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The Executioner #2
Death Squad
A bounty on his head, the Executioner takes his war to a new front
When Mafia pressure destroyed his family, sniper Mack Bolan declared war on organized crime. The Battle of Pittsfield left dozens of mobsters dead, but that was only the beginning. Hunted by the police, the FBI, and every hood in America, Mack plans his next attack. In Los Angeles he crashes a swinger’s party and finds his old army buddy George Zitka tied to a chair, being tortured by a few Mafia heavies. Seconds later they are dead, and Mack and Zit are talking about getting the old gang back together. It’s time to form a death squad.
Bolan wants sharpshooters and scouts, demo experts and hard-core killers—ten soldiers forged in the fires of Vietnam. With them he will escalate the war against the Mafia as the Death Squad lives up to its name.
When Mafia pressure destroyed his family, sniper Mack Bolan declared war on organized crime. The Battle of Pittsfield left dozens of mobsters dead, but that was only the beginning. Hunted by the police, the FBI, and every hood in America, Mack plans his next attack. In Los Angeles he crashes a swinger’s party and finds his old army buddy George Zitka tied to a chair, being tortured by a few Mafia heavies. Seconds later they are dead, and Mack and Zit are talking about getting the old gang back together. It’s time to form a death squad.
Bolan wants sharpshooters and scouts, demo experts and hard-core killers—ten soldiers forged in the fires of Vietnam. With them he will escalate the war against the Mafia as the Death Squad lives up to its name.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1969
128 people are currently reading
398 people want to read
About the author
Don Pendleton
1,517 books188 followersDon Pendleton was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, December 12, 1927 and died October 23, 1995 in Arizona.
He wrote mystery, action/adventure, science-fiction, crime fiction, suspense, short stories, nonfiction, and was a comic scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, essayist, and metaphysical scholar. He published more than 125 books in his long career, and his books have been published in more than 25 foreign languages with close to two hundred million copies in print throughout the world.
After producing a number of science-fiction and mystery novels, Don launched in 1969 the phenomenal Mack Bolan: The Executioner, which quickly emerged as the original, definitive Action/Adventure series. His successful paperback books inspired a new particularly American literary genre during the early 1970's, and Don became known as "the father of action/adventure."
"Although The Executioner Series is far and away my most significant contribution to world literature, I still do not perceive myself as 'belonging' to any particular literary niche. I am simply a storyteller, an entertainer who hopes to enthrall with visions of the reader's own incipient greatness."
Don Pendleton's original Executioner Series are now in ebooks, published by Open Road Media. 37 of the original novels.
Wikipedia: Don Pendleton
He wrote mystery, action/adventure, science-fiction, crime fiction, suspense, short stories, nonfiction, and was a comic scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, essayist, and metaphysical scholar. He published more than 125 books in his long career, and his books have been published in more than 25 foreign languages with close to two hundred million copies in print throughout the world.
After producing a number of science-fiction and mystery novels, Don launched in 1969 the phenomenal Mack Bolan: The Executioner, which quickly emerged as the original, definitive Action/Adventure series. His successful paperback books inspired a new particularly American literary genre during the early 1970's, and Don became known as "the father of action/adventure."
"Although The Executioner Series is far and away my most significant contribution to world literature, I still do not perceive myself as 'belonging' to any particular literary niche. I am simply a storyteller, an entertainer who hopes to enthrall with visions of the reader's own incipient greatness."
Don Pendleton's original Executioner Series are now in ebooks, published by Open Road Media. 37 of the original novels.
Wikipedia: Don Pendleton
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
January 2, 2025
The first appearance of several characters that will featuring heavily in later stories. Interesting to see Lyons, Gadgets, and Politician in essentially their origin story. The story and action were also top notch as expected for the Executioner series.
April 2, 2024
Not as compelling as the first entry, though still full of action and excitement.
November 30, 2015
So in this volume of the Executioner Mack Bolan recruits several of his Viet Nam buddies and they form a "death squad" to against the mafia. They do some damage, but without revealing too much here let's just say there's a reason Bolan works best alone.
Great action, although unlike the first volume, we see this time the mafia isn't going to go down as easy as Bolan thought. Another great action/adventure novel, and I'll be moving on to the next in the series!
Great action, although unlike the first volume, we see this time the mafia isn't going to go down as easy as Bolan thought. Another great action/adventure novel, and I'll be moving on to the next in the series!
August 8, 2024
This is objectively a better book than the first one, but it’s much less unhinged so not nearly as funny.
In this one there’s a format change; instead of a one man army there’s more of an
A-team/dirty dozen vibe.
In this one Mac Bolan puts together a crack team of Vietnam vets he served with, each one a specialist in his own area, one a sniper, one an explosives guy etc. and each one a dedicated killer.
Together, the “Death Squad” takes on the mafia in L.A.
They take time for careful planning and pull off some well timed, daring maneuvers.
This time it’s a war on two fronts because the police have an executioner task force, dedicated to putting Mac Bolan behind bars.
The book is better written than the first and is still enjoyable but Bolan doesn’t come off like a total psychopath. He doesn’t do any tone deaf philosophizing or contradict his own moral code by having sex with the prostitutes he’s attempting to liberate.
Like the first one, this was strip mined by subsequent books and movies ad nauseum.
