Death Squad

I just re-read this entry, I forgot how good it was. Where to start? IT seems to take place a month after the first book, as Mack talks as if he drove for Pittsfield to LA and laid the groundwork for assembling his Death Squad. I like the intro of Carl Lyons on the LAPD, as I'm an Able Team fan. Pendleton really makes it apparent, that Mack is a tactical genious, he plans, plans and plans again.He takes nothing for granted and nothing to chance. What I really like is he has a dour sense of humour while being serious at the same time. I think too many of the later books made him out to be too unemotional and robotic. Mack does a great job of chess master tactics with the bad guys. I really liked all the Death Squad members, if anything, it'd be great if the book was longer to flesh out their characters and back stories. I believe someone later wrote a book with Mack in Vietnam with these guys. I'd read that! I also love the fact that we meet Rosario and Gadgets, too other future Able Team members. A well paced read, 8 out of 10 stars.

Mack Bolan rounds up a team of his former Viet Nam colleagues for a "Death Squad" in his continued war with the Mafia in this action-packed second entry in the series. Much of the action takes place while driving the streets of Los Angeles which reminded me of the Fast and Furious movies. The ten members recruited for the Death Squad seemed a bit excessive and it was hard to keep them straight. A couple of them end up being members of the spin-off series "Able Team" along with a rogue cop who is also introduced in this novel, so this book is probably one of the more essential reads in the Executioner extended universe.

Really enjoyed this book. It was a great follow up to the first book. Nice to see the kinship between fellow soldiers and to see people having each other's back. I won't say more so as not to spoil the ending. Enjoy!

I don't like the sequel to War against the mafia as much as I did that one. Mainly because, in Death Squad, the idea is Mack needs help in his one man War so he recruits old Nam' buddies to his cause. Which would be fine if it was only a few, but its like 10 people.. and they all get a POV. As such, Mack has to take a back seat. Plus you have the cop portion, corrupt cops as well this time around. its where the book being so short hurts. Cause you can't give so many characters equal time. First part of the book, where Mack rescues a buddy from thugs while a swinger party is going on is pretty fun. Some of the Death Squad characters are really intriguing but don't get used to most of them being around going forward. Don's writing is actually improved a bit and the action is more polished if a bit less reckless than the first. Another plus of the book is the lack of sex scenes... I don't mind them but it also halts the plot a bit which would have made this book even worse. Still a solid read.

Just finished reading Death Squad. What can I say? Well it was very short and really simple! As I first set out in reading it, I really struggled with it being overly simple. I guess I have gotten so used to a higher word count! However, as I continued to read on, I started to enjoy it more as the plot thickened. I really enjoyed seeing where Pol, Gadgets and Lyons came from as well and look forward to seeing them more in future early titles. Since living in the L.A. area for the last two years it was fun knowing where the locations were! There were three issues I struggled with the most that made me rate this at a seven. The book was so dated, being published in '69 it was difficult to place myself in the time-frame. Second, Bolan was smoking all the time it seemed. I'm sure this is just a run-over of the times. back in the sixties smoking was something that everyone did, but it was difficult seeing Bolan do this as it would have an effect on his warrior abilities. Lastly, was a lack of description on the weapons. Few were well described, most were just called "Chatter guns" or a "Chopper." I guess I really like the descriptions of the weapons used rather than a general term. Spoiler---- It was sad to see so many possibilities of future team like Phoenix or Able be devastated in the last attack! it also happened so fast, with a lack of description. It irritates me a bit that we follow the budding of these new characters, get a liking to them, and see them all, all except two, killed off! End Spoiler---- Overall, it did end up being a nice little read.

Solid entry. Liked the seen where Mack And Zitter are Carrying the bodies the Mack have just wacked out of Zitters apartment right in front of the party goers, good stuff. I give this a 9 star because I would have liked to read how the death squad members got killed. Not Mack coming across there bodies. Still a solid entry. Reading Battle Mask now.

Great follow up to the first book. I wish that some of the Death Squad members like Boom Boom and Washington lived. Then would have been great members for Phoenix Force. This book shows us where Able team all started from. I wonder when we was writing these books if we was think about AbleTeam and Phoenix Forces back then. Carl is becoming on of my favorite fiction heroes. Off to book 3 now.

This is the second Executioner book I’ve read and it did not disappoint. Bolan assembles a team of Vietnam vets to carry on his war against the mafia, but not only will they have to face down the Mob, but a police squad as well! The plot summary is a little sparse this time around, but there is plenty going on in this book. The perspective switches almost equally between Bolan and his team, the Mob and the police allowing the reader insight from every perspective. This will lead to times when you’ll hear about an ambush from the perspective of a gangster as he wonders how the Death Squad pulled it off but then in the next chapter the police will piece together the clues and figure it out. The action is good but short which makes perfect sense in context. If you had a squad of 10 professionals outnumbering a handful of mobsters I’d hope it would be quick. I also appreciate the attention to detail by having characters discuss the challenges of long range sniping. It’s not just a matter of putting the cross-hairs over a target like the movies would have you believe. Also, making a detective the antagonist to a vigilante has become a trope by now, but it’s a smart move to have a challenge that the hero can’t solve with bullets. Being that this is the second book in the series it’s a little surprising that Bolan isn’t featured heavily, but in retrospect it makes sense. Pendleton defines Bolan but contrasting him against his team. While they’re all good at what they do, they’re no Executioner. They’re political, in it for the money, unstable or have a grey morality. Bolan isn’t an adrenaline junkie looking for his next fix; he’s doing what needs to be done. He’s fighting a war and while he may have some satisfaction from a job well done, he’d rather live in a world while his job isn’t necessary. As the books went on I’m sure readers would wonder why Bolan usually works alone, but this book did a good job of explaining why early on. *MAJOR SPOILERS* This book also emphasizes the importance of tactics, a trend I hope will continue. The squad does well as long as they have a well thought out plan. During their final assault a team member acts spontaneously and is killed soon after. The rest of the team then tries to improvise a plan to infiltrate a stronghold which ends with everyone besides Bolan dead or on the run from the cops. This final action packed sequence is the highlight of the book and I loved the fact that this mission would have to be considered a failure. Sure, a lot of gangsters got killed but Bolan seems to kill plenty on his own. The main villain got away, all of his allies are defeated and Bolan may not even have all the money they acquired. While it would be a downer if every book was a failure, having it happen once and a while keeps things more realistic. Most of the problems I have with this book come from the fact it’s too short. It’s a bit much to add 10 new characters and expect them to be fully fleshed out. As such, Pendleton gives some of them an easily recognizable hook to keep track of them during the action but not much more. Also, recruiting his team seemed to come a little too easily for Bolan. The first guys he talks to join up on his crusade without much internal debate. Had the book been longer I’d imagine he’d have to do a little more convincing and more some of his first choices would have turned him down. And while the Death Squad isn’t the deepest, the characters are likable and it almost seems like a waste to kill off so much of the team. In retrospect it might have been a good idea to keep the team going for another book before killing everyone, but I know that would have been a risk at the time. I doubt Pendleton knew that the series would continue for so long and that he’d have all the time that he wanted.

The perfect follow up to the first title in the series? Absolutely. Realising what he is up against the Big Guy decides to recruit some help from his old army buddies and recruits nine of them to form a Death Squad with the intention of taking out the DiGeorge family. The cops are not going to accept what is going on and a task force headed by Capt. Braddock is formed to take down the Big Guy which features a member by the name of Sergeant Carl Lyons and also a Detective named Charlie Rickert who both play ongoing roles in the following titles of the series. The Big Guy with his Death Squad plan a military assault to take down the DiGeorge family but all does not go to plan with the squad being decimated and Bolan taking a suicide chance to escape at the end. Carl Lyons features prominently at the end with what happens and the Big Guy lives on to fight another day in the next title. Brilliant title in the series here and highly recommended reading in the series.

I enjoyed this book immensely. However, there are negatives at the end! That's why it's got a 9 star not 10! I will not forgive Don Pendleton for killing off Boom-Boom Hoffower and Bloodbrother Loudelk! Those two would potentially have become part of the Phoenix Force teams if they had survived! I can easily see those two show up periodically along the Executioner's path. The other deaths I can understand why it made it necessary for Mack Bolan to walk the first mile alone! The only one another that I could imagine seeing Mack Bolan hanging out with is the Whispering Death Zitter. If you started reading Mack Bolan, this one is the one everyone needs to read as to why he must walk alone forevermore! Sig

A very enjoyable and entertaining story. Of the dozens of Executioner titles I've already read, this is by far my favorite. This book is a classic for a number of reasons. There is tremendous dialogue between the characters, especially The Executioner, Lyons, and Braddock. There are times in the book that you think you're actually in the room. The discussion between Bolan and Lyons in Lyons' living room is Fleming-like. Pendleton also does a great job of bridging his previous book with "Death Squad." This was clearly intentional by the author and virtually allows someone to read the 2nd without needing to read the initial Executioner book. Lastly, both car chase scenes are action-packed and written extremely well. If all Pendleton's titles are equally as good, I look forward to reading more!

