Terror Descending

Shocking, some of this authors stuff is good to excellent but not with this one. Now I openly admit my technical knowledge is limited and I know almost nothing regarding military/commercial planes, weapons etc. but even I had to take a double take and treble pause when the B52 is compared to a 707. You really should check out Tim's review on this title which should be two below this one to see how many glaring technical errors are contained within this title which would likely spoil this title for you as most people who read these titles are knowledgeable like Tim regarding what is being written about. For me I read these title for entertainment and for the love of some of the characters, excitement, amazing things which are continually introduced into these combined series by some wonderfully gifted authors. Unfortunately that is not the case with this title.

This was a disappointing Stony Man entry. The main villain was not developed enough. It was as if the Airwolves were the enemy. The basis was that a super computer is able to get the planes through unnoticed but the computer genius is not developed either. New groups of bad guys were introduced the farther you read along too for no real reason other than for the guys to kill them off. Hard to swallow was Encizo with a major life-threatening injury. There was one comment from The Farm that he could always work alongside Cowboy if he couldn't go back to the field and then you never read another word about him. We know we aren't losing a main character but where's his teammates at the end checking up on him and giving him a ribbing at least?

I would rate this book lower, but 1 is as low as it goes. If you've ever read any of the WingMan series by Mack Maloney, you will get a sense of deja vu from this one. The characterizations are so broad and overwrought if you took the manuscript and did a search and replace on character names and weapons you could make Lyons into Gadgets and MacCarter into Manning and probably never know it had been changed. The technical detail screwups are so frequent I will only list a few a)that the B-52 is based upon the design of the 707 b) that a B-52 look so much like a 707 that if you paint windows on the side of the fuselage, it is "disguised" when viewed from a distance. c) that a BM-21 MRLS is a anti-aircraft system (including a radar dish) d) that the Stinger missile system is radar-guided. e) that the F-22 is operated from aircraft carriers g) that a Vulcan anti-aircraft gun is 40MM h) that a supercomputer is so massive no aircraft can possibly carry one and they frequently kill operators with releases of the liquid nitrogen used as a coolant. i) that a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier protecting the Panama Canal would be kept a "good mile" off shore while operating aircraft j) the badguys carrying HK-47 assault rifles (I'm guessing that was supposed to be AK-47s...could be the HK-417...but who knows). k) a B-52 that is "down to the bottom of munitions" still has "several hundred iron bombs" plus "a stash of missiles kept in reserve to defend the bomber" aboard. This is just a small sampling. The book is simply riddled with basic technical goofs that completely negate the suspension of reality necessary to enjoy such story as is here (and brother...it is as slap-dashed as the technical details in most parts). My town library has a paper-back book swap area. I would be tempted to rid myself of this one there except I'd be afraid of someone new picking this book up and thinking that all the Bolan-Verse books are this badly researched and written and never trying the series again. I will reread UForce before I read this one again.

OK, overall I liked the book...once I forced myself past the premise that somehow 1.a Boeing 707 is somehow a "Jumbo" jet. and 2. Someone who has ever seen the two aircraft could ever confuse the 707 for the MUCH larger B-52. aside from the difference in the number of engines and the placemetn of the wings... come on, please I know it's fiction, but please make it a little easier for the reader to suspend his disbelief. also CARL, not Cal would be the one to contact about able team (sloppy proofreading I guess). One last thing for this author and another who had Carl slapping clips into his python The .357 colt python is a REVOLVER, it doesn't use clips (it might use a speedloader, but "slapping" one of those in can be problematic), and sound suppressors do NOT work well with revolvers. I enjoy the stonyman and bolan books as the light reading they are intended as, but again, the books are more enjoyable when I can read them without mental gymnastics. Thank you