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WORK TITLE: Killed in Action
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 10/14/1946
WEBSITE:
CITY: New York
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
married to actress Melissa Sue Anderson and they have two children; Became a naturalized Canadian citizen. [2007]
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | n 78094660 |
|---|---|
| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/n78094660 |
| HEADING: | Sloan, Michael, 1946- |
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| 053 | _0 |a PS3569.L55 |
| 100 | 1_ |a Sloan, Michael, |d 1946- |
| 670 | __ |a His The haunted house, c1978: |b t.p. (Michael Sloan) |
| 670 | __ |a Tel. call to Universal Studios, 30nov78 |b (Michael Fred Sloan; b. 10/14/46) |
| 953 | __ |a bc14 |
PERSONAL
Born October 14, 1946 in New York, NY; son of Michael and Paula Stone; married Melissa Sue Anderson (an actor), March 17, 1990; children: Piper and Griffin.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and film and television show producer.
AWARDS:Nominated for an Emmy for work on TV series Quincy.
WRITINGS
Television episode contributing writer on numerous shows, including The Outer Limits, Harry O, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries, Battlestar Galactica, and Quincy.
SIDELIGHTS
Michael Sloan is a writer and film and television show producer. He was born on October 14, 1946 in New York City. Sloan is best known for his production roles on The Equalizer (1985), Quincy M.E. (1976), and The Equalizer (2014). Sloan comes from a family immersed in show business. Sloan’s grandfather, Fred Stone, was a Vaudeville performer, and created the role of the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz on Broadway in 1902. Sloan’s parents, Paula and Michael Sloane, were stage producers in the 1940s and 50s. They produced such Broadway shows as The Red Mill, Top Banana and Rumple. Sloan’s cousins Keenan Wynn and Milburn Stone were both famed actors.
Sloan’s career began in England, where he wrote and produced Hunted, Assassin, and Moments, all distributed by Columbia/Warner Bros. He wrote an episode of the Universal TV show Columbo, which was the only episode of that show offered to a freelance writer. Sloan returned to the U.S.A in 1974, where he wrote continued his career in show business. He wrote seven episodes of the Warner Bros TV series Harry O before landing a job at Universal Studios. There he wrote and produced episodes of TV shows McCloud, Quincy, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries, and the original Battlestar Galactica starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. He was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the TV series Quincy. Sloan married actress Melissa Sue Anderson on March 17, 1990. They have two children.
Killed in Action is a sequel to 2014 film, “The Equalizer,” for which Sloan was a producer. Both film and book were inspired by the characters developed in the 1980s show, The Equalizer, which Sloan helped write and produce. Doreen Sheridan in Criminal Element website wrote: “Killed in Action is deftly plotted and action-packed, making it an entertaining new addition to The Equalizer universe,” while a contributor to Publishers Weekly noted: “This is a series that proves the old adage that the book is usually better than the screen version.”
Readers familiar with the show or movie will recognize Robert McCall, the protagonist in the book. McCall is a former intelligence officer trained in fatal combat. McCall has a dark past with his old employer, The Company, an ultra-secret branch of the CIA. He wants to leave his violent past behind him, so he has left the company with the intention of leading a more normal life. He hopes to remain under the radar, but eventually the draw to help those in need pulls him back into the world of crimefighting. McCall specifically provides aid to those in need who do not have anyone else to turn to.
In Killed in Action, many of the people that McCall aids are mothers in distress. He is called upon by a mother looking for her daughter, who seems to have disappeared into the underbelly of the city’s darkest corners. McCall uncovers a sex slave ring and saves the girl. Another woman seeks retribution for an attack on her young daughter by the rats that infest her apartment. McCall seeks out the wealthy landlord that owns the apartment building and teaches him a lesson in morality, foregoing the violent route. The call of another mother in need leads McCall to travel to war torn Syria to investigate the disappearance of a soldier. The soldier’s mother has been told by the U.S. Army that the man died in combat in the Middle East, but she is sure this is not true.
When McCall arrives in jihadist-controlled Syria, he comes across the rubble of what was once a home. He picks up a doll on the ground, still in its delicate dress, but missing an arm. McCall reflects on the death and tragedies that this place must have experienced, and relates it to his own guilt for the deaths he caused while working for The Company. McCall regularly reflects on his past misdeeds throughout the book, and views his current intentions to help rather than hurt as a sort of redemption. Despite his training in combat, he chooses to forgo violence to solve problems. He only turns to assault when attempting to make amends for his past violent actions with The Company.