April 7, 2018
Mack Bolan rounds up a team of his former Viet Nam colleagues for a "Death Squad" in his continued war with the Mafia in this action-packed second entry in the series. Much of the action takes place while driving the streets of Los Angeles which reminded me of the Fast and Furious movies. The ten members recruited for the Death Squad seemed a bit excessive and it was hard to keep them straight. A couple of them end up being members of the spin-off series "Able Team" along with a rogue cop who is also introduced in this novel, so this book is probably one of the more essential reads in the Executioner extended universe.
September 19, 2007
A lot of people seem to prefer this novel to its predecessor, but I find this unfathomable. While Death Squad was an enjoyable read, it measured up poorly against War Against the Mafia. After the grit and realism of that first novel, its sequel often seems almost cartoonish. The biggest stumbling block to my enjoyment of Death Squad, however, is the speed and ease with which Bolan is able to assemble his squad of fellow Vietnam veterans. Every single ex-serviceman he contacts is eager to join his war, and at no point does even one of them contemplate giving up. After the lengths that Pendleton went to in his first novel to paint a believable picture of a man who is driven to the edge by the deaths of his parents and sister, the introduction of nine new characters, most of whom are barely two-dimensional, seems somewhat ridiculous. Perhaps I would have had an easier time swallowing the action in Death Squad if Bolan had only recruited three or four old war buddies, and we had gotten more of a chance to know them. I liked "Chopper" Fontenelli, "Dead-Eye" Washington, "Pol" Blancanales, and "Gadgets" Schwarz, but didn’t feel as if Pendleton gave himself enough time to properly flesh out their characters. They emerge as dedicated and likeable soldiers, but that’s about it. The remaining members of Bolan’s hastily assembled squad are either total ciphers (like George "Whispering Death" Zitka), or gimmicky caricatures instead of real people. (Did we really need The Cowboy, The Indian, and The Hippy?) Aside from that, however, Death Squad was a fun read. The action is abundant, fast-paced, and well-written, especially the final pair of assaults on the Mafia. I liked the introduction of Carl Lyons’s character, and thought both scenes in which he meets Bolan face-to-face were tense and full of portent. Overall, Death Squad is enjoyable (at least by crummy pulp novels standards), and a nice backbone to the "trilogy" formed by the first three Executioner novels.
January 9, 2020
The second book in the Executioner series is another very solid men's action success. The series, in fact, particularly the original 38 books, are among the best of the men's action books of the seventies.
Vietnam-era sniper Mack Bolan finds that the loansharking machinations of the Mafia have obliterated his family with his father, having found that the sister had been forced to turn tricks to pay the debt, turned a gun on his family and himself. Bolan, allowed sympathy reassignment to the States to watch over his younger
brother, singlehandedly declares war on the Mafia and proves to be a most formidable foe.
In this second novel, the Mafia targets Bolan's old buddies and Bolan decides it's time for reinforcements, putting together a motley crew of Vietnam Vets. What follows is absolute war with convoys, rocket launchers, armored cars, and more. Personally, I found this one to be just a notch below the first book. It simply wasn't as compelling.
Vietnam-era sniper Mack Bolan finds that the loansharking machinations of the Mafia have obliterated his family with his father, having found that the sister had been forced to turn tricks to pay the debt, turned a gun on his family and himself. Bolan, allowed sympathy reassignment to the States to watch over his younger
brother, singlehandedly declares war on the Mafia and proves to be a most formidable foe.
In this second novel, the Mafia targets Bolan's old buddies and Bolan decides it's time for reinforcements, putting together a motley crew of Vietnam Vets. What follows is absolute war with convoys, rocket launchers, armored cars, and more. Personally, I found this one to be just a notch below the first book. It simply wasn't as compelling.
March 18, 2025
I originally read this in the 70s, and it's an action packed throwback to the men's adventure novels of the time.
Sgt. Mack Bolan, just back from Vietnam, has buried most of his family due to the intervention of the East Coast Mafia. He's now moved to California, to deal a blow to that crime family. On the way, he's reunited with an old sniper buddy, and like a snowball, they enlist some other disenfranchised veterans to help in the war. At first, it's only for the spoils of the hunt, but after awhile, the others adopt his moralistic view.
Throw in a well armed enemy force, and a top notch police presence that is geared up to stop him, and it's a thrill ride.
Sgt. Mack Bolan, just back from Vietnam, has buried most of his family due to the intervention of the East Coast Mafia. He's now moved to California, to deal a blow to that crime family. On the way, he's reunited with an old sniper buddy, and like a snowball, they enlist some other disenfranchised veterans to help in the war. At first, it's only for the spoils of the hunt, but after awhile, the others adopt his moralistic view.
Throw in a well armed enemy force, and a top notch police presence that is geared up to stop him, and it's a thrill ride.
November 19, 2016
Death Squad is even better than the series' opening salvo, War Against the Mafia. Suspenseful, action-packed, and meaningful in showing how a band of brothers answer a comrade's call to come together for a common cause.
The story also shows the rootlessness and restlessness of Vietnam vets. I enjoyed the recruitment scenes when Mack Bolan is rounding up old friends and finding so many of them idling and dissipating. These men returned from 'Nam and failed to find a foothold in the world. Pendleton includes a commentary on this situation in a scene where one cop laments how the talents of Bolan and his Death Squad are being wasted: "Think of what they could, with those brains and energies, if they--"
"What could they do?" Lyons asked, quietly interrupting. "I mean, really, what could they do? They became men in a different sort of world--entirely different." (135)
Scholars of the Vietnam War will probably overlook The Executioner novels, which is unfortunate because they boast insights and a valuable perspective on the returning vet.
