Boston Blitz

The Executioner #12

by Don Pendleton

When his brother is kidnapped, the Executioner goes berserk When the Pittsfield Mafia destroyed Mack Bolan’s family, the only survivor was his brother Johnny—a wide-eyed teen not prepared for life on the front lines of a war against the mob. Before he began his assault on organized crime, Mack sent Johnny into hiding along with Mack’s fiancée, Val. Now they’ve been kidnapped by an enterprising thug who thinks he can use the Executioner’s family against him. The Boston mob will pay for his mistake.   The city’s Mafia has splintered into factions, and Bolan is about to blow them wide open. He starts by marching into a few mob hangouts, killing the man in charge and demanding his brother back. When he learns that Johnny and Val might be dead, he loses it completely. When he’s being cautious, the Executioner is the deadliest man in America. Angry, he’s more trouble than an atomic bomb. Boston Blitz is the 12th book in the Executioner series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Genres: Action, Thriller, Adventure, Fiction, Suspense, Pulp

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Don 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

Reviews

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not since he first began his crusade against the mafia has Bolan’s war been so personal, but now his brother and lover have been snatched by the mob and he will burn Boston down in fire, bullets, and blood to get them back.

[Christian D. D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old-school Bolan/Pendleton classic

One of Don Pendleton's classic novels of Mack Bolan's (AKA The Executioner) war against the Mafia. A nostalgic throwback to 1970s action-adventure novels, one that I missed during my initial Bolan fanboy phase of 1988.

RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS (and noteworthy passages):

--"Latest personal side-arm, described as 'a big silver hawgleg' by official witness has been identified as a .44 caliber autoloader, 'the .44 AutoMag.' This latter weapon exhibits impressive accuracy at extremely long ranges and **should be considered equivalent in every respect to a big-game rifle**." Aahh, Mr. Pendleton (RIP), gotta love your ballistic hyperbole!

--So then, Mack Bolan was already 30 y/o (or in his late 20s) by the time he enlisted for Vietnam?!?! That's well above the average age of 19 for an American soldier serving in Nam.

--Wait a minute, Bolan also served in the Korean War?!?! This is the first I've read about this!!

Chapter 4:
--Um, *which* specific "chattergun?" Initially the author only mentions Bolan's pistols (Beretta and AutoMag) and mortar.

Beginning of Chapter 5:
"The scene inside those walls was straight out of War and Peace—with all the peace removed." Haha, nicely played, Don.

Chapter 6:
--"Bob Wilson, a homicide lieutenant from Miami." Any relation to a real-life Lieutenant B. Wilson of Anaheim PD?!?! (inside joke)

Chapter (??)
--"Bolan shook away the hopeless feeling and took a quick shower, shocking himself alive with alternating hot and cold water," hey, just like 007 in the Ian Fleming novels.

CENTRAL CASTING:
Josh Saviano as Books Figarone, Alan Arkin as Harold the Skipper Sicilia, Harris Yulin as Miami PD Lieutenant Wilson, George Kennedy as LAPD Capt Braddock, Willem Dafoe as Boston PD Inspector Trantham, Gianni Russo as Marty Corsicana, Joe Mantegna (or Johnny Depp?) as Leo Turrin, Andy Garcia as Hal Brognola

[Cathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly entertaining read. Written in a stripped down “noir” style that works. Not over written. Storytelling is also tight: it clips along nicely, and despite the inevitability of the plot one still wants to see how everything goes down. Recommended.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered this series together with its companion book, Stony Man, in my local Kmart about 15 years ago. Most of them blur together. They are a lot of action just barely held together by the barest pretense of a plot. In some ways it’s like watching a Scooby Doo episode—you know exactly how the story is going to go before you ever start watching. The background is that Mack Bolan’s family has been murdered and he’s decided to wipe out Organized Crime as an act of vengeance. So in the early books like this one he attacks the organized crime in a city and pretty much kills everybody. In this particular novel the author added to the basic plot by having the mafia have gotten their hands on Bolan’s younger brother and his ex-girlfriend. So there’s not much to the novels, but if you just want some senseless violence without a lot of thinking required, this series is fun.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in '72, we find Bolan returning from adventures on the West Coast. His brother Johnny and former love, Val, have been abducted by the local Mafia. Sarge only knows one way for releasing them - hit the enemy enough that the cost becomes too high to keep them, or hurt them.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sgt finds his brother and the gal he left behind kidnapped as pawns in the mafias chess game.

[Curtis]

Coming on the heals of what might be my least favorite in the series so far, Boston Blitz is easily the page-turniest of them all. The immediacy of the action is visceral and I read the whole thing in just 3 sittings (the third being the final 107 pages of the book).

