Hard Pursuit

Another excellent read from this author where you will be grabbed from the start and held enthralled until the finish. So many good things about this title but just to mention a few that brought great enjoyment to me when reading it. The villain is a psycho and right away you can see that he will not let anything stand in his way to have his demented plans come to fruition. A couple of excellent characters introduced who actually are Blacksuit graduates from the Farm and give the Big Guy a huge amount of support. Bucket loads of action which just does not stop from one scene to the next with no time to take a breath. I loved some of the stunts especially the helicopter and motor cycle section wonderful original reading. The whole title leads up to a crunching finale where the Big Guy is up against it and has to call on all his inner strength to prevail. Highly recommended reading in the series here.

The author’s second book does not have the sophomore slump. A wildly entertaining, unpredictable pursuit across Egypt, Bolan and some incidental partners are put through a bloody endurance run. Excessive violence, dialogue and pop culture references actually begin to wear out their welcome after a while (just after the Agents Johnson and Johnson referencing, of course, Die Hard). I did like the continuity between other novels in the Stony Man series, and Bolan recalling Able Team missions and Phoenix Force members like he actually knew them personally. Characterization is just a tad off, but this is something I do not see in his followup novels. This novel is built like a movie, complete with a snazzy pre-credits sequence (not literally of course), crazy stunts and one-liners. The basic urgency of the chase is primal. Not bad for a second effort, and by all means, a recommended entry.

This is the third novel I've read by Dougpwz, and is the best I've read so far, IMO. It has everything one could want from a Bolan novel, and then ratchets up the tension and delivers spades beyond the call of duty. I hope we get to see more of Wazdi and Cowalski (if we haven't already--I'm a bit behind in my reading), and man! What a climax! My two favorite action pieces were the final confrontation and Mack's taking down a helicopter with a motorcycle. I don't *care* if it was believable or not, it was amazing to read and visualize! One thing I love about Douglas's handling of Bolan is that he's not afraid to give Bolan a sense of humor. Everybody's human, and all humans have a sense of humor ... yet for some reason, many fictional heroes with serious lifestyles are considered out-of-character if they crack the occasional joke or smart-ass comment. I think it makes the character all the more real, and is a very welcomed touch. I also enjoyed the pop-culture references sprinkled throughout the book by Wazdi and Cowalski. They made these characters seem so much more real than most characters found in these novels. I actually cared whether they came out of this alive, and that's saying something. Great work, Doug, can't wait for the next one!

"You are a walking John Woo movie" as one head terriost says before he is blown away. Then the fun really begins when the U.S. transport head terriost al-Laud who makes bin Lauden seems civilised to the states for trial. Well things don't go according to plan and Bolan has to stop al-Laud nefarious plans from coming to fruition with the help of two former blacksuits. THe situations in the desert as the 3 men survive and chase al-Laud were belivable and gave it you are there feel.The motives of al-Laud were realistic against the United States.

This Bolan adventure is a non-stop knockout. The action is incredible as Mack and two recruited FBI agents stalk escaped terrorist, Ahmur Ibn Laud, headman of the Divine Sword of Allah terrorist group, across the Egyptian desert and beyond. This one has some intricate plotting and a large cast of characters, which author Doug Wojtowicz handles very well. I always look forward to a Wojtowicz Bolan adventure because it is always jammed packed with military weaponry, all realistic and expertly handled, as well as realistic depictions of military and agency related paraphernalia. In fact, one of the things I like best about all the Executioner books is that a real effort is made to keep the weaponry real, which comes as a relief from a lot of mainstream thriller writing where much more well known authors seem completely ignorant of the realities of firearms. If you like your books with a Clancy-like attention to realistic detail, at about three times the action pace, read this one!

Wow.... I had taken a break from The Executioner's for a few months and was occupying myself with SuperBolans and StonyMans when I decided to read this one. This book was just amazing. The action, locations, and villains were outstanding, well described, and have been some of the best I have read in the newer set of Executioners. Mack Bolan himself is truly back in the book, he becomes weak, he gets hurt, he is human! Mack and his allies in the story are exhausted during the chase but Bolan doesn't give up, he would die to see the terrorist scum end up in hell. This book was truly amazing, but like said before the thing that was a bit odd was the dialouge. It seemed a bit to happy considering the situations they were in and it doesn't seem like Bolan would say. But despite the book was excellent.

