Latest Reviews
The most recent 50 reviews across the site.
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June 3, 2026
One of only two Mark Ellis Bolan novels, and I can understand the James Bond references. If you were to replace the name Bolan with Bond and picture Pierce Brosnan then Hellfire Trigger could be a new 007 adventure. The villain who thinks he is a god, the weird henchman lots of uniformed minions and a lady Russian scientist. A mix of Doctor No, You Only Live Twice, Moonraker and Goldeneye all mixed together. It was an easy read, but for some reason it took longer than expected to get throu. But all in all I agree with those that praised the story but I also agree with those that did not enjoy it so much. Otherwise I do not have so much to say about it. It was a middle of the road story for me. -
May 29, 2026
I am going to both agree and disagree with the previous reviewer. Yes, I agree, the mission briefing for the Teams in the early chapters of the book are a mess, and yes, the characters do morph into one another, which is annoying considering the authors experience at writing Phoenix Force and Stony Man novels, as well as not being picked up by the editors. But the rest of the novel was not boring at all. Once past the mission briefing the adventure picked up. Phoenix Force are split up, half of the team, including Katz, are sent to France and Israel. McCarter's half are sent to Kurdistan, and for me what happens there is the high light of the story. Able Team run around New York and that part of the story was fairly generic, but otherwise okay. The adventure is dated, being written in 2000. The tech is old. Saddam Hussein is still alive and 9/11 has yet to happen. The villain was quite well fleshed out as were various other guest characters. So, I enjoyed it. A few stars of for the mess of the mission briefing, but otherwise a good story. -
May 24, 2026
First up - the title is awful. A similar title was used for a Phoenix Force novel, so why this was almost reused boggle the mind, especially when the phrase 'Direct Action' is used in the story and even 'Industrial Sabotage' was used on the rear cover. I came across a new word when reading this, that rarely happens in a novel and certainly not in an Executioner. Susurrus. Ever wonder how Stony Man coped during the political turmoil of 2016 - 2020? Here you will find a glimpse of the answer ( and I love Hal Brognola's comment of "Tell me something, Barbara. Have I missed something or have general IQ's dropped in the last year or two?". This was in response to the departure of a government lickspittle amusingly named Christian Payne. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the political substory where Barbara Price is offered the top job as Brognola has fallen out of favour with the current President. I could also speculate that this falling out of favour eventually lead to the closure of Stony Man Farm... As for the main story, I thoroughly enjoyed it and first time (and final time) author John Helfers handles Bolan extremely well. Bolan accepts an unusual mission - mainly because POTUS wants to help out a billionaire blowhard in Australia - in that he has to investigate the killing of two security guards at a gas extraction facility in Australia. There are a few good gunfights and some well developed side characters which is surprising in so short a novel. Eventually it turns out to be a false flag (another potential title?) operation and Bolan dispenses justice his way. So a really intriguing adventure, and it is a shame that Helfers did not get to write any more Executioner stories. -
April 26, 2026
Started reading from the beginning and the series gets surprisingly better and better. This book is like 2 serialized novellas and it makes for a very cool epic and a nice conclusion the Deej storyline. Cant wait fot #4 now... -
March 26, 2026
This was a very enjoyable entry in the Able Team series. Much of the plot is buildup to the ending, unfortunately though this was one of the first ones I read and it appears that this is the conclusion of multibook plot line. Even without the backstory the Climax of this one is a great spectacle and well worth the steady buildup. Reading this one makes me want to check out this authors other Able Team books. -
February 9, 2026
A cool premise of a laser technology used to destroy satellites in orbit. Bolan is tasked with finding the source of the problem and eliminate it. The expected action packed adventure begins, with much world hopping from place to place. There are characters from earlier in the series that show up here and Bolan teams up with these allies as well as a few random members of Stony Man. The action ends up in Congo Africa with some intense battles in the jungle. A good adventure, with some standard villains and nonstop action cover to cover, this is another worthy entry in the series. -
December 30, 2025
