Hard Contact

This story was okay, but as another reviewer pointed out, it didn't make a lot of sense. The whole thing about wanting revenge on the journalists, and then pursuing them around the country didn't add up. To start with, Brognola and the DoJ, or the FBI should have whisked these guys away to a safe house, regardless of how much they protested. Also in the illogical department was why was only Bolan assigned to the case? Members of Able Team could equally have been utilised in protecting the journalists. But Bolan flies around the country from one location to the next, shooting the terrorists whenever he found them. The highlights of the book were Bolan's interrogation and the sequence where one of the terrorist sleeper agents tried to sell the stolen car to his friends, only to have his throat cut. I must admit, I did not see that coming. But the rest was a pretty average adventure.

The character of Bolan is very accurately written in Linaker's novels, and this book is another example. A very tight, fast paced adventure with this aspect at the core provides a good read and solid action sequences. Bolan is after Islamic extremists that are running rampant in the U.S. trying to kill off a news team they believe is responsible for the death of their radical leader. From Chicago to Colorado, Connecticut to California, and other areas, Bolan is busy tracking down this kill team. With some help from Grimaldi, Bolan is mostly a lone wolf in this book. Captures and escapes, rescues, and some sleuthing, Bolan moves along, leaving bodies in his wake. Some decent scenes wrapping up the book, the villains were portrayed well and I really liked the final moment when Bolan confronts Gazli in the convention center, and what Gazli tells Bolan was really a chilling statement to read now, more so than it would have been back when this book was written. My only question about this book was... How did Bolan know where to find Tarantino? I wonder if maybe there was some editing done near the end of this title that might have chopped some vital information out. Anyhow, this is another in a long line of excellent action yarns from Linaker.

Hard Contact is yet another fast paced and hard hitting tale by Linaker. In the author’s usual style he delivers a human Bolan with plenty of the slightly unreal action. The story is simple and nothing over the top. The characters all feel real and are not cookie cutter terrorists, except for the cannon fodder anyway. It was nice to see Grimaldi get into the mix. I found it amusing that every time Bolan took out a terrorist stronghold he picked up their phone and called the Farm. It was also nice to see Brognola doing his job. He actually leaves the office and goes out to play Justice Department. The book had a few disappointments and let downs but nothing major. Bolan’s investigation goes in a perfectly straight line from one clue to the next. He only once receives more then one clue at a time. I found it hard to believe that Brognola would be able to keep the entire fiasco under wraps the whole time. Most of it is believable but the terrorist rampage in the hospital seemed a bit too high profile to be kept as quiet as it was. Lastly there was the pointless inclusion of Dragon Fire. Why the hell was it even mentioned? Grimaldi never uses it so it could have just as easily been a Bell that wouldn’t attract any undue attention. I wanted to see Grimaldi go flying to that damn ski lodge guns and rockets blazing to get Bolan back. Instead he goes in on foot with a Beretta and almost gets beat down by the fat guy swinging a wine bottle.

Very good read. This author will keep you turning the pages in an action packed novel. I guess if you have read previous titles by this author you may find similarities but it is still a good read. Recommended reading.

Mack had such a lousy time with this novel. Almost bought it twice by the bad guys. Ironic since he thought twice how weak these Arabic terrorists were. Well actually three times with the third with Jack but then Jack has an excellent teacher in Mack. Why did Grazli make such a big production about killing the journalists? There had to have been safer ways then the idiotic catering scheme. How about shooting at them when they got in their cars? Stalking them? It was so idiotic. Also why didn't he call up Hassan at least once when he hit LA? It seemed like he should have been working on putting on a Broadway show. Also did he forget about the other journalist? He must have realized the attack against Jordan failed when his assassins never reported in? He called the LA killing of those journalists the end? How? Grazli wanted to bring the captured Bolan back to Iran with him? How was he suppose to get him back to Iran? Did he just assume the Iranian officials would have wanted Mack? Not sure what a trial would have gained the Iranian government since it would have exposed to everyone what they were doing and why Mack stopped them. A lot of spin would have been needed. Actually i think they would have preferred Mack dead then brought to trial. The torture scene was interesting. Can't really recall a time of an extreme torture of Mack like that. Also how come bad guys can be shot in the sides and they go down but Mack stays up and continues basically fine? Villians or others get shot they crumble, get thrown back, are in agonizing pain. Mack bleeds but keeps on moving. It was nice Mack went after the arms dealer but Mack's lines were just so corny. Also another reviewer compared it to American Nightmare well the Blocker family were so, so much better villians then these terrorists. AN had a few problems but it was a masterpiece compared to this. Both novels had terrorists going after journalists who covered a story years ago. Very average novel with an over-the-top not that smart villian.

This one get's high marks solely for Linaker's usual fast-paced writing. The plot of this was bland, similiar to American Nightmare, with a terrorist hit team stalking a news group (instead of a senator). Whoopee, go ahead and take them out. See if I care. Seriously though, Linaker made it a good book because he has mastered the Mack Bolan action scene.

One of the better recent books I've read. Good interaction between Bolan and the peripheral characters, vivid scenery and I liked watching Grimaldi get a piece of action for once. Great job!