Vegas Vendetta

This book was AWESOME!!! From the take down of convoy at the beginning using the Stoner Weapon system and LAW rocket. Good stuff. I likes the Anders monologue very well written I liked the part about america losing its guts. I wonder what Anders would think today. I liked Mack's Reception for the Talifero brothers. Wecome to Vegas, good stuff again. Didnt really care for the ranger girls. I liked the Mack just walks among the mafia guns barking orders left and right. Thats balls right there. 10 stars.

Mack Bolan shows up in Las Vegas looking to make a quick buck my robbing a Mafia convoy. What he doesn’t count on is saving the life of an undercover Carl Lyons, the cop who was hunting him back in Death Squad. With Lyons recovering from being beaten half to death, Bolan is tasked with protecting Tommy Anders, a stand-up comedian who has stumbled on to a mob plot to take control of Hollywood and eventually the entire West coast. Meanwhile, the Mafia has sent in the Talifero brothers, long time Bolan rivals, to protect their casinos and their future interests. I enjoyed seeing the return of Carl Lyons, knowing he will become a major character in the future. He didn’t have much to do in this book as he spends his time recuperating from a brutal beating, but that’s a touch that keeps the series grounded. I also liked the continuity of Bolan’s favourite gun being a rifle he got while in England back in the 6th book. Tommy Anders is an interesting character who seems to be pastiche of Lenny Bruce and George Carlin based on when the book was written. Pendleton spends a few pages writing a long comedy routine and while Don shouldn’t quit his day job for open mic nights it was better than I was expecting and at least he didn’t write the audience as finding the routine hilarious. After a string of unremarkable villains, Vegas Vendetta picks up again. I think it’s because the Talifero brothers are already established as antagonists and the operations in Vegas are different enough to keep things interesting. As far as the action goes, there seems to be a little less than usual but there is a badass scene where Bolan takes down an entire airplane. Rather than the usual wipe out the climax is a pretty engaging tactical withdrawal. Plus, while there are the requisite attractive ladies Bolan doesn’t bed any of them. Not that I have a problem with the sex scenes in the series, it is nice to see that Bolan doesn’t have to get down every single time out. I’m always looking for the rare strong female character in The Executioner series and there may be one here. However, she is working undercover for the majority of the book so we just have a hint of her potential. Hopefully she will return later. Late in the book Bolan does his usual trick of impersonating a mobster through his acting ability; though this time he is able to shut down an entire casino. To Pendleton’s credit, even Bolan seems shocked that this plan works for so long but it does seem a little far-fetched. I’m getting a little tired of these scenes as you would think that word would have gotten around that Bolan goes undercover. I suppose that information isn’t spread around as quickly in the early 70’s and Bolan hasn’t done this trick too many times at this point. I can’t fault the book for being a product of its time but if the story took place now I imagine Bolan’s cover would last minutes, not hours. All in all, this is one of the better Executioner books I’ve read. There were no real down spots and while it didn’t reinvent the wheel, so far I’d call it the quintessential example of the series. Executioner Kill Count: 38

Wow..... What a read, great book. It starts off with Mack saving Carl life again. We are intro. To the Ranger Girls and Jack for the first time. The shoot out at the airport was a classic Bolan hit. The famous Taliferi brothers are in this book also. It's end with Hal taking a shoot at Bolan. One of my favorites...

After leaving Chicago the Big Guy stops over in Las Vegas with the intention of adding some funds to his depleted War Chest via a withdrawal from the Mob's skimming house of one of it's casino's. After a successful first part of the operation he then stumbles into a nearly dead Carl Lyons who has been almost beaten to death by Mafia interrogators and their safe escape becomes the primary goal. With Lyons safely tucked away a little of the Bolan touch on Vegas is decided upon and so starts some of the most audacious actions and events he has managed to pull off at this time of the series. Massive forces are amassed against him none the least the Talifero Brothers are flying in with revenge on their minds from Miami huge numbers of hard men are on the streets and inside the casino's and maybe the most concerning of all a huge force of Federal marshals and FBI officers led by none other than Hal Brognola who have been given shoot on sight orders. Toss in the comic Tommy Anders (whose comedy I just can't get into I'm afraid) and introducing the fabulous Ranger girls who all play ongoing rolls in the future titles of the series add in some wonderful characters from the Mob and this title rocks. After a beautiful welcome to the incoming Talifero Brothers and their ninety or so soldiers at the airport where their private jet is landing the audacity the Big Guy shows allows him to pull off one of the biggest cons going as he basically takes over the running of the Mobs casino and not only destroys huge amounts of currency held on the premises also manages to pull off a brilliant escape after possibly taking down one or both of the Talifero brothers with the unknown assistance of none the less than Jack Grimaldi introduced here for the first time. HIGHLY recommended reading in this series one of the best.

Don Pendleton... You've outdone yourself in this one! This book I devoured in a hour! This is where we run into the Ranger Girls the first time. I have to say I loved the spunk of Toby Ranger! :) The Ethnologist Tommy Anders isn't even funny at all. I'd have to agree with previous reviewer that his inclusion is a filler. The action begins with Bolan bailing out Carl Lyons, the middle sees Bolan taking over the Casino and in the end he makes his biggest escape. My disappointment is the duel of the Talifero brothers. I expected something else in mind for those two. That's why I rated it as a 9 rather than 10. Don't miss this one! You'll enjoy it! :) Sig

A great story that continued to develop two longstanding characters -- Jack Grimaldi and Carl Lyons. To fans of the series, along with the spin-off series, these adds a bit of nostalgia to reading these early Executioneers. Pendleton did a nice job of tapping into the genius of Mack Bolan as he uses psyops in penetrating the mafia establishment in Vegas to bring them down in an amazing way. I especially liked to inclusion of Brognola into the story and Brognola's internal struggle over whether or not to take down Bolan. I think the one casino scene between Brognola & Bolan could be the one that expresses the two men (informally) fighting on the same side of the law. A very entertaining read ...

One of Pendleton's better writings, the action is non-stop, the plot is solid, and Bolan is at his thunder-and-lightning best. This book exceeded my expectations, being tense from beginning to end. Many unforgettable scenes: Bolan's hit on the Mafia convoy; the Mafiosi who 'tricked' Bolan in the office; Mack taking over the casino. I didn't care for Anders' standup gig that much (page filler), but other than that, I was delighted with this title.

My sentiments echo those of the other reviewers, this was a good entry and introduced some key characters. The showdown with the Talifero's was disappointing but then it still does leave you wondering whether they will come back for a third round. I deliberately haven't read ahead in the reviews to find out. Toby Ranger really has me fascinated, this is my first encounter with her and I can't wait to find out who she really works for. Once again Don Pendleton shows he is the man! Now I have an appointment with Mack in San Juan.

This was a pretty fine read. Lyons almost buying the farm and Mack bailing him out sort of brought things full circle.Brognola trying to shoot Mack was kind of a shock,as I got my intro to the Executioner later on in the series and only came by this story recently. Good show all around though.

this is the first Don Pendleton written Bolan story I've read in a few years. I've been reading the Gold Eagle house authors lately. WOW! Pendleton is THE Bolan authour. I won't take up space by agreeing with the other reviews for this book; they are all correct. This book rocks! Not long on action, but big on hard hitting dialogue & characterization. Thanks, Mr.Pendleton, for creating this awesome genre. 8 stars outta 10!

This is a good one, and with a bunch of classic characters in one book, it is one that shouldn't be looked over. Seeing what happens between Bolan and Hal Brognola was exciting, I thought it was the most memorable part of the book. And Grimaldi for the first time was very interesting. Read it if you haven't already.

Well, it´s rare that I like the Mafia war books. The plot was outstanding and Bolan´s plan of breaking up the Mafia hold on Las Vegas was an exciting one as Bolan toys with the Mafia boys making them looking stupid and confused and spinning his web of illusion and deception tackling the Maffia one by one up close and personal. It´s always makes me wonder how stupid and secure the Mafia boys are in catching Bolan and always there is some hot shot who thinks he can catch our hero and he uses their weakness and "security" against them every single time. It would have been great to have a major showdown between Bolan and the Talifero brothers instead of this short confrontation in the casion. One thing about the book is "funny" but Brognola actually tried to shoot Bolan his future friend and war partner and only Bolan´s Mafia "side kick" prevented that from happening. Many of Bolan´s future crime fighters and side kicks are introduced in this book like Grimaldi, Anders and the Ranger Girls. This book proves that one man can make a difference!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was on restriction a lot as a kid from age 9-13 so I was doing a lot of reading. I read lots of Readers Digest books until I came across The Executioner #9. My dad had it sitting in a box of books getting ready to be taken to the Thrift shop so I began reading it (1974). I was hooked ever since. It was nice to see the series 'growing up' and becoming more of an International 'get the terrorists' sort of series, including the addition of the Phoenix force and Able team. In my late 30's, I am still enjoying each one. Thanks for great reading!

Another great entry by Don Pendleton. It was great to see Carl Lyons again. It was also great to meet the Ranger Girls, Tommy Anders and Grimaldi for the first time.

Bolan blitzes sin city in the dessert. This book moves along quickly from the opening Bolan hit on a lonley mountain road at night where he encounters a familiar face to the bullet filled finish in a Vegas casino. The action is well done again and one Bolan hit in particular in the middle of the story is a real gem. The Talifero's are after Bolan this time and things heat up when they come to town followed by a planeload of federal Bolan hunters. With his brains, guts and skills - and some help from new friends- Bolan turns the mob inside out and uses their weaknesses against them yet again. Another enjoyable action packed adventure in this series that rates 8 stars.

I like this one, lots of action and adventure. A lot of old (and new faces in this one) and some very different sides to the main players, such as seeing that Carl Lyons isn't indestructable, and Brognola shooting at Bolan. It is a shame that there wasn't a better shoot out between the Talifero brothers and Bolan; I thought that that confrontation in the casino was over too quickly. This story could have been longer.

I really liked this one. I've read better, but this was a good book.

Wasn't as good as some of the earlier books. Too bad Bolan and the Talifero brothers didn't have a showdown. But good introducion to Jack Grimaldi.

A great novel. The battles on the casino floors were quite entertaining, and the introduciton of Grimaldi at the end leads to more interesting adventures.

I thought it was sort of an average entry. The biggest plus was the appearance of all the familiar faces: The Ranger Girls, Tommy Anders, Hal Brognola, Jack Grimaldi, Carl Lyons...Whew!