Once again, a very impressive action-fest that never let up. Great action scenes and chases, and the two allies, Wazdi and Kowalski added a touch of humor to the story. As for the pop culture icons mentioned (Superman, Jonny Quest, etc.) you can see Doug's love for comics and such. The one thing that sort of bugged me was some of Bolan's dialogue. It just seemed too smart-aleck at times, that for me didn't quite fit the character. Sure, some of it made me chuckle, but I kept wondering "Would Bolan really say that?" And it was apparent that Doug was using John Woo for inspiration with Bolan using two guns during most of the gunfights. But, aside from that, great job once again.

Now that I have my second copy and re-read it, the thing that bothered me after first reading have to be the contrast between belivablity and lifelikeness of minor charcters to that how sick bastard their leader was. presentation of almost real charcters and clearly charcter of fictional story excicting in same contects. This still is great entry for series.

Get this book. Here's why: - Mack is a bad ass, but is human. He bleeds, gets hurt, but keeps moving thru grim determination. He cracks the occasional joke. - there is great supporting cast: the two allies, former black suits who run into Mack on this mission, and figure out that the man known as Striker from the Farm is Mack Bolan , the Executioner! They make references to his age that would make him roughly 40 years old at least. Jack Grimaldi shows up a little later. There is a great Force Recon commander who is a rambunctious as they come. Great action scene in the end with his Recon team. -the writer makes lots of references to older Executioner, Able Team and Phoenix Force books. He is obviously a long time fan, and big on continuity. - action scenes are tense and well written, without being unrealistic. I finished this book in two days. Like I said, get it.

This novel put to rest any fears I may have had that the Executioner series had run its course. Douglas has a true fan's appreciation of the history of the series, and a writer's sense of characterization, dialogue and narrative. What a novel! These are what I consider to be the main strengths of the novel: 1) Mack was a REAL HUMAN BEING: getting real wounds, joking around with Wazdi and Kowalski, thinking about why he continues his War Everlasting. 2) Great action. The action on board the boat and the final fight with Laud were vintage Bolan. 3) Continuity. Douglas played to the series' greatest strength: its rich history. He included references going all the way back to the original mafia wars. 4) Good enemies. The Divine Sword, and Laud in particular were worthy opponents. Of course I knew Bolan would win, but I had doubts about whether Wazdi and Kowalski would make it. 5) Style. Although nobody will ever do better than Pendleton, Doug updated Pendleton's "blitzkrieg" Bolan, hitting fast and furious, in a way perfectly suited to fighting terrorists. I can't wait for Doug's next book!

I loved this Bolan book by MB.com's very own DouglasPwz! Doug managed to nail it all in this one book: characterization, action, suspense, top-notch villains, continuity, attention to detail, etc. 'Hard Pursuit' will definitely go down as a true Bolan classic. 01.) Bolan was portrayed as human despite his past accomplishments and current predicament. 02.) The two Blacksuits added immensely to the overall story and added just the right amount of humor. 03.) It was nice to see Bolan taken out of his usual formula and retain the true feel of the character. 04.) Laud was a villain worthy of Mack Bolan. 05.) Wall to wall action complimented the storyline without drowning it out. We need more bolan novels along these lines. P.S. - Doug should pen scripts for some Hollywood action-thrillers, he has the feel for it.

It rocked! I thoroughly enjoyed it and anything I might mention to the contrary is not even worth mention. I thought it even potentially worthy of Don Pendelton; my opinion YMMV. The pop culture no sequitors were enjoyable, even think I may have missed a few. I read it once in a few hours only stopping to answer the phone, return emails and refill my water glass... The only complaint I have is that it could have potentially been a much larger volume and allowed for more story telling and flesh to the body. Might have been an excellent Super Bolan or possibley more correctly categorized as a Stony Man novel rather than an Executioner novella. Excellet accomplishment Doug, just outstanding! Rooster

Liked this book a lot... and so did my dog... Darn animal eat my copy when I was finished with... well it has good taste. Good characters even minor villains were believable human beings and story had very powerful main villain. Never thought Mack Bolan would look like Race Bannon but come to think of it... There was some thing that kept bugging me when I finished this but I can quite but out what it was so give it NINE points.

Douglas P. Wojtowicz could possibly be the new face of action novels today. His novels have enough realism so they're not ridiculously fake, and at the same time, they are packed with over-the-top action, gun fights, and fist fights. A few of these modern day novelists could read a Wojtowicz novel and learn something from it. This novel had style, friendship, and action, as well as a determination not to lose. The pair of Wazdi and Kowalski (which remind me of another pair of brothers from different mothers... :P) were fantastic. This was better than "Blood Trade," which was Doug's first novel, and one of the best damn Executioners ever. Fantastic! I hope to see more from this skilled author soon.