As McCall attempts to help those that call on him, two subplots emerge. He discovers that there is someone posing as him. McCall does not understand the imposter’s intentions, but the faux Equalizer utilizes much more extreme and violent tactics than McCall would employ. When McCall attempts to reach out to his former boss to uncover who, and why, someone is impersonating him, he discovers that there is no record of his boss existing. McCall must now uncover both mysteries, while sticking true to his goal of helping rather than hurting people.
Doreen Sheridan in Criminal Element website described the book as “equal parts international black-ops thriller and gritty urban vigilante procedural, the thrills and spills are leavened with true heart.” Jeff Ayers in Booklist wrote, “Sloan knows how to create a flawed yet heroic protagonist whom readers will root for.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, November 15, 2017, Jeff Ayers, review of Killed in Action, p. 26.
Publishers Weekly, June 30, 2014, review of The Equalizer, p. 41; November 6, 2017, review of Killed in Action, p. 60.
ONLINE
Criminal Element, https://www.criminalelement.com/ (January 31, 2018), review of Killed in Action.
Michael Sloan
Biography
Showing all 6 items
Jump to: Overview (1) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (3)
Overview (1)
Born October 14, 1946 in New York City, New York, USA
Mini Bio (1)
Michael Sloan was born on October 14, 1946 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Equalizer (2014), Quincy M.E. (1976) and The Equalizer (1985). He has been married to Melissa Sue Anderson since March 17, 1990. They have two children.
Spouse (1)
Melissa Sue Anderson (17 March 1990 - present) (2 children)
Trivia (3)
Has two children, daughter Piper Sloan and son Griffin Sloan, with wife Melissa Sue Anderson.
Became a naturalized Canadian citizen. [2007]
President of the television films' jury of the Television Festival of Monte Carlo. [2013]
See also
Other Works | Publicity Listings | Official Sites | Contact Info
Michael Sloan: A Writer's Life
A Brief Professional Biography
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Michael Sloan was born into an illustrious show business family. His grandfather, Fred Stone, was a famed Vaudeville performer who created the role of the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz on Broadway in 1902. Michael's mother and father, Paula Stone and Michael Sloane, were stage producers who mounted such shows as The Red Mill. Top Banana and Rumple on Broadway in the 1940's and 1950's.
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Michael's cousin was Keenan Wynn, the great character actor seen in many movies throughout a storied career. Michael's cousin was Milburn Stone, who played the curmudgeonly 'Doc Adams' on the long-running TV series Gunsmoke.
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Michael wrote and produced three features while living in England, Hunted, Assassin and Moments, all distributed by Columba/Warner Bros. While still in England, Michael wrote an episode of the Universal TV show 'Columbo'. It was the only episode ever shot of the TV series that had been handed out to a freelance writer.
Michael returned to the United States in 1974. He wrote seven episodes of the Warner Bros TV series 'Harry O' starring David Janssen. Michael then landed his first studio job at Universal Studios. He worked for Glen Larson and wrote and produced the TV shows McCloud starring Dennis Weaver, Quincy starring Jack Klugman, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries starring Shaun Cassidy, Parker Stevenson and Pamela Sue Martin, Evening in Byzantium starring Glenn Ford, Sword of Justice starring Dack Rambo, the original Battlestar Galactica starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and BJ and the Bear starring Greg Evigan. Michael was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the TV series Quincy.
Michael left Universal to go to MTM Studios where he wrote and produced Riveria starring Ben Masters, Patrick Bauchau and Elyssa Davalos, directed by the legendary John Frankenheimer. On loan back to Universal Studios, Michael wrote and produced The Equalizer Pilot starring Edward Woodward for CBS.
Back at MTM Studios, Michael wrote and produced a TV series called The Master starring Lee Van Cleef and Timothy Van Patten. Michael returned to Universal Studios where he wrote and produced The Man From U.N.C.L.E TV Movie starring Robert Vaughn, David McCallum and Patrick Macnee (of The Avengers fame).
Michael also wrote and produced three TV Movies based on the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman TV series starring Lee Majors, Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson. Before leaving his second 'tour of duty' at Universal Studios, Michael produced forty-one new episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, most of which he also wrote, which starred such TV names as Lindsay Wagner, Robert Carradine, David Cassidy, Van Johnson, Rory Calhoun, Melissa Sue Anderson, Anthony Newley, Robert Lansing, Edward Woodward, Jean Simmons, Doug McClure, Eli Wallach and Mike Connors. Michael wrote and produced the feature movie The Caller for Empire Pictures for Frank Yablans starring Malcolm McDowell and Madolyn Smith.
