Steel Claws

The trilogy continues, with Bolan along with help from McCarter and Katz, moves from city to city, causing various problems for each place. This time Bolan is chasing Tu Sheng from one city to the next. Not much different from the first book, Newton’s one-trick pony style of storytelling is in full swing again here, extending this story through a middle book that adds more locations and more cardboard cutout enemies, but little else. The action scenes were brisk but plentiful, but too much of these pages were spent in a verbose thinking perspective of each badguy’s head as they reacted to the havoc done to them by this “faceless” enemy. I got a little bored with it by the end, and at this point just wanted to get to the final volume to see the conclusion, as well as the impending story behind McCarter’s promotion to Phoenix Force leader. A decent action romp through more Chinatowns and various other factions thrown into the mix, but ultimately nothing too special about this book.

This should have been called book one extended or book one part two. Nothing happens except basically what happens in book one. How convenient whatever country we would like to visit we will find a CIA/Cop/Lawyer/Journalist etc. who is fed up with filling reports/stories etc. and have exactly the right information to allow Mack to do his stuff so after examining their consciences supply the needed information. BUT......... Something does actually happen within the book which has no bearing on the book itself but will have major devolpments in future titles in the series.

Another yawner.