Soldiers of Barrabas

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Soldiers of Barrabas (SOBs) is a series of novels featuring a group of mercenaries published by Gold Eagle from 1983-1989 under the pseudonym Jack Hild.

The books follow ethnically-diverse para-military team is hired by Washington power-brokers to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks in war-torn countries.

The group has various code-names, including Sons of Barrabas, Soldiers of Barrabas, and The Eagle Squad.

Their leader, Colonel Niles Barrabas, has a striking head of white hair atop his 6' 4" frame. His character was the last man out of Vietnam. A highly decorated veteran, he resigned his commission after receiving the Medal of Honor.

The other team members provide the necessary expertise for a mercenary team. The novels play to various racial stereotypes and include many coincidental historical touchstones, and some passages do not stand the test of time.

As a series of men's adventure novels, the genre relies on descriptions of weapons, climactic gun battles, massive explosions, and violent deaths.

[edit] The team members:

Liam O'Toole (Shamrock), 37, Irish-American. An explosives expert who became an IRA bomber after being wrongfully arrested for being a member of the IRA. Ex-Army. He drinks prodigiously, sings and loves poetry.

Vincent Biondi (Ferrari), 32, Italian-American. Expert driver and machinist. Ex-Marine. His love of fast cars led to his career in the pits of an Italian Formula One team.

Wiley Drew Boone (Beaver Boy), 39, South American. Boating expert. Ex-Navy.

Claude Hayes (Aquaman), 38, African-American. He was born with a different name in middle-class Detroit, and went to university to study African languages. Driven to violence after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., he was sentenced to work on a chain gang. He escaped, changed his name, joined the Navy and became an underwater demolitions expert.

Nate Beck (Mr. Wizard), 33. He was "a nice Jewish boy from the Bronx" who used his computer skills to earn a comfortable living in banking, until he wrote a program to embezel millions. His wife, alarmed at his risk-taking, turned him in.

Al Chen (Kamikazi), 32, Chinese-American. An expert pilot, he was also a member of the 1964 Olympic gymnastics team.

Emilio Lopez (Con Man), 27, Hispanic-American. The child of migrant workers, he left for New York City where he became a gang leader. An expert forger and con artist, he joined the national guard to avoid the Vietnam draft but chaffed at the discipline and deserted. He was caught, and agreed to the join the Coast Guard. A rising star in the service, he was jailed when it was discovered he was using it as a cover to smuggle drugs.

Alex Nanos (Spook), 40, Greek-American. The "crazy Greek" is the son of a fisherman from Miami. He grew up smuggling drugs in the Florida Keys until a scrape with the law scared him into the Coast Guard.

William Starfoot II (Billy Two), 33 son of oil-rich Oklahoma American Indians. He rejects the corruption of his cultural heritage by money and modernity. He joined the Marines to learn guerilla warfare and stealth in a bid to recapture his romantic notion of a traditional warrior.

Leona Hatton, doctor. A love interest for Barrabas, she is also the mother/sister to the team.

Walker Jessup or the Fixer, is the greedy, fat, power-broker who gets the team its money, assignments and weapons. He saved Barrabas' life in Vietnam.

[edit] Series Titles (date) (actual authors)

  1. Barrabas Run (1983) (Alan Bomack, Jack Canon and Robin Hardy)
  2. Plains of Fire (1984) (Alan Philipson)
  3. Butchers of Eden (1984) (Alan Philipson)
  4. Show No Mercy (1984) (Robin Hardy)
  5. Gulag War (1985) (Alan Philipson)
  6. Red Hammer Down (1985) (Alan Philipson)
  7. River of Flesh (1985) (Robin Hardy)
  8. Eye of the Fire (1985) (Robin Hardy)
  9. Some Choose Hell (1985) (Robin Hardy)
  10. Vultures of the Horn (1985) (Alan Philipson)
  11. Agile Retrieval (1986) (Robin Hardy)
  12. Jihad (1986) (Alan Philipson)
  13. No Sanctuary (1986) (Robin Hardy)
  14. Red Vengeance (1986) (Robin Hardy)
  15. Death Deal (1986) (Robin Hardy)
  16. Firestorm U.S.A. (1986) (Robin Hardy)
  17. Point Blank (1987) (Robin Hardy)
  18. Sakhalin Breakout (1987) (Jack Garside)
  19. Skyjack (1987) (Robin Hardy)
  20. Alaska Deception (1987) (Jack Garside)
  21. No Safe Place (1987) (Robin Hardy)
  22. Kremlin Devils (1987) (Robin Hardy)
  23. Pacific Payload (1988) (John Preston)
  24. The Barrabas Creed (1988) (John Preston)
  25. The Barrabas Raid (1988) (John Preston)
  26. The Barrabas Edge (1988) (Robert J Randisi)
  27. The Barrabas Fix (1988) (William Baetz)
  28. The Barrabas Fallout (1988) (Jim Mandeville)
  29. The Barrabas Hit (1989) (Joe Roberts)
  30. Barrabas Heist (1989) (Roland J Green)
  31. The Barrabas Thrust (1989) (Rich Rainey)
  32. The Barrabas Fire (1989) (Rich Rainey)
  33. The Barrabas Kill (1989) (William Baetz)

"Super Barrabas" (double-sized)

  1. The Barrabas Strike (1988) (Alan Philipson)
  2. The Barrabas Sting (1988) (Alan Philipson)
  3. The Barrabas Blitz (1989) (Rich Rainey)
  4. The Barrabas War (1989) (Roland J Green)
  5. The Barrabas Sweep (1990) (Rich Rainey)
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