Desert Storm Vet

I didn't like this book at first because there was a lot of action that seemed superfluous, but I stuck with it and was eventually drawn in ... and the eariler bits paid off for the most part. The whole premise was intriguing and a good change of pace from the usual counter-terrorist fare that marks these series. The mysterious 'X' shouldn't feel the need to hide behind a pseudonym because this is a damn fine book. Again, if you pick this up, ya gotta stick it out through the first 100 pages ... the pay off will be worth it.

Kasner gets high marks for tackling an easily doomable premise -- sending our boys into space. He managed to make it all seem plausible while still keeping the action going and giving AT and PF a chance to shine instead of leaving all the major heroics to Bolan. Nice battle scenes in the Gobi Desert, too.

I kept waiting for the obligatory cutaway scenes to the bad guys going through their paces, but nothing doing in the rip-roaring page turner that takes place entirely from Bolan's perspective. A great opening sequence in Barstow, California of all places, and things continued to heat up as Bolan went overseas to try to track down his long-time colleague Grimaldi. Renauld usually spends a lot of time getting into the heads of other people besides the protagonists, and though I like that, this was a nice change of pace for him.

I was prepared not to like this because it sounded a little too far-fetched for this series, but Fieldhouse pulled it off with great style and finesse. The Juggernauts prove a great adversary for Bolan and it was nice seeing Mack frustrated and forced to crank it up a notch to bring the bad guys down.

A great book, especially in terms of giving us a close look at what makes David McCarter tick. One of the better Linaker entries in the series and worth tracking down.