First in a little known men's adventure series from the 1970s.

John Eagle is the first "Expeditor," a semi-official U.S. government agent in a program established by an eccentric, crippled billionaire with extremely high-level connections who calls himself "Mr. Merlin" and lives in a hollowed-out volcano in Hawaii. Great gig if you can get it.

John Eagle is the product of a Scotsman and an aristocratic Englishwomen (the book begins with his parents' first meeting and Eagle's conception, which soon follows). How many books begin by describing the protagonist's parents first sexual encounter in graphic detail? Eagle ends up being raised by Apaches in the Southwestern U.S. and is recruited as a James Bond-like secret agent.

His first mission is to venture into Mongolia and figure out what secret weapon the Chinese are developing that can instantaneously destroy aircraft. Of course, Eagle finds a love interest in the sister of his Mongolian contact. Eagle is armed with his wits; a suped-up motorcycle; a high-tech camouflage suit (think Predator); some weapons, including a dart gun which Eagle favors; and food and water pills. Yep, water pills. These things even reappear in the second book in the series.

The book was actually pretty entertaining, as long as you read it for what it is: a knock-off version of James Bond from the movies in the early '70s. If that's your cup of tea, it's a fun ride. The mission is fun, though one minor character's dialogue is really annoying and makes the scenes that he's in really annoying.

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers ( )