Douglas P. Wojtowicz could very well be, along with Montgomery, Chuck Rogers and the original Don Pendleton, my favorite Bolan writers of all. In his second contribution to the Bolan legend, he brings it on: action, chaos, characterization, balls, brains and a soul. I especially like Kowalski and Wazdi representing the New Skool. The heavy was more Klingon than stereotypical Arab Muslim and was a match for our favorite bad-assé This book is more fluid than BLOOD TRADE-which I loved-and much more frantic. Intense action in a short amount of time, like the original DIE HARD. Doug is a writer of IMMENSE talent and intelligence and deserves to be on the GE stable for a good long while. He's one of the fiew that actually gives a damn about little things like CONTINUITY, and EMOTIONAL CONTENT and CHARACTERIZATION. Keep it up.

The overal feeling that I had with this novel was that Australian author Matthew Rielly could learn a thing or two about characterisation from reading this. The story was packed with non stop chases and stunts, much like Reilly's work, but had many excellent character moments. A non stop chase over 24 hours. Bolan survives gunfights, plane crashes, motorbike chases, more gunfights, exploding freighters, helicopter pursuit, car chases and finally a physical fist/knife fight that (almost) rivals Chuck Rodger's Savage Game. A Hard Pursuit indeed. Once again Douglas P Wojtowicz supplies plenty of continuity to previous novels. Kasner's CIA mna Rust is mentioned, but the largest tie in is the use of the shipyard from Ron Renauld's Stony Man: Vector Three. The adapted ship plays a promenent part in the last third of the story. Two new good guys are introduced, former blacksuits who are familiar with Striker, and life long best friends. The two men provide Bolan with fire support as well as a never ending supply of wise cracks. The villain, Ahmur Ibn Laud, is a nasty piece of work. It is obvious that he is insane from the beginning, but being so charasmatic he his built up an army of fundamentalists willing to die for him. This is a guy that believes Osama bin Laden doesn't go far enough in his attacks on the West. So he has a big plan and is on the eve of implementing it. I had only minor quibbles with this novel, hence the nine star rating. The major point (to me) was the constant barrage of pop references that the characters refer to. Okay, I know the characters of LOTR and Batman etc, but the Johnny and Hadji references lost me. That dragged the story down slightly. It was never clear how many fundamentalists were on board the oil tanker, or why so many men were needed. Certainly not to pilot the ship. Most systems are so automated on tankers (even criminally adapted ones) that very few men are needed. Jack Grimaldi flies halfway around the world to assist Bolan in the latter third of the book but then is underused. Since Bolan was onboard an aircraft carrier there were more than enough pilots on hand to help Bolan. Grimaldi wasn't really needed, but I suppose that he turned up just in case his superiour skills were required. Grimaldi's presence, while superfluous, was not in any way detrimental to the flow of the story. So, all-in-all, this was a very good Bolan novel. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to one and all.

Mack Bolan is hot on the trail of an Islamic terrorist cell leader by the name of Ahmur Ibn Laud. This story is about Bolan's relentless pursuit of this man through some of the most exciting, action packed, bloody and explosive adventures in his everlasting war. Full of spills and thrills, this fast paced book by the author of Blood Trade grabs you by the throat and shoves your face full-on into the action and lets you up for air just long enough to catch a breath before slamming you right back into the chaos and mayhem. This novel would make a great movie, I think, it would be cool to see what John Woo could do with it. Lots of hair raising stunts, one of my favorites being Mack's taking on a helicopter with a motorcycle. Literaly. Mack has two allies helping him through the adventure, Wazdi, and Kowalski. These were former blacksuits at the farm and they were outstanding warriors at Bolan's side, as well as infusing a sense of humor into the narrative. The final confrontation with Laud, after an exciting bullet riddled chase in trucks in the Egyptian desert, leads to one of the bloodiest and brutal one on one fights Mack has had in a long time. Our hero gets beat and busted up and exhausted by the end of this adventure, but as always, gets the job done. My one problem with the novel was some of the action scenes were hard to follow, I thought they could have used more polishing, and some more depth of descriptive detail. And some of the shooting seemed too generic. Although I thought Blood Trade was a better novel overall, I think this exciting book was worth a nine star rating, and full of enough action to make your head spin, readers who enjoyed Doug's first novel will not be disappointed by Hard Pursuit. Expect more of the same great stuff from this book, get yourself a copy today!