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Super Able Team #1
Mean Streets
Terrorizing for kicks, the Desmondos are trouble coming hard and fast. No ordinary East Los Angeles street gang, they are a totally organized killing machine packing AK-47s and full-auto Uzis.
Carl Lyons and his men are sent in to sweep the streets and track the trail of blood and drugs to the power behind these teenage terrorists.
The Desmondos are bad -- and they know it. But they haven't met Able Team. Now they'll find out what bad really is.
Carl Lyons and his men are sent in to sweep the streets and track the trail of blood and drugs to the power behind these teenage terrorists.
The Desmondos are bad -- and they know it. But they haven't met Able Team. Now they'll find out what bad really is.
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 1, 2015
This book was wall to wall action. When I started reading this, right of the bat it felt like a late 80's early 90,s direct to video movie. It could have starred any number of b-list action stars of the time. Brian Bosworth, Sam Jones, Wings Hauser, Roddy Piper and even old timers like John Saxon and Ernest Borgnine could of got in the act too.
The plot centers on a gang in L.A. that's backed by, you guessed it, Arab terrorists. The Able Team shoots in to take back the streets. At 349 pages it is a little long for a men's adventure book, but don't let that put you off. It's wall to wall action. 5 stars all the way.
The plot centers on a gang in L.A. that's backed by, you guessed it, Arab terrorists. The Able Team shoots in to take back the streets. At 349 pages it is a little long for a men's adventure book, but don't let that put you off. It's wall to wall action. 5 stars all the way.
March 4, 2026
Dark, gritty, and maybe a little too overpacked with bad repeating dialogue from unconvincing bad guys, this first Super Able Team was a good street level read to counteract Phoenix’s world threat plot from Super Phoenix Force: Firestorm.
Lyons is contacted by an old cop buddy in LA who’s helpless to stop a new heavily armed gang called the Desmodos from rampaging across the city. The gang is being provided heavy weapons and drugs from an unknown source, and the streets of LA are terrorized nightly.
Able Team comes on the scene to storm through the red tape and get to the bottom of a terrorist plot to cause chaos in American cities (that old problem again) by supplying gangs with drugs, guns and dogma.
Gadgets gets captured and tortured, much like Gary Manning in Firestorm, and also like Manning he escapes and turns the tables on the gangsters. He is also tortured mentally by the idea of having to kill the kids in the gang, some of who aren’t even old enough to drive, but like all good warriors, he battles through his doubt to save the boys.
A pretty good read for a first Super, though I found the dialogue repeated way too much, sometime even in the same sentence, giving it the book an overly padded feel, and though I really enjoyed the beginning and middle, the ending felt a bit too drawn out, once again I’m guessing to pad out 347 pages.
Lyons is contacted by an old cop buddy in LA who’s helpless to stop a new heavily armed gang called the Desmodos from rampaging across the city. The gang is being provided heavy weapons and drugs from an unknown source, and the streets of LA are terrorized nightly.
Able Team comes on the scene to storm through the red tape and get to the bottom of a terrorist plot to cause chaos in American cities (that old problem again) by supplying gangs with drugs, guns and dogma.
Gadgets gets captured and tortured, much like Gary Manning in Firestorm, and also like Manning he escapes and turns the tables on the gangsters. He is also tortured mentally by the idea of having to kill the kids in the gang, some of who aren’t even old enough to drive, but like all good warriors, he battles through his doubt to save the boys.
A pretty good read for a first Super, though I found the dialogue repeated way too much, sometime even in the same sentence, giving it the book an overly padded feel, and though I really enjoyed the beginning and middle, the ending felt a bit too drawn out, once again I’m guessing to pad out 347 pages.
November 30, 2022
Maybe closer to a 3.5 but I did enjoy it. The last few Able Teams I have read seemed like they were all just secondary characters and had very little action. Well they were definitely the main players here and there was a lot of action. Ken Rose does a good job in keeping the pace moving, reminded me of GH Frost's Army of Devils in that the gang are almost mindless killing machines in how they are so devoted to their leader. Able Team is called in to take on a large, ruthless, and cop killing gang. The gang is not only well organized, they are well equipped with military hardware including rocket launchers.
Recommended, its a fun read. I do believe the writing this far into the series is slightly off, the characters seemed off a tad. Not going through Brognolia, their boss and having a guy from the president, who has basically given them carte blanche before, trying to push them aside seems off too. Though just minor quibbles, still a fun read.
Recommended, its a fun read. I do believe the writing this far into the series is slightly off, the characters seemed off a tad. Not going through Brognolia, their boss and having a guy from the president, who has basically given them carte blanche before, trying to push them aside seems off too. Though just minor quibbles, still a fun read.
July 24, 2020
best Able Team so far enjoyed so much
February 24, 2016
A spin off series from his Executioner books. This series follows several secondary characters that band together. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews