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Phoenix Force #23

Chip Off The Bloc

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MERGE is on the move, and the mercury hits the boiling point in the Sunshine State when the Mexican faction of this international crime syndicate stages an auction. On the block is the man responsible for the U.S. Star Wars program.

The bidders include both the Russian and American governments, and each tries to influence the outcome by backing their bankbooks with bullets. But when the bidding explodes, Phoenix Force is called in to prevent a crippling setback in the U.S. defense program. The Force's success depends on only one thing: the five battle-hardened commandos must outbid the Russians!

187 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1986

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About the author

Gar Wilson

70 books4 followers
Phoenix Force is a series of action-adventure novels first published in 1982 by American Gold Eagle publishers. It is a spin-off of the Executioner series created by Don Pendleton.

Phoenix Force is one of two neutralization teams working for Stony Man, a top-secret anti-terrorist organization. As with The Executioner, the Phoenix Force novels have been written by a succession of authors under the pseudonym Gar Wilson. In 1991, Gold Eagle combined Phoenix Force with another Executioner spin-off series, Able Team, and launched the Stony Man book series, which is still being published as of 2005.

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
563 reviews42 followers
August 14, 2021
The men of Phoenix Force try to locate and rescue a computer scientist with the Strategic Defense Initiative (better known as Star Wars) who has been kidnapped by the Mexican mafia for sale to the Soviet Union.

Here’s another action series from the 80s that doesn’t appear to be available as ebooks, so I had to overcome my mild OCD reaction against reading a series out of order. This episode is a serviceable time waster that does a pretty good job with the buildup but doesn’t pay it off very well. Paul Glen Neuman, writing under the house name Gar Wilson, introduces some promising plot elements without exploiting them to their full potential. The fact that the kidnapped scientist’s teenage son is actually responsible for advancements in the SDI program goes nowhere. The final showdown occurs at a cliff side California estate, which features some promising geography for action scenes, but all we get is a room-to-room indoor shootout. It’s fun to read Neuman’s mid-80s take on computers, dropping terms like ‘modem’ and ‘floppy disk’ so we know how high-tech they are while performing the kind of magic that even today’s systems aren’t capable of.

https://thericochetreviewer.blogspot.com
Profile Image for Timo.
Author 3 books17 followers
October 18, 2025
Todella viihdyttävä suoraviivainen, ei-paljon-tarvitse-ajatella-kirja. Paljon mennyttä tietokonetekniikkaa ja väkivaltaa.
Nyt oli kaikki hyvin.
Profile Image for Josh Hitch.
1,292 reviews17 followers
May 24, 2021
An average entry, this one has the Mexican mafia taking an U.S. computer expert hostage right before the Russians could. He is offered for sale to both the Russians and the Americans. Only problem is that he isnt the main expert for the Star Wars program, its his 13 year old kid. Phoenix Force needs to stop the Russians and find the computer expert before the Mexicans figure out they have the wrong one and kill him.

Not the best of the series, it stays moving so it isnt dull just seems slightly less then some of the better volumes. Still a quick fun mindless read, which isnt a bad thing.
Profile Image for Wayne.
944 reviews21 followers
June 14, 2020
One of The Force's top enemies, MERGE, is out to make a few dollars when they kidnap an America scientist that is making the Star Wars program a reality. They put him up for auction to both the U.S. and Russia. As always, MERGE is not to be trusted. That's why Phoenix Force comes blasting in. Full tilt action.
Profile Image for William Whalen.
174 reviews2 followers
July 8, 2020
A fun entry in the series revolving around terrorists targeting the 13-year old behind Reagan's Star Wars Program. Seeing as how that turned out, I suspect this book maybe factual.
Profile Image for Little Timmy.
7,407 reviews60 followers
February 24, 2016
A spin off series from his Executioner books. This series follows several secondary characters that band together. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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