Butchers Of Eden

Soldiers of Barrabas #3

by Jack Hild, Alan Philipson

Jungle horror show. That's what the foes of Nile Barrabas make of his Sri Lanka R & R. Monsters from the Nam days, CIA renegade Karl Heiss and former ARVN Major General Nguyen Son Ny, want the mercenary leader's head. On an island paradise hacksawed by terrorists, corruption and ancient hates, they've got the high ground and a private army. They also have his girlfriend. Barrabas and the SOBs strike quick, strike hard. They know only one way to deal with evil, past or present. Bury it!

219 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

"Jack Hild" is a pseudonym shared by multiple authors ghostwriting the Soldiers of Barrabas (SOBs) series of action-adventure novels. The most prolific of these authors were Robin Hardy and Alan Philipson.

Despite Hild's output being the work of several authors, the novelist Warren Murphy provided a cover endorsement saying "Jack Hild is simply the best and gutsiest action writer around today."

In backmatter to some of the SOBs books, the publishers Gold Eagle jokingly stated Hild's "whereabouts are unknown. No one associated with Gold Eagle Books has ever seen Jack, in person or in a photograph... If you should ever meet Jack Hild... let us know."

Reviews

[Arizona Spartan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third novel in the series brings back the SOBs leader's old nemesis from his old Vietnam days. It also involves some of Nile's friends and bring back an old adversary to liven things up. Where the 3rd book made progress with the characters and the team this book stands the series in place to deal with Nile's past. This was a typical cliche for the 80s and these days we'd see this coming a mile away I remember in my teens I didn't see it coming until revealed early in the book.

Not a bad entry in the series but not as good as book 2 by any means. The cover is also not that great.

It does get some of the other characters some good page time.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably closer to a 3.5 but its a solid men's adventure novel with plenty of action and a fairly straightforward plot. The characters are fun and somewhat well written, basically its a giant 80s jungle action film. Nice to see a short blurb connecting Barnabas with the Executioner Bolan, a memory from back on their Vietnam days.

Recommended for fans of the genre, it doesn't break any new ground but if you like this kind of story then this will scratch that itch.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of Sri Lankan people, Riots, Kidnapping and old Vietnam enemies are whats in store for Nile Barrabas and his "S.O.B.s. "Soldiers of Barrabas". You know what happens next. When will these goons leave him and the free world alone. I guess some people live ( not for long ) but don't learn.