Reviews by
Nicolai Papagalos
12 reviews
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It was okay. I liked the dialogue between the characters, but things were somewhat slow in parts as well as some of the action scenes (Bolan defending the house, and the ensuing boat chase through the city of Venice). I just wish it had been more direct; the author seemed to draw nonessential things out too much. -
I recently finished reading this book a second time, and it was still as good as I remembered it. This was one of the best titles Pendleton wrote, with the action again centering on Bolan's roots. The book has a sense of urgency from first page to last, which would be even more intense to a first time reader who didn't know from later books that Johnny survived. Even though I had that part figured out, there were plenty of intricacies to the story to make it a wild ride --even for us seasoned Bolan readers. -
Although not quite as good as the two books preceding it, I thought this entry into the Bolan series was nicely done. There were more points in this book that one could nitpick on, but nothing major. This book had some great action scenes, and there was an interesting connection between the Chinese and the mafia. An average read. -
I liked this book quite a bit. It was a bit of a detour from the storyline we usually see (Bolan was pretty tightly boxed in here). The action sequences were interesting; with Mack having to improvise weapons after he crashed the plane into the hardsite. Bolan had to think on his feet and coordinate everything perfectly in this one. The book was pretty solid, except I wish the reader had been able to learn more about who Bolan shot at the end. Overall, of the first ten books, I would place Caribbean Kill among the top four. -
One of Pendleton's better writings, the action is non-stop, the plot is solid, and Bolan is at his thunder-and-lightning best. This book exceeded my expectations, being tense from beginning to end. Many unforgettable scenes: Bolan's hit on the Mafia convoy; the Mafiosi who 'tricked' Bolan in the office; Mack taking over the casino. I didn't care for Anders' standup gig that much (page filler), but other than that, I was delighted with this title. -
The blazing action at the outset was very well written, but I think Pendleton was slipping a bit in the middle, as others have noted. The electronic trickery was pretty good. It was interesting to see Mack confuse the families and pit them against each other; he must have done a really good job, because even after reading it again, I'm still mystified as to what exactly took place. The ending was written well, with Bolan once again slipping through the Mafia's defenses, blitzing them hard, then again slipping away through the night. All in all, I think this book is almost on par with Nightmare in New York, but not quite. -
A solid piece of writing. There are a couple of minor points I could quibble over, but, in general, this was a terrific entry into the Bolan series. -
I really didn't care for the overall plot of this book. After reading its predecessor, Continental Contract, (which I give eight stars) I was severely disappointed with Assault on Soho. Of all the original, Pendleton-written books, this one ranks near (read: on) the bottom of my list. Yeah, Bolan in action was good, but I felt that the story was more than a little redundant. And Bolan getting involved with that club? Weird... -
This is another early book which I very much enjoyed reading. Bolan's situation seemed particularly dire; lots of close calls, setups, etc. The highlight of the book has to be Bolan's ultimatum to the mob, near the end of the book. The character development in this book was very good; espcially Cici Carceaux. (Although her connection to the story seemed just a little shaky.) I took one star off my rating of this book because it seemed a little unlikely that Bolan didn't drill Rudolfi until the very end of the book, even though the guy had tried to kill him twice. -
Of the earlier books, this is one of my favorites. The story seemed pretty realistic, the action and settings were good, and the characters were believable. The events in this book were pleasantly varied, unlike some other titles. -
A much better book than its predecessor (Death Squad). I enjoyed the scenes where Bolan was infiltrating the enemy with his new face and some 'role camouflage'. He played the part of a mafia hood very well in this book; I liked the part where he was pretending to be a mafia gun and said he'd had a shootout with Bolan at a stoplight. The part where he was racing down the mountain road to intercept the mafia car was also nicely done. -
Although certain parts of Death Squad were real good, the book as a whole was a bit dissappointing to me. It was an okay read, but not one of Pendleton's best. I agree completely with Adam's review; the beginning of the book was unrealistically contrived; not spontaneous or natural as life is. I especially like Bolan's desperate escape at the very end, however.