The Fire Eaters

This book has some problems with it. The best scenes in the book are where Mack is teaching the students. When he was on the phone with Hal talking about how much he enjoyed teaching the students. Mack would never endanger those young kids lives like that. Allowing them to join with him attacking trained soviet Agents like that. I give this 5 stars.

Well I have to say that I am with the majority here on this title as I enjoyed the read. Probably I liked everything the previous reviewer disliked with the Teenage hit man, Russian spies, the drug which can transform the kids into programmed robots but most of all I enjoyed the Big Guy going undercover as a teacher at the school where he showed not only a flair for the job but also a feeling and concern for the kids he was instructing. The final section caused me to deduct a point where he allowed the kids to tag along to take down the Russian spies and their hit men which was a little out of character for him I reckon. This author has not been my favourite by a long shot on the previous titles I have read by him but overall I enjoyed the read and would recommend this title for reading in this series.

This book was forgettable. A bad sign for a men's action book is when it takes you 3-4 weeks to read it because you just don't care what happens next. I suspect some of my indifference is that the plot is "Bolan goes undercover to find the bad guys". I admit to not generally liking these plots. This book, however, really seemed to be struggling with keeping something interesting going. Teenager hitman, Russian superspies, illicit drug to create raving superhuman killers out of kids and Mack as an instructor in a private military academy for at-risk students. Just add a partridge-in-a-pear tree and you've got 'em all....and still I couldn't get enough interest to pick this book up each time I put it down. Mack was using the Beretta/AutoMag combo pretty much the entire book. In closing, I can't believe I would ever try to reread this book.

I remember reading this book vividly after 19 years. It stands out among the "New War" novels because of its domesticity, the character development and the dual plot and contrivances. It's an outstanding work and deserves the praise it seems to be receiving. For those reviers who did not enjoy it, my suggestion would be to read the series from #39 onwards if you have not done so already. In the context of the series, books like Savannah Swingsaw and Prairie Fire as well as The Fire Eaters begin to stand out as serious, well done novels with a lot to offer. This one will always be an al time favorite of mine.

Well, well, well........this very highly praised Mack Bolan book was too good of a challenge to resist so I picked it up and dug into it. The result? I really can´t understand why the book is praised as much as it is as it was too long and I felt it strange to mix together those two story lines of the book as the one didn´t have anything to to with the other. The teenage lunatic hit man didn´t have anything do to with the plot at the army school so why add this element to the book? It would have been much more interesting to have this book a bit shorter and do another one with Grady the dark lunatic killer as the key person of the book which would have been a very interesting one especially if his character would have been explored a bit better!!! The guys, Dysert and Fowly, were not evil enough to warrant a place in the evil guys hall of fame and they strangely enough didn´t have any world domination plans in their minds with the drug in questino but just plain old greed!!!! The real magic of the book was Bolan´s interaction with the kids at the army school and it shines through how well he can work with children in very human way which really shows the human part of him that is displayed on a regular basis throughout the series. This part of the book was very beautifully written!!!!! The idea of using the mind drug on the teenagers to spy on their parents in order for the gain some secrets to sell was a nice twist but it would have been even better to explore that twist futher in the book. In the end the result is a way too long book, with interesting story line and a mystery that could have been much more interesting.........if only it had been developed a little bit better. From my point of view the book didn´t live up to the praise from the other reviewers then again I often don´t agree with people in my every day live (2004)

This is the best "domestic" executioner ever! I really liked the plot as two seperate storylines came together. I liked seeing mack in a totally different situation teaching teenagers, and his conversations with hal and the female lead were informative and touching. The villain's plot is somewhat far fetched, but not unbelievable. the villains were well developed, especially the evil teachers and Dave Grady! twelve out of ten!

Damn. This book was so damn good, that I think it was the best Mack Bolan ever. It was complete with a good plot, twisted people as villains, and very good development of characters, (not really Mack, but the children improved from being normal, cowardly children to courageous ones). The title was so fit for the story , because the villains were really eating fire.

