Slow Death

Phoenix Force #28

by Gar Wilson

When four Americans are murdered in a Bangkok prison, the United States demands an official inquiry into their deaths. But the Thai government does a sidestep, claiming it's been framed.

While the two governments play a game of diplomatic Ping-Pong, the major competitors in the heroin trade form an evil alliance to create Southeast Asia's most powerful drug monopoly.

That's when the President sends the men of Phoenix Force to Thailand. He wants answers and he wants them now. And he's come to the men who know how to deliver.

218 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1987

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Joe Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice fun 1980s pulp action flick. Very male dominated - almost no real female characters though. Not necessarily a bad thing but I know some people get quite annoyed about lack of diversity nowadays. The main Phoenix Force team though come from a variety of backgrounds- mostly NATO or other affiliated western countries (Encizo is pro-capitalist Cuban for example)

The plot is quaint but cool and nostalgic, concerns itself only briefly with political commentary, and even then it’s not highly polarising and outspoken like most books nowadays. Feels a little bit like reading through an old Bond movie novelisation (not an original Fleming novel) - specifically a Moore era novelisation, and I absolutely love that!

Overall, 5 star rating, would recommend!

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four American DEA agents are set up and killed while working in Thailand. The motive is that various heroin gangs have come together to rule all the drug trade in The Golden Triangle. With the Americans dead, the Thai government is looking elsewhere and is not prepared for the new super cartel. That's when The Force moves into action for some pay back.

Without a doubt, the most consistent of all the 80's Gold Eagle books. With the different writers, these books can veer of course drastically. The Phoenix Force books, so far have weathered that storm. Hopefully in the coming volumes, it will remain so.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe closer to a 3.5 but I did enjoy this chapter of Phoenix Force. This time they are investigating the deaths of 4 DEA agents in Thailand. It seems the agents were arrested and killed by the government but the Thais said it was a mistake and the President believes them. So PF finds out that it's a cover for a drug syndicate to grow very large and put the entire production process of heroin under one roof to streamline it. Of course PF fights a lot of gangs and go after the new facilities and the head men.

Highly recommended, a solid chapter in the PF saga.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spin off series from his Executioner books. This series follows several secondary characters that band together. Recommended