The Executioner #01 - War Against the Mafia

The late Don Pendleton, "the father of men's action adventure", created what is arguably the "post pulp" serial of the modern age - The Executioner. The series debut, The War Against the Mafia, was released in 1969 and originally had the title of The Duty Killer, something the main character, Mack Bolan, describes himself as. According to the Glorious Trash blog, who cited author Mike Newton's book How to Write Action-Adventure Fiction, the book was bought by publishing house Bee Line and that company created Pinnacle Books just for this series. The original pressing simply titled the book The Executioner: War Against the Mafia! but later copies were pressed that added the "#1" once the decision was made to launch further titles. Numerous versions of the book exists including a modern day covered version that was released in 2016 (featured below).

This debut of the series is divided into three sections with each section including around nine chapters. It's a quick read and Pendleton keeps the reader (and Mack) on their toes. 

We are introduced to Sergeant Mack Bolan in the book's prologue. He is a skilled sniper in the Vietnam War and holds an official kill record of 32 high-ranking North Vietnamese officers, 46 Viet Cong leaders and 17 Viet Cong village leaders. At age 30 he has been in the military for 12 years and has served two tours of duty in Vietnam. Through letters we learn that Bolan and his mother Elsa communicate twice a week and she would send him care packages. Bolan has two siblings, 17 year-old Cindy and 14 year-old Johnny. His father, Sam, is a steelworker and Mack considers him to be "as indestructible as the steel he made." Later Elsa explained to Bolan that his father had a heart attack and that due to lost wages the family's finances were in a bind. 

One day in August Bolan is summoned to the base camp chaplain's office where he is told that his father, mother and sister are all dead and that his brother was in critical condition. Bolan is air-lifted home for emergency leave. He learns that his father had borrowed some money from Triangle Industrial Finance, a front for the mob. It was only $400 but Sam had been roughed up for payments. He eventually paid them back the money plus interest but it still wasn't enough according to them. Due to the stress and intense pressure Sam killed his wife and daughter, shot his son and then turned the gun on himself in a brutal murder-suicide. This is presented to Bolan by his brother Johnny, the only communication we have in the book of the two brothers discussing the present and future plans. 

Bolan purchases a Marlin .444 lever action rifle and camps out in front of Triangle Industrial one night. He kills five of their employees and a day or two later goes to Plesky Enterprises, the accounting firm for the company, to discuss his father's debt. They explain that $400 was borrowed and $550 was paid back, not enough to satisfy the terms and conditions of the loan. Bolan advises he can give them information on the shooting and they advise that his father's account is now considered settled. 

Like many of the action novels that came after Pendleton's first Executioner entry, this one finds Bolan infiltrate the mob as a hired gunman. The group hire Bolan for his weapons expertise and pair him with a guy named Turrin for various chores. In one interesting encounter Turrin leads Bolan to one of the many whorehouses the mob runs. There he nails the second of two prostitutes in a brief sex scene (the first was a brief cabana lay when Bolan gets hired). As Bolan gets deeper and deeper into the mob's operations he starts up a phone relationship with Detective Al Weatherbee (two physical meetings). The police detective is reluctant to provide info to Bolan and during every correspondence begs him to surrender and turn in. By book's end the two have a decent understanding and assist each other to a degree.

Bolan turns the tables on the mob and starts knocking up their establishments and leaving a calling card behind - marksman's medals. After attempting to shake up the whorehouse Bolan is shot. He manages to escape and ends up in the bed of twenty-something virgin Valentina Querente. She mends his wounds and he takes her innocence in one of the more goofy chapters - mostly due to the comical dialogue. Bolan leaves a few days later and tells her he loves her.

The climax comes with Bolan using military ordinance he got from a storage warehouse (where he leaves some of the $250K he stole from the mob to pay for the weapons) and laying waste to several of the mafia establishments. The end comes as Bolan blows a helicopter out of the sky, a scene that is depicted in at least two different covers of the book. In the end Bolan leaves some money for Valentina and heads west to start a new war. 

I think for the most part this debut of The Executioner sets the standard for what most would consider the modern serialized action adventure book. From here the copycats arose in droves - The Penetrator, The Destroyer, etc. This was 1969 and the "vigilante justice" and "ex-military" books really hadn't lifted off and may hadn't lifted off with such velocity if Don Pendleton didn't write this landmark title. The Executioner is essentially "The Innovator". 
I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from Bolan in the book: 

"Life is a competition, and I am a competitor. I have the tools and the skills, and I must accept the responsibilities. I will fight the battle, spill the blood, smear myself with it, and stand at the bar of judgment to be crushed and chewed and ingested by those I serve. It is the way of the world. It is the ultimate disposition. Stand ready, Mafiosi, The Executioner is here."