For what it is worth, I enjoyed this story and am glad I ignored some of the negative reviews posted here. The story has aged well, there is reference to old tech such as VCR's but otherwise it is a tech free adventure. I do agree that it was a bit thin where Brognola is called in to help an old friend out and so calls in Bolan to do the lifting. Why did Brognola stay all week in Italy? Does he not have a family? A serious job? That Bolan gets involved is okay, Bolan can choose his own mission's no matter how small. Here we have a case of kidnap gangs running riot in Italy, and I found the author's place descriptions, accurate, especially Milan. No, it is not a spectacular novel, but it is enjoyable and better than a lot of novels that have been published in the various Bolan series. -
December 6, 2025
The copyright page incorrectly claims that Mike Newton is the author, but this is incorrect as it is Michael A Black. I was fascinated by the opening chapter of Bolan being in southern Yemen on a mission to assassinate a terrorist as it so closely mirrored the opening of my own Bolan adventure, Armed Response. Definitely a case of great minds think alike :) I did enjoy the opening chapter. There was a lot of information in short a short novel and I think Black handled it well. The villains, were quite well fleshed out, although I did tire of Novak's constant chess references. In all honesty, the plot would have worked better in a slightly larger novel. There is a lot of globe trotting as well for such a short novella. We move from Yemen to Syria to Washington to Ethiopia to Washington to Virginia and I have no idea how long the adventure would have taken place, but I guess about a week? If I had to find fault, it would be this. I have looked back at reviews of other books by this author, and I have to agree that his portrayal of Jack Grimaldi is awful. Grimaldi comes across as a total ass and I cannot imagine such an unprofessional character existing in a special ops team. Equally, he was more commando than pilot and I wonder why Black did not just use one of the other Stony Man characters, or even continue with one of the spec ops team introduced in the opening chapters. But all in all this was an enjoyable romp. -
December 2, 2025
Now this is more like it. Unlike the previous Stony Man that I tried and failed to start, the first 30 pages of this story just ripped by. The author gives us an intense mission for the teams and I am glad that Able Team got so much story. Yes, mind control has been used in the past, including by Chuck Rogers himself, but I didn't mind. I think the story takes place over a week and there is a lot of globe trotting. Rogers also introduces his unsual outlandish colorful characters, this time in the form of Winters and Rauch. We do not get to meet the villains until the end of the adventure, and I must admit, that part came off feeling a bit rushed. But otherwise this book was thoroughly enjoyable and I recommend. (one pet peeve, and it happens only once, but once again we have characters morphing into each other. Calvin James becomes Carl Lyons who becomes Calvin James within three sentences. Does nobody ever check this stuff?) -
November 22, 2025
I am not going to rate this book. I didn't finish it. I got as far as page 30 and gave up. To start with, I was bored with it. We are given the villain's motives in the prologue, it is the usual Muslims are not Muslim enough and Westerners are to blame etc. Then we move into the mission briefing for Phoenix Force and Able Team, and I cannot recall them ever being given such a flimsy briefing before. It was nothing more than "there are people that don't like Americans" and "Oh look, there is an American Muslim who has visited Canada four times. Very suspicious." But the worst was the fact that the author kept getting names mixed up. First Calvin James is going with Katz, then a few pages later it is Manning. Then, the moment I gave up, when the rest of Phoenix are getting mission ready, Blancanales is suddenly among them, despite being with Able Team moments before. If an experienced author cannot keep the names straight, and the editors could not spot the errors in the first 30 pages, then the book is not worth ready. I'll move on to something else. -
November 18, 2025
There might have been a few moments here and there in the book that I liked, but overall this was a bland and mediocre entry in the series. Bolan is in Panama, with a local sidekick in tow, instead of Grimaldi, going about the business of the hit list and eventually getting the various factions to start going against each other and the expected sniper scene to warn them that they need to release the female hostage and so on, you know the drill. The final battle takes place in a soccer stadium for some reason, I couldn't figure out why, I must have dozed off and missed something, but a nothing special ending to a nothing special book. Not worth reading unless you never read an Executioner novel before. -
November 16, 2025
Very enjoyable entry as the group rescues two women from muties, but Jak gets wounded in the exchange. Invited back to the nearest ville, what they find is a baron who deals in drugs and medicine. But, as is the norm with the companions, there is danger lurking. The baron, DeMann and another female baron, Schini figure out Ryan was responsible for the deaths of their family members at Spearpoint. Both swear vengeance, but the lady baron has eyes on DeMann's territory. From a shooting competition that goes off the rails, to a very extensive shootout and escape between warring barons and muties, Ryan and Co. find refuge with a kind man and his family. As Jak suffers from being shot full of dangerous drugs, the group plans one last infiltration of the warring ville to retrieve the medicine they need to save their albino friend. Plenty of action, a good story and a shocking ending made this one a pretty good read. -
