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The Executioner #16
Sicilian Slaughter
School for Assassins!The hot and arid island of Sicily is infamous as the birthplace of the Mafia. From this Mediterranean spawning ground the deadly forces of evil and corruption have spread to all points of the globe. In the U.S. the Mafias influence has become as sophisticated as it is powerful. . . virtually no city is free of the mobs grip, hardly an industry is untouched by their sinister operations.Now, after a long and bloody wipeout trail across our country, Mack Bolan must lash out at the very root of the Mafia monster. Sicily has seemingly been quite remote from the underworld activities on our shores in recent years, but Bolan has discovered that a top Mafia family in the U.S. has masterminded the formation of a small army of killers in Sicily. They are undergoing intensive training in a small village practically in the shadow of Mount Etna.The purpose of their mission is secret. Bolans initial reconnaissance indicates that they are well into final preparations for what could be a major crime campaign. To strike where? And for whom? There is no time to learn more, or even to warn U.S. authorities. Bolan must go it alone, and face an army of assassins!
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
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December 18, 2020
Here is the odd man out among the earliest Executioner novels. A brief history, Don Pendleton was having contract disputes with publisher Pinnacle about the series. Pinnacle hires another author to continue the series after the last book Panic in Philly. And here is the result. It is not available in ebook as far as I can tell. However, I had no difficulty getting a cheap copy.
This is no Executioner and this is no Mack Bolan. This can be seen in an early scene in the book. Bolan throws a grenade into a crowded hospital stairwell that he knows could hurt many innocent people. It seems very unlikely that Bolan would do this. That scene really bugged me.
The story itself picks up right after Panic in Philly ends with Bolan wounded and driving towards New York. He eventually makes his way to Sicily to take on the Sicilian mafia army that he encountered in the last book. It does a good job of following the breadcrumbs that Pendleton left and continuing the story. However, despite it somewhat sounding like a continuation of the Executioner series, there is something a bit off. The style is completely different. Bolan’s actions also seem implausible.
There are some good things about this book. The author writes the blood and gore scenes pretty well. I could follow the action scenes well, even though they felt much longer than what Pendleton often writes. The story is pretty cohesive as a whole and ends well.
Despite these good things, there are several critiques I have. Sometimes the author is a bit too detailed when describing just about anything. The best examples of this are character histories. Pendleton will often give a history to an important mafia figure. He will talk about their lives as children and maybe even describe what led them into a life of crime. It humanizes the character a bit. In this book, it feels like just about everyone gets a long history. A woman who recognizes Bolan at the airport gets a long history about how she came into the mafia world. Capos and their enforcers get long histories. We are given all these background details only to have the character killed off within a few pages. I didn’t need to know all that for a minor character.
Another problem with the book is that there are a lot of absurd scenes. There were two scenes from this book that I think will illustrate this. Bolan is flying to Italy and on board is a woman working for the mafia. Bolan knows it and decides to get rid of her. So what does he do? He lets the woman strip and seduce him. He then, pulls out his gun and shots the side of the plane, which sucks the woman out of the plane. In theory this should have sucked him out as well and crash the plane. However, before shooting the plane, he asks the pilot what a sudden decompression will do at their altitude. Why go through the trouble of endangering the plane?
The second scene occurs later in the book. A mafia guard shoots Bolan in the back. It does not do much damage, but Bolan is hurt and doesn’t think he can continue. Luckily for him the guard has some morphine on him as he is an addict. Bolan shoots the morphine it into himself and this allows him to finish the mission. Wouldn’t morphine just make him drowsier as his heart begins to slow down? Seems like a bad idea if you want to continue the mission.
To be fair, the book is not awful. These two scenes could have been edited and the basic thrust of the story would not be all that bad in the Action/Adventure genre. It is weak when compared to the other Executioner books but does make a good pulp action read by itself. I have read dumber books and will often rate them highly for what they are. However, when you put “The Executioner” on the cover, I am going to judge it based upon other Executioner books. However, to be fair, I do hear the post-Pendleton Executioner books get a lot worse than this one.
