Shadow Search

What a pleasant surprise to read a title that is not only realistic but entertaining. What a surprise The Big Guy is not a bullet proof Superman here nor is he a James Bond Super spy or a Sherlock Holmes he is just a very intelligent soldier with a shit load of experience behind him. Further no Nuke of the month story here or a biological weapon threatening the planet or anything that is going to wipe humanity from the planet. :-) Thank goodness....... What we have is a very good read where a small African nation is about to be taken over by Rebel forces coupled with the abduction of the Presidents kids. You WILL enjoy this title if you decide to read it. Written by one of the eminent authors of this series he excels here as usual. Excellent read well done Mike.

This book carries a solid 8 stars in my opinion. The action was well written and ample but not ecessive or contrived. Linaker does a good job of presenting a story that is personal, allowing Bolan to move through the plot without any over the top plot hooks getting involved. Overall a well crafted and enjoyable story. Detractors for this book are minor really but do seem to make the book a little flat at times. I am usually not a fan of fictional countries. There are plenty of real places that this story could have taken place that a country like Timpala did not need to be created. There were plot hooks introduced that seemed to be resolved too conveniently. Bolan rescuses the girls and is thinking of how to stash them while he goes after the rest of the slaves and the tribal leader shows up suddenly to whisk them away to safety. The ending also seemed a little tacked on. The sequence of assaulting Government House was very cool but once Chakra was dead I was left wondering why the book was still going.

Some good action scenes highlighted this Linaker novel. Mack in the bush of Africa dealing with rebels and slave traders is one where you expect absolutely no quarter to be given. Above-average shootouts, especially one where Bolan hits an airfield and lays waste to the bad guys. Also, you see Bolan and his interacting with children, along with losing an ally and swearing vengeance. One of Linaker's better ones lately. A winner in every facet.

This book has everything I love in a Mack Bolan novel---fast pace, action, and more than that (because let's face it, most Bolan offerings have those two elements in spades), a mission that is personal for Bolan, as opposed to being dictated by Mommy Brognola. It even has a decent denouement, something so often lacking in Bolan books. So why only 4 stars? Well ... certain elements of te bok--which I don't want to reveal specifically for fear of spoiling the story--were quite contrived, particularly the climax. Only in the world of Mack Bolan would someone have a gun but use it as a club so there can be a great firhgt scene, rather than jhust shooting their enemy and being done with it. Ah well ... if you can forgive little things like that, this book is quite an enjoyable read.

Beside the fictional country realistic and belivable story. No über-villains or ridiculous high body count. All in all I liked this on very much

The president of a small African country has a slight problem. His two children have been kidnapped by rebels who want to overthrow him and break all ties with America. Not knowing what else to do president Karima turns to his old pal, who is now POTUS. POTUS sends in his top man, The Executioner. Bolan spends much of the mission hunting for the two missing children - hence the title Shadow Search. The children are first kidnapped by the rebels and then are stolen by slavers who intend to ship them, along with many other children, out of the county. Bolan follows the trail across the African bush, engaging in fire fights with the rebels and eventually the slavers on board a rusting freighter. Once his primary mission is accomplished Bolan then has to rescue Karima and the US ambassador from rebels that have launched a coup. Needless to say Bolan finishes off the bad guys and ends the coup. My biggest problem with this story was the fictional African country of Tempala, and one thing that I do not like is fictional countries, especially since there are a great nuumber of countries in Africa that would suit this story. Mike Linaker does, however, create more background to his country than many other authors do with theirs. The only other thing that I did not like with this novel was the inclusion of the Cubans. I really did feel that this was a superfluous addition to the story. Do rebel Africans really need their hands held by the Cubans when launching a coup? The support characters (apart from the irratating Cuban) were well written especially Jomo, a police officer, who assists Bolan in the first half of the story. I also appreciated Bolan's reaction to his discover of the young boy that the slavers had left to die. Bolan's wrath was a flashback to the feelings and emotions of the vintage Executioner. The main plot reason for POTUS to involve Bolan in this mission was to rescue the two children of his old friend. However, several times it is mentioned that president Karima was about to sign a deal with the USA to build a harbour for the US Navy to use as a base and to sign over copper mining rights to American firms. The proceeds from these agreements would help rejuvinate the poor African country. At a time when American Trade is viewed with suspicion Mike Linaker has cleverly written between the lines indicating that POTUS' primary interest is in the copper and harbour rights. The fact that his old friend is president and needs a favour is a secondary issue. Obviously Bolan's primary interest is the rescue of the children. Diplomatic interests do not even weigh into the equation. All in all this is a good adventure through the rugged African landscape, even though the landscape is fictional and even though there are Cubans wandering around. A solid 8 stars.