Scorched Earth

The five stars is for the entertainment not the literary value of the book.This book and its sequel number 14 are probably the best of the now long gone Able Team. It has all the action, humor, and violence any reader of the action genre enjoys.What makes this book the best in the series is the quality of the writing! Yes, the writing. The important characters are well written so is that you really get a feel for each of them and their quirks. It even has moments that show even the enemy is human and not some cartoon character who strokes a white cat, goes "Bwahahahahahaha!" and kills henchmen with nasty tortures. The plot is pretty good for the genre as well. It has enough twists and turns to keep one guessing how it is going to go for a while. By then, you're hooked.Most of the politics in these type of books are extreme right wing (...) The early Able Teams were different. They had the more pragmatic view of politics that could be summed up by the immortal words of USMC Drill Sgt. Hartman of Full Metal Jacket--"You're all equally worthless." The early books had the view that extermists on all sides were the source of much of the world's problems and Able Team had their own way to deal with it (with the direct application of C-4, 5.56mm and 12 gauge 00 buckshot.)No, I do not consider this literature. It will not make you a better person or make you quit your vices. It will not shake the foundation of your world. I doubt that this book would even make you pass gas. This book is mindless escapist entertainment that was good for its day.