After reading this book, I appreciate Don Pendleton as an author a lot more. He is no Hemingway, but he is exceptionally good at writing action fiction. He keeps details to a minimum. He makes the implausible sound plausible (especially with Bolan’s constant impersonation skills). And most importantly, Mack Bolan feels like the same character in each book.
Should you read this book? Probably not. For one thing, it is only available on the used book marker. While it does continue the story left off from Panic in Philly, it really does not do it that well. Pendleton will come back and write Jersey Guns. Unless you are a bit OCD like me and like reading the entire series from the beginning without skipping a book, there is no reason to read this except as a novelty.
This is no Executioner and this is no Mack Bolan. This can be seen in an early scene in the book. Bolan throws a grenade into a crowded hospital stairwell that he knows could hurt many innocent people. It seems very unlikely that Bolan would do this. That scene really bugged me.
The story itself picks up right after Panic in Philly ends with Bolan wounded and driving towards New York. He eventually makes his way to Sicily to take on the Sicilian mafia army that he encountered in the last book. It does a good job of following the breadcrumbs that Pendleton left and continuing the story. However, despite it somewhat sounding like a continuation of the Executioner series, there is something a bit off. The style is completely different. Bolan’s actions also seem implausible.
There are some good things about this book. The author writes the blood and gore scenes pretty well. I could follow the action scenes well, even though they felt much longer than what Pendleton often writes. The story is pretty cohesive as a whole and ends well.
Despite these good things, there are several critiques I have. Sometimes the author is a bit too detailed when describing just about anything. The best examples of this are character histories. Pendleton will often give a history to an important mafia figure. He will talk about their lives as children and maybe even describe what led them into a life of crime. It humanizes the character a bit. In this book, it feels like just about everyone gets a long history. A woman who recognizes Bolan at the airport gets a long history about how she came into the mafia world. Capos and their enforcers get long histories. We are given all these background details only to have the character killed off within a few pages. I didn’t need to know all that for a minor character.
Another problem with the book is that there are a lot of absurd scenes. There were two scenes from this book that I think will illustrate this. Bolan is flying to Italy and on board is a woman working for the mafia. Bolan knows it and decides to get rid of her. So what does he do? He lets the woman strip and seduce him. He then, pulls out his gun and shots the side of the plane, which sucks the woman out of the plane. In theory this should have sucked him out as well and crash the plane. However, before shooting the plane, he asks the pilot what a sudden decompression will do at their altitude. Why go through the trouble of endangering the plane?
The second scene occurs later in the book. A mafia guard shoots Bolan in the back. It does not do much damage, but Bolan is hurt and doesn’t think he can continue. Luckily for him the guard has some morphine on him as he is an addict. Bolan shoots the morphine it into himself and this allows him to finish the mission. Wouldn’t morphine just make him drowsier as his heart begins to slow down? Seems like a bad idea if you want to continue the mission.
To be fair, the book is not awful. These two scenes could have been edited and the basic thrust of the story would not be all that bad in the Action/Adventure genre. It is weak when compared to the other Executioner books but does make a good pulp action read by itself. I have read dumber books and will often rate them highly for what they are. However, when you put “The Executioner” on the cover, I am going to judge it based upon other Executioner books. However, to be fair, I do hear the post-Pendleton Executioner books get a lot worse than this one.
After reading this book, I appreciate Don Pendleton as an author a lot more. He is no Hemingway, but he is exceptionally good at writing action fiction. He keeps details to a minimum. He makes the implausible sound plausible (especially with Bolan’s constant impersonation skills). And most importantly, Mack Bolan feels like the same character in each book.
Should you read this book? Probably not. For one thing, it is only available on the used book marker. While it does continue the story left off from Panic in Philly, it really does not do it that well. Pendleton will come back and write Jersey Guns. Unless you are a bit OCD like me and like reading the entire series from the beginning without skipping a book, there is no reason to read this except as a novelty.
July 16, 2025
Published while Don Pendleton was engaged with issues with Pinnacle books, this doesn't fit with the Executioner mythos. I put off reading this for decades, and not sorry I did.
March 6, 2016
Title says it all. What I liked the most though, was what the helicopter pilot did towards the end of the book...
