Ambush

Well truly this plot of taking down a drug Kingpin has been absolutely FLOGGED TO DEATH and I'm thinking that there is very little which the author could include in a title using this plotline which could make it readable and was pleasantly surprised I guess at the end as the author has actually managed to deliver a quite good read even with the plot. Why? I would say mainly O'Banion who is the IRA terrorist leader this character (got a feeling I have read of him before but not sure?) will blow you away. How refreshing to read how this guy just snubs his nose at the world and basically couldn't give a toss to any reactions to his groups actions. The taking of the female Greenfinch is a classic example and well it is a long flight over the Atlantic so well why not. He blows people away without a seconds thought and truly is one of the better villains introduced in these series who also just happens to meet with one of the better endings going around even though it was pretty obvious what was coming up personally I thought it could have been a surprise with him perhaps having the drop on the big guy or the woman. This is basically a Stony Man title where both Able Team and Phoenix Force feature and have quite solid sections each within the title keeping the ongoing storyline progressing quite nicely. Some very good action scenes here to read which will keep you entertained and leads to a pretty good read in the end. So even with the plot this is a pretty good read recommended.

While I didn't think this superBolan was as good as the author's previous one, Onslought, I found Ambush to be entertaining enough and full of so much stuff, that it deserves nine stars. Ambush is more like a Stony Man in disguise, because a good portion of the book is dedicated to the operations of Phoenix Force and Able Team. The action scenes with both PF and AT were done very well, with PF having some great moments in Germany and Sweden. Bolan's assaults on his own and with these teams were all solid action sequences. The story contains two main villains, and Bolan uses a tactic everyone who has read much of his adventures has seen before to get these two working against each other. So the overall plot isn't much new, but VanCook tells this story in his unique and talented storytelling way, making the novel fresh and with a level of tension and suspense. The opening chapter pulls the reader in and the book ramps up the action more as the story moves along. The body count is huge, and the final fate of O'Banion was well deserved. Good stuff.

This book is probably one of the worst Bolan books I have read. 1) A Supreme Court justice is dead then on a news clip referred to as federal. Then another one is found dead. Since the first judge is simply described as a Supreme Court judge the others would have to be to. Now wouldn't it be logical to take all the other federal supreme court justices into seclusion with armed Secret Service? I was shocked to see Judge Douglas referred to as a Surpreme Court justice. What was he doing at home? Why wasn't he immediately placed into seclusion with his family? This utterly made no sense. There are 9 federal supreme court justices. If VanCook meant state supreme court justices he should have said it. By not giving an id except as Supreme Court Justice as description to the first judge then it would apply to all others killed. Bad editting or lack of knowledge of the justice system. You need to get the details right in books especiallly things like this. Either better descriptions or better knowledge. 2) Bolan/Brognala were in Washington when they heard the death of the first Supreme Court justice killed in Arlington. O'Banion was in Bolivia. O'Banion is then described as arriving in Washington. B/B arrive at the judge's home and gets shot at. Did O'Banion use a teleporter? I reread this section slowly again to see if one scene was a flashback but it was not. 3) Book was published in 1994. Lets see you could remodel a living room into a lab to make a nuclear bomb? Really? I could see one storing a nuclear bomb in a lab but making it? I don't think so. 4) The action scenes were very good. The last 140 pages between the infiltration into the corporation in Bolivia and the two terrorists groups fighting each other at the end were fantastic. The only real saving grace in the novel. 5) Resource management. Judges are being killed left and right in the US. Shouldn't that have been Bolan's top priority not the Swedish problem. It seemed like that was a secondary problem. This seemed like it may have been tacked on to make it 350 pages. It seems like FP should have been left to handle this by themselves. 6) O'Banion was a good villian and the fact he was a rapist and some of the sexual description surprised me. Way too often villians are seen in this series as pretty much nonsexual. There was a sexual sadism that seems to be asbent in this novel series that showed up in this book. This is an extremely below average novel. I thank god I got it in a tradein and just spent $1.25. If you have it and can get a different one do it. Don't bother finding it. I thank God I read rather fast. It took me 2 days to read it. Too late to take back the time.

Great book that easily could have been a Stony Man novel. Phoenix and Able helped out Mack along the way. Lyons even had the Atchisson! A spectacular final battle capped off this fast-paced adventure.