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The Executioner #15
Panic in Philly
While the Executioner targets Philly, the government lays a trap
The war in Philadelphia starts in the back of a Mafia-owned garage when a man in combat gear turns his machine pistol on five small-time loan sharks. They don’t even have time to react before Mack Bolan guns them down, in full view of a customer and a mechanic. Before the Executioner departs, he tells the survivors to give the local don a It’s over. But the battle for Philadelphia is just beginning.
Bolan’s war against organized crime has brought chaos to cities across the country, and while countless local cops may sympathize with his motives, the federal government has no patience for vigilantes. When Bolan surfaces in Philadelphia, the feds go after him like never before. Since his war began, Mack Bolan has kept his pledge never to kill an honest cop. Before he can escape the city of brotherly love, a federal dragnet will put the Executioner to the test.
The war in Philadelphia starts in the back of a Mafia-owned garage when a man in combat gear turns his machine pistol on five small-time loan sharks. They don’t even have time to react before Mack Bolan guns them down, in full view of a customer and a mechanic. Before the Executioner departs, he tells the survivors to give the local don a It’s over. But the battle for Philadelphia is just beginning.
Bolan’s war against organized crime has brought chaos to cities across the country, and while countless local cops may sympathize with his motives, the federal government has no patience for vigilantes. When Bolan surfaces in Philadelphia, the feds go after him like never before. Since his war began, Mack Bolan has kept his pledge never to kill an honest cop. Before he can escape the city of brotherly love, a federal dragnet will put the Executioner to the test.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1973
77 people are currently reading
184 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 9, 2024
Mack Bolan at His Finest!!
It's been 30 years since I read an Executioner adventure but this title is as good as I remember. The Mafia always takes it on the chin from Mack and this book is an excellent example. Action packed with the good guy winning a hard fought war in Philadelphia. I hadn't thought about it before reading this book but Mack Bolan is a precursor to Jack Reacher!! Excellent action in this installment.
It's been 30 years since I read an Executioner adventure but this title is as good as I remember. The Mafia always takes it on the chin from Mack and this book is an excellent example. Action packed with the good guy winning a hard fought war in Philadelphia. I hadn't thought about it before reading this book but Mack Bolan is a precursor to Jack Reacher!! Excellent action in this installment.
August 24, 2015
Ye olde HP Lovecraft Literary Society has decided to branch out now that we've read all the "good" (heh) HPL stories. I think the group is mostly inclined to blame Reza for this particular choice, but I'm pretty sure I was all for it because one of my brothers used to steal these from the grocery store back in the 1980s and I wanted to see what they were all about. Little did I know then that the five-finger discount was overpaying...
We dived right in with #15 (that's the earliest volume Tom was able to Bookswap five copies of; not that I think that was a bad sign, nooooo) with no difficulties whatsoever. Plot is pretty insignificant, after all, when 3/4ths (4/5ths? 9/10ths?) of the book lovingly details violence, guns and death and worships (if you think I exaggerate, just try reading it for yourself) the protagonist (just don't call him the hero).
At the beginning it was all chortles and laughter at the antics and florid language (see? Just like HPL!) but by the end I was pretty disgusted with complete glorification of violence and utter disregard for human life (my stomach churns a bit at what Mack set Lil' Frank up for). I suppose in my old age even cartoonish violence is too much for me.
So, I can't even begin to know what to rate this. After all, I got some laughs in. And all my childhood questions have been answered (nope, no sex). But I DO know I will have a useless debate with myself regarding its quality. Was it "good" bad; bad bad; terrible bad; or just plain old craptacular? Hmmmm.
We dived right in with #15 (that's the earliest volume Tom was able to Bookswap five copies of; not that I think that was a bad sign, nooooo) with no difficulties whatsoever. Plot is pretty insignificant, after all, when 3/4ths (4/5ths? 9/10ths?) of the book lovingly details violence, guns and death and worships (if you think I exaggerate, just try reading it for yourself) the protagonist (just don't call him the hero).
At the beginning it was all chortles and laughter at the antics and florid language (see? Just like HPL!) but by the end I was pretty disgusted with complete glorification of violence and utter disregard for human life (my stomach churns a bit at what Mack set Lil' Frank up for). I suppose in my old age even cartoonish violence is too much for me.
So, I can't even begin to know what to rate this. After all, I got some laughs in. And all my childhood questions have been answered (nope, no sex). But I DO know I will have a useless debate with myself regarding its quality. Was it "good" bad; bad bad; terrible bad; or just plain old craptacular? Hmmmm.
