THE TAKERS BY JERRY AHERN

Copyright 1984.

Josh Culhane writes an action series called The Takers. One night he gets a call from his twin brother asking for help. He arrives too late but finds out that his brother, who is a CIA agent, was murdered by a former agent. Steiglitz and his psychotic daughter Sonia are after the Gladstone Log. Back in the nineteenth century Prime Minister Gladstone commissioned an expedition to find the lost city of Atlantis. The logs were found by a woman hiding out as a librarian in a small Georgia town. She died but managed to mail the logs to Mary Mulrooney who is an author on the paranormal. By a strange coincidence she is also the former girlfriend of Culhane.

The two join forces to find clues that will lead to the lost city of Atlantis. They have to battle pirates trying to sell them into slavery and the thugs of Steiglitz. With the help of the CIA, they mound an expedition to Antarctica. A lost alien starbase may hold the key to world domination.

Another book that I was interested in when I was a teenager but never got. Now this book was awesome. I already was a fan of Ahern, and this Indiana Jomes type adventure was a blast to read. The characters were interesting and the action exciting. The villains were truly evil with the psychotic daughter truly over the top. A fun action book that I recommend and hope to read the others in this series.

AFTER THE ZAP BY MICHAEL ARMSTRONG

Copyright 1987.

It is after The Zap which is the explosion of a nuclear bomb(s)? that scrambled people’s brains. Nobody can remember their past. Some have special abilities like readers who can read the old words. Some are memors who can recall everything they heard since The Zap. Holmes Weatherby Aye Aye Aye is a reader. He knows his name because he read it off his ID. He has come to the People’s Republic of Alaska (PRAK) and gets involved with some crazy people on a dirigible called the Wonderblimp. They go around collecting nukes and giving them away. Only the catch is the code is implanted in the heart of a close family member. Anyway, the goal of these anarchists is to find a Zap bomb on Mt. Denali. Holmes has to battle through religious fanatics and the various crazy people that inhabit this post-Zap world.

I remember seeing this when it came out and thought about getting it. For some reason I decided not to. I saw it recently and decided to pick it up at Half Price. I will say that my younger teenage self knew what he was doing. This is a weird book and not in a good way. There were some stuff that had potential. Everyone is a bit crazy because their brains are scrambled. They give themselves names like Nike and John Deere because they were wearing something with the name on it.

Still, it was a confusing mess. I didn’t really understand the whole reason for the Zap. Was there a war or just some huge bomb. They talk about the government implanting codes into people’s hearts and giving them nukes. It has some stuff about radioactive cocaine and sled dogs that have a power to transport themselves through some type of dimension jump. The main character was revealed to be a scientist responsible for the Zap bomb. Also, apparently Japan manufactures all the guns. They are all made by Nissan. Mitsubishi and Suzuki. I have to say the writer of the book kept me interested enough to see how it ended. Only the ending wasn’t very satisfying. I don’t really recommend this book.

THE EXECUTIONER #5 CONTINENTAL CONTRACT BY DON PENDLETON

Copyright 1971.

Mack Bolan is at Dulles International Airport to take out a mob operation. Only this is a trap set by the mob. To escape he has to jump on a flight to Paris. Luckily Brognola gave him a phony passport. The local capo finds out one of the men working for him used to serve with Bolan in Vietnam. They deduce he jumped on the flight to Paris and send this hit squad with the war veteran to entrap Bolan. Meanwhile when Bolan arrives a movie star gets kidnapped because the mob thinks that he is Bolan. Bolan manages to rescue him and kill a whole bunch of the local mafia. He gets involved with a French actress that helps him go to southern France. There he continues his war to save some prostitutes that ran afoul of the local boss. A big showdown ends with him successfully escaping the hit squad thanks to his old war buddy switching sides.

The first thing about this book is how easy it is to board a flight. Bolan pays in cash at the last minute, and they hold the plane before it takes off. There are no metal detectors or long lines with the TSA. No taking off your belt and shoes. The guy even just carries his pistol on the plane. He passes through customs with this pistol. There is just no way you could write this story nowadays. It was definitely a much more innocent time back in 1971.

Anyway, the story is another fun romp for Bolan. Thanks to his benefactor in the Justice Department, he manages to escape to France. While there he decides to kill a whole bunch of mobsters. Gets involved with a brothel and has to save the girls from being sold into slavery in Africa. Gets involved with a beautiful French actress. The black guy who he served with in Vietnam decides he would rather help his friend than the racist mob. Pendleton wrote a really fun series that so far, I never been disappointed.

THE EXECUTIONER #4 MIAMI MASSACRE BY DON PENDLETON

Copyright 1970.

Mack Bolan has destroyed the southern California mob. Now he has the mob from Arizona after him. Fortunately, they are as good as the mob in California, and he wipes out the group in Phoenix. While doing this he hears that the capos are gathering in Miami for their yearly meeting. So, he hops a plane and heads to Florida. Once there he continues his one-man war and starts killing the mobsters. He gets some help from a local anti-Castro resistance group. He also gets some help from Brognola the Justice Department guy who wants to use Bolan against the mob. Ends up while not wiping them out completely kills a whole bunch of the mob.

The fourth book in the series is the best so far. This series just keeps getting better and better. Bolan uses some genius methods to elude the mob enforcers while taunting them. He continues to show a ruthlessness in going after these guys. Also starts his relationship unofficially with the Feds. He gets a passport and intelligence on European operations of the mob. Something that will play a prominent part in the next book.