New Orleans Knockout

Not too impressed with this story. The novel has dated badly and the dialogue is at times indecipherable. There were some good bits, however. Able Team being captured, the opening attack on the convoy, the sniper attack on the golf course. But the conversations between Bolan/Leo and Bolan/cop were awful.

Mack's back and this time its NOLA. This is a good story for me. Enjoyed Toni and Lieutenant Petro. I really have enjoyed the last few books because we get a little insight from the cops in charge. Loved Mack's visit to the golf course. Loved the introduction of the new War Wagon. Quite a machine!! Atthis point in his war everlasting he's starting to win it.looking forward to getting into the 2nd half of the oringinal books. 8 star book.

New Orleans is the next stop for the Big Guy in his ongoing war a city for decades held in the iron grip of an aging Capo Marco Vannaducci who knows it is time to let go and retire but refuses to do so. Young Turks throughout his kingdom have been jockeying each other with experimental pushes and prods here and there and greedy eyes from the north have been lusting for his turf as well resulting in a time bomb situation just waiting to explode. Enter the Big Guy and whilst on a soft probe on one of the estates placing eaves dropping devices comes across something which at first he has trouble accepting. Surveillance devices are already installed in and around the premises but the puzzling thing is who placed them and for what purpose more important is there anyone else with the genius of Gadgets Schwartz around as they have his hallmark of trade all over them. Backtracking the equipment for likely pickup locations he comes across a young female motoring across the bay and a short chase ensues where he catches the lady and is somewhat surprised to discover she is none the less than Toni Pol's younger sister who has an alarming tale regarding her brother and Gadgets who have been missing. Pol and Gadgets having taken the Big Guy's previous advice and formed Abel group a security electronics surveillance operation were contracted to place equipment on the premises of a high ranking underling of the Vannaducci family but the plot thickens when the contractor turns out to be yet another high ranking underling of the Vannaducci family. Add in the fact that Pol and Gadgets have been missing for a week the Big Guy has grave concerns regarding his friends. On to what he does best the Big Guy starts planting seeds of mistrust throughout the family and the vultures looking on from afar to once again set them upon each other. Couple this with a lot of assistance given to the local police in this title where he takes a lieutenant into his confidence and supplies him with a lot of incriminating evidence against the Bad guys and the title is cranking along nicely two thirds of the way through. The final sections from the roof hopping in New Orleans during festivities eliminating selected enemies through surgical strikes surrounded by thousands of party goers to the final attack on the aging capo's hardsite which features the magnificent war wagon for the first time retracting rocket pod launcher and all is fine reading indeed. First appearance of the UZI in this title also is notable as it also goes on to be one of his favourite pieces. Highly recommended reading Firebase Seattle here I come.

This was a decent book. There was nothing over-the-top that makes this great, but it was an enjoyable story. Bolan went to New Orleans to take out an elderly mafia Boss and those waiting to ascend the throne. He quickly found some "complications". NO Knockout had some strengths. There were likable support characters, the return of some favorite characters, great portions of dialogue, and a nice overall storyline. However, this book didn't have any fantastic battle scenes and was a little light on action throughout. There was a greater emphasis put on the war wagon and that set the stage for things to come. It was James Bond-like. All-in-all a solid book, but not quite as powerful as the last few.

This books starts with alot of action, as Bolan attacks a cash covoy, and never stops from there. Macks new ride the "Warwagon" is a great thing to read about. It is an army on wheels, you name it and it is in there. This is the first one of the series that has had Gadgets, Pol, and Toni in it. Even a person like Mack Bolan needs so help from time to time.

This was my very first Executioner Nove that I had read and since I started reading the executioner series over three years ago I have to say that this one in particular was one of the finest ever written. The charecter development was good the action scenes were well planned out. There could have been some more detail on the weaponst and assult vehicles used in the book Overal I thoguht that the book was excellent and I give it a full 10 star rating.

I was getting ready for a trip to the Big Easy and picked this Bolan book up to get in the mood. A fun read and the plot moves along nicely. We see Gadgets and Pol in the early stages of Albe Team (called Able Group through most of the book), which was cool. This book was written in the mid 70's and I found myself having to reread some of the dialogue to decypher some of the slang. Not a big deal, and it added to the charachter of the book. Everytime the Big Guy put on his "yatching cap" as part of his disguise I just had to laugh. I just kept picturing Ted Knight in Caddy Shack. The problem I had with this book is that everything was just a little too easy for Mack. He knew who was where and when and always seemed to have the drop on everyone. There was little suspense that he would take everyone down. Even Pol's little sister Toni was throwing herself at Mack from her first appearance in the story. Still a worthwhile read - the Pendelton books definately have a different feel and candance too them then their modern counterparts.

Another mission for the Executioner takes him to New Orleans where an aging capo is on the way out. Bolan has a plan to topple everything and prevent another family from moving in. Things are complicated by the appearance of a classy lady and the involvement and disappearance of the two surviving Death Squad members. This one started out well with a Bolan hit on a mob cash convoy, then a visit to a mafia lieutenant's home. After some plot development Bolan made an attention getting hit at some invading hoods. More plot development, then some action in the French Quarter during the build up toward Mardi Gras. The big action sequence at the end was not as good as the usual Pendleton thrill ride. There's a new customized war wagon introduced here and it is very sweet. The rockets were cool, maybe a bit far out, but I just couldn't imagine a RV assaulting a mafia hard site without laughing. We're also missing the view inside the big guy's soul in this one. So the opening convoy hit, the hit at the invading mob leader and some other action get this one 5 stars. Not a bad read, just not in a class with the usual thrilling Bolan stories from Pendleton.

This was just okay. Even though it was the first one with the Warwagon, and had Gadgets and Pol, it just didn't have a lot of action.

Enjoyed it!