October 9, 2022
More of the same for Bolan, but that doesn’t make it any less fun.
July 12, 2025
Sarge is in Philly on the Mafia's heels - someone is importing young Italian gunners to replenish the decimated numbers in the States.
Good double dealing adventure from '73.
Good double dealing adventure from '73.
Read
November 12, 2020Another good book in the series. Bolan must be one of the immortals.
December 8, 2020
A great installment, everything you want in a mens adventure story. Mack Bolan being set on by the mob and the police but somehow figures out a way to get two parts of the mob to fight each other. Lots of action, Pendleton is fantastic in writing long action scenes that dont get bogged down in the sameness of mass killing that a lot of authors seem to fail at.
Highly recommended, can be read alone but that would make books before this one less appealing. The series does have a nice through line that comes together nicely at least through the first 40 or so.
Highly recommended, can be read alone but that would make books before this one less appealing. The series does have a nice through line that comes together nicely at least through the first 40 or so.
November 25, 2009
"Man's capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little has been tried."
-Thoreau
"So Maybe I can't win this lousy war. But I'm going to give it one hell of a try."
-Mack Bolan, THE EXECTUTIONER
So begins the first Executioner story I've ever read, though I'm certain I've read plenty of rip-offs. Mack Bolan (or Bolan the Bastard, Bad Bolan, Black-Hearted Bolan, etc., as the author is prone to call him) is on a one-man war against the mafia, though I'm not exactly sure why: unlike the Punisher, Bolan's family seems to be alive and in hiding, so I don't really know why he's gone to all the effort to be out for vengeance. At any rate, his biography is similar to the Punisher, and like the Punisher (but very unlike Skul in C.O.B.R.A.) Bolan has a bit of a conscious and tries to avoid killing cops or innocents unless it's, you know, totally necessary.
This episode has Bolan infiltrating the Philadelphia mob almost by accident and using Machiavellian techniques to get the mobsters to turn against each other. The action was pretty non-stop and the writing was crisp and poetically over the top, just the way I like it, though sadly not as glorifyingly gruesome as in other "kill-porn" I've read. All in all though I was surprised at how actually exciting and quick to read it was, and maybe I'll check out the rest of this series.
-Thoreau
"So Maybe I can't win this lousy war. But I'm going to give it one hell of a try."
-Mack Bolan, THE EXECTUTIONER
So begins the first Executioner story I've ever read, though I'm certain I've read plenty of rip-offs. Mack Bolan (or Bolan the Bastard, Bad Bolan, Black-Hearted Bolan, etc., as the author is prone to call him) is on a one-man war against the mafia, though I'm not exactly sure why: unlike the Punisher, Bolan's family seems to be alive and in hiding, so I don't really know why he's gone to all the effort to be out for vengeance. At any rate, his biography is similar to the Punisher, and like the Punisher (but very unlike Skul in C.O.B.R.A.) Bolan has a bit of a conscious and tries to avoid killing cops or innocents unless it's, you know, totally necessary.
This episode has Bolan infiltrating the Philadelphia mob almost by accident and using Machiavellian techniques to get the mobsters to turn against each other. The action was pretty non-stop and the writing was crisp and poetically over the top, just the way I like it, though sadly not as glorifyingly gruesome as in other "kill-porn" I've read. All in all though I was surprised at how actually exciting and quick to read it was, and maybe I'll check out the rest of this series.
June 28, 2013
This was the first Executioner novel I ever remember seeing in stores, back when my Mom would drop me at the Moorestown Mall bookstore while she went shopping. 36 years later I finally got around to reading it and found it to be the best (so far) of the Pendleton-penned adventures of Mack Bolan. In his ongoing war with the mob, Bolan arrives in my old stomping grounds of Philly and immediately sets about wreaking havoc on one of the big crime families. Unfortunately, it's the third or fourth Bolan I've read where the man who is supposedly the most wanted man in America -- on both sides of the law -- assumes another identity and fools everybody that he encounters. Not nearly as fun or entertaining as the Destroyer series, but I'll keep giving Bolan a try every now and then.
February 7, 2020
First published in '73, this entry has Bolan back on the East coast, pitting his enemies against each other. One of the great action sequences has Mack up on a telephone pole, checking in on his wiretap of the local Mafia boss. Suddenly, he's pinned by a floodlight, with cops on the ground.
April 5, 2025
Another good one. After reading a few in this series you can appreciate Bolan and that he is for real in his belief that its his duty to eliminate the mob. He is willing to do what it takes at all cost.