October 26, 2025
Six out of ten for this one. It never really took off for me, sure it was really cool to hear mention of Gadgets Schwarz and Pol Blancanales and how with Mack, were an "Able team" in Viet Nam, also cool that Big Thunder debuts. The female co-star didn't really have a purpose in the story, she just kind of was there. The action sequences were good, but the overall story wasn't clear. Why was Mack in San Fran? In the final battle, it wasn't clear if he took out the main bad guys or not. The best part was the dialogue, its good to understand Mack's motivations and hear him be sarcastic and humorous. Not an entry I would re-read, unlike the first two entries, I would re-read. -
October 24, 2025
UMMM...wtf is this? Madness. Was he drinking ? nose candy when he wrote this? its insane, its all over the place. hardly makes sense sometimes. crazy long run on sentences like a rambling madman. hardly even any semblance of a actual narrative. seems like a bunch of random events. its like a puzzle, trying to read it. its wild. a roller coaster of WTFs. avoid avoid . -
October 23, 2025
I thought this was good. a bit plodding and very predictable but I loved the setting and the history behind the setting. Mike is one of my favorite bolan pen men and even his sub par efforts like this are still enjoyable and worth it. -
September 19, 2025
This was a really good read, even though it wasn't page to page action. Mack takes on the mob while he makes friends with the locals, and brings Jack Grimaldi on board as a new ally. Most of the action is actually in the beginning, the middle has a lot of back story, and the final chapter has a short but well done "storm the castle" shoot out. The dialogue between Mack and Jack lays out their characters and motives really well. I almost felt sorry for the bad guys as they tried to stalk Mack in the jungle, of all places, where he feels at home. -
September 9, 2025
A 6.5 from me. It was a generic adventure and a little bland. A journalist (who happens to be a CIA spy) is killed and this upsets the USA so much that Bolan is sent in to investigate using bullets. Baddies want to detonate a Red Mercury nuclear bomb (a substance that does not exist) in Mumbai for...reasons and Bolan has to stop it. He is joined by Jack Grimaldi and for some reason Leo Turrin who is now a commando (why this character and not a member of Phoenix or Able?). And of course they work their way up the ladder killing every villain they meet. The locations were Dubai, Mumbai, and the villains lair in Costa Rica. The name Dubai could be substituted with Chicago and no one would be any wiser. There was no local description, not even a mention of the tallest building in the world which Tom Cruise was climbing when this book was written. All so generic and I was happy that I eventually finished it - it took nearly a week. -
August 22, 2025
The best thing about this book was the pacing, which was an adventure that went by swiftly with no boring parts, the action always close at hand. The plot device was nothing new, the action scenes nothing that hasn't been seen before, and only an interesting twist to it kept it from being nothing but a retread of many other action novels like this. I liked the setting of the story, almost the whole story takes place in the wilderness of the Idaho/Oregon area, and contains some good river action and forest and cave scenes. I might have liked the novel more had I not read the first 256 books in the series first, but I just didn't get enough from the story that wasn't already done so many times, but on its own a decent adventure for Bolan. -
August 20, 2025
Chicago Wipe Out; 7 outta 10. Like other reviewers said, the most action is in the beginning and the end. Not that that makes it really boring. The action sequences were still good. Didn't see the point of the girl that was briefly introduced in the beginning, gone in the middle, and pops up at the end. Mack dons disguises to do a recon of the mob, and sets them up to make a meet, then blows them up. The best part was the dialogue between the bad guys. -
July 20, 2025
The final novel in the SuperBolan series. I was ultimately disappointed in it. There was no bang, just a fizzle of a cancelled series. A regular novel that had Bolan jumping around different locations in Alaska, engaging in page filling shootouts that didn't move the story forward and laying siege to the bad guy's mansion, an event that has happened oh so many times before. But what did disappoint me was that this is a sequel to SuperBolan 140: Infiltration. The story is heavy on the theme of revenge and you really need to have read Infiltration to understand who some of the characters are and why they are so upset with Bolan. I have the novel but I have yet to read it - but the disappointment is from the fact that no where on the cover is there a mention of a returning villain / organisation. Meanwhile the villain's plot involves somehow crashing a military plane because...reasons and capturing a US coastguard cutter because it has some sort of technology on it (we are not told what) and the bad guys want it but it is never mentioned by the good guys. So it was a bit incoherent. But kudos for the title and I am surprised it wasn't used before. -
