Down Under Thunder

I thought that this was an excellent book. This is Neuman's fourth book and he really seems to be coming in to his own. The Characters are spot on and I thought the supporting characters were really well written. Looking forward to reading more from this author. 9 star effort

Well how many hundreds of these combined series books I have read and apart from a vague recollection of Mack doing some sort of a training exercise in the Northern Territory prior to a mission this is the first title I have read based here down under. It was with much anticipation I started this title. The main villian from previous reviews of this title is "isn't one you can forget", "the unique villain", "I guarantee you will never forget him", umm yep I guess but what about pathetic/boring/laughable ? This guy is just a joke born into money he increases his fortune dramatically and his waist line together. He can't stop stuffing food into his mouth and the reader is subjected to page after page after page after page of what he is stuffing into himself complete with what type of stuffing has been inserted what sauce it is covered in etc. etc. BORING BORING BORING Hal is going through a ten inch high stack of printouts and comes across a report of a back pack nuke having been stolen and the interesting thing is that the persons responsible could have actually taken five but elected to only take the one. Why? well obviously we are told they only need the one. Well okay but who stole it? Why if they are being paid to steal one wouldn't they take the other four and flog them off to the highest bidder as well? How did it get to Australia? Lots of questions but unfortunately the author didn't think it necessary to supply the answers. The villians troops are like the ducks you see in a shooting gallery following along one behind the other and are no more than cannon fodder for the team when they actually manage to hold on to their weapons. The two authors seem to have tapered this annoying feature from their work in the last few titles but it is back in full force here folks let me tell you at least 20 plus. What about this page 212, 1/3 way down "Not again," James growled, annoyed that he had been disarmed once more. Maybe the author was subconsciously telling himself something here. It gets worse after a couple of sidetrips to the north where the team clean up another 40 odd ducks they return to Sydney where the final assault is instigated on fat boys place. Pathetic crap ensues where the defenders are blown away like confetti and the fat man manages to escape racing across the harbour on a speedboat to trigger the nuke device with his remote control. Step up Gary with the sniper rifle and well we don't have to worry about that any more as the remote falls into the ocean when he is hit by a bullet followed by himself. To say I am disappointed after completing the title would be an understatement as to date in this series this is without doubt the worst title I have read and would equal any of the other shockers in these combined series. You probably guess I hated it and for what it is worth I would say avoid it at any cost.

While it isn't one of my fave Phoenix books it does have its merits. The villian isn't one you can forget after you read the book and also features Karl Hahn which is certainly one of the better hi-points of the book.

I would give it a 7, but it gets an extra star for the unique villain in this one. One of the must reads if you like PF.

"Down Under Thunder" features one of the most unique villians in the history of all the Executioner-related series. Sebastian Hardy is hungry for recognition, and he finds a unique way of getting it. I guarantee you will never forget him.Like most of the Phoenix Force novels, one of the team members receives added background and focus. This time, PF's Gary Manning runs into an old girlfriend who turns out to be the Force's official liaison in Australia. Overall, this one is well written and doesn't lose anything due to the longer length. #2 on my favorite PF novels list, after The Black Alchemists.

One of the better books on a whole, plot-wise, action, etc. Great cover too.