October 26, 2015
Another good one
December 14, 2020
There is a really good scene in this book where Mack Bolan is trapped on top of a pole (long story!). A couple of officers from the from the law enforcement anti-Bolan dragnet catch him on the pole. This leaves Bolan in a dilemma; will he try to go out guns blazing? Or will he attempt an escape? Or surrender? In that moment, we are brought into Bolan’s head as he starts calculating his options. It was good to see Bolan vulnerable for just a moment and become unsure of his actions. This made him a bit more human.
One of the better parts of this book is Bolan once again pretending to be an important mafia enforcer. He has done this in many other books. In Vegas Vendetta, for example, the entire climax involves him pretending to be the new mafia owner of a casino. What makes this instance even better than previous books is his ability to make it look easy as he ingratiates himself to Don Stepfano Angeletti and crew. By the end Don Stepfano becomes an almost tragic figure as he realizes all that he has worked for will be coming down in just one night.
There a few action scenes in this book, which is to be expected. At least one includes an attack against an army of hired gun Sicilians who are holed up in a compound. The violence and death count are very over-the-top. However, despite this scene, this is not one of the most action-heavy volumes of the series. What it lacks in pure adrenaline pounding action, it makes up for in the infiltration story and character development for Don Stepfano.
I would rank this as one of the better volumes of the Executioner series mainly for that one scene on the pole. This showed Bolan in a precarious position that doesn’t have an easy way out. The infiltration of Don Stephano’s compound was also one of the better done and more believable versions of this well-worn and frequently used infiltration stories. Panic in Philly is your typical Pendleton Executioner done well and with enough variations to make this a great outing.
One of the better parts of this book is Bolan once again pretending to be an important mafia enforcer. He has done this in many other books. In Vegas Vendetta, for example, the entire climax involves him pretending to be the new mafia owner of a casino. What makes this instance even better than previous books is his ability to make it look easy as he ingratiates himself to Don Stepfano Angeletti and crew. By the end Don Stepfano becomes an almost tragic figure as he realizes all that he has worked for will be coming down in just one night.
There a few action scenes in this book, which is to be expected. At least one includes an attack against an army of hired gun Sicilians who are holed up in a compound. The violence and death count are very over-the-top. However, despite this scene, this is not one of the most action-heavy volumes of the series. What it lacks in pure adrenaline pounding action, it makes up for in the infiltration story and character development for Don Stepfano.
I would rank this as one of the better volumes of the Executioner series mainly for that one scene on the pole. This showed Bolan in a precarious position that doesn’t have an easy way out. The infiltration of Don Stephano’s compound was also one of the better done and more believable versions of this well-worn and frequently used infiltration stories. Panic in Philly is your typical Pendleton Executioner done well and with enough variations to make this a great outing.
October 23, 2024
As I have seen pointed out, these books are guilty of glorifying violence. They absolutely are. No way around that. That's why I wouldn't easily recommend them for anyone else. These are like R-rated 80s movies that had to work to escape an NC-17 for violence, and readers have to decide how they feel about that before they pick up a book from a series like this.
But read as pulp fiction, as men's adventure, as a what-if, maybe even like a comic book, and imagined more like a John Wick or Jason Bourne movie, with all the violence coming against violent men who probably deserve it, they're very entertaining. I was surprised.
This is the last of 5 books (numbers 11-15) that I got used out of curiosity, remembering seeing them lying around other people's houses when I was a kid, including my much older brother's place. Nostalgia made me try them, but I found that, for the right audience, they're still very good, and they seem to be different every time. I can't speak for issue 250 or 300, but so far I'd say they actually vary a lot. I expected the storylines to be very similar, but aside from the main idea of punishing violent career criminals, the actual plots have been different in every one.
The language is a little raw, like you'd expect with 1970s books like this, but it reads quick and I found the writing to be appropriate to the task, with the right tone for this sort of story: tough, pretty spare, and to the point. I liked it fine, especially for an action story.
Is it a good book? I wouldn't make that claim. But is it entertaining? I'd say yes.
Anyway, I've made a lot of apologies for the book and for the series, and that's enough. My main interest in books is entertainment above all, not themes or language or some other secondary characteristic of the story, and it's fun. It is. The good guy outsmarts the bad guys. I like it.
I don't really believe in guilty pleasures--at least, I don't think people should feel guilty for the things they enjoy--and I liked this. YMMV
But read as pulp fiction, as men's adventure, as a what-if, maybe even like a comic book, and imagined more like a John Wick or Jason Bourne movie, with all the violence coming against violent men who probably deserve it, they're very entertaining. I was surprised.