PictureDavid Carradine, Michael Sloan on the "Kung Fu" set
Michael wrote and produced 88 episodes of the TV series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues for Warner Bros TV starring David Caradine and Chris Potter. Michael wrote and produced the TV Movie Earthquake in New York starring Greg Evigan, Cynthia Gibb, Michael Sarrazin and Michael Moriatry. He also wrote and produced the TV Movie Freefall starring Jaclyn Smith.
Michael created the TV Series Mystery Woman for the Hallmark Channel which resulted in ten TV Movies over the period of several years.
While in Canada, Michael wrote and produced the TV series Call of the Wild starring Nick Mancuso, Shane Meier and Rachel Hayward for Animal Planet. Michael was the writer and producer of several episodes of the new Outer Limits TV Series for the 2000-2001 Season. Michael wrote and produced three features for Kirk Shaw's Insight Films and Odyssey Media in Canada, including Ring of Fire starring Mickey Hardt, Alien Agent starring Mark Dacascos and Art of War II starring Wesley Snipes.
Michael also wrote scripts for episodic shows including McCoy (2-hour NBC Mystery Wheel), La Femme Nikita, Baywatch Nights, Baywatch Hawaii, Pacific Blue, Police Academy, Switch and The Devlin Connection.
Michael had a thriller play produced on the stage called Underground starring Raymond Burr that opened at the Royal Alexander Theater in Toronto, then subsequently was mounted in the West End of London.
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'The Equalizer' feature filmfrom Sony Pictures was released on September 26th, 2014, starring Denzel Washington and directed by Antoine Fuqua. Michael was one of the Producers of the movie, based on the characters he had co-created from the Classic CBS TV Series. The Equalizer feature film has made over $220,000,000 at the worldwide box office. A sequel movie is currently shooting in Boston, once again starring Denzel Washington as Robert McCall, directed by Antoine Fuqua. It will be released by Sony and Columbia Pictures for release on August 10th, 2018.
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'The Equalizer' novel, written by Michael -- an original project with a unique storyline from the two movies -- was published by St. Martin's Press on August 19th, 2014.
St. Martin's Press has announced a new Equalizer book sequel from Michael titled Killed in Action -- An Equalizer Novel, which will be published on January 30th, 2018.
Michael has completed a Children's Christmas Book that is going to be published by Candy Jar Books in the UK in the autumn of 2018 called Lost in Christmas. (More on that later!)
Why did you decide to write the Equalizer novels?
I had wanted to write a thriller novel for years. The Equalizer character was close to my heart as I had “lived” with Robert McCall for a long time. I felt he would resonate with a thriller audience as an “older hero” with a moral compass, a sense of justice and a tough, take-no-prisoners persona. When McCall resigned from The Company, to help “ordinary people who had nowhere else to turn”, it was the calling he had been seeking for years.
How many Equalizer books will there be?
As many as I can write, as long as the public responds to the character and the writing.
What do you like best? Writing TV or movies or books?
The difference between writing an original screenplay and a novel is that, in a novel, I have the scope and room to expand the storyline I am developing for the reader. And that becomes very rewarding.
How do you do all the research for your books?
I spend a good part of each year traveling to those locales and haunts where Robert McCall finds himself. That means I get to wander the streets in cities like New York, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Moscow, and Milan seeking out those landmarks that that translate into very specific action and storylines.
Did you create Robert McCall based on anyone real?
Initially, when I was working out the TV Pilot at Universal Studios, Robert McCall was inspired by TV character “Paladin” in the TV series “Have Gun---Will Travel.” But McCall developed into a darker, more complex character as the writing progressed.
What was Edward Woodward like as an actor? Were you friends?
Edward Woodward was a wonderful actor, quirky and with a great sense of humor. He was a classically trained British thespian, equally adept at stage and television. His sense of where you were “in a scene” dramatically was second to none. I knew him because I had shot a short film called “Hunted” in the UK in which I got him to star. Prior to that, in my mercifully-short career as an actor, I actually appeared in a scene in a TV Movie with Edward Woodward about the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Can I send you an idea for a great Equalizer story?