I'm giving this one a five. The end really disappointed me. Seriously, here is this crack team of specialists who slap the mob around like it is nothing, and then they all die in a matter of pages. Why? Like some of the other reviewers on this site, I thought it was cool to see Gadgets, Pol, and Carl Lyons grouped in the same book. It made sense to me that Gadgets and Pol were the two to get busted. I kept on reading, even though this one kinda sucked. The editing was terrible. I'm only giving this one a 5, because Contenental Contract really sucked.

The one thing that makes Death Squad truly special is the development of Mack Bolan and the insight given to us by seeing his leadership qualities in action. Mack's true nature comes out the strongest when he interacts with his most trusted allies, and rarely do we see it on the same scale as we do in Death Squad. It is also not very easy to switch perspective from character to character but Don Pendleton did it with seeming ease. It was a real pleasure to read a novel that flowed so smoothly and still gave us so many perspectives on the same set of events. Next step is to read Dirty War to see if the magic from Death Squad was captured as well as it was spun in Death Squad.

Another 10 in my book! The Death squad was an almost seamless tie in to Mack Bolans first strike on the mob. The death squad was an excellent bunch of characters and the introduction of Gadgets, Pol Blancanales, and Carl Lyons (later to become the big mans Able Team) made this a classic title in the series. The action was great and it was a major shame when the squad went down in the end. You almost feel as bad as Bolan to lose such a super kick ass group of soldiers. I was a little curious to what happened to Bolans squeeze from the first book but seeing as how I can't remember her name it really isn't that important. The fact all these guys had returned from Nam a week after bolans war started and were all in the LA area was a little fishy but not enough to ruin the enormity of this title! Another must read in the series.

This book was fantastic. I'm not sure about the ages of the people on here, but I am an original fan. I began reading them when I was a boy and fell in love with the realism, detail and character depth. This story I found great. What Pendleton wanted was to demonstrate a few things. First, the reason that this many combat buddies were willing to help, was because the bond in combat is unbreakable. Second, the number of guys had to be large enough to seem realistic in the face of the huge enemy numbers, and finally, they all die, because Pendleton wanted to show the tragedy of war. While Bolan lives the tragedy every day, this book was the beginning of many books that show the end of the tragedy for others.

This was a great follow-up to the first book. I always wondered where Carl Lyons, Pol and Gadgets came from. It sucks that most of the Death Squad died near the end but it really made for a great book.

I loved Death Squad more than War Against the Mafia because I like it when Mack isn't alone and has comrades to help him, which is why I enjoy Stony Man books more than Executioners and Super Bolans. One of the best books in the series. My favorite Death Squad characters were Deadeye Washington and Boom Boom Hoffower.

Although certain parts of Death Squad were real good, the book as a whole was a bit dissappointing to me. It was an okay read, but not one of Pendleton's best. I agree completely with Adam's review; the beginning of the book was unrealistically contrived; not spontaneous or natural as life is. I especially like Bolan's desperate escape at the very end, however.

