Rating: 
Summary: Nothing but Leftist Dribble to Insult Conservatives!
Review: Browsing through my local bookstore in search of a good book, I came across "Rising Phoenix" peppered with rave reviews from Tom Clancy and Rush Limbaugh, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. How wrong I was having now read the book! I believe that Watson wrote this book just to insult conservatives at every chance he got! From the "right-wing" preacher to the Rush Limbaugh-esque clone who cheers for the deaths of the drug users, I was offended! Watson even portrays veterans and ex-CIA types as nothing more than evil, hard-nosed right-wingers! This book was nothing but insulting, tired trash! I can't believe Limbaugh and Clancy would like it! I'm completely stunned! If you want vast "right-wing" conspiracies, watch the X-Files or listen to Hillary Clinton!
Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating concept, but not quite in Clancy's league
Review: Rising Phoenix is a very fast paced, interesting novel that will make you stop and question our methods of stopping drug use. Kyle Mills looks like he could be another Clancy or Higgins after a few novels.
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTE GARBAGE.
Review: Tom Clancy was good. Stephen Coonts, Dale Brown, Larry Bond: acceptable. But now that we're down to Kyle Mills, it's definitely the bottom of the barrel.Not only is this book filled with annoying "uh"s every third word, stupid product plugs, and characters so wooden and thin they can only be described as paper, it's also awash in the silly USA-Today politics of the nitwit near-left (lions and tigers and Right-wing conspiracies! Oh my!) The book is roughly on the same intellectual level as the movie "Die Hard 2: Die Harder", only a lot less entertaining. If you want to hear nutty conspiracy theories about evil conservatives, see an Oliver Stone movie. If you want to read a well-crafted political thriller, read Clancy. If you've got a table with one short leg, buy this book. That's about all it's good for.
Rating:
Summary: Clancy-lite
Review: If you like Tom Clancy but wish he were a little bit less detailed and technical, Rising Phoenix is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: innovative plot, fast-paced, well written
Review: My husband and I both agree that Rising Phoenix is one of the best novels we have read in some time. As dyed-in-the-wool Grisham & Clancy fans, we are used to skilled, polished, gripping talent, which first time author Mills delivered in full measure. His basic plot idea was FRESH, not a rehash of a routine scenerio, and the characters were real people. It did seem rushed in just a few places but on the whole we were pleasantly surprised and count ourselves as charter members of the Mills fan club. We hope to see him keep up the quality and excitement in future works. As a still-trying-to-get-published-for-the-first-time author, I applaud him for his talent, perseverance, and success in making it to the realm of published writers.
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING
Review: I have just finished reading RISING PHOENIX. I want to recommend it to anyone who likes Clancy or Grisham. It is a fascinating plot compelling written. You meet people that you get to know and understand. It is fast-paced and keeps the reader's interest with ease. For a first book, the author has done a spectacularly good job. It would be a good job by any accomplished author, but as a first work, it is great. I am looking forward to more from Mr. Mills. (I haven't read Storming Heaven yet, but I'm looking for it.) Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Did Uh anyone Uh edit this book??
