Blood Tide

"This Pirates of the Caribbean bullshit is bullshit. You read me?" -Jack Grimaldi. I do, but that's part of the fun. Blood Tide is a zany ride about pirates, middle eastern mysticism and Japanese martial arts with some sword stuff for good measure. Or as I call it, a Chuck Rogers Executioner novel. I seriously wonder if he ever looked at his previous works and tried topping himself in ridiculousness with each following installment. I noticed reviewers claiming that Body Armor's plot was far-fetched, but this one takes the cake. Bolan goes undercover to infiltrate a pirate cult led by the Mahdi, a mysterious and interesting villain whose surprisingly level-headed with his actions. Along for the ride are Marcei Mei, Bolan's obligatory lady sidekick and Ming, a Japanese mobster and sword aficionado who teaches Bolan a thing or two about blade combat. As it is a Chuck Rogers romp, there's plenty of action scenes, world building and a well-thought out plot heavy on religious imagery and mythology that'll keep you glued to the pages. But, as it is a Chuck Rogers romp, the central bad guys are defeated in pitifully underwhelming and anticlimactic ways despite being built up as imposing and unstoppable. The ending, as mentioned in previous reviews, was extremely weak and the book just kind of stops on page 219. I'm not even sure how Rogers managed this - the book's obviously somewhere around 66,000 words, which appeared to be the standard for the series at this point. And somehow an ending never happened. Oops. Overall, an enjoyable yet anticlimactic tale. The similarly-named Crimson Tide was a better pirate book in my unwanted opinion.

Wonderful story with a mix of martial arts and swashbuckling. Bolan's initial training includes some of Mr Rodgers most excellent character development and interaction (especially getting "schooled" by Ming), in fact the character interaction is awesome throughout the whole book. His insertion and trial on the island against the four pirates was a brilliantly written part showing Mack's initiative and hand to hand skill. Indeed all the action sequences are great, the whole book delves into melee weapons, firearms and even armored vehicle combat.....on a boat! The plot changes well, the beginning prospect being a regional problem that expands into a possible global catastrophe. However, as with many Bolan books, unless you get an EPILOGUE, the ending usually disappoints as is with this one. Characters get killed off very unconvincingly after being built up to be almost invulnerable and the book comes to a halt like someone switching off a TV right in the middle of a good scene without any detail of repercussions. 9 outta 10, only the end lets this one down.

Special Guest Stars: Blancanales, James. Chuck Rogers’ “Blood Tide” is a sword-happy, crazy entry to the series. Even Bolan privately admits that this his undercover assignment is the “biggest lie he ever told.” Indeed it is. No other entry has strained its credibility for an audacious, bold story set in the waters of Southeast Asia. The novel is memorable for the imagery invoked, including the creative use of an Ontos tank destroyer without treads. A long time ago, I had a plastic model of an Ontos and it went without treads for the longest time until I got around completing it. The ending of “Blood Tide” was super weak. Let’s just say that I wanted a few more pages of novels to depict them handling the medical emergencies, given the place, injuries and logistics involved. What I liked was the PRC angle, the exotic settings and the detailed history described throughout. I also approved of the Chosen Men storyline. Did not see that one coming. The author took serious gambles to manhandle and contort the plot to something never seen before. I really liked the middle of the novel, but it’s the weak-ending and the liberties taken to set it up cannot be easily forgotten. Exceptional novel, brought down by the weight of its own preposterousness.

I wouldn't call this my favorite of Rogers' books. The plot from the cover made it seem interesting. Most of the action scenes had Bolan teaming up with folks and that doesn't always make the most cohesive read, what with all the different characters involved in the shootout. I thought the undercover role was done well, with the Madhi's character fairly sympathetic...until you see what he has planned. One of the final battles with a souped up yacht was very explosive, but the part where everyone in Bolan's group is incapacitated was lame.

May be bit unconventional executioner story but it rocked and rocked hard. Here some reasons why: rolecamoflage with new twist, el juramentado loons, pirates, the two wifes of Makeem Boulus (son of Samir Boulus), chosen men, Ming Jingrong, Seven tribursting technique. Excellent villains and Excellent in everything elso. Thank you Mr Rogers.

I really don't agree with the first rating of this book, I really liked it. +1 For a mystery. I thought it was cool not knowing what was around each corner while reading this. -1 For an obsession with swords. Sorry, but swordfights are not really my thing... -1 For being a little unbeleivable. I found it hard to beleive Mack being accepted as the BMOC around a pirate camp in a matter of days. +1 For some humor. The Chinese guy, Ming I think, was quite strange and funny. +1 For a good plot, that thickens until the end. +1 For the writing. +1 For the fight scenes. -1 For the end fight. Kind of bored me. Too many swords. +1 For that fight scene before the end scene! The mini D-Day one! OK, so that comes out to an 8 star rating! The writers have been doing good work this year, I hope they keep it up!

This book was weird, for many reasons. The whole idea of the dirty bombs was very interesting but at the same time a little wild. The identity of Makeen Bolus was soooooooooo stupid and showed a lack of imagination on the part of the writer. All in all a good book but needs a little work.