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The Executioner #88 - Baltimore Trackdown

Baltimore Trackdown is the 88th entry in the long-running The Executioner series. Written by journeyman Chet Cunningham (1928-2017), the novel was released by Gold Eagle in 1986. Cunningham contributed to a number of Mack Bolan volumes including the 79th installment, Council of Kings, which includes characters that later appear in Baltimore Trackdown. A series education isn't a prerequisite as these books can still be enjoyed in any order.

Mob kingpin Carlo Nazarione has infiltrated the Baltimore Police Department. With a vast, cascading stream of money, Nazarione and his criminal cohorts have purchased plenty of badges in their quest to run a gambling empire on the East Coast. The mob are using a veteran named Captain Harley Davis to monitor the bribery channels and to solicit new members for the crooked cop brigade. However, one of Mack Bolan's oldest and most trusted confidants, Leo Turrin, has planted an informant within the ranks. It's this collaboration that allows Bolan easy access at his new targets.

For the most part, Cunningham utilizes Don Pendleton's early template to create this rousing Bolan adventure. The paperback deploys series the series trope of a young, innocent woman who's raped and murdered by the criminals as a motivating spark for The Executioner. Bolan, as if he needs more purpose, seeks to avenge her death. Gambling halls and bars are familiar landscapes for Bolan to fulfill his mission, but it's not until page 114 where things really become interesting.

In a clever tie-in with Cunningham's work on The Executioner 79: Council of Kings, a hitman named Vince Carboni appears. What's unique is that there is no mention of this character anywhere in the first 114 pages aside from a line stating that Carboni has been hired to finish Bolan for good after a firefight in Portland failed to eliminate the hero. In research, this recollection links to the 79th entry where Carboni is enforcing for the Canzonari's West Coast mob. None of this really matters, just a simple way to inject Carboni into 44 pages of this book.

The author shines as Carboni and Bolan do battle on a farm in rural Maryland. The cat-and-mouse tactics are some of the best scenes in my experience with The Executioner books. Carboni ultimately controls the high ground, manning a 30-06 rifle from a farmhouse window. Bolan, trapped in a shed, attempts to dodge in and out of farm vehicles, buildings and eventually rooms within the house. The battle spills into cornfields, the road and back to the farm again before this side-story finally reaches its conclusion. This battle echoes David Goodis' effective farmhouse gunfight in Down There, also known as Shoot the Piano Player (1952), only more modern and quite a bit longer.

Overall, this is an exceptional Executioner entry with very engaging narrative and characters. While over the top at times, the book has a surprising sense of realism due to its more personal presentation – urban America on the take. If you are looking for a fantastic post-Pendleton Bolan work, this makes the short-list.

This novel and the entire Mack Bolan universe was discussed on the fifth episode of the Paperback Warrior Podcast: Link.

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The Executioner #05 - Continental Contract

Don Pendleton's fifth book in his The Executioner saga continues with Continental Contract. This book will be the first of the series to export the action to Europe. It only makes sense to travel abroad after the highly intense mafia conflict fought domestically over the last three volumes. With that being said, the book's opening pages has Bolan arrive at Dulles International Airport in DC. Quickly, he realizes he's walked into mob gunners and has a furious action sequence before donning a disguise and jumping on a flight to Europe. Oddly, Bolan finds out that a celebrity passenger on the plane, Gil Martin, looks exactly like him. 

Now, the cat and mouse tactics move to Paris where Bolan assumes the identity of Martin in a clever switch-a-roo. In one of the book's key action sequences, Bolan annihilates a house ripe with whores, moving the beauty goods downstairs while he topples the upper levels with his "machine pistol". This ultimately proves to be a notoriously bad deal for the whores. But, more on that later. In vintage "Executioner" style, Bolan gets escorted to a hotel by some British writer/tramp and the two try to get undressed as quickly as possible. Later, Bolan meets a British celebrity in her own right named Cici. Early, she thinks Bolan is the Gil Martin guy but later figures out he isn't. None of this makes much sense and it's all swept under the rug.

The whole premise of the book arises when Bolan learns that the mob goons are taking their revenge by transporting all of the well-fed, pampered whores to Africa where they can be starving, throw-rug whores. Bolan doesn't like it, communicates with a news anchor and reports that he will execute a mobster every hour until the whores are placed back where they belong - on their backs in the Paris hotels making bank. In some of the best Executioner scenes thus far in the series, Bolan "hits" a mobster an hour before tangling with the thickest of the crew in Monaco.