Review: Just because people tend to pause when they speak or say, "Uh or um or huh!" etc, doesn't mean that I as the reader/consumer want to read that on every page. I got very tired of, Uh, reading the word, Uh, from characters that, Uh, were suppose to be, Uh, intelligent FBI/CIA/DEA agents. But, Uh, I guess since, Uh, Tom Clancy put his, Uh, name on it then, uh, editing wasn't, uh, required. Rather annoying isn't it! Second, what is it with advertising in books. Modern authors are starting to get very borish when they start detailing every product that is on the kitchen table. I don't drink Pepsi. I don't eat at Dunkin Doughnuts, and nor do my cop friends who eat Krispy Cream Doughnuts. This book was cluttered with useless (not saying sometimes it is good to refer to an item if it SERVES a purpose in the story) advertisements. Also, a passage from the book: "I went out and bought this software package called CorelDraw -- it's like a desktop publishing thing -- does graphics. But I haven't had time to figure it out. So I ended up just doing it on Word." Where is the editor? What purpose did this passage serve other than to advertise these products. The passage followed the introduction of the ad that was to be published in the newspaper warning the Narcotics users. A paragraph before it clearly states that he is using a computer and printed it out. Why the useless interjection of irrelevant information? I don't care what product the character wanted to use. I don't care why he didn't use it. I don't care that he choose another product over it. The fact was clear: He used a computer and printed it out. This passage served no purpose other than to advertise these products. Authors/Editors - Stop treating readers as if they don't have a mind of their own. Let US use our imagination and become involved in the storyline. He took a drink of soda. THey stopped by the donut shop. Simple, but it lets me decide what he drank or ate. Only give me advertisement when it serves a purpose in story. The story itself made me think of a 70's movie with Shaft, I believe. Where he and a group of men stopped a conspiracy to contaminate the water supply that would kill a specific race of people. I don't knock Mr. Mills on his storyline - the theme is current and if we allow Crichton, Koontz and Baldacci to all come out with a plane crash story at the same time or have three different Asteroid type movies coming to the theaters then authors are entitled to duplicate. Yet, don't expect the reader to continue to pay $20+ for your books. Mr. Mills you have a talent for telling a story, please next time - cut out the advertisements and the Uh's. And please no more characters like Jack Higgin's: Liam, Dillion, Egan - your Hobart was too much like them. Yes, I am critical, but I'm the consumer who buys nearly 50 books a year. (Yes, I do have a life. I rarely watch television, because history books allow you to learn and fiction stories allow you to use your mind and become involved with the characters.) I enjoy reading new authors, because the famous ones are getting redundant and I hope to see Mr. Mills with a new book in the future. Everyone is entitled to second chance.
Rating:
Summary: Good first outing
Review: This book shows great promise. It has a few problems that are probably due to inexperience, but overall it was very good. I am really looking forward to Kyle's next one
Rating:
Summary: A high speed thriller that rids the U.S. of drugs.
Review: Kyle Mills grabs the reader with his first attempt. On the heels of a Tom Clancy recommendation, Mills jettisons the reader back and forth across the border in a unique attempt to rid the U.S. of the drug traffic from Mexico. Ex-DEA officials, a religious icon and an abrassive FBI agent combine their gifts in this "can't put down" thriller
Rating:
Summary: Great read. Superb plot. Interesting Fed LE Characters.
Review: BOOK REVIEW
by Mary Cousins in the July 1997 issue of the Grapevine, the official publication of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, Inc.
Rising Phoenix by Kyle Mills
The pre-publication edition of Rising Phoenix by Kyle Mills came across my desk and, as I picked it up, I read the glowing recommendation by Tom Clancy on the cover. After praising this first novel, Clancy thanked the author's dad, Darrell Mills, for sending him the manuscript.
If you are looking for a good brisk read with an FBI-DEA background, you'll be glad he did too. Kyle Mills crafts a quick-step story with credible characters, plenty of action and a satisfactory denouement. Unlike many first novels, Rising Phoenix doesn't seek to show off the author's vocabulary at the expense of the story. Starting with a surprising solution to the drug problem in the United States, Mills delineates a villain worth pursuing and a somewhat disheveled and unorthodox Special Agent leading the chase. The White House, the Bureau, TV evangelists and drug dealers bring a variety of motives to this escalating tale of greed, politics, righteous anger and investigative professionalism. Mills dishes up a potent story, carried by characters that enrich and enliven the plot. The author catches the feel of the Bureau- although you may not much like some of the fictional personnel at Headquarters. Mills kept an observant eye on his surroundings when he visited his dad's office over the years. Dad is Darrell Mills (1967-93), Tidewater Chapter member of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. Rising Phoenix should be in bookstores by August 1997 and is recommended as a lively thriller deeply rooted in the stuff of today's headlines. Publisher is Harper Collins. END
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