Sky Killers

Superb title in the series here. In the 57 to date I have read in order this would definately be in the top three. I must admit I read these books for entertainment not as reference manuals so I guess I am with the group who couldn't care less about the technical errors what I want is an entertaining story with some exciting action scenes. Does this title deliver ? Well obviously rating this one a ten my response is a yes but why? Sick of the nuke of the month/terrorists jihads/deranged ex KGB/bio attacks etc. etc. here you will read a fantastic original plot and storyline which will grab you from the first page and you will be enthralled until the LAST SENTENCE. Saying nothing which you can't read on the back cover of the title half of the world's orbiting satellites have disappeared and the planet is fast approaching meltdown. The tension the author maintains throughout the title is remarkable as there is no letdown periods no passages where you might say to yourself okay I'll give it a rest for a while, it is extremely hard to just stop reading and put it down. Excellent action scenes here as well with both Able and Phoenix sharing equal billing and BOTH the Team's final sections are brilliant/rivetting reading which will keep you entertained until the end. Now the ending epilogue apart from a couple of asides regarding the farm the title is finished but WHO was actually behind it and bankrolling it and the conclusion is chilling. Hal is racing for a helicopter to brief the President yelling a Pan-Arabian cartel with unlimited funds and we don't even know their name. Then the big guy who hasn't featured in this title at all walks in and in the last sentence of the title says " They're called Unity and we'll be ready. " Oh yeah! looks like we may have a follow on to this title coming up in the series and yep bring it on. This is one of those too few titles which is a do yourself a favour and read it job. Well done Nick.

I'm not usually a huge fan of the Stony Man novels. I love Able Team, but Phoenix Force has always left me a bit numb. However, this book rocked! I can't speak for the technical accuracy of the novel, nor against it ... only one point in the story jarred me out of my "skull-cinema," and that was when the cyberteam was "battling". It just seemed ... very metaphorical or symbolic without really telling us what was happening. Of course, I can't say I minded that much, because le'ts face it, if those scenes had been completely accurate they probably would've been boring as all get-out. As it stands, the book has a great story with actual suspense, something all too rare in a Gold Eagle book, great action notwithstanding. Also, I *loved* the fact that Mack Bolan was hardly in it. C'mon, guys, he has eighteen books a year devoted almost exclusively to him and his everlasting war. Let the Stony Man series showcase the Stony Man commandos. The ending was awesome! Nick Pollatta joins my list of looked-forward-to authors...right up there with Mel Odom, Mark Ellis, David RObbins, and Michael Kasner. Live large and stay frosty!

This is only the second or third of the Stony Mans I've read, but I like this the best! I'd call this a tribute to Tom Clancy because of all the hight tech stuff. I didn't notice the tech errors because I'm not in the military, I just enjoyed the story.Yeah, Mack was notably absent until the cameo at the end, but that rocked! You kind of thought there was a Superbolan out there that told the story of his Madagascar adventure! I thought the best action scene by far was when Able Team was in the paintball game and then fought for their lives against the bikers. I could acutally see this made into a movie someday. I'd recommend this book, problem!

Like everyone else, was annoyed by the errors, but overall it was a chilling book, one that seemed very realistic. The action was hot and heavy, especially Able's battle with Cole, and especially Phoenix's attack on the cruise liner. At times, it was a bit too techo-ish for me, but, aside from the errors, a good book.

While this is a fast-paced and exciting Stony Man novel, as well as being frighteningly possible, the numerous technical errors were hard to ignore, and somewhat dimmed my normally HIGH reading pleasure. Granted, I am probably TOO interested in the technical aspects of a story (probably why I like Tom Clancy so much...), but this book reaches the annoyance level of fingernails on a chalkboard in the obvious lack of technical research and editing for accuracy. Examples: F/A-18 Hornets with variable-sweep wings? F-22 Raptors in exiting the atmosphere? .50 caliber machine guns in F/A 18 Hornets? C-160(?) Hercules tankers taking off from a carrier? - page 314 AMRAAM ASM missles? F-16 Eagles? "I have my own SEAL team and BUDS ready to go..." (Since when do "bubbleheads" run the BUD/S course?) - page 316 And the list could go on, and on, and on, ad nauseum... Nick Pollotta must have been smoking crack or eating some really good psychedelic mushrooms while he researched and wrote this book, or else he needs to subscribe to Jane's Defense Weekly, and purchase all the Jane's weapons texts that are out there on the market. I wonder if he's heard about Amazon.com? Frankly, I hope that this was Mr. Pollotta's LAST Stony Man (or ANY Golden Eagle) title.

Nick Pollota takes a break from The Deathlands and pens his first Stony Man and what a ride it is!!! Any tech errors were not glaring enough to me to diminish this story in any way, shape or form. This was action and SUSPENSE from the get go and was very hard to put down! Here is hoping we see more from Mr. Polotta and watch as the Stony Man crew takes on UNITY again! With a book like this one, who needs Mack! GET THIS BOOK!

