3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Debut Of Douglas P. Wojtowicz Is Cause For Celebration, September 10, 2003
This review is from: Blood Trade (The Executioner #291) (Mass Market Paperback)
Blood Trade:
Hot and hard as uranium. With a heart. And world-weary soul.
This book burns. It bleeds. And near the end, it will break your heart. Blood Trade is nothing short of awesome and the debut of phenomenally gifted new writer Douglas P. Wojtowicz is cause for celebration.
Let tell you what makes Blood Trade so incredibly special:
This is pure Mack Bolan, one hundred proof, Sergeant Mercy living every bit as large as the Executioner. This is not Mack the Robot, but Mack Samuel Bolan, human being, still the world's premier fighting man, but a man who thinks and feels and breathes and bleeds ... We're inside Mack's head here and we know his heart, the heart that has sometimes seemed absent in certain novels, but has always truly been at the very core of Mack's War Everlasting. It was, after all, the shattering of that good heart that sent Mack down this long and lonely road in the first place. Throughout Blood Trade, Mack is expertly drawn and constantly true, so close to the bone you can almost taste the marrow.
There is superb characterization for other Stony Man regulars, as well. We get a dose of classic, brilliant Katz. Katz has been misused at times, but not here. This is the Katz of my youth and my only complaint about this novel is that there was not more of him, though it was awesome to see how Katz and the rest of Phoenix Force still haunted Chang Chi Fu after all these years. And Carl Lyons, nutting up in spectacular fashion, gets an extended cameo in which he is allowed to shine. Ironman's personality has too often been made of cardboard, but Wojtowicz lets us see behind the mask. Calvin James and Jack Grimaldi also take part and both are in fine form. The "Dysfunctional Spy Agency Theater" scene with Calvin and Ironman is truly classic and worth its weight in gold.
Wojtowicz has brought a boatload of personality and a healthy helping of humor to all of the characters in Blood Trade, including the wonderful supporting cast he created. Michelle Lam, Cowboy Mick Hayes, Alvin Warren, Choi Tranh, Dandy Chuck Brewer, and Chang Chi Fu, among others, are all spectacular additions to the chronicles of the Executioner. Mick Hayes is just too cool and I can't wait to see the big SOB again. Alvin Warren was a real treat, a character that truly surprised me and turned out to be not at all like what I expected him to be. Chang is the perfect villain, heinous and despicable without going over the top and becoming a cartoon. And Michelle Lam, well, I pretty much fell in love with Michelle---her bravery and decency, her compassion and fighting spirit, such a magnificent character.
And did I mention this book is as hot and hard as uranium? You want action, people? Here it is. This is a big, mean, sweltering beast of an action/adventure novel. The suspense is riveting and keeps you turning the pages. The action is rollicking from page one and rarely slows down. The plot is tight, big enough to seem epic, but personal enough to haunt your dreams. The good guys persevere despite harrowing, hellish trials and terrible hardship. Blood Trade is an action junkie's dream come true.
It is also an important novel filled with compassion and concern for the human condition. Mack Bolan would never tolerate the abuse and slaughter of children anywhere and I am thrilled Wojtowicz sent the Executioner on this mission.
Man, this is good stuff. Douglas P. Wojtowicz has begun climbing the mountain, people. I'm going to be there every step of the way. I believe Don Pendleton would have been proud of Blood Trade and its author and I think it is a fantastic and important addition to the legacy of the Exectuioner.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique new voice, March 5, 2003
This review is from: Blood Trade (The Executioner #291) (Mass Market Paperback)
A short list of why I enjoyed "Blood Trade" so much includes
(a) Simple surprise. I didn't expect it to be so good and plausible. In fact, it can and should stand on its own as a first-rate action thriller without being judged as only a small entry in a series that has been running since the Devonian period.
(b) The characters are actually honest-to-gosh characters, not just names with a set of tedious mannerisms and catch-phrases slapped on to them.
(3) The refreshing, almost startling lack of stereotypes, even in the portrayal of Chang Chi Fu, who in the word-processors of a lot of other writers would be just a slapdash updating of the moldly old "Yellow Peril" characterization ("Yippee! Me make hambugah out of Amellican Yankee pig-dog!!")
(4) The plot itself, though not a big menace kind of story was important. It dealt with a relatively original situation in the "Bolanverse" and it strikes very deeply into the core of what turned Mack Bolan from a grunt into an Executioner.
(5) Action that is as spectacular as anything in a Hollywood movie but still reasonable and believable.
"Blood Trade" is a terrific debut novel by Douglas Wojitowicz and hopefully we'll see more books of this caliber, with this kind of energy from him. He has a very unique voice, but it fits in seamlessly with the series as a whole.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Novel, January 10, 2004
This review is from: Blood Trade (The Executioner #291) (Mass Market Paperback)
I had never read a Mack Bolan book before this one. My cousin bugged me and bugged me until I read it. I didn't really think I'd like it since it seemed more like a guy thing, but I really ended up enjoying it a whole bunch.
The character of Mack Bolan is really cool, an old fashion hero sort of like a John Wayne or something for modern times. And the other reviewers are right, this book had me on the EDGE OF MY SEAT!
And yes, Michelle Lam was an awesome character and I won't spoil anything, but I just want to say that I cried about what happened to Michelle!
This is just an awesome book all around! And it doesn't matter if you have never read another in the series, you don't need to! You can get caught up in this wonderful story right away without knowing anything about Mack Bolan!
So if you're thinking about picking up a Mack Bolan book, I suggest you try this one! You won't regret it! Doug Wojtowicz is a great writer!!!
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