Fear Rally

Gee I am struggling to rate this title as I am reading something where the author has introduced something original which should be welcomed in the series after the constant rewrites we have been subjected to BUT.... Okay I am loving it the Big Guy is on one of his own missions (which is good!) and following the trail of some triggers which have been stolen from a military base and taken out of the US. Some good reading here folks where the Big Guy realises that the triggers have been transported to Africa and following the trail he contacts Katz (hey good to see you back man) and is put into contact with one of his contacts. Guessing that the triggers are going to be transported via the Paris to Dakar Rally Katz's contact says no problems I can provide you with not only accreditation to start in the rally but no, not as a co-driver but as a fully fledged driver (this is as the rally is about to start folks) and guess what I have a vehicle ready to go for you in my warehouse <cough> what happened to the guy who was destined to drive this vehicle ? Never mind we have a vehicle ready for you to enter the rally and compete and guess what since you are an American we have painted it in the red white and blue colours and stars of the American flag how is that for foresight ? Okay end of whinges (I should be happy to be reading something original right and I am). The title progresses very well with heaps of action scenes and some good characters introduced (the French female agent is excellent) and the climax is well done as is the elimination of the main bad guy. So ??? very good entry into the series by this author which is very much worth your reading I reckon.

This was the first Executioner novel I read and while I enjoyed the action, I wasn't impressed with the writing. It was good enough for me to read more Executioner novels, but I'm glad other examples feature more well-crafted prose. I also wish the author had done a bit more research into the Dakar Rally, which I have followed for nearly three decades. The action didn't ring true. Still, this book was good enough to motivate me to read more books in the series and make me a fan.

This was a great story by Guenther. Having Bolan fight terrorists and the idea of crime occuring behind the Dakar rally, were both interesting. But the thing that struck me was Jon's depiction of Bolan. The opening scene where Bolan saves the child and shoots the terrorist was done with style, showing that Bolan (unlike the terrorists)has a regard for innocent lives. Throughout the story Guenther makes an effort to show how different Bolan is from the terrorists he pursues (such as Bolan's avoidance of using biochemical weapons against the terrorists). Jon's Mack Bolan has standards--that there are some things he wont do in fighting the enemy. Later, Jon depicts Bolan as having this above-average dedication that surpasses that of ordinary spies. At another point, where Bolan confronts the woman scientist, Bolan is shown as willing to sacrifice his own life to stop the terrorists' plot. However, the only thing about Bolan that was out of character was how irritable he seemed between battles, when talking with the other characters. There was also another scene where Bolan's contact stops him from killing a terrorist by telling him that that was not the right time. Well, Bolan should be the only one making those decisions since he is the hero of the story. I'd prefer seeing him shock others by deciding when and who to kill then giving a wise (or wise aleck)one-liner why it needed to be done. In another scene, the french agent ponders why Bolan leaves her behind. Her opinions of him do not portray his actual motives. All the while, Bolan is pursuing his mission with his usual conscientiousness. I liked that as a touch of irony between the characters. Character interaction can make stories more enjoyable. Overall, an above-average Executioner story. A strong 9.

Good overall story,although somewhat disjointed at times.Smuggling the triggers via the rally's a great touch and the admiral turned out to be one hell of a warrior.

Sorry but I cannot go higher then a one. The book was published in 03/02. Gunther used a real person and group ie Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Obviously he wrote it prior to 9/11. My question is who was the idiot at GE who allowed it published. 9/11 is just way too big to ignore in 03/02. GE should have immediately sent it back to Guenther for reediting or had a simple page at the start where they give credit to World Health Org a line underneath simply stating "Story takes place prior to the tragedy of 9/11." Also I seriously cannot see Bin Laden hiring any women to work in his labs no matter how brilliant they are. Bin Laden is a fundamental Islamist. Again a danger of using real people in a story. The story itself was ok. Bolan teamed up with a brilliant female German officer in Warbird and now in this novel a brilliant but utterly flaky French officer. The German female officer was far better written and more believable. The villians seemed almost too alike. Again like Warbird two main villians one subserviant to the other but still in Warbird they were far more interesting. These two liked it each other too much so as a result they could have been one character. I found it hard to believe that Bolan who was 187th after 2 legs of the race was not disqualified. I thought in rally races if you do not come to a certain place you get cut from the race. 187 is really far to the back. But then I could be wrong. Also this seemed way too much of a Bond type novel. The one score is aimed far more at GE for utter laziness then against the writer. If this was pre9/11 published probably a 4. Warbird is a far better Guenther novel.

I liked this one, especially since Bolan was taking on the Al-Quaida ! Go Mack, go! I'd recommend this story, foreign travel, beautiful women, although I wish the writer had written more character into Mack. Sometimes Mack was too much like a cardboard character. Great to see Yakov get a spot in this book, and I thought for sure Phoenix Force was going to come in and save ths day lke the Cavalry! One little thing; I started off reading Mack's early stuff when he fought the Mob, I kind of miss that. Now it's like he's a James Bond , only with a higher body count. Still good reading. A solid 7 out of 10.

Of the four Jon Guenther novels that I have read, this one was by far the best. It was a well written story, with villains and organisations right out of today's headlines. It kept me hooked until the end. There were a few tiny loose ends, but nothing worth mentioning. The only thing that did irritate me slightly was that Jon seemed to be under the impression that all French people speak American English easily (most of them don't even bother to learn basic English) and that the French drive on the same side of the road as the British. But I do recommend this story.

I read this book after getting it from a free offer. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. I mean, who doesn't like driving off road, meeting beautiful French women, and hunting scum like Osama bin Laden's henchmen?

i thought that fear rally was the best book ive ever read and being the first book in the series that i read it made me like the series and buy more of his books,i would like to shake don pendletons hand for making up mack bolan and the series

Bolan vs. the Al-Qaida? Bring it on!! Besides that point, though, this was Guenther's best work yet. A great plot idea with the Dakar Rally, and crisp writing made this one of the better monthly's in quite a while. The action scenes came at you like a whirlwind. The high points were the chase scenes during the Rally, and a tense gunship attack on Bolan. By the way, the Big Man kicks some big-time ass. Also a timely novel, with prominent mention of bin Laden, Al-Qaida and chemical warfare. Top notch!!

This is a good book, however it is lacking in some of the basic "Bolan" traits. I still enjoy reading "The Executioner" series but feel that some of the research that Mr. Pendleton put into the books is missing.