Robert G. Vantine

I was lucky enough to find this book when I was building my collection of Mack Bolan and related series. It is a must-have for any Mack Bolan fan. It is very informative and give's numerous descriptions of Mack early campaigns, weapons, and people he's run into. Anytime I reread any early Executioner novel, I keep the War Book next to me to refer to. If you find this book, you must buy it! If there's two, buy both because there is always someone who always wanted it!

I knew that #300 was suppose to a major book and Stony Man was going to lose a member. I even knew who it was ahead of time. That said, I was extremely disappointed by the entire novel itself. There was no reason for him to die. The only person to blame for his death (besides the writer, but it's his story) is Katz himself. 1) He was not at 100% mentally and physically (what's normal for Katz anyway) after being tortured and had no right to go back out in the field. 2) He put the Farm, Able Team, Phoenix Force, the whole Stony Man concept, and Mack in jeopardy (physically, politically, etc). 3) If he had talked, the US could have faced tremendous hatred, embarressment, and backlash from other countries. 4) The entire US political structure would collapse, causing former Presidents and the current President to face charges for interfering in the affairs of other countries. 5) The whole US political system would be in ruins. 6) Hal might be forced to follow/or know of a Presidential order to 'eliminate' the problem, which would drive a wedge between him and the rest of Stony Man. 7) Any Stony Man member might be injured/killed in the attempt to re-rescue him. 1) Katz failed to admit/acknowledge that he couldn't handle it in the field anymore. That's why he took the 'deskjob' at the Farm to begin with. 2) He failed to recognize that his injuries from being tortured put him at greater risk, despite his age. 3) He failed to follow the advice of learned and concerned comrades after his rescue. 4) He failed to 'step back' and 'see the big picture', given his condition. 5) He failed to realize he was a liability. He could have remained as advisor for some time, but... Whether or not Hal ordered him to return is a moot point. Katz didn't step back and realize he was in no position to do anything until he was safe and checked for injuries. For a former commander who told Cal to "keep his mind on the mission, not on the women", his actions were not vintage/appropriate Katz behavior. By showing us, the readers who know his history and what his character is all about, his several obvious lapses in judgement, we all can see that Katz had absolutely no place being on the battlefield. He has lost his mental edge, with his body battered by many years of commando-ing (?). And because of that he's dead. This book was a travesty, a mockery, and a direct slap in the face to a man who (and for Pete sakes, I know this is just fiction) was at the top of his game. He was the glue that held Phoenix Force together. This was a man who kicked ass in a hospital room, blind, with nothing but a cane and a bedpan. This book could have been better. I've liked the author's other efforts, but this was not his defining moment. Katz deserved better. He deserved a better death. Might as well have been a random drive-by while waiting for his Happy Meal, the way it happened. #300 should have been a SuperBolan, not crammed into a little Executioner. At least both parts should have been SuperBolans.

For a first time effort, Doug stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park. Great job! The plot was 'old school' and harked back to all that we love about Mack. I didn't think the re-edit involving Yakov for Jack was a problem at all. Han & Chang have conversation about dark-haired guy and guy with stiff right arm after the first fight. Chang thinks he recognizes Bolan and Yakov from years before. Later after the airport fight, Han says the one-armed man was injured and a bloody mess. Folks-since Chang didn't get himself any decent intel, he assumed and let Han assume that Yakov would be coming over w/Mack. Since they don't know you Jack is, they think he's Yakov. It's a simple case of mistaken identity and assumption. Great job Doug, considering all those of us still in the pre-writing stages and for you to have actually done it-I give you a ten for a very memorable story and one that everybody will rmember when they hear the title.

This book took a long time to set up, with the main action finally starting near page ninety. So many pages devoted to the development of the diner patrons, yet several other minor characters,#Seventy-One and Jordan, barely had a paragraph or two to describe them. Cromman and Thornton's histories were minimal at best. Disproportionate attention to detail at the beginning made the last 150 pages seem to be rushed. I felt the book needed to be another pages long just to balance it out. One glaring editorial goof though was how did the Jordan know that Bolan had the disk on page 221? Blan never said he had it to Jordan but Jordan told Thornton on page 238 that Bolan told him to tell Thornton he had the disk. Did it happen off-camera or did he see it on the row of tv monitors in the giftshop? The backup hitters near the end didn't have much history, only a few lines about their impending arrival. When they finally showed up Bolan just began to take them out. I would have given this a higher score if not for the spotty character development and unbalanced pacing of the story. Could have been tweaked a little more.

As a first in hopefully a long line of further Stony Mans written by Nick P, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The pacing was good and the story was unique considering the plots we've been subjected to. The only drawbacks I see were in the editing of the book (there is no F-15 Tomcat and a F-18 does not have wings that fold back in flight). As for a F-16 being used by the Navy, I've seen pictures of Miramar and other naval bases where there are F-16s in Navy insignia, and nobody said the F-16 took off from the carrier to join the F-18s with Grimaldi. Excellent first effort in the Stony Mans for Nick P.