I am always open to reading a pitch for a terrific Equalizer story, as long the hook into it is compelling, and it is short – no more than a page and a half, please. Feel free to use the Contact form here on the website.
I’m hoping to become a novelist too. Can you give me any tips?
Work out an outline up front for your novel, so you know how your novel will develop. If you just start writing your book, with no idea of the steps, it will flounder quickly. Novelists who say that they “just go with it and see where their characters lead them and where they will take them” rarely produce a finished manuscript – although there are instances where, as a screenplay writer, I will tackle a tricky scene not knowing what is going to happen in it, hoping the characters will, indeed, take me along for the ride. But it is much better, as a screenplay writer or a novelist, if you have a solid outline to work from. It will undoubtedly undergo many changes, but the foundation should be there.
Are they going to make another Equalizer TV series? If so, who would you want to be the star?
I have no idea if Universal Studios have a thought to making a new TV series based on The Equalizer. The star should have the same lethal skills and sense of morality of Robert McCall. Who would I see playing him? I would have to give that some thought.
Is it true that you’re married to Melissa Sue Anderson, the star of Little House on the Prairie?
Yes, Melissa Anderson and I have been married for over 25 years. We have two children, Piper (26) and a son Griffin (21).
Do you ever write any other books?
I am working on a children’s book about Christmas called: “Lost in Christmas” for a UK publisher. It will be published in the autumn of 2018. I have several other ideas for novels that I am developing.
Are you still writing for Hollywood?
I am still writing screenplays for the Hollywood market.
Can I get an autographed copy of your books?
Of course. You can try to catch me at a book signing in your local area bookstore, or if you send me a copy of “The Equalizer”, or its sequel, “Killed in Action”, or both! – I would happy to autograph both books for you. Just reach out via the Contact Form here on the website for my mailing address.
What does Robert McCall do for a living? It doesn’t seem like he ever charges a fee for his “services”.
Robert McCall has made a lot of money over the years taking on unauthorized missions outside of The Company.
Will Robert McCall ever go to Australia on a case?
Quite possibly. I would love to send Robert McCall to Australia where he can help a person in dire straits who has reached out to him.
It seems like Robert McCall never forgets a name or a face. Does he have a photographic memory?
Robert McCall does not have a photographic memory, but he notes the people he meets and the adversaries he encounters with razor-sharp recall.
At what age did you decide to become a writer? Did you ever want to be anything else?
I wanted to be a writer since I was a teenager, perhaps 13 or 14. I wrote “boy’s adventure books” for years, not that I did anything with them, but I realized that I had a passion for writing. There was never anything else I wanted to do, except be an actor, but that was a short-lived career choice! Although I occasionally, over the years, did do some acting here and there.
Besides Robert McCall, who is your favorite Equalizer character?
I think my favorite character in the Equalizer books is “Brahms.”
What was your favorite TV show to produce?
I loved writing and producing “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues” TV series that I made for Warner Bros that starred the late David Carradine. Beside writing for that quintessential character of Kwai Chang Caine, I also created over 50 auxiliary characters in the series, which was very rewarding for me as a writer.
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Michael Sloan Biography (1946-)
Born October 14, 1946, in New York, NY; son of Michael Nelson (a theatrical producer) and Paula (a theatrical producer; maiden name, Stone) Sloan; marriedMelissa Sue Anderson (an actress), 1990; children: Piper, Griffin. Addresses: Agent: International Creative Management, 8899 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048.; Office: Viacom Productions, 10900 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024.