October 28, 2015
Eh not bad
Read
May 4, 2021As other reviewers have noted, this book was the result of a copyright dispute between the creator of the series (Don Pendleton) and the publisher (Pinnacle). Pendleton discovered that Pinnacle was trying to exploit his copyright by licensing the Mack Bolan character to Hollywood. Furious with Pinnacle, Pendleton signed a new publishing deal with a different publisher, at which point Pinnacle sued claiming the book series was a work-for-hire assignment. During this period, Pinnacle hired another writer to pen Sicilian Slaughter, using Pendleton's planned title for his next book. Surprisingly, the lower court ruled for Pinnacle despite proof that Pendleton was the copyright owner, so Pendleton agreed to settle rather than spend money on an appeal. In the settlement, Pinnacle conceded that Pendleton owned the rights but in return Pendleton had to allow Pinnacle to release this book (they had half a million copies printed and sitting in a warehouse because Pendleton had sought an injunction to prevent the book's distribution). In addition, Pendleton had to give up his new publishing deal and stay with Pinnacle.
So that's the backstory, what about the book itself?
Right off the bat, it's obvious a different writer crafted this one. The tone is strange and his handling of the character makes one wonder if he'd even read any of the preceding books. While the prose is often clumsy, I don't think he's a bad writer. My guess is that Pinnacle published an early draft that wasn't edited well or at all. Case in point: Bolan refers several times to a previously established recurring character named Brognola; only in this book he's named Bragnola. Clearly Pinnacle did not give a crap about quality control, and the only reason the other books in the series aren't a complete mess is probably due to Pendleton's standards and commitment to the character and the series.
The action is competent and even exciting at points. And the section towards the end where Bolan assaults the compound is the most like the Pendleton books. William Crawford (writing under the pen name Jim Peterson) writes with attitude, which can be a fun contrast to Pendleton's more laid back and philosophic prose. When Bolan shoots a junkie, Crawford writes, "Riarso took his Last Trip ever. He took an OD of Mack Bolan, the Executioner." It was playful language like this that made me smile from time to time. Another example is when Bolan shoots the don with his .44 Automag, the shot literally decapitates the man, sending the head up and spinning only to land in the corpse's lap, where the hands grip it convulsively in a death spasm. I mean, that's just fun stuff right there. I also liked how fixated Bolan was on knocking that house down, which didn't seem to want to crumble no matter how hard he hit it. Kind of like a nice metaphor for his war against the mafia as a whole.
Where do I land on this oddball deviation in the series? I enjoyed reading it, if only for the contrast. Pendleton's writing is better, and better suited to the character, but it can start to feel repetitive after a while. I'll tell you, I did NOT miss Pendleton's pro-Bolan propaganda that I've discussed in previous reviews. And I'll admit, knowing the book's backstory and that Pendleton would ignore it in the official continuity, it was a little sad to read the epilogue which Crawford used to set up the next book. I say sad because I wonder how much Pinnacle led Crawford on; I wonder if he genuinely thought he was taking over the series. It's like watching a video of a job interview where the person tries really hard but you already know he's not getting it. Would be fascinating to get Crawford's take on these events.
So that's the backstory, what about the book itself?
Right off the bat, it's obvious a different writer crafted this one. The tone is strange and his handling of the character makes one wonder if he'd even read any of the preceding books. While the prose is often clumsy, I don't think he's a bad writer. My guess is that Pinnacle published an early draft that wasn't edited well or at all. Case in point: Bolan refers several times to a previously established recurring character named Brognola; only in this book he's named Bragnola. Clearly Pinnacle did not give a crap about quality control, and the only reason the other books in the series aren't a complete mess is probably due to Pendleton's standards and commitment to the character and the series.
The action is competent and even exciting at points. And the section towards the end where Bolan assaults the compound is the most like the Pendleton books. William Crawford (writing under the pen name Jim Peterson) writes with attitude, which can be a fun contrast to Pendleton's more laid back and philosophic prose. When Bolan shoots a junkie, Crawford writes, "Riarso took his Last Trip ever. He took an OD of Mack Bolan, the Executioner." It was playful language like this that made me smile from time to time. Another example is when Bolan shoots the don with his .44 Automag, the shot literally decapitates the man, sending the head up and spinning only to land in the corpse's lap, where the hands grip it convulsively in a death spasm. I mean, that's just fun stuff right there. I also liked how fixated Bolan was on knocking that house down, which didn't seem to want to crumble no matter how hard he hit it. Kind of like a nice metaphor for his war against the mafia as a whole.