But lest one think the novel is a tract on the plight of soldiers coming home, it's anything but. The action is unrelenting. Pendleton deftly switches scenes between Bolan and his ten-man Death Squad plotting their attacks, the cops planning their strategy, and the mobsters plotting theirs. For the reader, knowing what all three parties are planning to do heightens the suspense to where it's difficult not to flip a few pages ahead to assure oneself all turns out well.
Pendleton is writing men's adventure fiction, but that doesn't mean it's just mindless violence piled upon carnage and conflagrations. He exceeds expectations for characterization. Sgt. Carl Lyons, for example, is well defined. We see him as the professional cop at work, but also as the harried husband grocery shopping and worried his wife will be angry if he forgot something, and as the loving Dad to his young son Tommy. Pendleton provides the reader just enough to make him three-dimensional and a character worth caring about.
Captain "Big Tim" Braddock, head of the special squash-Bolan Hardcase task force, is drawn a little more sketchily, but we get sufficient glimpses of him to know he's a good guy committed to upholding the law. When Bolan's Blackfoot Indian comrade Tom "Bloodbrother" Loudelk infiltrates Police HQ unbeknownst to the powers that be, Braddock calls him "sir." Bad cop Rickert reveals his toxic prejudice when he calls out his captain, "That's twentieth century, eh? Saying 'sir' to a wetback?"
"That's right," Braddock replied through tight lips. "A citizen is a citizen, and every one of them rates a 'sir' in this building--until they're booked, anyway. And he wasn't a wetback. I'd say Cherokee or Navajo. That's about as citizen as you can get." (107)
Just this short exchange reveals a lot about the characters. That Pendleton does it so deftly and imperceptibly, weaving it seamlessly into the narrative, is a testimony to his talent.
The outcome of the climactic scene was not wholly unexpected, but nonetheless proved moving. And if Bolan's grand escape and deus ex machina appearance stretched credulity at the end, it was just too cool to quibble over. I thoroughly enjoyed this book forst line to last. It sets the bar high for all the Pendleton-penned Bolan adventures to come.
The story also shows the rootlessness and restlessness of Vietnam vets. I enjoyed the recruitment scenes when Mack Bolan is rounding up old friends and finding so many of them idling and dissipating. These men returned from 'Nam and failed to find a foothold in the world. Pendleton includes a commentary on this situation in a scene where one cop laments how the talents of Bolan and his Death Squad are being wasted: "Think of what they could, with those brains and energies, if they--"
"What could they do?" Lyons asked, quietly interrupting. "I mean, really, what could they do? They became men in a different sort of world--entirely different." (135)
Scholars of the Vietnam War will probably overlook The Executioner novels, which is unfortunate because they boast insights and a valuable perspective on the returning vet.
But lest one think the novel is a tract on the plight of soldiers coming home, it's anything but. The action is unrelenting. Pendleton deftly switches scenes between Bolan and his ten-man Death Squad plotting their attacks, the cops planning their strategy, and the mobsters plotting theirs. For the reader, knowing what all three parties are planning to do heightens the suspense to where it's difficult not to flip a few pages ahead to assure oneself all turns out well.
Pendleton is writing men's adventure fiction, but that doesn't mean it's just mindless violence piled upon carnage and conflagrations. He exceeds expectations for characterization. Sgt. Carl Lyons, for example, is well defined. We see him as the professional cop at work, but also as the harried husband grocery shopping and worried his wife will be angry if he forgot something, and as the loving Dad to his young son Tommy. Pendleton provides the reader just enough to make him three-dimensional and a character worth caring about.
Captain "Big Tim" Braddock, head of the special squash-Bolan Hardcase task force, is drawn a little more sketchily, but we get sufficient glimpses of him to know he's a good guy committed to upholding the law. When Bolan's Blackfoot Indian comrade Tom "Bloodbrother" Loudelk infiltrates Police HQ unbeknownst to the powers that be, Braddock calls him "sir." Bad cop Rickert reveals his toxic prejudice when he calls out his captain, "That's twentieth century, eh? Saying 'sir' to a wetback?"
"That's right," Braddock replied through tight lips. "A citizen is a citizen, and every one of them rates a 'sir' in this building--until they're booked, anyway. And he wasn't a wetback. I'd say Cherokee or Navajo. That's about as citizen as you can get." (107)
Just this short exchange reveals a lot about the characters. That Pendleton does it so deftly and imperceptibly, weaving it seamlessly into the narrative, is a testimony to his talent.
The outcome of the climactic scene was not wholly unexpected, but nonetheless proved moving. And if Bolan's grand escape and deus ex machina appearance stretched credulity at the end, it was just too cool to quibble over. I thoroughly enjoyed this book forst line to last. It sets the bar high for all the Pendleton-penned Bolan adventures to come.
November 22, 2009
Mack on the run from the "Mafia" with a $1,000,000 (in 1970 dollars) price on his head puts together his own "team" and takes on the LA mob...and sort of ticks off the police.
