Nick Pollotta

This is the grandaddy of the Men's Adventure genre, and still a damn fine read after more years than I wish to recall. Don Pendeleton smoothly caught the essence of the the classic figure, the reluctant hero; a person who would rather be doing anything else than the terrible, and bloody task at hand. The character of Mack Bolan has always, basically, been a man of peace, forced into warfare. If the ancient Greeks had thought of such a thing, they would have happily encorporated Mack into their mythology, and as teenagers we all would have been forced into reading about him in high school. As it was, most of us were lucky enough to discover Mack on the paperback rack of some local bookstore,and felt slightly changed ever since. This first novel set the stage for the hundreds of adventures that followed. Yes, some were better than others, but this is the book that started a social phenomenon that is still being read, and talked about, and discussed, by everybody from the casual readers to great literary scholars. Don Pendleton did more than touch our heartstrings with this book, he spoke loud and clear in the voice of America, "Don't Tread on Me!" And the words still ring clean, and clear, today. Nick Pollotta

Now Doug is a fellow Chicagoian, so I'm rather partial in his favour. However, that doesn't mean a damn thing in reviewing this book. I'm sure that when Doug was writing, if he had just glanced up fast enough, he would have seen the ghost of Don Pendeleton standing nearby reading over his shoudler and nodding in agreement. Solid characterization. Deft visuals. Excellent plot. Very well written. This is a very well done book. Doubly so for a first-timer. Atta, boy, Dougie! Time for some deep dish on Sheridan. Nick