Deception

I do believe this is this authors first crack in this series and a fine opening title he has produced. I loved the plot which is pretty complicated and could have been a bit confusing at times as it is only trickled out as the title progresses but never had a problem. Some very good hand to hand combat action scenes here which will entertain you and if you are like me you will enjoy this one more and more as the title progresses until the final section. Didn't like the mop up/finish section of this one and knocked it down a star for a bit of a let down ending (for me anyway). Never mind that recommended reading in the series here.

There isnt I can say about this book that hasnt already been said. First of all, what I believe is most important in a Bolan book, the action scenes were very well done, as Guenther has done before. THe novel is very fast paced and it did not take me long to read because I couldn't put it down. I really liked the plot too, it really got my attention and didnt let go. THe part where Bolan broke into the prison and did not find the man he was looking for and then had to fight his way out was very well done. I loved the finale where Grimaldi flew Bolan to like three different locations to kill lots of enemies. A great read. I also found the very last chapter with the funeral for his fallen comrade very touching.

Yeah, I also had trouble with Bolan moving around DPRK so easily too easily, and it never spelled out what Hakajima-san wanted. Also, why is every female agent in a Bolan beautiful? Has John ever seen what real cops liik like? The action was great, but at the station, there's no one but bad guys there, why does Grimaldi not just drop a bomb there. I wsas expecting Hakajima-san to be Arisa father.

I thought this was a really good novel. A very solid 8. I liked the storyline where Mack had to figure it out as he went along. It was not a straight forward adventure. He only got bits and pieces of info then had to slowly put them together and too often the info like the imprisoned man and the missile were deceptions. The characters were also very good. Gunther though has an annoying tendency to make female characters like Arisa to be tough, smart but oh such a soft heart for Mack. Mack is not Bond. Very annoying aspect to his novels. Lets see so far from the Gunther books I have read about a German, Isreali, English, French and now Japanese all with those character traits. The villians were fantastic. I liked Pak and the billionaire Japanese character. They totally did not trust each other and both competent. I also liked how good guys die just as easily as villians. It shows that yes Mack is a fantastic fighter but also how very good American fighters can die against villian fighters. Sometimes I think that maybe Mack just fights against idiots but seeing Strack and the NSA man die I realize that maybe Mack is really from talent, knowledge and experience really the best of the best. I give this book an 8 just really for the fact that Gunther's female characters seem annoyingly too similar.

This is a difficult book to review as it took me almost a month to finish it. Needless to say the plot didn't grab me and pull me in as it did for others. I found the dialogue a bit wooden at times as well as the action. To my mind Bolan moved around North Korea far to easily since he should have stuck out like a sore thumb. I was also ticked off at the deaths of Bolan's allies (Arkwright and Stack) whose only purpose seemed to be bullet catchers. At least Bolan went to Arkwright's funeral, which was a nice touch. Otherwise, I found this to be a so-so adventure. Sorry, Jon.

This book was so front-loaded with exposition and wooden dialogue that it was difficult to hang with it long enough for the payoff, which came as the pieces finally started to fall into place in such a way that there was more action than explanations and unecessary description.

Bought this based on rave reviews and guess I suffered from over-expectation. Good, solid storytelling here, but nothing spectacular and the comparisons to Pendleton seem off, unless referring to some of his lesser entries in the War against the Mafia series. Still, a solid notch or two above most current efforts out there.

WOW this was an extremely good book, I enjoyed it from start to end.

I found this to be an enjoyable book, with a good, overall storyline and good action scenes. The pacing was quick for the first half, then seemed to settle a bit in the middle, but the last 100 pages culminated in a rip-roaring, action-filled finale. The only thing that I thought would affect me was more "intensity" as far as the standoff between the two countries. It just didn't "feel" like we were on the verge of war, like the plot suggested.

I'm definitely in agreement with Jon sounding and feeling like Don himself. We have a solid, powerful piece of writing, with villains who are so evil as to kill the patriots of their own nation to further the cause of blood and power. The action at the end was non-stop, and as always, Bolan was there as both a cleansing warrior and a protector of the innocent, even lamenting the murders of North Korean troops who had been slain by the villains. All this, plus a valid reason for the Executioner to use a .50 Desert Eagle, made this 9 stars. Why 9 stars? Because I'm really ticked at Arisa for stopping the Executioner... But then, if Jon got me mad at a character, bang up one star for good characterization. PERFECT TEN!

Wonderful! Stupendous! Guenther has done it again! It's no wonder this guy was first spurned by Don Pendleton to write, because he's definitely got Don's voice. Not that he mimics the Pendleton style--it's just all in the delivery. Deception is everything the cover promised it would be, and lots more. There is plenty of action, and a heck of a storyline. And the dialogue??? It's totally awesome! Nothing is as it appears in the book, and that's a good thing. I was turning the pages until wee hours of the morning. There's a great list of characters and a surprise Epilogue that leaves you nostalgic for the original series. I won't ruin the story for everybody, but the characters were so believable. This time, the villains had good motives. There is a Japanese billionaire in this one (the usual "so much money I don't know what to do with it"), but Guenther didn't stereotype the character. There are times when I think his villains are better than his heroes. Nonetheless, Deception is another refreshing change from the series and has a great 35-page slugfest climax you won't forget. As a matter of fact, the last 100 pages were un-put-downable! Kudos to Guenther for Deception!!!