This book started with a good premise and went downhill. Leo was brought back, but for such a small uneventful part. No one was identified as the mole in the agency that betrayed Mack. There were to many characters that weren't fully developed. What was Wesson's motivation, or how did he control the Squids? The stripper (and the whole Johnny scenes) didn't really tie into the rest of the story. Able Team was underused and Gadgets scenes was like watching Down Periscope (w/Kelsey Grammer). The author seemed to want to connect this piece with others he had wrote, but it just off as the victim of a bad hatchet job in editing.

It's unfortunate that there is nothing lower than a one to grade this book. I wish it had a who's who included that I could refer back to. I can only hope that this was a very bad edit. The plot went back and forth and seemed to be actually several different books put together. At times I didn't know if COG was good or bad. This book took me several months to read and I usually finish one in several hours. It would be kind to say something was lost in the translation, but it's published in English. Bolan came out of nowhere, and had people working for him that weren't really introduced properly. The technology was never explained. Not one of the author's best works.

This was an awesome book. A mission blessed by the Pope is not something you see every day. John Trent helps out with the ninjas and there's a lot of Rafael in this. All members had great scenes and this is one very memorable book. Just hearing the title reminds me what happens inside!

What can I say? The first book in this trilogy started ok, but the other two are very weak. How many times is the Farm going to be attacked? Thirteen assault helicopters crash with nuclear reactors all over the Farm. Nothing is really said about side effects or fall-out on the land. Comcon is supposed to be this big nasty enemy and it can't even kill one enemy. Alot of blacksuits are killed, but no mention of the number. If the idea of the Farm being attacked was carried over to other books (ie- new paint or masonry, reason for new security, etc) it would really connect this with others. There must be continuity in all the books. This could have been a geat trilogy, but falls short.

There are only a few books that just hearing the title reminds me of the entire book, unfortunately Iron Fist is one of them. Here is why. This book has a number of discrepencies-First Bolan says he's doing it alone, next he's with Able Team and half of Phoenix Force. Second characters like Garrison and his driver, the C-5 crew, the two docs, and the other reporter guy show up with no intro-just scenes and no background. I liked the idea of th base being attacked, but the whole Splatterpunk character is to far-fetched to exist in current affairs. Maybe when Bolan is redone (like Superman's history, etc) this story could exist. Stony Man people show up after Bolan says he's using other options so as not to compromise Stony Man. The inter-play between AT and PF and Grimaldi is great. I know other people enjoyed this book, but after 6 months of hype on this messageboard I expected something more, not less. I am sad Mr.Montgomery is not writing Bolans anymore, and am sure I've enjoyed other works, but Iron Fist was not what I thought (or hoped) it would be.

This was the first Phoenix Force I ever came across. I think I found out about the team in Bolan's Devil's Horn in the back pages. Ninjas, commandos, fantastic fight sequences made for an awesome first read and hook me for the rest. Definetly a must read!!!

I didn't put any stars to rate this book when I said my peace before. It is one of books that was so unique, so original a plot it blew me away. It is also one of the few books that I can specificully remember what the book was about without reading the description, just seeing the name reminds me of this awesome book. Part 'masked avenger', part executioner, part-only the Shadow knows...

It takes a lot for me not to like a Bolan book, but this one is in my least favorite list. First off the number of casualties is to high for Bolan, maybe if this was continued into the rest of the series and not forgotten by next month's book. Secondly the bad guy got off way to easy. This is onetime wee he should have been brought back to face justice-see point #1. Third-the last backpack nuke was foiled by mother nature. This could have made a great/okay superbolan, but ends up a very rushed executioner. The implications of the heinous acts of terrorism is too soon forgotten and everything is back to statis quo like nothing happened. Skip this and watch Die Hard 3 instead!

This book might have been good if it wasn't for two things. One -wasn't there a movie on TBS w/ Diamond Dallas Page that had a similar plot. Two- Bolan feels discouraged until he comes across Robin Hood and his merry men having a weapons seminar out in the Idaho boonies right down the river from where the bad guys are holding their VIP hostages. Talk obout your coinkidinks. The best part of the book was the location.

I really liked this book. You take a movie (Turk 182) and turn it into a taxi. Then Bolan becomes the avenging angel with his symbol that haunts the baddie. Very entertaining.

When Hal, Katz, McCarter, and the rest realize who the mystery passenger is-ya just wanna feel sorry for the bad guy.

I loved Grimaldi's cameo. It made the world feel right.

The best part of this book was Gadgets response with the 'projection'. It took me back to the old Able Team books w/his clever use of technology. Plus anytime PF jumps from aboard a PPP on a Stealth B-2---Man, I love that. A+

Just reading the cover blurb almost made me quit the series and Mack Bolan all-together. I had to find out what happened. Note to all about this one...read it completely before you panic.

This was the first Bolan I purchased at the store. It was an incredible story that I just couldn't put down. The cover art was the cincher though. Who was this tough SOB staring at me? A definite 10 for 10 on this one.