June 15, 2025
So , not a bad PF book, just not a page turner. Not the author's fault, I suppose. After all,how many times can Stony Man recycle "terrorists hijack nukes for ransom"? Geez, you'd think after the first couple of times, the gov't would tighten security around nukes. For most of the book, the PF members work alone in the US and overseas, they come together for the last chapter or two. There was a spotlight on David McCarter since he got kidnapped and rescued. Didn't see much of Katz when you think about it. As far as action goes, it's not bad. I'd say there is only one big battle to take down the IRA bad guys. What was a little forced was how Gary Manning had a hate on for the main bad guy, but you never really learn why. Also, it was a little weak about how with the threat of nukes being detonated on US soil, only PF was deployed. You'd think EVERY counter terror strike team would be involved, but that may have taken too many pages. This was a quick read, I get the feeling the author just wanted to crank out a quick book. -
June 7, 2025
This entry starts right off after the previous book, Assault on Soho. Again, Bolan meets hot women who care for him, even though they way they meet seems a little forced. Oh well. The action scenes where he does his strikes on the mob strongholds are great, I like the dialouge between Bolan and Leo Turrin, you get more into Bolan's motivations. Kind of funny to see Bolan just kind of bluff his way past mob guards by walking and talking like a mob goon himself without effort. All in all, some great scenes. -
June 3, 2025
Overall, the best part of this book was the dialogue. Mr. Pendleton really writes great banter between the characters, which reveal their motivations. The action sequences play out well. It didn't seem clear though how Bolan ended up in London from France, why didn't he just go from France to the US? Also, it didn't seem clear how the female protagonist knew to meet him? Still a good read. -
May 26, 2025
Interesting note: Victor Bout is a real life Russian arms dealer who is currently in Russia being protected by Putin after a prisoner swap. In Interception Bolan, of course, kills him off. I had to remind myself that this novel was published almost 20 years ago and Croatia of today bares no resemblance to it. But even when reading I thought that the author must be referencing research material that was already 10 years out of date. It didn't feel quite right. I will agree with another reviewer about the first 50 pages, especially the North Korean train sequence - it was very Mission: Impossible and very enjoyable. We start the adventure in Split, Croatia, go off to North Korea and then back to Croatia with a stop off at Stony Man along the way. To be honest, it could have been any generic city as what was described would have fit anywhere and I was disappointed in that. No mention of the Roman part of the city or any other historical references, just bland buildings. The plot is minimal. The Russian arms dealer has joined up with a geneticist to do something but we are not told what. Bolan, Grimaldi and Charlie Mott attempt to get to geneticist but eventually fail to keep him alive. The story is one gunfight after another. By the end Charlie Mott is barely alive and Bolan and Grimaldi are fairing little better. There is no description of what our three heroes look like so they do come off as pretty cardboard. The book is enjoyably written, but thin on plot and characterizations and there was little sense of how long the story took as Bolan globe hopped a bit in the first hundred pages. -
May 17, 2025
The story is good, but I didn't feel as drawn into it as other reviewers were. Bolan falls into the adventure by chance as he becomes suspicious of a load of guys driving around Washington DC who then turn out to be terrorists intent on assaulting an office block. This leads Bolan, and eventually everyone in Stony Man to be on the hunt for Roger Kabel, arms dealer, who has somehow chanced upon the ideal terrorist weapon. The scenes where the weapon was used were very good. However, I found that the jaunts to Brazil and Malaysia a little dull after so much action in the USA. It is a good story, but it didn’t engage me as much as I thought it would. -
May 11, 2025
A typical Schmidt adventure with ex military gone bad groups, this time in league with an Islamic terrorist faction. The bad guys are the standard you can expect in any of his novels. The body count is surprisingly lower than expected, the plot nothing special, the action scenes done well but not much you haven't seen before. There is the big stakes with the chaos in the city that adds a tension to the story that worked decently. A lot of editorial gaffs in this one, making me wonder if a proofreader was absent. Overall an ok action yarn, but not among the better novels in the series. -
April 23, 2025
Deathlands meets The Most Dangerous Game. Ryan's loss of Dean is still fresh in his mind as the companions come to a ville where Baron Ethan plays sadistic games for sport. J.B. is poisoned so that Ryan, Krysty and Doc are forced to hunt Jak, but with a twist. Ethan has the power of mind control and the trio seems helpless to resist. Mildred, meanwhile befriends the ville's healer and they hatch a plan to sneak to the ruins of a city nearby to find the antidote for J.B.'s affliction. Mildred's group has to confront huge mutie bats, while Jak plays cat and mouse with his friends in the forest. Tense battles ensue. Fairly entertaining entry all the way through. -
March 22, 2025
SuperBolan: Appointment in Baghdad is mostly good with all of its ups and downs with a good story-arc and thrilling action too pulling directly from the then-recent headlines of the mid to late 2000s -
March 22, 2025
This one SuperBolan 78:Destinys Hour is the first SuperBolan Novel in read a few years ago now, and it was mostly great with thrilling action and a good story too -
March 22, 2025
this entry in this series SuperBolan: State of Evil is not too bad and is action-packed too -
March 8, 2025
Not sure whether to give this one a 7 or 8. I shall go with an 8. Overall it was pretty good, a fast moving story involving everybody including Bolan. No nuke's of the week here, the terrorists have stolen Patriot missiles and the launch systems and everybody is taking the threat very seriously. If I had a complaint then it was that Stony Man kept locating the bad guys to easily and the bad guys went from being master planners in the opening of the book to bumbling idiots by the end. I did get lost occasionally on who was who but that is down to me. So, yeah, a pretty cool adventure. -
February 23, 2025
Enjoyable romp with the likable cast of characters that Rogers always seems to include. This time Bolan is taking down a lethal drug operation that starts in Miami where he meets up with a cop and a lady fed. When they hit Mexico, two more team members join them, Murph and Donuts, who were quite a hoot in their banter. The man crushes for Bolan are entertaining and funny. Good action with taking down armored vehicles with homemade weapons and assaulting a drug kingpin's hacienda. On to Guatemala to finish off the ringleaders with help from a local spec ops soldier named Bang, and the return of Valentina Swarzkova. Brutal action here as the team gets put through the meat grinder, as is Rogers' usual MO. Very entertaining, with movie references and plenty of comedic quips. -
February 20, 2025
This is not a bad entry really, just not a great one either. The story was well placed throughout, the action sequences didn't come across as very exciting. I did like that Mack seemed a bit more human in this one, instead of an emotionless cardboard cut out. Grimaldi got a lot of page time,as his partner. Usually Mack works alone, but they worked well together on this one. Mack goes to Russia and back to track down some diamond thieves who plan to launch a dirty bomb in New York. I'm willing to try this author again, -
January 24, 2025
Finally, it seems like Phoenix Force hits its stride in this simple, yet well told tale. The team had good dialogue, good dynamics ( IE equal screen time) and were believable. The bad guys were equally as believable. They were Japanese nationals,motivated to avenge the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. The way PF hunted them down and dealt with them was well written. The action sequences were hard hitting and solid, without being hard to believe. The pacing was nice too. -
January 22, 2025
So, not a bad entry so far, just not a great entry. Mack has to hop a flight to Paris, almost by accident if simply to get away from some mafai hoods gunning for him. He meets a guy on the plane who by sheer coincidence looks so much like him, hoods in Paris mistake the guy for Mack, so Mack has to rescue him. Of course, Mack hooks up with a French girl who helps him with his war on the mob. Not a lot of action sequences tho, and there's a nice call back to hi "Nam days, as a figure from Nam makes an appearance. The ending was a little abrupt for my liking. But, it was kind of cool to see Mack take his war outside of the continental US. -
January 12, 2025
Even though it was an interesting idea, I guess I wasn't drawn into this one...until near the end. Then all hell breaks loose. The companions come to an island of African Americans descended from slaves. Mildred feels a kinship with them and considers staying. This group doesn't know anything but hate for the pale ones. But as events unfold, Ryan and Co. form an uneasy alliance with them as forces within their village plot and scheme. Not a whole lot of the usual action until the last 50 or 60 pages. A character thought long dead appears out of nowhere and upsets the balance...and we are left with a shocking climax. So, decent storyline, but just an average delivery. -
December 26, 2024
The final paperback to be produced, and from here on the series would limp along as ebooks until cancellation a few years later. It is surprisingly a good story and I enjoyed it. Bolan is up against three enhanced Russian assassins and gets beaten up a lot, he is even in a hospital bed at one point. There are two main action sequences, a tense car chase across Paris and a big gunfight in the centre of Madrid. There is a lot of background plotting which adds depth to the overall story which I enjoyed. The characters were well written, except for Bolan who was a bit cardboard, and I would have liked to have had a bit more information on his French partner, Palomer. I would liked to have known why she went to Madrid and how the jurisdiction would have worked. Too short a book, I guess. The villain, Utkin does get away, and due to the series cancellation we will never find out what happens next. As a further point, the book is gun porn free. I think Bolan has a Glock as he is passed ammunition for it at one point, but for the most part he has either a pistol or a gun. All in all, a very good story and I recommend it. -
December 9, 2024
Because I am now the proud owner of the original painting I decided to give The Trial a re-read. it has been 32 years! since I read it back in 1992 so I guess it is time. One of the best pieces of dialogue in any Bolan book takes place when Bolan introduces himself to his lawyer. "It's not Blanski. It's Bolan. Mack Bolan." "I see. This changes everything." I don't have the book with me at the moment so I cannot give you the exact quote, but I loved it 32 years ago and I still love the whole exchange now. The book is also unusual in that there is hardly any action. There is a two page fist fight in a prison cell and then Bolan's escape at the end of the novel. So the body count can easily be done on two hands (we are not told how many are killed by the Mafia in their clumsy assault on the court.) But I must admit I do have problems with the novel. It definitley needed a re-write or tigtening up. The whole plot by the Mafia's external hire, the Rancher was clumsy and amateurish. The prosecution and the defense lawyers were not very good. Even though this was probably written in 1985 the whole case should never have made it to court, the evidence is too circumstantial and even I, without legal knowledge, could have driven a bus through the prosecution's case. A lot of characters from Bolan's past are introduced, including Susan Landry, Al Weatherbee and many others. Hal Brognola shows up as well but the question is why as half way through the novel they are forgotten about and do not seenm to be present at the final courtroom escape and shootout. Where did they go? Why was there not more security when it was discovered that the local cops had The Executioner in custody? Surely all the alphabet agencies would have shown up in force, all wanting a peice of the Bolan pie. But the biggest problem I did have was that this was really a 186 page novel with lots and lots of padding. So many characters had so many meandering thoughts about nothing that drove the plot forward that it became dull to read and easily skipable. And that is a shame because there really is a unique and interesting concept of Bolan behind bars just straining to escape. I think with a little more plotting this story would have been one of the best of the Gold Eagle range. But it does have one of the best cover paintings in the entire series. ;) -
December 8, 2024
9 out of 10; WoW, the pace, the tone, the characterization! So far, as I am reading the original Pendleton run in order, Miami Massacre is my favorite. The writing is tighter than my wifes' chequebook. Bolan shows he is a patient, methodical tactician. He cleverly locates a mafia conference, infiltrates it and shows them who's boss. All this with the police and feds after him. Of course, the action scenes were great. I would have given it a 10, but I thought the love interest was a little unrealistic, as with the ending with the beach hippies. Well done Mr. Pendleton! -
December 2, 2024
I wish I could give this book a higher rating, as I am a Will Murray fan. But, there may be a reason why this was his only Bolan book. The story made no sense whatsoever, and Mack was portrayed as bland, totally wooden. His dialogue is robotic. It's like the author thought it'd be a great premise to have a cat and mouse type chase , using souped up and armoured cars as the plot devices. Bolan and the bad guys both have cars with machine guns mounted on them. The rest is the usual " rich corporate slum lord hires mercs to drive out the poor people from the land he wants to buy". Why would Mack assume the identity of the cop that was killed? Also, wasn't it a tip off to the bad guys using the cops call sign? Why did Mack drive around Boston almost as if he was hoping to trip of the bad guys? With all the resources Stony Man has, he could have used satellite tracking. This is totally not his M.O. It's not that the action scenes were bad, but they weren't good either. You can skip this one, Will Murray has MUCH better books out there. -
November 25, 2024
This was not a page turner, but not a chore to read either. The two big scenes are around a raid on a military base and aqua assault on a submarine. I like the dialogue and action scenes, and the prologue was really good too. I did like that as the 3rd book in the series, PF said it was their 3rd mission together. Not a bad book at all, but if you don't read this entry, it's no big deal. Seven out of ten, maybe even a 6.5. I notice this author didn't write any more PF novels. -
November 19, 2024
