From Publishers WeeklyMarcinko and DeFelice keep up a withering fusillade of wisecracks as Marcinko's fictional alter ego, Dick Marcinko, tangles with an aging Fidel Castro in the loosely plotted 13th outing for the former Navy SEAL (after Rogue Warrior: Dictator's Ransom). Dick (aka the Rogue Warrior) and his Red Cell International cohorts must prevent a deadly attack on the U.S. to be triggered by the demise of the Cuban dictator. The action hinges on the central joke that Dick, with some age-related makeup, actually looks so much like Fidel that he can imitate the leader well enough to trick the authorities and general citizenry of Cuba into doing what Dick and the CIA want done to free the island from the yoke of tyranny. Series fans will cheer as Dick and company run all over Cuba, killing people and causing trouble. (Dec.) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From BooklistMarcinkos latest exploits as the Rogue Warrior, aka Demo Dick, take him and his team to Cuba. Initially, they are hired to make a DVD with Dick impersonating Fidel Castro, since he looks a lot like the Cuban dictator. To the teams dismay, they must travel south to make a switch of real footage of Castro with their phony film in enemy territory. Of course, everything doesnt go as planned. As a result, they stumble upon a terrifying plot by Castro to release a deadly virus in the U.S. after he dies. Can the Rogue Warrior and his team save the day? The appeal of this series lies in Marcinkos sense of humor mixed with traditional thriller elements, creating a laugh-out-loud read that somehow melds the wackiness of Janet Evanovich with a military thriller a la Clancy. In addition, this time the writers spotlight other members of the team, creating a more well-rounded and intriguing story line. Both fans and newcomersproviding the latter have a taste for this sort of thingwill enjoy the show. --Jeff Ayers If you're on a tight schedule, I'll give you fair warning: Do not pick up Rogue Warrior: Dictator's Ransom, because once you start reading you won't be able to stop! It's a rare treat to read a thriller that is uproariously, gloriously and unrepentantly hilarious. David Hagberg, USA Today bestselling author of Dance With the Dragon on Rogue Warrior: Dictator's RansomMarcinko is the real McCoy, a warrior who has lived it. Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassin[T]he most colorful, hell-raising, bomb-throwing ex-SEAL commander of them all. Playboy can reading be bad for you Rogue Warrior: Seize the Day
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Outandish, implausible, but still action-packed and fun.By Christian D. OrrI'd say this book is tied with "Dictator's Ransom" (Demo Dick's adventures with Kim Jong-Il in North Korea) as having the most outlandish and implausible plot of all the Rogue Warrior novels. In this one, Marcinko must impersonate none other than Fidel Castro, and even eventually go into Cuba and meet up with "The Beard" himself, with the infamous Mr. Murphy (or Murphy's Law infamy) dogging Dick and his intrepid teammates (Shotgun, Mongoose, Doc Tremblay, Trace Dahlgren, and Matthew "Junior" Loring) all the way. Implausible (like I already said), and furthermore, Demo Dik repeatedly violates his "Thou shalt never assume" Commandment (from his Rogue Warrior's Ten Commandments of SpecWar, which, along with the Glossary, have been conspicuously absent from the Rogue novels since Jim DeFelice replaced John Weisman as Marcinko's co-author), as he uses the "assuming" word over and over.And as an Air Force veteran, I realize the author doesn't respect what he calls the "Air Farce" [sic], but I wish he'd at least have the courtesy to spell our base names correctly; our base in Panama City is spelled "Tyndall," not "Tyndale!"That said, still well worth reading, for the rollicking action, humor, and biting geopolitical commentary present in all of the Rogue Warrior books, and also for its insights into Cuban history, culture, and geography. Hooyah.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Another Marcinko SEAL combat adventure taking place in Cuba.By Joseph J. TruncaleAs a long time fan of the hard-core SEAL commando, I looked forward to reading this fourteenth book in the Rouge Warrior series. As most Marcinko readers know, he resembles Fidel Castro. In this novel he uses this to his advantage as his combat crew works their magic in Cuba. There is plenty of action that readers of the Rogue Warrior books have come to expect and though I did not like this book as well as some other Rogue Warrior novels; nevertheless, it is still a pretty good read.In conclusion, if you are into the Rogue Warrior series you will enjoy reading this book.Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Season of the Warrior: A poetic tribute to warriors)1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Cuba will never be the sameBy Arcane CodeFor many years comments have been made about the resemblance of our favorite rogue hero to ole' Fidel. It was really fun to see a whole story built around that coincidence. I thought the story was well executed, and quite believable. I appreciated the dents and dings he's suffered over the years have slowed him down a bit, something that was acknowledged and taken into account.It was fun to see Doc Trembley back, and while I like the new team of shoot and looters I do wish some of the other old timers would return. It would make sense some of his crew from the SEAL Team 6 or Red Cell days might come into his employ. (Boomerang was always one of my favorites.)One of the best books in the series, highly recommended.