Tuscany Terror

This was my very first Bolan book that I read. It was a good introduction for me. I was hooked big time after I read it. Liked the mini weapons in review. Story was ok I really didnt know all the characters to well. But I did like the writing. I was 16 what do I know! Really liked the cover though. Thats what really hooked me in.

Back-to-back good books in the Executioner series. Terrorists based in Italy have kidnapped a mother/daughter of a military senior leader. Their intent is to discredit him by making him state false testimony publicly in an attempt to get America and NATO out of Italy. Mertz presented a great story, with likeable characters, and several solid action sequences. We have familiar faces -- such as Leo -- and some new allies, such as Gia Vallone. They all work together in combating the terrorists. This title had a solid escape scene, well-thought out interaction between Italian police and Bolan, and a climatic rescue scene. The only negative is that it had an abrupt ending. I reached page 160 thinking there was another 20 -- as most monthly Executioners -- and then I had the epilogue. The final 20 pages or so advertised upcoming books and presented a short catalogue of Bolan's weapons.

Terrorists of the Italian based Red Justice Column have kidnapped the wife and daughter of a high ranking NATO commander trying to pressure him into publicly admitting false accusations with the intention of getting American and NATO out of Italy. As usual with this author the title is nonstop action from start to finish without a break. The final assault on the hard site to rescue the captives is the climax of the title and features Leo along to assist this time which was good. Certainly one of the better reads of the Terrorist War series of titles recommended reading.

No one comes to a Mack Bolan novel expecting high art, but there's a certain minimum that one expects: good action, strong sense of place and plenty of bad guys being shot in the face. TUSCANY TERROR, delivers on the third count, but does little with the other two. Not that there's any shortage of action. In fact, the novel is almost nothing BUT action during it's relatively short span. The action doesn't spark, largely because the story is so flaccid. It also fails to grab as a travelogue, with the settings acting interchangeably even as the action skips around Italy. I stop short of calling the novel BAD because it did hold my attention from beginning to end, but there was nothing particularly standout about the 52nd installment of the Executioner. As an example, the highlight comes when a KGB agent is shot in the eye, not during one of the many fight scenes scattered throughout the narrative. In the final analysis, TUSCANY TERROR is essentially a completists-only volume. Don't come into it expecting too much and it will deliver on a basic level.

Mack Bolan goes gunning after Italian terrorists with a modified AutoMag and lots of poorly written action scenes from this amateur author (or maybe he was just under pressure to finish the story real quick). This was definitly the worst Executioner book I have ever read (out of books 1 - 52). The only evidence of a plot was the caption on the back of the book. The ultimatum was never discussed in the book, only that the family of DiAlto was being held hostage for some reason. The book was crammed with lots of action and thats the only reason I gave it 4 stars. Its started out with a bang and I was enjoying it up until Leo shows up from the states. Then it really dawned on me how poorly written this book is. Ive read other books from Mertz (of course I was in the 8th grade then) and don't remember them being this bad. This book just did not have any soul ! The supporting characters were mediocre and the two main villians were the first ones killed in the showdown at the end. Null suspense. Null tension. Then it just ended. The story was way too short. 1 star more for 'The Guns of Col. John Phoenix'. The added section at the end was pretty informative. Maybe the author should have read it before he wrote the book. 5.1 Stars for this entry

This was a shorter book than most, but it crammed a lot of entertaining action between the covers. Not as good as Libya connection, but pretty fun.

Another middling adventure tale in the career of The Executioner. This book has Mack Bolan in Italy tracking down the kidnapped family of an American soldier and laying waste to the ranks of the commie terrorists. One thing to note, this book is only story up until page 162 and then has a feature on weapons from the series with some pictures. Action? Lots of it. It just didn't seem at all believable in this book. I'd have to go back and check (and I really don't want to) but I don't think there was any shot that Bolan fired in this book that didn't hit a terrorist. Even his off-balance, flying-through-a-diving-roll-for-cover shots hit bad guys smack in the middle of their foreheads. One of the few times I've just gone through a Bolan adventure shaking my head. Plot? Simple. Nothing to write home about. Bolan looks for the victims and their abductors; he finds them; he rescues the former and kills the latter. There is some attempt at a story angle involving a traitor among the good guys. Characters? Bolan seemed to be kind of off. Maybe he was just feeling a bit full of himself that day. Leo is on board for the last third of the book and gets involved in the action; that's worth an extra star. The American colonel is forgettable and his family isn't in the book enough to be a factor. The Italian lady agent is OK but I was distracted by how tough she was purported to be. The bad guys are so uninteresting I couldn't tell you who they are. Bolan uses his Beretta 93-R and his AutoMag but also switches to use a Beretta 93-S at the last infiltration. (Mack may want to have Konzaki take a look at the AutoMag because it was firing a lot of 9mm in this story for some reason.) Lots of Uzis and Galil assault rifles and other hardware flinging lead around. If it wasn't for the appearance of Leo and the nice section on "The Guns of Colonel John Phoenix" at the end, this one would get 4 stars from me. As it is I figure it's worth 5.

Well, I liked this book as it was a total surprise for me. I prefer to have a Mack Bolan book with a major riddle, plot, and mystery for our hero instead of the straight action books. The plot in this one is very straight forward and obvious from the beginning and Bolan´s mission is very clear from the start but the action part of the book is outstanding and very well written making this book a great reading. It was great to have Leo Turrin back in action with Bolan and it is always great to have some of Bolan´s friends fighting with him back to back like Leo does in this book. What also made it a special one was the brief but personal words between April Rose and Hal Brognola about Mack Bolan and his personality giving us a more of their personal views on Bolan. This is a great book and hopefully there are more of this kind out there!!!!

Tis was one of the first BOLAN books i ever read, causing my craming spree on Executioner paper backs. a great read , hard hitting action. thunderous discriptions, with one flaw. BigThunder kept unleashing 9mm death. i dont wanna sound like a whiny stickler on detail, but its a 44 AUTOMAG. NOT THE 93-R. OH WELL, great story and action, great background material, on all the characters, and weapons. i kinda think this book was written by more than just one writer.

A truly... different book. For some reason, the Terrorist Wars books always felt odd to me. Stephen Mertz does ok in this one... the battle scenes are interesting, and I liked the unusual nature of the final battle, with Bolan having to fight with two hostages slung on his body. The villains, however, despite Mertz' build-up, weren't much to crow about. As well, the journal didn't sound quite right. Mack was more eloquent in the Libyan Connection. And the epilogue? Please! One real bonus to the book, however, was the Guns of Colonel John Phoenix.

THE VERY FIRST MACK BOLAN BOOK I EVER READ. ENOUGH ACTION TO KEEP ME COMING BACK TO THE SERIES FOR YEARS. ONE MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BOLAN'S.

The book really grabs you from the beginning .There isn't much time wasted on developing the plotline. I like it when the action starts without any further adue. Good Book.

Mertz is one of the best Bolan writers! Very action-oriented. I loved it!