Nationality
American
Gender
Male
Occupation
Writer, director, producer
Birth Details
October 14, 1946
New York, New York, United States
Famous Works
CREDITS
Television Work
Series
Story editor, McCloud, NBC, 1977
Supervising producer and producer, McCloud, NBC, 1976-77
Associate executive producer, Quincy, M.E., NBC, 1977
Supervising producer, The Hardy Boys Mysteries, ABC, 1977-79
Supervising producer, The Nancy Drew Mysteries, ABC, 1977-79
Associate producer, Sword of Justice, NBC, 1979
Supervising producer, Battlestar Galactica, ABC, 1980
Executive producer, B. J. and the Bear, NBC, 1979-81
Executive producer, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, NBC, 1985
Executive producer, The Outer Limits (also known as The New Outer Limits), Showtime and syndicated, 2000-
Creative consultant and producer, Call of the Wild (also known asJack London's "Call of the Wild"), Animal Planet, 2000
Miniseries
Supervising producer, Evening in Byzantium, syndicated, 1978
Movies
Associate producer, A Double Life, 1978
Creator and executive producer, Riviera, ABC, 1987
Executive producer, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, NBC, 1989
Executive producer, The Return of Sam McCloud, CBS, 1989
Executive producer, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, syndicated, 1992
Executive producer, Bionic Ever After? (also known as Bionic Breakdown), CBS, 1994
Executive producer, Earthquake in New York, Fox Family, 1998
Executive producer, Free Fall (also known as Angst ueber den Wolken), Fox Family Channel, 1999
Co-executive producer, Mystery Woman, Hallmark Channel, 2003
Pilots
Assistant producer, B. J. and the Bear, NBC, 1978
Executive producer, The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (also known as The Fifteen Years Later Affair), CBS, 1983
Executive producer, The Return of the Six-Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, NBC, 1987
Television Appearances
Specials
Intimate Portrait: Melissa Sue Anderson (documentary), Lifetime, 2002
Film Work
Executive producer, Hunted, Columbia/Warner Bros., 1971
Executive producer, Moments, Columbia/Warner Bros., 1973
Stage Work
Director, Wait until Dark, Burbank Theatre Guild, 1986
WRITINGS
Plays
Underground, produced at Theatre Royal, London, 1983
Television Miniseries
Evening in Byzantium, syndicated, 1978
Television Movies
Columbo: Now You See Him, 1976
Riviera, ABC, 1987
Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman,NBC, 1989
The Return of Sam McCloud, CBS, 1989
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, 1992
Bionic Ever After? (also known as Bionic Breakdown), CBS, 1994
Earthquake in New York, Fox Family, 1998
Mystery Woman, Hallmark Channel, 2003
Television Pilots
The Murder That Wouldn't Die (also known as Battles), NBC,1980
The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (also known as The Fifteen Years Later Affair), CBS, 1983
The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, NBC, 1987
Television Episodes
"The Old Diamond Game," Switch, CBS, 1975
"Shades," Harry-O, ABC, 1975
"Reflections," Harry-O, ABC, 1975
"The Madona Legacy," Harry-O, ABC, 1975
"Book of Changes," Harry-O, ABC, 1976
"Hostage," Harry-O, ABC, 1976
(With John Meredyth Lucas) "Victim," Harry-O, ABC, 1976
"Ruby," Harry-O, ABC, 1976
"Bonnie and McCloud," McCloud, NBC, 1976
"'Twas the Fight before Christmas ... ," McCloud, NBC, 1976
"The Great Taxicab Stampede," McCloud, NBC, 1977
"London Bridges," McCloud, NBC, 1977
(With Joel Oliansky and Lou Shaw) "Snake Eyes: Parts 1 & 2," Quincy, M.E., NBC, 1977
"Visitors in Paradise," Quincy, M.E., NBC, 1977
(With Glen A. Larson) "Has Anybody Here Seen Quincy?," Quincy, M.E., NBC, 1977
The Hardy Boys Mysteries, ABC, 1977-79
The Nancy Drew Mysteries, ABC, 1977-79
(With Donald P. Bellisario and Leslie Stevens) "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero: Parts 1 & 2," Battlestar Galactica, ABC, 1978
"Judgment Day," Sword of Justice, NBC, 1978
(With Larson) "Blackjack," Sword of Justice, NBC, 1979
(With Larson) "The Mob Comes to Orly," The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, 1979
(With Sidney Ellis, Frank Lupo, and Robert L. McCullough) "Run for the Money: Part 2," The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, 1979
B. J. and the Bear, NBC, 1979-81
The Devlin Connection, NBC, 1982
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, USA Network, 1988-89
Pacific Blue, USA Network, 1995
"The Strike," Baywatch Nights (also known as Detectives on theBeach), USA Network, 1996
La Femme Nikita (also known as Nikita), USA Network, 1997
Call of the Wild (also known as Jack London's "Call of the Wild"), Animal Planet, 2000
"Worlds Within," The Outer Limits (also known as The New OuterLimits), Showtime and syndicated, 2001
"Dark Child," The Outer Limits (also known as The New Outer Limits), Showtime and syndicated, 2002
Also wrote "Never says never again" and "Always ... ," both unaired episodes of Partners; "The Killing Machine," Baywatch (also known asBaywatch Hawaii).
