Customer Reviews

Lethal Compound (Executioner)

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Mack Bolan series #372, still rolling along after 4 decades (WAR AGAINST THE MAFIA,1969). This entry was written by Charles Rogers, who starting wlth say #208 DEATH WHISPER, has written at least 27 other books in the Bolan series.

In this book, #372 LETHAL COMPOUND, Bolan is using his Matt Cooper name to join several other Mercs as they attempt to provide protection for a billionaire, Phillip Eckhart. In the opening chapters Gary Manning works with Bolan but soon passes out of the book. Too bad, for Gary from Phoenix Force/Stony Man added a dimension the book could have used. Moving from a strictly protection job in the U.S. the team moves on to Tajikistan for a rather improbable archaelogical dig (for me anyway-my major in college was anthropology/archaeology), but ultimately finds itself caught between both Russian and Chinese troops in a crossfire, with Tajikistan drug rebels willing to polish off anyone the Russians or Chinese miss. Soon nuclear weapons plus smallpox enter the picture. At this point, the plot becomes almost over-the-top ridiculous.

This book starts off very well with an excellent plot, however, once the team leaves the U.S., the book becomes one that stretches the imagination too far. Too many events intrude causing the plot to become far too complex. It's as if the first part of the book was fitted to a final second part with the two parts not mixing or matching well. The book would have been much stronger had the author keep to the simple body guarding or 'babysitting' of the billionaire and stayed in the U.S. With the billionaire's eventual death, any body guarding they provided must be viewed as falling flat. The reason behind their hire was to keep Phillip Eckhart alive, and they failed. Another failing in the plot.

For GOLD EAGLE and Mack Bolan series fans this book will be required reading, but for the general reader this is not a Mack Bolan/Executioner book with which you should start. Even for a seasoned reader such as myself, half way through I had to adopt a 'keep reading' attitude. I have shelves full of these GOLD EAGLE books reaching back to 1986 and for my personal taste this is not one of the better ones. I know books strike different readers differently, so some may like this one. It is just not one of the more memorable books in the Executioner/Bolan series for me.

Semper Fi.

well written. I have all the books in this series. Each one is and good as the previous.