Just a little add on to my review. -Canada's defense department is called the Department of National Defense, not the Department of Defense. - Canada doesn't have the missiles described in the book. We have similar ones, however they are American controlled(Commie era rockets) and located at the DEW Line.

Overal this was a very good book. I liked the way Phoenix Force and Able Team were kept seperate, I never much cared for that mix-matching stuff that happens in previous books. Also, good to see the F word being used a little more in this book. 2 other things that caught my attention, nothing bad or anything, just some interesting things: -The use of the word "strident". It was used a hell of a lot at the start and then again at the end a few times. - Not to sound sexist, but what was with all the jobs women had?? Director of Secret Service, one of the generals(Who was meeting with the President about halfway through the book), 2 astronauts and one other one that I can't think of just now. Nothing wrong with that, but I think that this is the first time that so many women were in positions of power in a Stony Man (Or any Mack Bolan book).

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.

I don't care about technical mistakes. I care about the story. The story was damn good. There was an earnest-ad succesful- attempt to steer away from the typical ex-KGB steals nukes, evil Muslims Hate America, overdone clichés. The characterization was excellent. The Stony Man warriors were all enraged by the atrocities they were witnessing, one could feel their outrage. I liked the action. Hard core and kick-ass brawls and firefights. Some of the dialogue between Hal and POTUS was very entertaining. And I liked Mack Bolan's absence. Do not get me wrong, I am a Mack Bolan fan, first and foremost, however, I really enjoyed how he was written out of the story: He had to clear a personal debt in Madagascar. That captured the essence of Bolan: a man who fights his own war, his way, on his terms. And IF he wants to, if he can, he will help Stony Man out. An entertaining read. And to hell with technical mistakes. Mr Pollota is an engaging STORYTELLER. THAT is what matters.

This is one of the best Stony Man books that I have read in a long time, and it almost became the third Bolan book to receive ten stars from me. Nick Pollotta has written an exciting and fast moving story that doesn't let up at all. There is a real sense that the world stands on the brink of chaos and anarchy that is seldom captured in other stories; although I think it would have been better to have had "News Reports" instead of a couple of pages devoted to what Canada or Britain were launching into space. But, this book does loase one star. I am not into guns, so I don't really mind if a .50 sniper rifle can be fired on the run or not. I can also over look the errors with the carrier aircraft. What did jar the book to a halt for me was, as pointed out by Echoes, the computer "jargon". We, the readers, are treated to jems of wizardry such as on page 234:- "The internet just collapsed," Tokaido announced..... "ISP and LAN?" Kurtzman demanded. Wordlessly Tokaido gestured at the deactivated screen. A few lines later:- .....Kurtzman said, saving a few files before terminating the link to the web. I work in the LAN sector of the computer world, and all this left me scratching my head in befuddlement. For those that don't know what I (or Nick) are on about, don't worry. Never-the-less Pollotta has written an excellent story. There were even, to my suprise, references to past adventures. Grimaldi states at one point "...I've been in space before..." refering to Stony Man 3 and 45. Price also remembers when Jared Quillian attacked the Farm in Stony Man III. I recommend this story to one and all. I am looking forward to Nick's next forray "Deep Rampage" (aka Silent Rampage, Red Dagger) that will be released in December.

Sky Killers was not a very good book. As Eric pointed out, there are many mistakes throughout the book. Obviously Nick Pollota doesn't know too much about guns or military aircraft (or anything military for that matter). It's the details that can make or break a Bolan book as far as I'm concerned. The storyline was good, and the satelite thing was a good challenge for Stony Man. Also, the F-22 is NOT a prototype anymore. The Air Force has been using it for years.

The book was in general exciting but I do have to say that in moments when out of nowhere the storyline changed. Because for one moment we are in the middle of a firefight and the next thin that we know were are on the otherside of the world trying to get a shuttle into space only to be shot down by the Sky Killers. I however did like the twist at the end of the story perhaps it will be continued so we can figure out what in the world is going to happen next.

while it was a god book hwe could have gone a bit deeper in his research....for instance WE HAVENT USED B-17 FOR OVER 50 YR.... also a F16 is NOT a carrier base aircraft,nor do the airforce use F-15 Tomcats(navy and ist F14) also there is NO GLOCK THAT FIRES A .50ae ROUND.And the MR-1 rifle is a south african rifle,and you cant shoot a barrett .50 on the run (i know,i tried.....thank god it was only a blank)other that that and a few other fo-paws it wasnt half bad

This was a damned good book. This book easily beats anything from Tom Clancy's Op-Center -- hand's down. Nick Pollata really knows how to weave an excellent Stony Man yarn. The ending was simply magnificent. I wonder if Gold Eagle is going to incorporate this into their continuity -- like TRIO and MERGE, for example. I have one minor nitpick -- Nick's descriptions that had anything to do with computers. Typically, it was inaccurate or didn't make sense. However, to be fair, no other author anywhere gets it right, either. Or if they do, it would be pretty boring to read.