S.O.B.s #02 - The Plains of Fire

According to The Internet Speculative Fiction Database, Alan Philipson has authored 15 novels in the Deathlands series as James Axler. He also wrote installments in the Destroyer, Executioner, Stony Man, and Super Bolan series. As Jack Hild, he wrote eight novels in the S.O.B.s series including The Plains of Fire, the second installment. It was published by Gold Eagle in February 1984 with another incredible painted cover by Ron Lesser.

The book begins in Iran as the main villain, heinous Captain Mohamadi Razod and his Islamic Revolutionary Guards, lead a rocket scientist to a gas soaked pyre. The heroic scientist leaked details about an Iranian quest to build four antiquated atomic bombs. In this savage opening sequence the scientist is nailed to a seat through his...thatchy area...and then mercifully cuts his own throat as the flames soar up his legs. Philipson's descriptive narrative isn't for the squeamish. 

Walker Jessup, the CIA liaison for the S.O.B.s, is fed details about the Iranian bomb program. He is instructed by the high-ranking U.S. brass that an official American military unit can't risk destroying this Iranian installation. The mission demands incursion into the country's sovereign territory and would be viewed as an act of war. Instead, the government wants Jessup to get his S.O.B.s on the job based on their triumphant success in Kaluba (the series debut). The plan is to penetrate the base and destroy it from within. Jessup gets on the horn with team lead Nile Barrabas. 

The next few chapters resembles a Sam Durell novel as Barrabas pieces together a ten-person team of specialists that can bring the military's operation to fruition. Unlike the first novel, these chapters are brief as smaller biographies are presented with highlights of the characters. Philipson is a smart writer and incorporates the character's skill-set into the main portions of the novel. For example, five pages spent on Vince Biondi informs readers he can drive a race car super fast. This will prove crucial to the novel's finale.

Philpson proves to be an excellent storyteller as the narrative spills into the final 100 pages. The scenes alternate from the perspective of a handful of Iranian scientists working under intense pressure to complete the construction of the bombs. Razod is the one you love to hate, the sadistic barbarian leader that kills his own people for the unholy crusade. Each of Barrabas' team members have important roles and pieces of the narrative are solely dedicated to their participation in the mission. Some authors create abrasion or disjoint the plot when attempting to present multiple perspectives. Philpson is a pro and seamlessly delivers a smooth prose. I also enjoyed (I'm awful!) the fact that three of the team members die in the fight. Nobody is safe in an S.O.B.s book!

The Plains of Fire is an excellent men's action-adventure with enough violence and action to saturate 200 pages. As much as I enjoyed the series debut, written by Jack Canon, David Wade, and Robin Hardy, the narrative suffered from too many pages of character development. Philpson keeps it simple stupid when entrusting readers to consume character bios. Recommended. Get it HERE.

S.O.B.s #01 - The Barrabus Run

Author Jack Canon spent a majority of his action-adventure storytelling career firmly planted in the Nick Carter: Killmaster series. Canon penned over 40 novels of the series in the 1980s, but he was also contributing to a team-based combat series for Gold Eagle called S.O.B.s. The series debut, The Barrabus Run, features not only Canon but also two additional authors – David Wade (Executioner, Super Bolan) and Robin Hardy – all writing as Jack Hild. This team-commando series was published from 1983 through 1989 with a total of 33 installments. The Barrabus Run is my starting point with this beloved series.

The book's opening chapters introduces two key characters, protagonist Nile Barrabas and eventual team liaison and C.I.A. operative Walker Jessup. This early narrative explains that Barrabas was in the U.S. military from 1958 through his retirement in 1975. His career included extensive training at West Point before joining Special Warfare Training in Fort Bragg and Panama. The advancement led to his placement in a Vietnam Special Forces team. During the conflict, Barrabas received Silver Stars, a Distinguished Service Cross and the eventual Medal of Honor. Then he seemingly disappeared.

Now, Walker Jessup works for a shadowy Senator running administrative duties and delegating high-powered personnel into high-intensity situations. The Senator asks Jessup to run an operation in South Africa. There, the people of Kaluba are subjected to a puppet dictator and the U.S. wants to establish a different leader in his place – Noboctu. Only he is now being held prisoner by the puppet dictator's chief rival, a notorious terrorist named Mogabe. Mogabe wants to become the new dictator and is holding Noboctu prisoner until after Kaluba's elections are over. Follow me?

The formation of S.O.B.s (Sons of Barrabas or Soldiers of Barrabas) originates when this Senator requests that Jessup create a team of specialists who can do his international bidding. The team, described as a dirty strike-force, will perform assignments and tasks that are beneficial to America's security as well as its allies. To lead the group, Jessup picks Barrabas. The problem is that Barrabas has been off the radar performing international mercenary jobs. His most recent venture led to captivity in a Latin American prison awaiting execution. Jessup finds Barrabas there and makes him a deal. He'll spring Barrabas, ultimately saving his life, if Barrabas will come work for Jessup. 

Barrabas agrees to the deal and makes arrangements to recruit ten hardened operatives who fulfill the checklist for a team-based combat series – explosives, driver, sailor, Native American, general commando, etc. The wildcard is a female specialist who also serves as a doctor. The whole team makes for a dirty dozen.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the hell out of this series debut. I typically like my team-combat titles to feature no more than five members. It's easier to keep up with and a quick read through the recruitment stages. However, this trio of authors really made the recruitment compelling, an asset made even more valuable by making them a bit more vulnerable than the stereotypical “invincible white hats”. The obligatory training and exercise segments was paired with a narrative that featured Barrabas on solo assignments scoring guns, bombs and transportation. Otherwise, 11 people training for combat could have been uninspiring. 

When the mission begins, the authors never tap the brakes and provide for an explosive good time that served two distinct purposes – enjoyment and introducing a series villain in Karl Heiss.

If you love team-combat titles, S.O.B.s certainly seems like an easy choice. Based on this excellent debut, the series seems to possess the correct ratio of dialogue versus action. While this trio of authors will fragment, Robin Hardy takes over most of the series installments going forward. I hope to purchase and review more installments in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Buy a copy of this book HERE