David Fiorito

Peter Laurie killing bunnies. A sociopath with a drug addicted brother. A woman so oppressed by her crazy husband that she can't escape him. And yet another mob connection. When I was a kid I did enjoy reading this one. I remember waiting for the Harrier to show up. I figured Jack Grimaldi would hose down some bad guys. That was not my only disappointment on my second reading. The New War is just getting rolling but for some reason nearly every book seemed to have some mafia connection. That bugs me more as an adult then it did when I was a kid. But that is a minor gripe compared to the whole situation. The supporting characters are flat. Their plight is not sympathetic. The one character meant to generate sympathy is just pathetic. The only thing that kept me going were the decent action sequences ... well, with the exception of the airport sequence. I can't say I would recommend this one.

Meh. I expected more, given the author's track record. This one suffered from overkillitis. The plot seemed forced, the body count was comical, the action just did not grab me. The Pakistanis came across as Keystone Cops. I distinctly heard music from Benny Hill in my head while reading some of the action sequences. I can't say that I did not enjoy it, but the joyful moments were few and far between.

Not too bad. The supporting cast was memorable. The situations seemed plausible ... until the end. The wrap up seemed rushed, and a bit wacky. The book seemed to shift from Bolan to Bond. I expected a bald guy in a wheelchair to show up with a cat in his lap and a order a bunch of guys in bright orange jumpsuits to jump out and start shooting. When you only have 180ish pages you can't throw in to many complex plot elements, but thats what seems to happen with the last few Executioners. That being said the first 80% of the book was quite fun to read. Oh, and one minor gripe - why was the main supporting character carrying a .22 in a holster as her sidearm of choice? The Neos is a big target/training pistol. Every time it was mentioned I cringed.

Cold War Reprise was great! I loved the story line, the characters, the action, and the pace. The book seemed to go as quickly as a typical 180 page Executioner. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 was helicopter vs truck scene. It seemed a bit contrived and slipped to far into the action movie zone. Other than that short bit the rest of the book was awesome!

This one felt a bit off. I never really understood why the expedition needed to develop the way it did. The billionaire angle was a bit too contrived. The whole Chinese involvement made less sense - did they really need to follow an archaeologist to figure out where that facility was located? Where were the Russian bombers when the Chinese needed to be wiped out? Why would a billionaire travel into the back country without an extraction plan? There were decent characters but they just seemed far too shallow and stereotypical rather than real people. Lethal Compound is not the worst Executioner I have read but it is unlikely to be one that I read a second time.

Mike Newton knows Bolan. Very few authors manage to pen tales that meet the standard set by the first 38. Because Mr. Newton was there during the early days and at every step along the way his work really shines. I enjoyed the plot, the pace, and the depth he can give to all of the characters - even those that appear briefly. I am only giving Pele's Fire nine stars because of the driving directions. There were times that Pele's Fire read like print out from Mapquest. All in all it was a good read.

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.

This feel like old school Mack Bolan. The action is crisp and paced very very well. Love or hate Mike Newton this one is a solid page-turner. I really liked the reporter, and like others have pointed out - this sidekick lives through a cautionary tale for all potential Bolan sidekicks. It should get you dead, or near dead. The whole twin gimmick could have been dropped (probably should have), but it doesn't ruin what is now one of my favorite Bolan books.

This is a story that could have used more space to wrap things up better. There are some serious loose ends dangling in the breeze at the end. Given the summary of the next book - System Corruption" - I figured that it would provide a continuation of the plot line, but that was not to be. I really enjoyed the depth given to each character. This is something that is often lacking in Bolan books. I felt more informed and connected to the plot as a result. The book definitely lost points for poor fact checking - no battles were ever fought at Valley Forge, the Delaware river is nowhere near the park, and the Valley Forge Gun Show does not have booth babes ... at least none that I have ever come across. I guess that's the problem with reading a story based in the town that I call home. Those kinds of botched details caused me to drop out of the flow of the story and it was hard to jump back in. Other than that it was a fun read.

This one is a solid read. Excellent pace, good action sequences, and a dose of suspense thrown into the mix. Being a tech geek I cringe anytime the term "main frame" crops up in modern Bolan novels. But aside from the weak techno babble I really enjoyed this one.

It feels strange to say this but some of the action was a bit too over-blown. Since when did Mack give up precision for the gratuitous use of explosives? I can understand him using them as a "force multiplier" in the final blitz but throughout the book he seemed to be lobbing grenades with reckless abandon. Then there was the whole super-hit-man subplot. That felt a bit out of place and there was never any real confrontation between Blood and Mack. They finally face each other when the hired gun is well on his way to being stone cold dead. I like the general themes at play, but in the end it just did not come together for me.

This was the first Executioner book I had read back when I was a kid. I loved it back then and still do with a few minor nits to pick. I like the tone, pace, and the overall plot. However, the specifics of the terrorist's plan seem a bit too wacky, and the whole corporate interest thing feels off. Setting that aside the action is solid, the tone is set for the new war, and Mack kicks butt. I may be a bit forgiving since this one does hold serious sentimental value, but it read just as fast and fun now like it did back when it first came out.

My only complaint about The Violent Streets is that it would have worked better with a higher page count. I love the 180 page Executioner format but this story could have used more development. I don't mean that it needed to be longer, but each step along the way could have used more depth. I loved the unfolding plot. Unlike Double Crossfire, Mack does not rely on luck to bring him a solution - he goes out and finds it. The end was a bit "Hollywood" but it did not spoil a really good read.

I remembered loving this one as a kid. Re-reading it as an adult did not result in the same emotion. I did not mind the introspective portions of the book. My main problem was the HUGE luck factor that bordered on Deus ex Machina. First Mack lucks out in his search for the terrorists, then he lucks out by sparing Hook, then he finds the only American college educated woman within a 500 mile radius, and so on. He never seemed to have an actual plan. That bothered me more than anything else. Oh, and the mafia tie in felt forced. It works in the next book - Violent Streets - but here it feels like it was bolted on for the sake of nostalgia. I hope Double Crossfire was just a blip in my re-reading of the "new war" era Executioner novels. Certainly 39 and 41 were much better reads.

The last time I read an Executioner novel I was still in High Scool back in the mid 1980s. I stumbled into War Against the Mafia at a used bookstore. I was feeling a bit sentimental so I picked it up. I wasn't expecting much. I figured that it was fun to read as a teenager but now that I am in my 40s i would be disappointed. I was so wrong! The Executioner is a fun read! I devoured it and wanted more. I poked around eBay and I was shocked to find out they were still being published. In the last three weeks I have read some old and some new but War Against the Mafia is holds a special place in the Mack Bolan mythology. Don Pendleton's writing is crisp and the pace is very fast. His work is very evocative and I found myself pulled in to Mack Bolan's world. Can't wait to tear through the rest of the series.