A lot of people seem to prefer this novel to its predecessor, but I find this unfathomable. I thought that while Death Squad was exciting, and an enjoyable read, it measured up poorly to War Against the Mafia. After the grit and realism of that first novel, its sequel often seems almost cartoonish. The biggest stumbling block to my enjoyment of Death Squad, however, is the speed and ease with which Bolan is able to assemble his squad of fellow Vietnam veterans. Every single ex-serviceman he contacts is eager to join his war, and at no point does even one of them contemplate giving up. After the lengths that Pendleton went to in his first novel to paint a believable picture of a man who is driven to the edge by the deaths of his parents and sister, the introduction of nine new characters, most of whom are two-dimensional at best, seems somewhat ridiculous. Perhaps I would have had an easier time swallowing the action in Death Squad if Bolan had only recruited three or four old war buddies, and we had gotten more of a chance to know them. I liked “Chopper” Fontenelli, “Dead-Eye” Washington, “Pol” Blancanales, and “Gadgets” Schwarz, but didn’t feel as if Pendleton gave himself enough time to properly flesh out their characters. They emerge as dedicated and likeable soldiers, but that’s about it. The remaining members of Bolan’s hastily assembled squad are either total ciphers (like George Zitka), or gimmicky caricatures instead of real people. (Did we really need The Cowboy, The Indian, and The Hippy?) Aside from that, though, there’s little in Death Squad that I can complain about. The action is abundant, fast-paced, and well-written, especially the final pair of assaults on the Mafia. I liked the introduction of Carl Lyons’s character, and thought both scenes in which he meets Bolan face-to-face were tense and full of portent. Overall, I have to say that this a very enjoyable book, and a nice backbone to the “trilogy” formed by the first three Executioner novels.

This is simply in my opinion the best Executioner book that Don Pendleton ever wrote, my only dissappointment was that most of the Squad were killed off and I agree with Dan Xavier that it would have been more interesting if it had been 2 of the others that had survived to become Able Team. My choices would have been Bloodbrother and Whispering Death,other than that 10 out of 10.

I would have to say after reading the first 38 books that this is my favorite eventhough it ends in a terrible way

The Death Squad, picked it up by accident, was looking for westerns, loved the characters, espaecially Gunsmoke Harrington. Took a few more books to get me hooked, but have collected all of the Mafia wars, and all the original Stony Man issues, proves it worked. Love most of the first 38 but this is still one of the best, I've re-read it probably seven or eight times. Don teased with the squad, as most of the reviews have stated a few more stories would have been good, but I think the real hook is that characters that really didn't get that much time, are so missed. "Dirty War" tried but didn't quite capture the same magic.

I kind of started backward in the series - the bulk of books I have read are in the 200s - about 30 of them. To me book 1 answers why Bolan started the War Against the Mafia and his origins. Kind of like comic books where each comic has an origin episode which shows how they became a superhero or villian. This book answers why this was a one man war. I also liked seeing Lyons for the first time. A rather green detective who later one will become almost as good as Bolan. In retrospect of all the original 10 members I would have loved to have seen a Able Team of Lyons, Andromede (Flower Child) and Loudelk. Sorry of the ten keeping the two most boring characters in the book made little sense. But as Stony Men characters I like Pol and Gadgets. The only reason I am giving this book a 9 is for the horrendous editting. Seeing " without closing them drives me batty. Having none and realize that you are reading a paragraph is sloppy. I know this is the job of the editor to proofread but the writer is ultimately responsible. This is beyond any doubt the worst editting job I have ever come across.

This one wasn't as good as the first one, or Battle Mask, but it is one of the better ones in the series. I was surprised that Bolan's buddies bit the big one so easily, I thought they should have kicked more ass before they croaked. At least 2 of them survived to fight to this day.

Can't add much to what other reviewers have said about this book. A definite classic worth tracking down. Hard to believe it came out over thirty years ago!

Loved the book only bad part was almost all of The Death Squad gets killed.

Man talk about a great book this had to be one of the best I read it in one day because I just couldn't seem to put it down. The only problem I have with this book is that most of the death squad dies and I think they should have waited to kill them off for at least a couple of more books.

Great read! The first Bolan book I read against the mafia that got me buying all the Mafia war books. I have read the first 19 books. A bit sad though that most of the Death Squad died. Buy it!

Another winner from DP. Only beef I had was most of the Squad dying off. Seems there were some possibilities for that bunch...... Oh well, still a great example of Don's work.

Death Squad was my very first Bolan adventure and it has stuck with me in the back of my mind ever since...if you could only read one Bolan story, this would be the one...I can still remember how much it hurt when Chopper Fonatelli was killed, this is a book that makes you FEEL for the characters, MAN...if any book moved me as much as this one it would almost be too much to bear,,,this book is probably the reason I love Pol, Gadgets and Ironman so much...they resonate so much more then the Phoenix guys, tho' I love 'em too...if you are a Bolan fan, you owe it to yourself to read this book....believe me...you'll NEVER forget Zitter, Chopper, Gunsmoke, Deadeye, Bloodbrother, Flower Child, Boom Boom, Pol, or Gadgets (GOD, did I forget anyone????)!!! The DEATH SQUAD LIVES!!!!

