mikeclr

When an informant and a federal prosecutor (and his wife) are murdered by the infamous criminal gang MS-13 before they can bring their case to court the POTUS wants steps taken so he turns to Hal Brognola and Stony Man. Naturally Hal turns to the Executioner to ramp up the game and take extreme action. If there was ever an organization deserving of being on the receiving end of the Bolan Effect it is definitely the infamous MS-13. Having just seen a documentary on the History Channel before starting this book I was familiar with how dangerous the Salvadoran based gang really is. Author Jon Guenther has been with Bolan for a while and it shows in how well he writes the character. The story is fast moving and Bolan follows a logical course of action in his strikes against the gang which start small and build in intensity. Guenther adds an undercover agent agent deep in enemy terriority, a highly trained and intriguing assassin, and a young woman and her sister who are caught up with the gang into the mix, all of whom are intriguing and add to the story. Old reliable Jack Grimaldi makes an appearance as well. Guenther gets what Mack is all about and this is very well written and exciting book. The major problem is it just too damn short, but I'm starting to think this is going to be a common issue in regards to the new diminutive format. A couple of nitpicks are the only things that detracted from the story for me which I have to knock a couple of points off for. (Possible spoilers to follow...) The first is how the assassin, the aptly named Andries Blood, was built up and made for exciting possibilities but was actually dismissed quite quickly and ultimately unsatisfactorily. The second is the utterly overused, cliched, and totally predictable final fate of Ignacio Paz during the final assualt. C'mon, this is Mack F'n' Bolan were are talking about couldn't he...shouldn't he...have actually prevented what finally transpired in the closing paragraphs. Also MS-13 didn't really come off as all that formidable. While this is no trained army to be sure, what they lack in paramilitary background is made up by pure viciousness and cruelty and I don't think this was played up enough. Another aspect of Guenther's storytelling a like is how he presents Bolan as taking the fight to his enemy. Not as law enforcement officer or a federal agent would, but as a soldier like the Executioner surely should. With superior firepower all the way...up to and including a helicopter gunship over the streets of LA! The final thing that bothered me was how this mission had to be performed after a request from "The Man". Sorry, but I just can't see that happening under the current administration no matter what they may know about the past and mission statement of Stony Man. Totally illogical and disconnecting from the story. Acting on his own initiative shouldn't be an obstacle for the Sarge. Overall a fine entry minus the few issues I had but recommended especially for the topical adversary. I just wish we got a little more of it!