Before I went in the army back in the early 70s I read several of these books. Being a shooter/gun enthusiast Pendelton's detailed account of the weapons used (something i'm sure drove some people away from the books) I found very interesting. Aside from that the stories were adrenaline charged violent thrill rides and that's all that young men need sometimes.
If you want a good fast exciting read find the early Executioner books. As a point of interest I read that Marvel acknowledged that "some" inspiration for The Punisher came from The Executioner as did "some" for DCs The Vigilante.
I can only recommend the "early" books in this series written by Pendelton himself (the first 38 I believe though I haven't read all of them. Oh, and #16 was written by someone else during a contract dispute.) The more recent books from after the time Pendelton sold the rights to the series I found, well, very poor. Just me.
Before I went in the army back in the early 70s I read several of these books. Being a shooter/gun enthusiast Pendelton's detailed account of the weapons used (something i'm sure drove some people away from the books) I found very interesting. Aside from that the stories were adrenaline charged violent thrill rides and that's all that young men need sometimes.
If you want a good fast exciting read find the early Executioner books. As a point of interest I read that Marvel acknowledged that "some" inspiration for The Punisher came from The Executioner as did "some" for DCs The Vigilante.
I can only recommend the "early" books in this series written by Pendelton himself (the first 38 I believe though I haven't read all of them. Oh, and #16 was written by someone else during a contract dispute.) The more recent books from after the time Pendelton sold the rights to the series I found, well, very poor. Just me.
December 27, 2021
In the wake of Linda Pendleton's passing, I decided to resume making my way through the original Executioner novels. I'd already read the first (War Against the Mafia), and the second, Death Squad, was waiting for me.
This more resembles the Bolan novels I grew up reading from the early 2000s. I can see now the style that authors such as my mentor Doug Wojtowicz, Chuck Rogers, and the late Michael Newton emulated in their works. As such, this indirectly molded my own work, as I grew up reading their work and learning the craft under Doug's tutelage.
In the wake of Bolan's opening salvo in Massachusetts, he heads to Los Angeles, determined to take the fight to the West Coast families. This time, he's not acting alone. He's assembled nine other men with whom he served in Vietnam, and has promised them cash and a righteous cause if they join him. Together, they become the Death Squad, and they bring a hell of a blitz to the Mafia.
I was glad to see the origins of what would eventually become Able Team (Rosario "Politician" Blancanales, Herman "Gadgets" Schwarz, and Carl "Ironman" Lyons) and enjoyed Bolan's interactions with the Death Squad. While we didn't get to learn a whole bunch about them in the novel's short confines, the characterization that was there was excellent. And, of course, watching Bolan and his compatriots dole out the harshness to the Mob is always a pleasure to read.
I'd say while this is clearly now a period piece, it does withstand the test of time as far as action and readability. There is very little difference between this and modern pulp action tales. Don Pendleton had a gift for this kind of tale and I look forward to reading the remainder of the War Against the Mafia saga.
This more resembles the Bolan novels I grew up reading from the early 2000s. I can see now the style that authors such as my mentor Doug Wojtowicz, Chuck Rogers, and the late Michael Newton emulated in their works. As such, this indirectly molded my own work, as I grew up reading their work and learning the craft under Doug's tutelage.
In the wake of Bolan's opening salvo in Massachusetts, he heads to Los Angeles, determined to take the fight to the West Coast families. This time, he's not acting alone. He's assembled nine other men with whom he served in Vietnam, and has promised them cash and a righteous cause if they join him. Together, they become the Death Squad, and they bring a hell of a blitz to the Mafia.
I was glad to see the origins of what would eventually become Able Team (Rosario "Politician" Blancanales, Herman "Gadgets" Schwarz, and Carl "Ironman" Lyons) and enjoyed Bolan's interactions with the Death Squad. While we didn't get to learn a whole bunch about them in the novel's short confines, the characterization that was there was excellent. And, of course, watching Bolan and his compatriots dole out the harshness to the Mob is always a pleasure to read.
I'd say while this is clearly now a period piece, it does withstand the test of time as far as action and readability. There is very little difference between this and modern pulp action tales. Don Pendleton had a gift for this kind of tale and I look forward to reading the remainder of the War Against the Mafia saga.
August 10, 2021
Bolan assembles the Death Squad, a sort of Avengers group if the Avengers killed lots of Italians instead of Thanos.
Lots of fun, bloody action.
Lots of fun, bloody action.
July 7, 2024
This is based as fuck.
Just a bunch of bros teaming up to take on LAs crime wave.
Read it.
Just a bunch of bros teaming up to take on LAs crime wave.
Read it.
April 9, 2024
Super fun, quick read. Like a mature GI Joe episode.
March 1, 2017
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.75 of 5
I continue to be surprised by this series. I had expected that each book in the Executioner series would be a unique story of Mack Bolan taking on the mob. It is, sort of, but it's also a much more sequential book, meaning it's very helpful to have read the first in the series to really pick up on what's going on.
Mack Bolan is a Vietnam war hero. He's one of the best sniper's in the military. He is able to detach himself from the human part of his emotions when killing a human target. But Mack has to return to the United States to bury members of his family who died as a result of actions taken by the mob. Bolan then goes on a one-man-army crusade to take on the mob.