This book is definetly on par with the first, but sadly doesnt deserve a full 10. Though it does introduce future members of ABLE TEAM, and STONY MAN, it does also feature the deaths of all but 2 of the Death Squad. Oh well, I can't give it a 10 because Pendleton killed off too many great characters who should have lasted for a least another book.

Just got done with this one and boy was it good, I sort of wish that Mr. Pendleton had kept death squad together a bit longer at least untill the third or fourth entry in the series. But all in all one of the best bolans.

This is my MOST favorite Bolan by Pendleton. Yeah, I thought the Death Squad should have been kept intact, rather than killing off everyone but Pol and Gadgets. Please note that the image of Carl Lyons painted in the Pendleton sagas bears NO resemblence to the mad-dog shotgunning super MOFO that Gold Eagle has created. This book sent me back to the bookstore to buy every Executioner I could find.

The second book in the Executioner saga makes another great read. The action was fast and furious, the character of Bolan was again well drawn and interesting, not at all stereotypical or cardboard. The cops were handled well also and had some great motivations. Some of the Death Squad I thought was done well but some seemed to be made unbelievably quirky just so the reader could easily start telling them apart. The death squad idea worked well though and it was a great ride while it lasted. I'm rating this one only 9 because even though I thought it was great I just didn't get the same bang out of it as I did from "War Against the Mafia."

Another hit book, but the only thing bad about it is that the Death Dies.

This is the middle part of Pendleton's opening trilogy, where we establish so much in the Executioner mythology - The Executioner is ever alone in his terrible war. The loss of his Death Squad friends cemented this in his opinion, and it was later reinforced by April Rose's death/ The introduction of what would be Able Team and the head of Stony Man Farm himself. The Executioner's outlaw status truly enforced as the police were all turned against him, although there was an undercurrent of live and let live among street-level cops. Plus, it had some great action, and even better emotion, and I loved the way the police organized against the Executioner and his buds.

One of the classics. This intros Pol, Gadgets, and Lyons and features some hellfire action. My favorite moments were the chapter where Braddock tries to explain the Bolan mystique and the meetings with Lyons. Pendleton finding his groove.

Entertaining. The assault on DiGeorge's mansion where the Death Squad gets wiped out was very sad.

The image shown is a later edition of the book. The original cover is plain red with a pair of black hands on it with white lettering. Content-wise, this is where we're introduced to Gadgets, Pol, Lyons, Hal, and several other characters who will appear in later novels. If you can find it, grab it and hold on for the ride. The mini-convoy scene is one of my favorites.

A very good story, but I was a bit dissapointed that most of the Death Squad was killed

This one has more action than some big-budget action flicks. 4 star book.

A SUPER BOOK. JUST THE SCENES WHERE THE DEATH SQUAD GIVE BACK THEIR MONEY THAT BOLAN PAID THEM IN THE NAME OF ULTIMATE LOYALTY AND THE SLAUGHTER OF HIS DEATH SQUAD ARE ENOUGH TO CAPTIVATE ANYONE!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, after reading the first book, i thought i would be disappointed reading the second, from first glance it didnt look to good. I was wrong.. this book is amazing. Got to love the Death Squad, was upset about their passing though. This book was action packed though, i couldnt put the book down at all.

THIS BOOK ROCKED!!! I LOVED ALL THE CHARACTERS OF THE DEATH SQUAD. IT'S TOO BAD THAT THE DEATH SQUAD COULDN'T HAVE SURVIVED. IT WOULD'VE BEEN AWSOME SEEING ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE ORIGINAL DEATH SQUAD WORKING FOR STONYMAN. A MUST READ FOR ANY DIE-HARD BOLAN FAN.

This book is quite interesting in its twists and turns. Though I was saddened by the death of most of the Death Squad, it shows how difficult conducting said operations are, and it sets up Bolan's psyche for his reluctance to allow others to join him in his battles.

Simply the best Executioner book. Unfortunately only the lamest of the death squad survive

An awesome book. I was a little dissapointed at the death of most of them though. I did think it was a little odd that they were all home from Nam at the same time. I mean the war was still going on wasn't it?

I've been reading these books since they were first published, and this was the best of the best. Only one that comes near this one is #22.