Ninja Blood

I give this book 7 stars. I like the fact that it is the last TRIO book. I never did find them very interesting. I did like John Trent's appearance though. I liked when John went to the head of the Ninja Clan for permission to kill the 2 brothers. I thought that was well written. Other than that pretty standard stuff.

A good book, BUT I thought it was a little dissapointing ending to the TRIO saga. Phoenix just stumbles onto their plot, and the ending wasn't too climactic. But never the less a well written action packed entry!

I too on reading the back cover thought immediately the plot is good this should be good and was not disappointed mostly. John Trent is supposedly working as an assassin for a Yakuza clan and is the prime suspect in the murder of a leading industrialist. Hal is fearing exposure of Stony Man and the Team itself as Trent has intimate knowledge of the Team. So the Team are sent to Japan to ascertain Trent's guilt and if he is in fact guilty he is to be killed to maintain secrecy of Stony Man farm and the Teams. Needless to say this doesn't go down well with the Team as they have worked on three occassions previously with John in the series. Bugger me guess who else is in the country none other than our old friends TRIO and both groups basically discover each are there at the same time. So what more would you want it's going to be on isn't it? Oh Yea BIG TIME some excellent action scenes here which I must admit includes a lot of Ninja stuff but as long as it is not in every title I guess I can live with it. The best thing is that the adversaries of the Team are not brainless/untrained/brainwashed/drugged out sideshow ducks which are blown away by the Team but highly trained and well capable of taking out one or more members of the Team. Some of the fight scenes are stunning and the Team take there lumps here let me tell you. There is a small section where Cal basically goes AWOL as he has a hunch where he may be able to locate John Trent. He goes to the place which is a restaurant owned by an ex Sumo wrestler who is good friends with Trent. What happens is some very good stuff also with a lot of humour at the end of the section. Another classic section is where one of the villians requests the right to commit seppuku after being shot multiple times. Excellently described including the odours and colours complete with reactions of some of the Team. So why not a ten? As has been previously mentioned the last section of the title which is usually the best the climax of the title as has been set up here with the elusive leaders of TRIO being located and there is a chance once and for all to knock these suckers out for good. This could be it THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC READING but it isn't and falls a bit flat. One of the three leaders doesn't have to be taken out and the other two are bloody wishy washy on top of it. I was very disappointed in the finish of this title what the author had set up OVER NUMEROUS TITLES deserved a better finish than this offering.

“Ninja Blood” is the fourth and final installment of the reoccurring Phoenix Force enemy known as TRIO. Instead of directing their actions from another country, the TRIO leaders are a little too slow and … that’s why this is the last TRIO story. MERGE never got a send-off like this. They just ceased to exist. And what a send off for TRIO. Good action sequences culminating in the destruction of TRIO. The plot is underestimated. Phoenix Force just has to show up and clear John Trent’s name. The rest is like “Tooth and Claw” for the good guys, where they hunt down and kill TRIO leaders because they are in the same country. Pretty straightforward. Pretty good entry with permanent results.

I missed this one when it originally came out and it took a long time to find, so I figured it was a classic. Wrong. Too much emphasis on the rather boring John Trent character. Sorry, Ninja lovers!

This was a good ninja actionfest set in Japan. The TRIO dudes finally got canned in this one, but I was disappointed that the guy from sea of savages didn't put up much of a fight after the cliffhanger from the end of that book. But the ninja action was exciting, and the ending tied some loose ends from earlier books.

A well-crafted tale making good use of the John Trent character. One of Fieldhouse's usual stellar action fests, the only real flaw here was the overly-convenient ending. After so much build-up, it would have been nice to have seen TRIO put up a better fight on their way to oblivion. Still, this is one worth tracking down.

I found this one to be a better story than the last PF that I read, which was Hostaged Vatican. Unfortunately the story premise is very weak. PF are sent to Japan by Brognola because it is suspected that Trent might by a bad guy and about to spill the beans on Stony Man Farm. Along the way PF encounter TRIO. Once it is established that Trent is a good guy, PF decide to wipe out TRIO once and for all. For some very strange reason, all three leaders of TRIO are hanging around in the same place doing next to nothing. Phoenix have no problem breaking in and finishing off TRIO once and for all. A disappointing end for the TRIO story line. Not too bad but should have been better.

Good book, another of my favorites. Good Ninja action.

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!!!

What an explosive way to end the story arc with TRIO. Good shootouts and martial arts action.

Chills ran up my spine when I read the plot synopsis on the back cover...I couldn't and wouldn't believe that John Trent was suddenly the enemy. Even after having read this one a couple of times, I still get that feeling...