Leo Turrin is back, and it was fun to see Capt. Braddock (books 2 and 3) and Lt. Wilson (book 4) briefly return as well. I also liked how it continued the theme introduced in book 10 (I think) of corruption and complicity in government and high society. Apparently Bolan is traveling to Washington, D.C. next, so that should be interesting.

I'll be the broken record and say the weakest part for me was the end, which wraps up a bit too quickly. Not as egregious as other episodes, but I think just 10 more pages could have made for an almost perfect Bolan book. The climax in Boston Commons was a bit of a letdown; Bolan defeats the bad guys, escapes their trap, and avoids the cops without a problem ("super easy, barely an inconvenience").

Another minor annoyance was the prevalence of what I'll call Bolan propaganda in the prose. Pendleton uses other characters with "different" points of view on Bolan's use of violence to justify that violence by having them come around to Bolan's way of seeing things. The cop who believes in upholding the law thinks Bolan's okay, so he must be okay. The pacifist who believes in non-violence thinks Bolan's okay, so he must be okay. It's a minor issue, it's just so obvious and inelegant that it breaks the spell of the story for me.

All in all, I'll put this one up there with my favorites in the series. Certainly one of the most readable.

[Jon Koebrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pure 1970s testosterone vengeance action.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Bolan Classic

More introspection and less action in this one, the action is short and sweet when it does happen. I remembered only a small bit from the first time I read it in the 70s, does read differently 45 years later which is no surprise.
Still enjoyable, not fancy just a quick summer read
man vs the mob in Boston.
If you are new to the series I would not start with this one, assuming you are not starting with the first one I would still try to grab a book in the 1st five

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great episode in the Executioner saga. In this one he is going out to find his kidnapped woman and kid brother and he will get them alive or burn all of the mob's resources around Boston to the ground. Pendleton is a great action writer and he gives Bolan a solid background.

Highly recommended, Pendleton always doea greaf keeping you informed with what you need to know so any book can be a stand-alone. Though if you are going to read all the Pendleton ones anyway then read them in order there is a overall arc.

[Ray Bliss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out as a really good book. But as it wound down to the end, I felt that Don was like, "Ok I've met my quota of words" and he just wrapped it up in like 2 pages that didn't even make that much sense. The ending was seriously a bit of a let down after all the great story and action leading up to it. If you like Mac "The Bastard" Bolan and are a fan of Don Pendleton, this is a book you will want to read.

[Davidus1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I've enjoyed this entire series and the are great books for the right reader.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is meant to show Mack Bolan unleashed. The mafia has gone too far and Mack is going to make them pay. This book is a simple way for Pendleton to mix up the story somewhat with something different. Mack’s brother Johnny and girlfriend Val have been existing in this universe for a while, but always off alone someplace safe.

In the last book, California Hit, Bolan learns from Leo Turrin (his source inside the mafia) that Johnny and Val have gone missing. He immediately gets in a car or plane (I can’t remember if it says how he gets there) and is in Boston the next the day.

Bolan has no leads on where to look. This book’s opening action scene is a bit different from what we have seen previously. It starts out with Bolan going after well-known lower mobsters. Pendleton gives us a look at an illegal gambling billiard hall. The dark clad figure of Bolan comes in and murders just about every mobster without remorse and in front of witnesses. He leaves one alive to herald that Bolan has arrived in town. This shows us a more remorseless Bolan that doesn't plan his attack. He is just pure killing machine. The best part of this change of tactics is that we see the fear from the mafia's point of view. They are frightened and want Johnny and Val returned as well so Bolan will leave town.

One of the best action scenes occurs early on. The mafia have gathered together to have a meeting (they really need to start doing more conference calls) and discover that Bolan has already been in the building. They try to escape and we once again see Bolan as pure killing machine. Great stuff.

If there is one major villain in this book, it is Al 88. He is really built up as a major villain, but more in line with Sir Edward from Caribbean Kill and Mr. King from California Hit in that he is a well-known figure in the Executioner world that is secretly a mafia kingpin. However, not too much of his background is really elaborated on. His wife becomes more a character in this book as Bolan confronts her about her husband’s activities. She ends up playing a key role in the climax of the book.

With Sir Edward, Mr. King, and now Al 88, I wonder if Pendleton is hinting at another layer in the mafia that includes politicians and well-known public figures. It may be that things will go so high that Bolan may make enemies at another level altogether. These people would be no match for Bolan in a fight, but could send a large task force after him of innocent soldiers or police that Bolan will be reluctant to kill. I will have to see if this the direction he is going to go. At one point Turrin makes the point that even Hal Brognola (the ever present straight-laced Government official that is always tracking Bolan) is unsettled when investigating Al 88’s reach and power.