In light of Douglas Wojotwicz's unfortunate passing I decided to pay my respects by reading his final foray into the world of Mack Bolan. Doug and I corresponded a lot back in the day, but since the decision was made to close down Gold Eagle and the publishing of Bolan adventures our communication became less and less. Righteous Fear is the penultimate book in the Bolan series. The body count is massive as Bolan cuts through white supremacists and Islamic fundamentalists, finally finishing at the mansion of a power mad evangelical preacher. You would be forgiven for thinking that this is a standard shoot anything that moves novel with zero story line, but you would be wrong. There is a strong story and equally strong characters both good guys and bad. And this surprised me for such a short novel. It really was a joy to read, despite bodies being every where. If I had a complaint then it would be that Bolan seems a little too inextricable, and gunfight while riding a quadbike in the opening chapters is implausible. I really enjoyed Doug's final adventure in the Bolan universe, and I am deeply sorry that your own personal adventure ended the way it did. Stay Frosty, Doug. -
November 16, 2024
This story was okay, but as another reviewer pointed out, it didn't make a lot of sense. The whole thing about wanting revenge on the journalists, and then pursuing them around the country didn't add up. To start with, Brognola and the DoJ, or the FBI should have whisked these guys away to a safe house, regardless of how much they protested. Also in the illogical department was why was only Bolan assigned to the case? Members of Able Team could equally have been utilised in protecting the journalists. But Bolan flies around the country from one location to the next, shooting the terrorists whenever he found them. The highlights of the book were Bolan's interrogation and the sequence where one of the terrorist sleeper agents tried to sell the stolen car to his friends, only to have his throat cut. I must admit, I did not see that coming. But the rest was a pretty average adventure. -
November 15, 2024
This was a different kind of story, not the ususal "infiltrate the bad guys organization and take them out, or locate and destroy the bad guys". The story starts off like it's part two from a previous book where Bolan launched an assault but narrowly escapes while being wounded. This book, Run to Ground, picks up at that point. Bolan holes up in a remote town where help from the outside world is easily and quickly cut off from support by the bad guys chasing Bolan. Most of the gun battle is saved for the last 2 or 3 chapters. Most of the book shows the back stories and motivations of the supporing characters. It's a bit of a "rally the common man" to help Bolan, but it works. I would have given the book 8 stars, but the last chapters were average. Good book, but not a classic. -
November 13, 2024
Wow, if you havent' read Battlemask yet, treat yourself! CONS: There's not as many shoot 'em ups in this entry. PROS: There's way more plot, characterization and subterfuge which lead to a BETTER shoot 'em up at the end! Don't misunderstand, there are nice action sequences throughout the book, but shorter in length. The final battle is not even that much longer, but the emotion and satisifaction of the way it's handled by Mr. Pendleton makes so much sense! Bolan really shows his ability to go undercover and gather intell on this one, plus he starts his working relationship with Carl Lyons. He gets introduced to Hal Brognola in this one too! You can see the Bolanverse starting to develop. What's nice it the tight continuity, there' mention of events in book 1 and two. Battlemask feels like it takes place a few days after Death Squad. The dialogue was superb with all the characters>Mr. Pendleton knocked this one out of the park. -
November 11, 2024
Six stars out of 10. This is my second Rogue Angel book, but my first RA review on this site. Sadly, I didn't even finish my first RA book or recall the title. I just remember struggling through it before I gave up. Fast forward years later and I stumble on a stack of RA books at my local used book store, so I thought I'd try again, after all, there are 50ish books,so they must be good overall right? But I am guessing Celtic Fire was probably not a good entry point if you haven't started with an earlier entry. The author seems to assume you already know the lead character Annja Creeds' origin , background and motivation. All we can assume is that she is a young archeologist, hosts a reality show, and has a magical sword once weilded by Joan of Arc that she can summon from another dimension when she fights bad guys. She has two male colleagues, both who we again must guess are immortal ( related to Conner or Duncan Mcleod ?) and are wealthy. Roux, last name never given, seems to be 500 years old and a mentor to Creed, while Gairen??? No last names? is old but appears to look and act in his thirties and flirts with Creed, who merely puts him in the friend zone. The book was evenly paced>>>>> slow paced that is. It took until chapter 10 for all the characters to be introduced and the adventure to really start: Creed is on vacation when she stumbles upon a theft of a minor artifact,she pursues a lead, instead of notifying the local cops? Before that, a whole chapter was spent just showing her tour the town and check into a