece of work. There were a couple of things that did annoy me however. Little errors, like getting Eygpt's currency wrong, or having Bolan shoot down a Mil-24D Hind gunship with a single shot from an unknown rifle I can almost overlook, but I did not like the way that the author used so many fictious countries. I didn't see the need for this at all. We are treated to all manner of strange names from four different "countries" so I often found myself wondering where the guys were. Why not use the jungle of Rwanda instead of the jungle of Bongo-Bongoland? This just didn't make sense. Of course, the author does win a star simply for mentioning Katz's daughter. At least there was some continuity in this novel!!

A spiffy thriller here about Quadaffi being the wolf in sheep's clothing as he tries to play statesman during a conference of African States while secretly funding a revolutionary gang of thugs to do the dirty work if things don't go his way. There was a lot going on here but it all fit together neatly. Some great scenes in the jungle as well as at Quadaffi's home base in Libya, and everybody in both Able Team and Phoenix Force gets a piece of the action along with Bolan. A cool twist at the end gives the bad guys a taste of there own medicine. Oh, and a lot of wisecracks galore, especially with the Jayne Bahn character, who's the sassiest woman crimefighter this side of Emma Peele.

Great mix of action, suspense, and characterization. An even greater feat considering it's a Stony Man, where there is usually too much going on to get involved with the story. The book ended quicker than I would have liked but I got the sense it was the editors and not the writer who cut things off so quickly. Far better dialogue than in most other books of this type, and I especially liked the one-liners between Hawkins and the female bounty hunter Jane Bahn. The backstory involving Hawkins and the Swedish major was very cool also. A definite tenner for this one.

What I liked best about this book were the twists, like with the would-be call girl who winds up being a bounty hunter who's husband is a CIA agent on the same case. And it didn't seem hokey. And there were other twists like this that came across as totally credible because of the writing. I even thought for a minute that Encizo had indeed been killed off. All around a fun, keep-you-guessing book. I'm betting the woman bounty hunter turns into a regular character down the line.

I kept seeing these Stony Man books in the store alongside the Clancy spinoffs I usually buy (Net Force, Power Play, etc.). Thought I'd compare the difference and I'm glad I did. Vector Three was totally awesome with lots of story and detail about characters that made you care about them. I wish the ending could have had a little more action, but I'd rather pass on that and have all the loose ends tied up nicely, which happened here. Stony Man definitely rules!!!

I just finished Vector Three two days ago and it was one of those books that left you begging for more and had me hell bent on finishing. It was only lacking in the end. But made up for it with the use of Able Team and Pheonix Force, but Mack's part wasnt as in depth as I would have liked all in all a good read.