There are many tense moments throughout the book. All is resolved in the final chapter of the book that occurs on the Boston Commons. All our major characters merge together for a final standoff. Pendleton writes the whole thing in one chapter. A lot happens and it happens very quickly. I found it to be a very satisfying ending but wish Pendleton expanded more upon it and gave this climax more space to breathe.

I enjoyed this book as it mixed up the Executioner formula that Pendleton had been using for the past few books. It felt like a more personal story for Bolan. The stakes were higher. The bloodbath bloodier. He had to really think about his next move and calculated that a blitz upon the mafia would turn other mobsters against the kidnapper, which is quite a gutsy gamble. It also presents a very stripped-down Bolan. He is just pure rage and will take out even the lowliest gambling shark if he is pushed to the brink.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is meant to show Mack Bolan unleashed. The mafia has gone too far and Mack is going to make them pay. This book is a simple way for Pendleton to mix up the story somewhat with something different. Mack’s brother Johnny and girlfriend Val have been existing in this universe for a while, but always off alone someplace safe.

In the last book, California Hit, Bolan learns from Leo Turrin (his source inside the mafia) that Johnny and Val have gone missing. He immediately gets in a car or plane (I can’t remember if it says how he gets there) and is in Boston the next the day.

Bolan has no leads on where to look. This book’s opening action scene is a bit different from what we have seen previously. It starts out with Bolan going after well-known lower mobsters. Pendleton gives us a look at an illegal gambling billiard hall. The dark clad figure of Bolan comes in and murders just about every mobster without remorse and in front of witnesses. He leaves one alive to herald that Bolan has arrived in town. This shows us a more remorseless Bolan that doesn't plan his attack. He is just pure killing machine. The best part of this change of tactics is that we see the fear from the mafia's point of view. They are frightened and want Johnny and Val returned as well so Bolan will leave town.

One of the best action scenes occurs early on. The mafia have gathered together to have a meeting (they really need to start doing more conference calls) and discover that Bolan has already been in the building. They try to escape and we once again see Bolan as pure killing machine. Great stuff.

If there is one major villain in this book, it is Al 88. He is really built up as a major villain, but more in line with Sir Edward from Caribbean Kill and Mr. King from California Hit in that he is a well-known figure in the Executioner world that is secretly a mafia kingpin. However, not too much of his background is really elaborated on. His wife becomes more a character in this book as Bolan confronts her about her husband’s activities. She ends up playing a key role in the climax of the book.

With Sir Edward, Mr. King, and now Al 88, I wonder if Pendleton is hinting at another layer in the mafia that includes politicians and well-known public figures. It may be that things will go so high that Bolan may make enemies at another level altogether. These people would be no match for Bolan in a fight, but could send a large task force after him of innocent soldiers or police that Bolan will be reluctant to kill. I will have to see if this the direction he is going to go. At one point Turrin makes the point that even Hal Brognola (the ever present straight-laced Government official that is always tracking Bolan) is unsettled when investigating Al 88’s reach and power.

There are many tense moments throughout the book. All is resolved in the final chapter of the book that occurs on the Boston Commons. All our major characters merge together for a final standoff. Pendleton writes the whole thing in one chapter. A lot happens and it happens very quickly. I found it to be a very satisfying ending but wish Pendleton expanded more upon it and gave this climax more space to breathe.

I enjoyed this book as it mixed up the Executioner formula that Pendleton had been using for the past few books. It felt like a more personal story for Bolan. The stakes were higher. The bloodbath bloodier. He had to really think about his next move and calculated that a blitz upon the mafia would turn other mobsters against the kidnapper, which is quite a gutsy gamble. It also presents a very stripped-down Bolan. He is just pure rage and will take out even the lowliest gambling shark if he is pushed to the brink.

[Joe Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

We've seen The Executioner angry, particularly in Battle Mask and Nightmare in New York, but in Boston Blitz, author Don Pendleton finally unleashes the fury of Mack Bolan, the man. And it is quite possibly my favorite in the series.

Taking up right where the last book left off, Mack Bolan, one-man-army, becomes a one-man-wrecking crew when he goes to Boston to shake the city down after his little brother Johnny and his former lover Val disappear. He starts off with multiple homicides to rattle the mob less than a couple hours after landing and he doesn't stop there, with hit-after-hit, including a terrific set piece at a Mafia gun club/hardsite that levels the playing field, literally. The action is fantastic, including the second-best car crash scene Pendleton has written.

Pendleton crams in a lot of old faces in this one, from stalwart allies Leo Turrin and Hal Brognola, to even name-dropping Lieutenant Weatherbee from the first novel. The references didn't crowd for me and the escalation of Bolan's rage, reaching a peak near the 3/4 mark where an event happens to send him on a literally hellfire trail, is breathless.

This is peak Bolan mythos here. There's no longer any attempt to ground him as an ordinary human being. He achieves a level of comicbook reality that is as thrilling as Superman or Batman. It's probably a point of contention among readers looking for realism, but I argue soundly that this is pulp fiction, and it should be respected as such. And it's a hoot and a half as it barrels toward the climax!

The end is a little rushed, although not so bad as some of Pendleton's other efforts. It still left me satisfied.

Between the personal mission, Pendleton's snappy prose, and the generous doses of action, this one is top tier Executioner to me.

[Richard Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

These 70s books remind me of bloody, brutal 80s movies (which I liked, actually, to a point). The violence in both can be shocking, especially if you let yourself believe it could really be happening somewhere. However, as bloody as it is, and despite the main character's frequent, ambivalent musings about the ethical implications of his horrific crusade, the reader feels that he is justified in everything he does. It's a black and white world with good guys and bad guys, a world where he can ambush and murder people as long as they're bad guys, and everything is just fine. They deserve it. No harm done.

That's the logic of the books, anyway, and if you go along with it, at least as part of the general suspension of disbelief, it works fine. Very fun, in fact. It's like a grimdark fantasy except it's based in our real world...

(Here's my current theory: there's an alternate world similar to ours, one where guns and explosives aren't possible, maybe where the people have evolved beyond violence, but they still like their terrifying stories, and these novels--a kind of grimdark fantasy set in an incomprehensible society where such violence is possible--were written there to shock and entertain the good people. Then copies somehow were brought over into our universe.)

(I can't prove it. It just feels true.)

Anyway, remembering that different kinds of writing serve different purposes, and that the purpose of pulp fiction is definitely to tell a brisk, entertaining story, I have give this 4/5 stars.

Not for all readers. But if they have movies in that alternate universe, this story would be a blockbuster.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've sampled from some of the later Pendleton-written Executioners that take a random US city and spin a similar narrative, and it's nice to know that the formula ran out of steam this early in the series. Nothing particularly Boston-specific happens here, and what does happen is similar enough to be indistinguishable from the last couple of times it happened. I look forward to the moments where Pendleton breaks loose of his narrative comforts, but there may be a few more of these to wade through before I see another glimmer of gold amongst the brass.

[Luke Sims-Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the third book in a row there is a mystery figure! Oh come on! Thats why I'm giving this three stars instead of four. Three books in a row with a mystery honcho is not a good look.

Apart from that this Bolan was a fun intense read. Someones kidnapped people Mack cares about and he cuts a bloody swath through Boston. Surprised that this plot didn't happen sooner and I'm glad it did.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the plot of this particular entry is pretty thin, it's still one of the better ones so far. After his war in San Fransico, Bolan is off to Boston with more vengeance on his mind.
This time however, he's seeing pure red and mows down something like 80 members of the mafia in his anger.
The brutality and cold calculation on Bolan's part make this 12th book a lot fun.

[ShanDizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

He had come to rescue his kid brother and the woman he loved from a fate which even Bolan would not contemplate. And… if he were too late… if Johnny and Val were already beyond help… then only God and the devil knew for sure what Mack Bolan would do to the underworld of Boston.

[Patrick Trenberth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated.

These books need to be re - edited. The language is dated , as is the content. Too many holes in the plot, which could only be explained by modern technology and there is none evident. The book doesn't live up to my memories. Disappointed... 😴

[Duncan McCurdie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mafia has The Executioner’s brother Johnny and his girl Val. He vows to get them back or revenge in the historical streets of Boston. But is there a bigger game afoot? One of the more enjoyable and memorable instalments of the Executioner series.

[Liam Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stakes have never been higher until now in this Mack Bolan Adventure. In this one Bolan has to save his lover Val and his brother Johnny from the Massachusetts Mafia so the Action was intense, awesome and left the Mob in wake

[James Hein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to stop at one so this is two in a row.

[Gautam Surath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh I like this one. When threatened attack and that's exactly Bolan. Onwards

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Don Aiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite in my top 5

[Graeme Hunter somerville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic

I am really enjoying reading the executioner books after a break of 50 years or so . Great plots and storylines

[Bobby H · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/4 stars. One of the best I have read so far, Cleveland was other. Variation to standard plot line made for better understanding of character's psyche.

[Rob Landi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rambo on steroids!