hotel. OK, then her partners call her about a murder related to the aforementioned theft. Again, why not turn the case over to the locals? Thee is a car chase, sword fight and heist style sequence, none of which were overly thrilling. In the end, there is a bit of a "reveal";.... S P O I L E R A L E R T ......Roux was in love with a woman who has the same last name as the antagonist...but wait..is the author implying that Roux is the antagonists ' father? Maybe her grandfather? Two things don't add up; a 50 year gap from the time Roux dated the antagonists' possible relative suggests her grandmother if anything but the grandmother would have been single and had a different surname. You have to struggle to guess that Roux was in love with this grandmother while she was married. It's never clear. The pace was slow, the story set up slow. Action sequences just OK. Characterizations were bland. If these characters shared 49 previous adventures, you couldn't tell. It would have been helpful if the author did a flashback sequence on the characters and not assume you've read previous books. In Executioner books, they have a standard Bolan origin story before the story starts. You can jump into Bolan at any book. Can't say struggled with this book,but was waiting for it to get better. This author has a totally different prose than other Gold Eagle authors like Roger's, Kasner or Renaud.I'm willing to try another RA book or two before deciding whether or not to take it off my list. The concept is great; a Tomb Raider type heroine with a magic sword, travels the world solving archeological cases with two rich immortal friends! It's a daring experiment by Gold Eagle, there was no high body count or assault rifles shot by paramilitary personnel! I'm willing to try more. -
November 11, 2024
7 stars out of 10. This is my first actual stand alone PF book. Sure ,I've read PF in the Stonyman series, but I've put off getting into reading PF until I purchased an ebay lot starting with this debut novel. It was just OK, maybe I shouldn't have compared it to the first Executioner and first Able Team, both of which rocked. The best part was chapter 2, where we see Bolan congratulate the PF crew for being being selected for the team, weirdly enough, it seems they didn't seem to know they were applying for PF. We find out they are named "PHOENIX" after Col. John Phoenix, since they are his extension of Stonyman farm. After chapter 2 though, it's tame fare, individual PF members do their own recce into the bad guys,Katz gets captured, the final chapter is the short assault to rescue the hostages. Not a bad action sequence, but it ends abruptly, no epilouge at all. You can read this entry to be a completist, but I'm sure the subsequent books get better. Also, this seems to be a prototype of Tom Clancys Rainbow Six in a few ways. -
November 9, 2024
I found myself enjoying this one. A classic story of Mafia, no terrorist team ups, no nuclear weapons, just Bolan after the LA Mob. There are Marksman's Medals left behind, the Mafia remember Bolan, the cops remember Bolan, and there are recent adventures against the Mafia recalled, including The Bone Yard and Resurrection Day. To be honest, there are no surprises in the tale. Bolan hits various Mafia sights in the pursuit of the Iceman who is a mob member and has been creating snuff movies. The strikes go as planned and Bolan wipes the bad guys out. Johnny makes what was his second appearance in the Gold Eagle range and has a relatively low key involvement until the end. If there is to be a complaint then it would all the characters musing to themselves. This I did tend to skip read. But all in all this was a good tale with a great book cover. -
November 2, 2024
I just re-read this entry, I forgot how good it was. Where to start? IT seems to take place a month after the first book, as Mack talks as if he drove for Pittsfield to LA and laid the groundwork for assembling his Death Squad. I like the intro of Carl Lyons on the LAPD, as I'm an Able Team fan. Pendleton really makes it apparent, that Mack is a tactical genious, he plans, plans and plans again.He takes nothing for granted and nothing to chance. What I really like is he has a dour sense of humour while being serious at the same time. I think too many of the later books made him out to be too unemotional and robotic. Mack does a great job of chess master tactics with the bad guys. I really liked all the Death Squad members, if anything, it'd be great if the book was longer to flesh out their characters and back stories. I believe someone later wrote a book with Mack in Vietnam with these guys. I'd read that! I also love the fact that we meet Rosario and Gadgets, too other future Able Team members. A well paced read, 8 out of 10 stars. -
October 31, 2024
I just re-read this in two days, having read it literally 33 years ago, It was even better the second time around! If you can read only ONE Executioner novel, it has to be this one! How the hell did Mr. Pendleton write such a great entry, but have enough great ideas to pen another 37? This book still holds up great even in modern day. I've read the later Bolan stories, but what I love about the first one is really getting into his head about his values and motivations. I'm hooked on this series...AGAIN!!