This is the last of 5 books (numbers 11-15) that I got used out of curiosity, remembering seeing them lying around other people's houses when I was a kid, including my much older brother's place. Nostalgia made me try them, but I found that, for the right audience, they're still very good, and they seem to be different every time. I can't speak for issue 250 or 300, but so far I'd say they actually vary a lot. I expected the storylines to be very similar, but aside from the main idea of punishing violent career criminals, the actual plots have been different in every one.
The language is a little raw, like you'd expect with 1970s books like this, but it reads quick and I found the writing to be appropriate to the task, with the right tone for this sort of story: tough, pretty spare, and to the point. I liked it fine, especially for an action story.
Is it a good book? I wouldn't make that claim. But is it entertaining? I'd say yes.
Anyway, I've made a lot of apologies for the book and for the series, and that's enough. My main interest in books is entertainment above all, not themes or language or some other secondary characteristic of the story, and it's fun. It is. The good guy outsmarts the bad guys. I like it.
I don't really believe in guilty pleasures--at least, I don't think people should feel guilty for the things they enjoy--and I liked this. YMMV
Read
September 26, 2020See, this is what I'm talking about! This is like that formula-breaking episode of Miami Vice where Sonny Crockett gets amnesia from the boat explosion and wakes up and thinks he's actually his criminal cover identity, Sonny Burnett. Okay, maybe not.
But Pendleton does break formula a bit by putting Bolan on the defensive for most of the book. It's like Pendleton really embraced that writing advice of sticking your hero up in a tree and then setting the tree on fire. In fact, come to think of it, Pendleton literally puts Bolan in a tree at one point!
As the odds keep getting more and more stacked against him, Bolan has to scramble and find creative ways to not just survive but advance his agenda. I'm sure it was a fun one to write -- to challenge yourself to find ways to dig your character out of bigger and bigger story problems.
I've said it before but one of my favorite types of Bolan stories is when he infiltrates a Mafia family and gets them to wipe each other out. Happy to say a large chunk of this book fit that bill. I didn't even mind the one deus ex machina moment early in the story. I think storytellers know that when they give people a fun ride, they can get away with a lot.
The end doesn't really deliver but it also doesn't disappoint as much as many of the other books. And sadly, there was not much of the city of Philadelphia featured in the story. Other than its proximity to New York (which is part of the plot), it really could have been any city and the story would be the same.
I'm looking forward to the next one because it was written by a different writer during a dispute between Pendleton and the publisher. It will be interesting to see if this other writer falls victim to similar weaknesses in plotting/pacing.
But Pendleton does break formula a bit by putting Bolan on the defensive for most of the book. It's like Pendleton really embraced that writing advice of sticking your hero up in a tree and then setting the tree on fire. In fact, come to think of it, Pendleton literally puts Bolan in a tree at one point!
As the odds keep getting more and more stacked against him, Bolan has to scramble and find creative ways to not just survive but advance his agenda. I'm sure it was a fun one to write -- to challenge yourself to find ways to dig your character out of bigger and bigger story problems.
I've said it before but one of my favorite types of Bolan stories is when he infiltrates a Mafia family and gets them to wipe each other out. Happy to say a large chunk of this book fit that bill. I didn't even mind the one deus ex machina moment early in the story. I think storytellers know that when they give people a fun ride, they can get away with a lot.
The end doesn't really deliver but it also doesn't disappoint as much as many of the other books. And sadly, there was not much of the city of Philadelphia featured in the story. Other than its proximity to New York (which is part of the plot), it really could have been any city and the story would be the same.
I'm looking forward to the next one because it was written by a different writer during a dispute between Pendleton and the publisher. It will be interesting to see if this other writer falls victim to similar weaknesses in plotting/pacing.
January 18, 2021
The new immigrants were being accorded considerable respect, even from those whom they had come to replace. Augie Marinello, the New York superboss, had started the trend toward imported hoods, bringing over an occasional one or two for specific tasks at hand, then retaining and absorbing them into the established ranks. They had proven to be nerveless assassins as well as loyal servants of the brotherhood. So old man Angeletti had gone Marinello one better. He was bringing in entire gradigghia, or gangs, in an awesome buildup of muscle such as had not been attempted since the old Castellammarese wars.
According to Bolan’s intelligence, Don Stefano intended to use the new cadre not only for his own security but as an eventual base of power for his son, Frank Angeletti, who would soon be succeeding the old man as boss of Philadelphia.It was, to Bolan, an ominous development in his war.