Well...except that it's not entirely a one-man army. In this book Bolan recruits a number of vets, all who have had trouble readjusting to life in the United States in a time when Vietnam vets aren't particularly welcomed by society. Bolan, also known as The Executioner, puts together his own "Death Squad" to take on some major mob targets. Those targets are in the Los Angeles area. The Los Angeles police, aware of Bolan and his skills, prepares a special unit devoted just to the capture or otherwise stopping of The Executioner, learning, only a little too late, of all the other members of the squad who are now helping Bolan.
What makes The Executioner a little different from the 'average' serial killer, is that he works on a very special, moral code meaning that only the 'bad' guys get killed and good cops are to be avoided at all costs.
As one might expect from a book about an 'Executioner' - there is plenty of violence, but surprisingly very little gore. In today's literary world of flesh-dripping zombies and blood-sucking vampires, gore is pretty common. But this book is about a man with a strong morality on the one hand and a strong drive to right wrongs even if it means stepping over the morality line. Military training.
Author Don Pendleton does hit the reader over the head with this moral code in order to drive the point home that Bolan is a nice guy, even though he's killing people.
There is not quite as much non-stop action in this volume because we're setting up a whole crew of new people (those on Bolan's side, as well as the cops trying to stop him) in a new location. But once the action gets rolling it's fast and furious, as one expects from this sort of pulp action story.
I'm enjoying this series much more than I anticipated and it's easy to see why it has had such longevity.
Looking for a good book? If you are looking for some thrilling action with a strong central character but want the read to be quick and easy, then Death Squad, by Don Pendleton is just the ticket. But be warned ... you'll probably get hooked on the whole series.
I continue to be surprised by this series. I had expected that each book in the Executioner series would be a unique story of Mack Bolan taking on the mob. It is, sort of, but it's also a much more sequential book, meaning it's very helpful to have read the first in the series to really pick up on what's going on.
Mack Bolan is a Vietnam war hero. He's one of the best sniper's in the military. He is able to detach himself from the human part of his emotions when killing a human target. But Mack has to return to the United States to bury members of his family who died as a result of actions taken by the mob. Bolan then goes on a one-man-army crusade to take on the mob.
Well...except that it's not entirely a one-man army. In this book Bolan recruits a number of vets, all who have had trouble readjusting to life in the United States in a time when Vietnam vets aren't particularly welcomed by society. Bolan, also known as The Executioner, puts together his own "Death Squad" to take on some major mob targets. Those targets are in the Los Angeles area. The Los Angeles police, aware of Bolan and his skills, prepares a special unit devoted just to the capture or otherwise stopping of The Executioner, learning, only a little too late, of all the other members of the squad who are now helping Bolan.
What makes The Executioner a little different from the 'average' serial killer, is that he works on a very special, moral code meaning that only the 'bad' guys get killed and good cops are to be avoided at all costs.
As one might expect from a book about an 'Executioner' - there is plenty of violence, but surprisingly very little gore. In today's literary world of flesh-dripping zombies and blood-sucking vampires, gore is pretty common. But this book is about a man with a strong morality on the one hand and a strong drive to right wrongs even if it means stepping over the morality line. Military training.
Author Don Pendleton does hit the reader over the head with this moral code in order to drive the point home that Bolan is a nice guy, even though he's killing people.
There is not quite as much non-stop action in this volume because we're setting up a whole crew of new people (those on Bolan's side, as well as the cops trying to stop him) in a new location. But once the action gets rolling it's fast and furious, as one expects from this sort of pulp action story.
I'm enjoying this series much more than I anticipated and it's easy to see why it has had such longevity.
Looking for a good book? If you are looking for some thrilling action with a strong central character but want the read to be quick and easy, then Death Squad, by Don Pendleton is just the ticket. But be warned ... you'll probably get hooked on the whole series.
April 18, 2021
Pendleton still refining the formula. Childhood memories tell me the third one is better, so we'll see.
May 11, 2023
Straightforward, but entertaining shoot-em-up.
A squad of Vietnam vets, specialists, support Mac Bolan's war against the mafia. Heavy weapons come into it.
Bolan faces the mafia and the cops, but his troops have standing orders to never raise their guns against a cop, even if it means getting caught. So planning is necessary, to hit and get away, when the cops have a special division set up, just for him and dragnets the moment the firefight starts. And, in the end, they have to charge in without planning...
Everything starts out smooth, but the wheels come off early.
A squad of Vietnam vets, specialists, support Mac Bolan's war against the mafia. Heavy weapons come into it.
Bolan faces the mafia and the cops, but his troops have standing orders to never raise their guns against a cop, even if it means getting caught. So planning is necessary, to hit and get away, when the cops have a special division set up, just for him and dragnets the moment the firefight starts. And, in the end, they have to charge in without planning...
Everything starts out smooth, but the wheels come off early.
June 1, 2012
i got hooked on this series back in the 80's I read all the way up to 100 or more then stoped.And now Im starting over. I liked it then and I like it know.A lot of action which I like in books.They tend to keep you on edge and you just don't want to put the book down you just want to what will happen next.
March 28, 2016
An excellent men's adventure series from the 60s, 70's and 80's. The first 38 books are outstanding but then the series is taken over by a bunch of new writers, writing under the name of the original creator and they take the series into a new direction I did not care for. The first 38 books are very recommended
November 1, 2020
Great read. 70s genre men's action series. If you are politically correct you should probably move on. This is 70s adventure. Just a fun read if you don't take it to seriously. I love the whole series.
December 11, 2023
The 2nd Executioner novel by Don Pendleton picks up right after the 1st, with vigilante Mafia hunter (there's a job title!) Mack Bolan moving westward, to sunny California, where he plans to recruit some of his old Vietnam buddies to continue his personal war.
And this one is before Pendleton found a more coherent tone for the series, and it shows, especially after the absolute clinic in pulp storytelling that the first book showcased.
His strengths are still in his easygoing dialog, casual writing style, and rapid pace. But his weaknesses are more apparent here, particularly a large portion of the book dedicated to police procedure, as a new squad, the Hardcase squad, is created specifically to hunt down Mack Bolan. Those scenes and some extended and poorly paced vehicle chase scenes wrecked the flow for this reader. These sections are an anchor around what should be a breezy action/crime thriller, and despite the solid characters, they left me quite frustrated.
And it's a shame that these scenes occupy so much of the novel's wordcount, because the good bits are, as expected, dang good!
Each member of Bolan's elite "Death Squad" is introduced in a single chapter and he uses quick and convenient character traits so that we won't forget any of them, imbuing each with a unique voice and never overcrowding the narrative. We also get the introduction of Carl Lyons, the tough young cop who begins, like many allies, to gain a grudging admiration and respect for Bolan. These characters, and the others who share the story, are well-written and interesting.
Only the villains get the short end of the stick here, with middling detail provided to Julian DiGeorge, the next Don on Bolan's hit parade. A bit more on him and his lieutenants would have made the less frequent action sequences have more impact.
Fortunately, the ending is another firestorm, with a ludicrous amount of carnage and a fully cinematic conclusion that feels satisfying, even with the open-ended nature of this one.
Worth reading? Sure, heck, absolutely. But a masterclass like the first? No, not quite.
And this one is before Pendleton found a more coherent tone for the series, and it shows, especially after the absolute clinic in pulp storytelling that the first book showcased.
His strengths are still in his easygoing dialog, casual writing style, and rapid pace. But his weaknesses are more apparent here, particularly a large portion of the book dedicated to police procedure, as a new squad, the Hardcase squad, is created specifically to hunt down Mack Bolan. Those scenes and some extended and poorly paced vehicle chase scenes wrecked the flow for this reader. These sections are an anchor around what should be a breezy action/crime thriller, and despite the solid characters, they left me quite frustrated.
And it's a shame that these scenes occupy so much of the novel's wordcount, because the good bits are, as expected, dang good!
Each member of Bolan's elite "Death Squad" is introduced in a single chapter and he uses quick and convenient character traits so that we won't forget any of them, imbuing each with a unique voice and never overcrowding the narrative. We also get the introduction of Carl Lyons, the tough young cop who begins, like many allies, to gain a grudging admiration and respect for Bolan. These characters, and the others who share the story, are well-written and interesting.
Only the villains get the short end of the stick here, with middling detail provided to Julian DiGeorge, the next Don on Bolan's hit parade. A bit more on him and his lieutenants would have made the less frequent action sequences have more impact.
Fortunately, the ending is another firestorm, with a ludicrous amount of carnage and a fully cinematic conclusion that feels satisfying, even with the open-ended nature of this one.
Worth reading? Sure, heck, absolutely. But a masterclass like the first? No, not quite.
December 13, 2020
"Ten of us. That’s all. Tight, effective, mobile - and every man a specialist. At least two more sharpshooters. Two scouts, as good as you. Boom-Boom or an equal. Two heavy-weapons men. A good technician. That’s it."
“Ten isn’t very many,” Zitka complained.
“It’s enough. I don’t want a damn army. A squad. A death squad, that’s it..."
Sergeant Bolan was a sharpshooter, a nerveless perfectionist, and a man who could certainly command himself. He quickly became the most renowned sniper of the combat zones. His many kills and daring methodology had earned for him the unofficial title of The Executioner. And then Mack Bolan had been summoned home on an emergency furlough to bury his father, his mother, and his teenage sister—victims of violent death. Bolan learned that the international crime syndicate known as the Mafia had indirectly figured into the tragedies.
Bolan’s grief turned to white-hot fury, and he declared all-out warfare on the local Mafia entrenchments of his hometown, the Eastern city of Pittsfield. Unhampered by the usual restrictions imposed on legal authorities, Bolan carried jungle-warfare concepts directly to the enemy, and The Executioner’s Battle of Pittsfield became an American legend overnight....But he was definitely outside the law. Though many officials secretly applauded the executioner’s actions, he was officially charged with multiple counts of murder, arson, intimidation, and miscellaneous mayhem. And to the executioner’s certain knowledge, he had found no victory at Pittsfield. He had become a man marked for death, sought by every law-enforcement agency in the nation and with every resource of the worldwide Mafia organization geared to his destruction. Bolan left Pittsfield...
Read this book on Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/244680514
“Ten isn’t very many,” Zitka complained.
“It’s enough. I don’t want a damn army. A squad. A death squad, that’s it..."
Sergeant Bolan was a sharpshooter, a nerveless perfectionist, and a man who could certainly command himself. He quickly became the most renowned sniper of the combat zones. His many kills and daring methodology had earned for him the unofficial title of The Executioner. And then Mack Bolan had been summoned home on an emergency furlough to bury his father, his mother, and his teenage sister—victims of violent death. Bolan learned that the international crime syndicate known as the Mafia had indirectly figured into the tragedies.
Bolan’s grief turned to white-hot fury, and he declared all-out warfare on the local Mafia entrenchments of his hometown, the Eastern city of Pittsfield. Unhampered by the usual restrictions imposed on legal authorities, Bolan carried jungle-warfare concepts directly to the enemy, and The Executioner’s Battle of Pittsfield became an American legend overnight....But he was definitely outside the law. Though many officials secretly applauded the executioner’s actions, he was officially charged with multiple counts of murder, arson, intimidation, and miscellaneous mayhem. And to the executioner’s certain knowledge, he had found no victory at Pittsfield. He had become a man marked for death, sought by every law-enforcement agency in the nation and with every resource of the worldwide Mafia organization geared to his destruction. Bolan left Pittsfield...
Read this book on Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/244680514
December 10, 2020
Death Squad the second book in the Executioner series. Mack Bolan continues his crusade against the mob. This time he heads to Los Angeles and teams up with former comrades from his time in Vietnam. This new “Death Squad” takes Bolan’s war directly to the mob. In this book, the mafia is better prepared and knows that an attack will happen.
This book was quite different from the first one, with a lot more characters thrown in. There are about 10 members of the Death Squad. They are different enough that I could tell them apart, but the book doesn’t have enough space to give every character a memorable moment. I just sometimes forgot about some of them until later in the book. Along with the “Death Squad” there are a couple of police officers who head an anti-Bolen task force that play a critical role in the book. One of them will continue to play an active role in the Executioner series and later Able Team series of books. It makes sense that the police and government would want to prevent Bolen’s crusade from getting out of hand and Pendleton really does a good job making them all standout. This also creates a moral question for Bolen in how far will he go? Pendleton does a good job of taking us through Bolan’s thinking about who to target and how to deal with the police that are also trying to get him.
By the end of the book, I was a bit let down as things do not go very well. There are a lot of loose ends that means the story is not fully complete. Despite the ending, the book was once again action-packed with lots of explosions and dead bodies. I look forward to reading about Bolan’s continued war.
This book was quite different from the first one, with a lot more characters thrown in. There are about 10 members of the Death Squad. They are different enough that I could tell them apart, but the book doesn’t have enough space to give every character a memorable moment. I just sometimes forgot about some of them until later in the book. Along with the “Death Squad” there are a couple of police officers who head an anti-Bolen task force that play a critical role in the book. One of them will continue to play an active role in the Executioner series and later Able Team series of books. It makes sense that the police and government would want to prevent Bolen’s crusade from getting out of hand and Pendleton really does a good job making them all standout. This also creates a moral question for Bolen in how far will he go? Pendleton does a good job of taking us through Bolan’s thinking about who to target and how to deal with the police that are also trying to get him.
By the end of the book, I was a bit let down as things do not go very well. There are a lot of loose ends that means the story is not fully complete. Despite the ending, the book was once again action-packed with lots of explosions and dead bodies. I look forward to reading about Bolan’s continued war.
September 6, 2022
The executioner dishing out death and destruction he claims he is not a judge, I am their judgement - I am their executioner. Bolan gets a team together of 10 men, everyone a specialist; sharpshooters, scouts, heavy weapons, technicians. Not a whole damn army but good enough. A fucking death squad baby. There first run goes relatively successfully with a mob leader's house destroyed, money stolen and mob leader humiliated, stripped naked and wired to a bunch of fake grenades. The police see Bolan as a criminal but takes great lengths in protecting innocent people (unlike the death merchant, great series). People are identifying with his campaign of annihilation of the mob. Bolan is a relentless killer, judge, jury and exercutioner. The mob guys have a meeting to discuss Bolan, the death squad appear, a sniper bullet flies through the air, crimson storm, liquid, solids spray the air. In the last mission the death squad becomes the dead squad, all gone except Bolan. Bolan will ride a porsche off a cliff, survive and with the help of a cop will escape to live another day. Prefer Bolan as the lone wolf. He can command a group well but I want Bolan and only Bolan.
February 7, 2025
I've read this series completely out of order, which tends not to matter too much for these, but it's always nice to keep the context for each book in mind to some extent. This book takes an angle that tends not to be strip-mined by later entries in the series. Although Bolan is always teaming up with old friends, associates, and like-minded randos, he seldom leads a team like this (except possibly in the Stony Man spin off series? I don't know, I haven't read those). This immediate evolution of the series is interesting, but it's reasonable to see why later writers shied away from this structure. The books are just too short to introduce and flesh out a whole team of characters. They're barely long enough to flesh out Bolan in between the bullets' "spangs" and the dull roar of incendiaries.
I think this series would have made a good trilogy. Don't get me wrong, I've read a bunch of these at this point, and there are later entries that I really enjoyed, but the first three all have completely different energies without the overlapping and repeating beats which quickly defined the subsequent Pendleton-written books, and then engulfed the ghost-written books.
I think this series would have made a good trilogy. Don't get me wrong, I've read a bunch of these at this point, and there are later entries that I really enjoyed, but the first three all have completely different energies without the overlapping and repeating beats which quickly defined the subsequent Pendleton-written books, and then engulfed the ghost-written books.
April 28, 2018
3.5 stars out of 5
I don't like the sequal to War against the mafia as much as I did that one. Mainly because, in Death Squad, the idea is Mack needs help in his one man War so he recruits old Nam' buddies to his cause. Which would be fine if it was only a few, but its like 10 people.. and they all get a POV. As such, Mack has to take a back seat. Plus you have the cop portion, corrupt cops as well this time around. its where the book being so short hurts. Cause you can't give so many characters equal time.
First part of the book, where Mack rescues a buddy from thugs while a swinger party is going on is pretty fun. Some of the Death Squad characters are really intriguing but don't get used to most of them being around going forward.
Don's writing is actually improved a bit and the action is more polished if a bit less reckless than the first.
Another plus of the book is the lack of sex scenes... I don't mind them but it also halts the plot a bit which would have made this book even worse.
Still a solid read.
I don't like the sequal to War against the mafia as much as I did that one. Mainly because, in Death Squad, the idea is Mack needs help in his one man War so he recruits old Nam' buddies to his cause. Which would be fine if it was only a few, but its like 10 people.. and they all get a POV. As such, Mack has to take a back seat. Plus you have the cop portion, corrupt cops as well this time around. its where the book being so short hurts. Cause you can't give so many characters equal time.
First part of the book, where Mack rescues a buddy from thugs while a swinger party is going on is pretty fun. Some of the Death Squad characters are really intriguing but don't get used to most of them being around going forward.
Don's writing is actually improved a bit and the action is more polished if a bit less reckless than the first.
Another plus of the book is the lack of sex scenes... I don't mind them but it also halts the plot a bit which would have made this book even worse.
Still a solid read.
March 10, 2022
I made it about halfway through this. It's so frustrating b/c I really enjoyed the first book, but this one ... blah. There's literally about 5 pages devoted to summing up the last book (thankfully it's a little ways in, so it feels less like an exposition dump ... kind of ...), which would be forgivable, BUT then the majority of the book seems to be both sides (cops & Bolan's DEATH SQUAD) talking about how their strategy went and what the weaknesses were. Meanwhile, the action scenes, seemingly the HEART of a series like this, are often told only through flashback or using a lot of passive voice. It's ... it's certainly a choice, and maybe if the characters were strong enough and the rest of the book was interesting on its own, it could work, but as it is ... it's an action book with very little action. Do the Death Squad all get killed? Do they continue as a team into later books? I don't know and I don't care. Sigh.
March 30, 2024
If you have read three Executioner novels, then in a very real way, you've read them all. There just isn't that much variation between them. Mack Bolan comes into an area, picks his target (originally all of them had to do with organized crime), and then he starts killing off the bad guys in a cinematic blood fest. Often, but not always, there is a beautiful woman involved. It's a formula that provides some easy escapism. This is the second book in the series and it's interesting to read because the novels were still fresh when it was written, and the formulas were still being established. This time, Bolan puts together a team of ex-Vietnam veterans to help him in his crusade to wipe out the mafia. There's a lot of fun, and because he has a team, it is quite possible that many will not survive. Perhaps the best part is his interactions with one of the cops who is supposed to bring him in.
June 13, 2020
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4
Death Squad sees Bolan still taking out his revenge on the mafia, only this time he’s taking his vengeance to L.A., and he’s bringing along some friends.
While this second book in Pendleton’s series reads similar to the first, it’s unfortunately not as good. The action is still there, the plot is still non stop, Bolan is still an unkillable killing machine, but the addition of 9 new teammates made for confusing reading. Unlike War Against the Mafia where Mack singlehandedly mowed down countless mafiosi, here he has to use an entire team to do it. Pendleton’s penchant for violence and blowing up stuff is still on wonderful display however his lack of being able to come up with distinctive, unique characters is also pretty apparent.
Still The Executioner series is proving to be a ton of fun. Can’t complain yet.
Death Squad sees Bolan still taking out his revenge on the mafia, only this time he’s taking his vengeance to L.A., and he’s bringing along some friends.
While this second book in Pendleton’s series reads similar to the first, it’s unfortunately not as good. The action is still there, the plot is still non stop, Bolan is still an unkillable killing machine, but the addition of 9 new teammates made for confusing reading. Unlike War Against the Mafia where Mack singlehandedly mowed down countless mafiosi, here he has to use an entire team to do it. Pendleton’s penchant for violence and blowing up stuff is still on wonderful display however his lack of being able to come up with distinctive, unique characters is also pretty apparent.
Still The Executioner series is proving to be a ton of fun. Can’t complain yet.
January 5, 2021
Death Squad This book is now in audio. Narrated by Shawn Compton, who does an awesome job, this book and series is unapologetically true to the original. The world was different back then. I'd forgotten the outcome of this book. It left me with all the feels. The final roll call, team. Yeah...
Anyway, Bolan is Bolan. He has friends. They want to help because civilian life ain't what they remember. This time, they take on the LA mob and the LA cops. It's full of blood and glory and action and I loved it. These books are not for everyone but they totally work for me.
Anyway, Bolan is Bolan. He has friends. They want to help because civilian life ain't what they remember. This time, they take on the LA mob and the LA cops. It's full of blood and glory and action and I loved it. These books are not for everyone but they totally work for me.
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