Probably my favorite out of the 90's aside from the one where Strakhov finally gets his. The opponent in this story was not your average thug or terrorist that Mack usually faces.Added a nice twist to things.

I thought overall this was a very good book. 1) The scenes with Mack and the students were wonderful. Mack seems like he would have been perfect in this life as a teacher. I also loved it when he talked to Hal about teaching. 2) Grady was an excellent villian and I can imagine there are a lot of children of mafia and other groups whose fathers died to Mack would want revenge. 3) The scenes getting the job was good. Action packed but nonlethal - ya really can't kill jerks of this world. 4) Grady was a really good psychopath. I wish some time was spent with him and Marla. Also wouldn't it have been better tying Grady with the imbeciles then include Gudonov? What I did not like: 1) The imbeciles creating the drug then admitting they wanted to use it in Vegas to make money and the concept of having the students kill their parents if they were caught snooping. The headmasters belong in a Destroyer novel. 2) What I really had a beef with was how Mack played games with the bad guys. Not just shooting Grady was idiotic. With a beach with witnesses and putting the leash on him made no sense. Grady was running around on fire. Bolan should have just shot him at point blank range. He needlessly risked innocents. Also the scene in the doctor's office made no sense. Bolan should have just shot the bodyguards as they were walking into the office then shot their boss.

i was a huge fan of mack in the 80's, and just recently started reading some of the old ones again. This was the second one i picked up and just loved it. The book seemed well written, and the thought of Mack enjoying being a teacher, and his outspoken thoughts about if he had chosen a different life he would have liked to have been a teacher. The character of the teenage hitman was pretty cool, and explored well, but thought the climax of that secondary storyline was resolved a little too conveniently. Loved the female lead, and thought she was done well. The ending is excellent and reminded me of the glory days of Mack Bolan. All around a very cool Bolan, and one that I was happy that i picked up. This is my first review to this website, and am very happy i found it. cheers

I like Ray Obstfelds' books a lot, I've read some of his other stuff, his books are worth checking out. This is his last Bolan, and it's his best one, not the best book in the series, but it's better than most.I really like stories that are unique, this one stands out from the rest of the pack because it is well written, entertaing, as well as going in a new direction from the usual plots.

This was a fantastic read. It has Bolan at his best, in a series of undercover roles. There are great villains, including a teenage hitman who comes close to ending Bolan's career. There is a great plot. There are superb supporting characters, including the CIA agent after Bolan. The Russian threat at the end is a little weak, seemingly added just so Bolan could boost his body count, but overall this is an excellent book.

I loved this book,it hade a very oregnial topic.keep riting more please. sined, A.C.Greenwood

Not a good book. The plot dragged out for way too long. I fell asleep many times trying to read this book. It took almost a month to read it.

This was another of the Golden Age Bolans when he hit the beginning of the 250 page books. This one had it all - a tough counterpart for the Executioner, kids to watch out for, a quiet moment of peace at the end... and oh yeah, an enemy worth smacking to hell and back at the end of a .44 Automag. Viva la Roy!

No matter how many times I read this, this gives me chills. One of my favorites in the series, it illustrates both sides of Mack's character, and not just the Executioner side.

Exciting, action-packed, and full of surprizes! This is my favorite so far. Seeing Bolan interacting with kids, gives you a view of Bolan's softer side!

There is little doubt that the 90's in this series contains some of the finest books written in the enitre line. This was another must read.

Great Book! This has got to be one of my favorites!

One of my all time favorite Bolans. I liked his interaction with kids. We got a brief look into Bolan's feelings toward children.

An entertaining book althroughout. I especially liked how he taught them about survival.

GOOD IN A DIFFERENT SORT OF WAY BUT THAT JUST MADE IT ALL THE MORE EXCITING!!!

This one was one of my all-time favorites. This was a different kind of story that kept you hooked.