Where do I land on this oddball deviation in the series? I enjoyed reading it, if only for the contrast. Pendleton's writing is better, and better suited to the character, but it can start to feel repetitive after a while. I'll tell you, I did NOT miss Pendleton's pro-Bolan propaganda that I've discussed in previous reviews. And I'll admit, knowing the book's backstory and that Pendleton would ignore it in the official continuity, it was a little sad to read the epilogue which Crawford used to set up the next book. I say sad because I wonder how much Pinnacle led Crawford on; I wonder if he genuinely thought he was taking over the series. It's like watching a video of a job interview where the person tries really hard but you already know he's not getting it. Would be fascinating to get Crawford's take on these events.
January 5, 2021
The odd duck in the first 39 or so Bolan books, the only one not written by Don Pendleton. It's ok but it definitely isn't Pendleton's Bolan, it has a few decisions that the character would never make. Also while the writer tried to copy some of the style of Pendleton, I think he failed at, it just seemed off. Again not a terrible book, it has a good enough plot and it gets to the end in reasonable fashion (though you start to realise that the whole thing is useless since the whole reason he went was no longer in play but whatever...). If it was just another in the long line of men's adventure books it would be fine but it pales in comparison to a Pendleton written volume.
Wont recommend but hey these are fast easy reads and if you are going through the series anyway I wouldnt skip it. Just know it is definitely a poor imitation.
Wont recommend but hey these are fast easy reads and if you are going through the series anyway I wouldnt skip it. Just know it is definitely a poor imitation.
July 2, 2022
After 15 previous entries into this series I think it’s pretty clear Bolan is a cold hearted badass. Now, with the 16th book, he’s practically a psycho. The story itself mught not be the best, but Bolan is un-freaking-stoppable.
From a shootout in a hospital, to taking on the mafia in this own backyard, to one of the most clever and brutal kills in an airplane, Bolan is on a rampage unlike anything before.
It was made clear that in Panic in Philly he had killed 75 members of the mafia in one sitting. In Slaughter it must have been double that…making the title totally true.
From a shootout in a hospital, to taking on the mafia in this own backyard, to one of the most clever and brutal kills in an airplane, Bolan is on a rampage unlike anything before.
It was made clear that in Panic in Philly he had killed 75 members of the mafia in one sitting. In Slaughter it must have been double that…making the title totally true.
July 30, 2022
Noticeably an author trying to imitate Don Pendleton. Mack doesn’t have it together, is not introspective at all, and is brutally callous. The action is good and the story follows from the previous book, but it lacks Pendleton’s touch and the difference is obvious and distracting.
May 2, 2023
Wow. You can really tell the difference between Peterson and Bolan creator Don Pendleton. Peterson was a pale shadow of Pendleton. The Mack Bolan character was barely recognizable. My advice... Skip it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2023
I inherited a box containing books from various series including The Executioner, the Destroyer, and others. The Executioner series are formulaic, low on plot, full of violence, and just bad. I won't read any more of the series.
(Razor did not like the violence.)
(Razor did not like the violence.)
April 1, 2018
Yes, another one I tend to read two close togetehr for some reason
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
January 3, 2021
You could tell it was not written by Don Pendleton. It was okay
December 1, 2023
This was a nonstop Action Thrill Ride and I like how the cover of the Mack Bolan books, they put that in the story and I can picture it.
July 13, 2025
This is a LGBT version of "While You Were Sleeping." The story and characters are well written.
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
July 27, 2009
written by a for-hire writer during a dispute with Pendleton. Part of the settlement was this book, already printed up and ready to go, had to be released.
Mr. Pendleton was able to get his character back a few years later.
Mr. Pendleton was able to get his character back a few years later.
January 8, 2016
Good book.
August 3, 2016
A great read!
December 20, 2024
Read some time in 1980;Peterson is a pseudonym for William Crawford
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews