Firestorm

Well just adding my voice to the previous reviews on this title which have previously stated the glaring errors contained within yet it is still a pretty good read. The absolute classic is the one armed guy who puts his "ARMS" up in surrender at one stage, I cracked up and you have to question again not only what the author was thinking but any proof readers/ editors who checked this one out "What were you doing?". Excellent characters abound here where you will amaze how the author managed to squeeze so many into a shortened version of the series but will come to realise at the end with the abrupt ending you will read. The title is Firestorm and at the start you will read a tad of it's abilities and power certainly something which will sell for huge amounts on the black market. Enjoy that as you won't read anything else about it except where the Big Guy places some thermite charges and destroys them. huh? The whole title has been about these weapons and we learn NOTHING about them at all? Also the ending with the Big Guy was cut to pieces showing that this title was definitely written for one of the larger series (Super Bolan) likely and savagely edited by someone to fit the smaller version. Shame really as the title could have been outstanding if released in it's full original size. One of the better covers doing the rounds on this series but, check out the lower half excellent. So two stars deducted but still a very good read I reckon you could do worse in this series.

A solid outing for the Soldier. What I liked about this Executioner was its dense plotting and large cast of characters. In truth, I felt the complex and well-peopled plot might have been better served as a larger Super Bolan title. Be that as it may, the characterization was the great strength Mr. Tresslar's "Firestorm." I particularly liked the ex Serbian military thug, Milt Krotnik, and CIA freelancer, Albert Bly. The novel is stuffed with traitors and mercenaries of every strip, and it was clear the author enjoyed bringing them to life. SPOILER: Like another reviewer, I was disappointed that the incredible, secret weapon (Firestorm) didn't play more of a part at the conclusion. The author skillfully wetted the reader’s appetite throughout the book, giving only glimpses at the thing's size and power. Then, in the end, he never allows the reader to really see it in action. A deftly written scene with action packed descriptions would have made a whale of a wind up. A fascinating concept, though, this Firestorm. This would have been a great first novel in one of the older-style Executioner "trilogies." I hope to see this weapon, so rife with potential, used again in another Bolan adventure. --Mykal Banta

This started out to be a great book but it had some very glaring flaws that I will put in my 2 cents on further in. The Good: Grimaldi plays a big part in this and the dialogue between him and Bolan is excellent. I really got the feeling that they were close friends and had been through a lot together over the years. Leo Turrin makes an appearance as well and gets to kick ass. The characters were very well written. I like the author’s style, I could visualize how the people looked not really based on physical description but their actions and mannerisms. That was cool. The action scenes seemed tight, well described, and flowed pretty smooth. The bad guys were interesting and well fleshed out. The Bad: SPOILERS ARE BELOW One minor flaw is there was a character with one arm who “raises his hands” and later on has an arm in a cast. Bad editing I think but didn’t take away from the story in my opinion. To me this seemed like it may have been written to be a Super Bolan but was chopped down to fit the smaller format. It felt like scenes were missing that were mentioned about later in the story but were never described in detail. The big glaring problem for me was that the “Firestorm” weapon was never really described. The opening scene, which was intense, had a guy die from what I was assuming was this weapon that Bolan was going after. It seemed like a cool concept and I kept reading hoping to find out more about it. The ending seemed very abrupt. It appeared that Bolan was attacked by this mysterious weapon and was having some difficulty from it. All of the sudden he blows some stuff up then Leo and Jack are helping him to his feet with no further description on his injuries. I don’t regret having read this book. Even though it had the flaws that I mentioned I still was entertained reading it and flew through it in a few sittings. I look forward to reading more titles by this author because I like the way he writes. I think if he would have had the larger format to tell his story in that this would have been a superb story.