Screenplays
Moments, 1974
Michael Sloan
Michael Sloan has been a show runner on such TV series as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" and "Outer Limits." He has also written and produced numerous TV Movies and features. He created the series "The Equalizer" for Universal TV and CBS and is currently producing a feature version of "The Equalizer" for Sony Pictures starring Denzel Washington in the title role. Michael is married to actress Melissa Anderson and they have two children, Piper and Griffin.
Michael Sloan
Books by Michael Sloan
The Equalizer
by Michael Sloan - Fiction, Thriller
Robert McCall is a former covert operations officer for the CIA who tries to atone for past sins by offering, free of charge, his services as a troubleshooter (often literally), a protector and an investigator. In this novel, based on the 1980s television show and timed to come out shortly before the feature film version starring Denzel Washington, McCall goes up against an old enemy, a Chechen nightclub owner, who now runs an elite assassination service to try and save the life of an innocent woman.
Killed in Action
Jeff Ayers
Booklist.
114.6 (Nov. 15, 2017): p26+. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Killed in Action.
By Michael Sloan.
Jan. 2018. 336p. St. Martin's, $27.99 (9781250098672); e-book, $14.99 (9781250098689).
Sloan, co-creator of The Equalizer television series from the 1980s and author of the first installment in a print reboot of that series (The Equalizer, 2014), delivers another strong entry in the adventures of Robert McCall. If the odds are against you, there is nobody better than McCall to come to your aid. This one starts off a bit confusingly, until the reader learns that there is another person posing as the Equalizer. The impostor utilizes extremely harsh and violent methods, and the real Equalizer quickly gets blamed for the other's actions. To make matters worse, McCall seeks help from his former handler but is shocked to discover that someone has taken his place, too, and there is no record of his former boss ever existing. Sloan knows how to create a flawed yet heroic protagonist whom readers will root for, and this high-energy story, drenched in misdirection, will draw fans of Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X (2016).--Jeff Ayers
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Ayers, Jeff. "Killed in Action." Booklist, 15 Nov. 2017, p. 26+. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A517441743/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=758cada3. Accessed 28 Feb. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A517441743
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http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
Killed in Action: An Equalizer Novel
Publishers Weekly.
264.45 (Nov. 6, 2017): p60+. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Killed in Action: An Equalizer Novel Michael Sloan. St. Martin's, $27.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-09867-2
Robert McCall (aka the Equalizer) once worked for a clandestine intelligence service known as the Company, but he now helps others as a "white knight ready to do battle for those with nowhere else to turn." In this fast-moving, episodic sequel to 2014's The Equalizer, which was based on the 1980s TV show of the same name, McCall rescues damsels from sex slavery, teaches a morality lesson to a wealthy New York landlord, retrieves a captured American soldier in Syria, tracks down his missing former spymaster, stops a series of homegrown terrorist attacks, evades a mysterious assassin group, and, finally, exposes the deadly vigilante who is coopting his secret identity. Sloan, the TV show's creator, has a cinematic flair with description, but he can get a little cute when he gives characters the names or features of celebrities. The ending trips over itself to gather the entire cast and set up a cliff-hanger hook for next time, but this is a series that proves the old adage that the book is usually better than the screen version. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Killed in Action: An Equalizer Novel." Publishers Weekly, 6 Nov. 2017, p. 60+. Book Review
Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A514056590/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=6e84dddf. Accessed 28 Feb. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A514056590
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http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
The Equalizer
Publishers Weekly.
261.26 (June 30, 2014): p41+. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Equalizer
Michael Sloan. St. Martin's/Dunne, $26.99 (496p) ISBN 978-1-250-04196-8
Based on the 1980s TV show about a CIA agent-turned-vigilante, this prequel presents the backstory of how Robert McCall went from N.Y.C. bartender, attempting to remain below the radar of former colleagues and enemies, to a tighter of wrongs for those faced with problems and no avenues for help. Sloan, a co-creator of the TV series, gets some details wrong (e.g., no one refers to the New York subway lines by color). More importantly, characters don't act or think in logical ways. In a storyline in parallel to McCall's intervention on behalf of an abused hooker, a master assassin fails to anticipate that the controllers of a female spy he's stalking in Russia might know the location of her backup safe house. Later, McCall makes a completely baffling choice while dealing with a serial criminal that has consequences readers will anticipate, even if McCall somehow doesn't. Having the hero advertise his services on Craigslist doesn't make this fresh. (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Equalizer." Publishers Weekly, 30 June 2014, p. 41+. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A373579691/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=069d4f6d. Accessed 28 Feb. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A373579691
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Fresh Meat
Review: Killed in Action by Michael Sloan
Doreen Sheridan
Creator of The Equalizer TV series, Michael Sloan reinvents the story of the mysterious Robert McCall—a former intelligence officer who helps desperate people in need of his unique skill set—in Killed in Action.
I’m totally dating myself here, but I was not old enough for my parents to allow me to watch The Equalizer when it originally aired on TV. I always enjoyed the idea of it though: a person who was willing to help equalize the odds against you when you were the target of bad people. I never got around to watching the movie either, but when I heard that The Equalizer’s creator, Michael Sloan, was writing a series of books based on the character, I leaped at the chance to finally immerse myself in that universe.
And what a multi-layered universe it is! Equal parts international black-ops thriller and gritty urban vigilante procedural, the thrills and spills are leavened with true heart—even as Mr. Sloan weaves a fascinating tapestry of many different cases vying for our hero Robert McCall’s time and attention. Most of these have to do with—perhaps surprisingly—mothers: there’s a mother looking for her wayward 20-something daughter in the big city; a mother seeking recourse for her much younger daughter, a victim of their building’s rat infestation; and a mother who doesn’t believe the US Army when they tell her that her son has been killed in action in the Middle East. There’s also the case of a vanished former boss from McCall’s time at The Company, a shadowy branch of the CIA. To complicate things closer to home, there’s a vigilante who thinks McCall isn’t doing enough and who has begun to imitate him in hopes of usurping his role and identity.
McCall balances all this with an aplomb honed through years of working complicated operations for The Company. As he works on each case that comes his way, he uses every advantage at his disposal, which often includes his talent for violence, as here when he comes upon a mugging:
The two men who’d been trying to break Isaac’s ribs turned as McCall ran forward. They were big. The one closest to McCall noted his age and broke into a smile that revealed several teeth missing. He grabbed for McCall’s coat. McCall knocked out several more of his teeth with one punch and kicked his legs out from under him. The second mugger picked up a length of pipe lying beside a row of old-fashioned metal trash cans. McCall disarmed him in two moves and slammed the pipe into his right knee, hard enough to bring him down, but not to shatter the kneecap. The mugger who’d been going through Isaac’s coat lunged for McCall. McCall picked up one of the trash-can lids, smashed it into the mugger’s face, then executed a knife-hand strike to his throat. He started gasping for breath. McCall threw him bodily into the trash cans.
But violence is not necessarily his go-to solution. I was particularly impressed with how he worked to resolve the case of the deadbeat landlord and how that, in turn, worked into the overarching plot of the novel. McCall uses violence only to save lives in atonement for his past sins while working for The Company. Where he can, he prefers a softer touch since his mission is to help people, not hurt them. Even after parachuting behind enemy lines in jihadist-controlled Syria, he has time to consider the moral quandaries he can all too often find himself bogged down in:
McCall looked around what had been a living room. He saw a small bright figure shaped by the moon before it fled again.
He knelt and picked it up.
The Barbie doll had flaxen hair, some it pulled out by the roots. One of Barbie’s arms was missing. The doll was dressed in a canary-yellow Fashion Pack Firefighting Uniform with black boots and a round pink hat. Some child had hugged that doll and dragged it around the village, and maybe it had been her constant companion until she had been killed. McCall had come here for one American soldier. But the personal tragedies that surrounded him were ghosts he recognized. He wondered bitterly if the Equalizer had any chance of lifting even one human being out of despair.
But it was all he could cling to in the new life he had chosen.
Killed in Action is deftly plotted and action-packed, making it an entertaining new addition to The Equalizer universe. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend reading it without gaining some background into the setting first, however, as there is a large cast of supporting characters who already have an established history with McCall. Fortunately, you can come to this familiarity through either the television show or the first novel in this series, also titled The Equalizer (the movie is set in Boston and doesn’t feature many of McCall’s contacts, alas, so it would be of limited use for this). This second novel provides a more than satisfying continuation of this rich tradition, and my hat is off to Mr. Sloan for writing such an abundance of intrigue so well.
Read an excerpt from Killed in Action!
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Doreen Sheridan is a freelance writer living in Washington, D.C. She microblogs on Twitter @dvaleris.
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