Team, The
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Author's Summary
MWSA Review
This latest entry in Salkin’s series of military thrillers will remind many readers of the 1940s-50s movies in which a platoon of American soldiers, of diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, goes on a tough mission against terrible odds. One can easily imagine a film version of the story, with Lee Marvin or Charles Bronson playing the part of Chris Cascaes, the commander who leads this group of SEALS, Rangers, Marines and CIA operatives into action. Who will survive, who will die? Salkin notes in his introduction that the mission is based on an actual event which took place in Vietnam four decades ago, modernized and enhanced by his detailed knowledge of modern weapons and technology.
The Team is made up of characters that are well fleshed out with identifiable characteristics; some have nicknames like “Moose” and “Ripper,” which further enriches the old-movie feel of the story. The “bad guys” are less-well developed, and the caricature of the South American natives as cannibals will strike some readers as a little over the top. But the novel build its suspense well, following the American team as it gradually works its way through the jungle toward the enemy encampment. Salkin’s detail of South American jungle geography is impressive, lending an air of “place” that gives immediacy to the tale. The action scenes at the novel’s conclusion are very well done, and the story is a good read.
The book will appeal to thriller fans and military fiction readers, who should take a look at the author’s other novels, all available in paperbacks and in reasonably priced ebooks.
Reviewed by: Terry Shoptaugh (2012)