Cairo Countdown

Able Team #5

by Dick Stivers (House Name), Paul Hofrichter (Contributor), Don Pendleton (Series Creator)

The U.S. maintained a top-secret air-force base in Cairo. And it operated right out of the international airport!

Suddenly a terrorist rampage threatened to reveal the covert American presence in egypt. No known intelligence agency could risk exposure to break this attack on one of America s biggest secrets. Therefore, in the name of Mack Bolan, come in Able!

But the terrorists had crack killer-teams of their own- and they would not hesitate to use them.

Genres: Action, Fiction

180 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1983

About the author

"Dick Stivers" is a house name of the publisher.

Reviews

[Jake Widmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming in at 185 pages the fifth installment of the Able Team series packs quite a punch. The plot is pretty straightforward. The team is sent to Cairo to combat terrorism that is threatening CIA interest in the region which leads to espionage focused chapters that gives the reader a break from all the action.

The team of Lyon, Blancanales, and Gadgets are great to follow. They’re classic 80s badasses and get work done. The action sequences in this book are a blast too. No literally. These absolute legends decide that it’s a good idea to do CQC with RPG launchers. I don’t know about you but that’s a pretty based tactic.

The bad guys in this one are a group of your stereotypical radical terrorists. Nothing special. We get a few moments from their leaders point of view but since this is an Able Team book you know exactly what’s gonna happen to him.

I’m giving this guy three starts because while it was entertaining as hell and moved a break neck pace the plot could have been a little better.

If you love classic action movies this book is right up your alley.

[Jim Dunlop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, the reviews were 100% right over at mackbolan.com - this is one action packed able team. The boys head overseas to Cairo Egypt to find out who’s been shooting down American Jets with SAM missiles. from the moment they get off the plane it’s a nonstop shootout battle with RPG’s being used like pistols and machine guns ripping through the streets of Cairo it actually feels like the boys are a little bit of a fish out of water scenario here as they normally don’t operate in Africa. They make a few jokes about it themselves, particularly their inability to understand the language. Katz makes an appearance in this one as well, which marks probably the earliest crossover between Phoenix, force, and Abel team. As I said, tons of great action with Lyons acting as unhinged as always. I really enjoyed this Able Team novel.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical of the series and genre, but nothing wrong with that. It's the reason it lasted as long as it did and why I read them still. The team is a well oiled machine by now and it was nice to see Katz, from Phoenix Force. Even though he didnt do much actual fighting, he was integral in the mission. Plenty of action and the dialog did not seemed too forced.

I know this author, Paul Hofrichter, doesn't have a lot of fans. However even though this installment is consider a weak point, I think it's fine and fits in well. Recommended for fans of the series and genre.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 2.5

A standard entry in this action adventure series .
Lots of action, very 1980’s movie style plot (think Stallone, Schwarzenegger et al) lots of descriptions of guns ammo rockets etc (probably too much as it slows the action down)
Plot moves along at a very fast pace, the members of able team seems to be now impervious to any injuries whist also acting in pretty much the same way as the people they are hunting.
In other words the novel is pretty much what you would expect it to be …. Quick trashy action filled read.
In that respect this is a fairly middling read.

[Wayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm glad Paul Hofrichter only wrote one Able Team book. This one was more of a gun manual than action fiction. I know you have to give gun descriptions, but this one gets into extreme detail. There is one chapter alone about a modified gun and target practice. The action is alright. Not the best I've read, but O.K.

[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

[Huntly Rinck]

Mack Bolan's team of counter-terrorists take on Arab terrorists in Cairo with the usual death and destruction.