So Bolan had come to Philadelphia to face this new enemy, to test them, and—if possible—to turn them back.He had to discourage the whole idea of imported gunners. It was time. It was time to tell the gradigghia that they had ventured into hell’s pastures.It was time for the first big Philly hit.
According to Bolan’s intelligence, Don Stefano intended to use the new cadre not only for his own security but as an eventual base of power for his son, Frank Angeletti, who would soon be succeeding the old man as boss of Philadelphia.It was, to Bolan, an ominous development in his war.
So Bolan had come to Philadelphia to face this new enemy, to test them, and—if possible—to turn them back.He had to discourage the whole idea of imported gunners. It was time. It was time to tell the gradigghia that they had ventured into hell’s pastures.It was time for the first big Philly hit.
July 21, 2020
“Panic came to Philadelphia on a cool Spring morning and it’s name was Death - purposeful, clad in black as a symbol of utter finality, moving swiftly in its inevitability.”
From the first sentence you are drawn into Mack Bolan’s battle with the Mafia in Philly. The City of Brotherly love is soon to be rocked with gunfire and explosions as Bolan washes away the evil in a bath of blood. It’s not all mindless action as Pendleton also explores the motivations, personalities and aspirations that have steered the individual characters to their current path and their inevitable future.
From the first sentence you are drawn into Mack Bolan’s battle with the Mafia in Philly. The City of Brotherly love is soon to be rocked with gunfire and explosions as Bolan washes away the evil in a bath of blood. It’s not all mindless action as Pendleton also explores the motivations, personalities and aspirations that have steered the individual characters to their current path and their inevitable future.
June 25, 2022
I said in my review of San Diego Slaughter that when these stories are scaled back and use a much more straightforward approach, the series is that much better for it.
The same holds true for Panic. There are few moving parts and far less political maneuverings here. Instead, Mack Bolan is busy turning the mafia against itself, using their own hubris against them.
With only one setting and a much smaller cast of characters, this one harkens back to the first book when action took center stage.
The same holds true for Panic. There are few moving parts and far less political maneuverings here. Instead, Mack Bolan is busy turning the mafia against itself, using their own hubris against them.
With only one setting and a much smaller cast of characters, this one harkens back to the first book when action took center stage.
April 23, 2024
Pendleton Ink #15
The Executioner #15
The old geezer Executioner hits Philly with more of the same, no cheese steaks but blood and guts all over the floor so to speak, anyway it's the Executioner aint it.
The Executioner #15
The old geezer Executioner hits Philly with more of the same, no cheese steaks but blood and guts all over the floor so to speak, anyway it's the Executioner aint it.
April 1, 2018
Another in the series to clean the mind :)
May 23, 2019
Short and sweet
A good yarn, bit not a great one. Bolin's audacity is shown by his impersonation of a mafia hotshot to great success.
A good yarn, bit not a great one. Bolin's audacity is shown by his impersonation of a mafia hotshot to great success.
January 24, 2020
Mack Bolan crashes the Mafia party as a hitman, he infiltrates the base and becomes the Executioner by making the mob kill each other.
Bolan rocks!
Bolan rocks!
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
November 18, 2021
Great reading
Once again Mr Pendleton pulls no punches great storylines plots and excitement to the hilt . I always look forward with relish to the next book
Once again Mr Pendleton pulls no punches great storylines plots and excitement to the hilt . I always look forward with relish to the next book
November 28, 2022
Solid writing and lots of action. War Wagon destroyed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2023
Great Story and I thought it was so clever when Bolan turned the Mobsters against each other
March 18, 2024
Panic in Philly is likely my least favorite of the first 15 books in the series. The book has less action and more mind games Bolan plays on the mafia. 2 stars.
January 19, 2025
Gripping and fast-moving.
July 8, 2014
I realize this one wasn't well-liked by most of the Pendleton fans. I on-the-other-hand thought it was great. It didn't have the usual action that one expects from a 'Bolan' story, but there was good intrigue and suspense in this one.
This was one of the few of the Pendleton books that has a great ending. Endings are not Pendleton's strength as a writer, his openings are catchy and there is usually one remarkable car chase or gunfight. This story was about trickery and was reminiscent of #3, #8 and #9.
This was one of the few of the Pendleton books that has a great ending. Endings are not Pendleton's strength as a writer, his openings are catchy and there is usually one remarkable car chase or gunfight. This story was about trickery and was reminiscent of #3, #8 and #9.
October 4, 2019
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 17, 2014
A quick and dirty pulp novel. Junk food for the mind, just don't over do or you'll end up burning to many brain cells.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews