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.
In a sense this is the end of an era, since this was the last Executioner book released in paperback.
This book is a bit like Body Armor in that Bolan's opponents are superhumanly strong, and the presentation is just as laughably absurd. The bad guys have had all their weak points modified, as an unnamed superman points out during the finale while beating the hell out of the Executioner, kindly informing us that in times of stress their dick and balls partially retreat into the body so groin attacks are impossible. There's also a thin titanium shield of some kind behind their eyes and strangulation is impossible due to a "highly resistant material" in their throats, among other things.
Interestingly, Combat Machines only has two action scenes, both of which are several chapters long. As a result we get more development than usual with the supporting characters, a very nice touch.
Some good, well-written characters are along for the ride, particularly Palomer, Bolan's obligatory female sidekick who, despite dying near the end of the book like most of his women partners, at least goes out memorably. There are also Sevaron and Zimin, a pair of Russian cops, but they aren't as interesting. The villains don't have anything resembling an original even plan but this is the 449th entry and originality died long ago. Despite that, they're at least written well and are actually threatening.
Combat Machines unfortunately ends on a cliffhanger that will likely never be resolved due to the series' cancellation, so Dr. Utkin, the Russian doctor responsible for these super-soldiers, holds the rare honour of escaping capture entirely. From all the Executioners I've read so far, the only other villain in this category is the guy from the Lord of the Seas trilogy.
A solid, exciting read.