Pendleton writes a ton of different angles into Continental Contract - some backstory on the mobsters, the celebrity stuff, Bolan questioning his longevity - but the most under-developed is the one that peaked my curiosity the most. Early in the book the mob contracts one of Bolan's ex-Nam teammates to meet up with Bolan and betray him. There's a passionate moment when the two eventually meet at the end...but I wish more focus had been provided on this whole angle. Nevertheless, Continental Contract is an early highlight of the series. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. How does Bolan get stateside again? It's coming up in Assault on Soho. Buy a copy of this book HERE

The Executioner #53 - The Invisible Assassins

Author David Wade used the pseudonym of Alan Bomack as an anagram of the fictional hero Mack Bolan. As Bomack, David Wade authored  four titles in the Executioner series (#53 The Invisible Assassins, #58 Ambush on Blood River, #82 Hammerhead Reef, #87 Hellfire Crusade). He also wrote the second Super Bolan entry, Terminal Velocity and co-authored the debut of the S.O.B.s series, Barrabus Run. After recently watching a few Asian martial-arts movies, I wanted a “Bolan vs Ninjas” sort of novel. I went with Wade/Bomack's Executioner #53 The Invisible Assassins, originally published by Gold Eagle in May, 1983.

The book begins with Bolan assisting a young government agent on a stake out involving a world renowned Japanese scientist named Ken Shinoda. Apparently, U.S. intelligence had received chatter of Shinoda meeting with an unknown party in Los Angeles. Once Shinoda appears, he is quickly assassinated by someone in the shadows. After a brief skirmish, the young agent is murdered and Bolan is injured.

After discussions with April and Hal, Bolan wants to learn if Shinoda was buying or selling intelligence. The clues lead to a series of photographs that Bolan discovers in Shinoda's apartment. These photos are of various Japanese leaders and a rival scientist named Okawa. Who are in the men in the photo? Was Shinoda killed for taking these photos? Under the guise of a U.S. Security consultant, Bolan travels to Japan to coordinate training exercise with a high-level security agent named Nakada.

Good Executioner novels typically involve a little bit of sleuth work and a lot of action. Thankfully, David Wade nails the concept and blends a high dose of action into a smooth murder investigation. Through the prescribed 185-pages, Bolan aligns himself with an American female journalist. His adventures involve a number of physical fights in restaurants and alleyways, an escape from a submerged car, and an escape from an imperial fortress called Shoki Castle. I liked the idea that the enemy was part of some grand conspiracy that dates back to ancient times, eventually connecting to a modern day faction called The Circle of the Red Sun. It's all comic book nonsense, but wildly enjoyable.

The Invisible Assassins contains all of the necessary ingredients to tell a great post-Pendleton stand-alone story. The martial-artists, throwing stars, and imperial guard was a unique blend that helped provide a more unique enemy for Bolan. Highly recommended. Buy a copy of this book HERE

Super Bolan #04 - Dirty War

In Don Pendleton's “Death Squad” (1969), the second of the long running vigilante series 'The Executioner', we are introduced to Mack Bolan's Vietnam colleagues - Bill Hoffower, Tom Loudelk, Angelo Fontenelli, Juan Andromede, Gadgets Schwartz, Pol Blancanales, Jim Harrington and George Zitka. While it's a short-lived cameo, this death squad assists Bolan with a Mafia hit that goes south. While the entire team is nearly wiped out, it was an interesting concept that would eventually lead to more team-based action in its affiliates like Able Team, Stony Man and Phoenix Force.

Pendleton would pen 37 of the first 38 Executioner novels before handing Gold Eagle the rights to produce the books using a myriad of authors. The stipulation that the author's name be printed on the copyright page is important, allowing fans like myself an easy peek at the book's creator without having to roll the sleeves up for a paper trail (I'm talking to you Killmaster). After 60 volumes of 'The Executioner' (titled 'Mack Bolan' at this point), Gold Eagle decided that they could increase the profits from $2.25 per book to $3.95 by increasing the size to 350+ pages under the 'Super Bolan' series. These were simultaneously released at the same time Executioners were flooding the market, providing plenty of paperback Bolans to meet reader demands.

Writer Stephen Mertz was a Pendleton prodigy and by the early 1980s was knee-deep in the Bolan universe. His resume and experience with Bolan provoked a “retcon” idea of re-imagining earlier events in Bolan's life. Thus, “Super Bolan #4 – Dirty War” is written as a time capsule piece depicting events that would happen to the character during his second tour in Vietnam. The idea of a sprite young Bolan in the hands of a veteran author like Mertz is altogether intriguing. The stars aligned to even have veteran artist Gil Cohen design the cover, the ultimate Bolan fan's dream.

The book begins in the present day as Bolan is thinking back to his Death Squad's unfortunate deaths. He's on a Mafia hit of his own and thinking back to his time in Vietnam as sergeant and the various missions that his men performed. In a unique chapter one, 30-yr old Bolan is at Pittsfield Municipal Airport in Massachusetts with his family. We know this would be the last time he would see his parents/sister and Mertz writes this into the narrative. Bolan has premonitions that he won't see his family again. Kudos to the author for also allowing some backstory on Mack's father Sam and his early fights with the mob enforcers. At one point, before Mack's departure, Sam is attacked and Mack comes to his aid. It's this aspect that I don't think was conveyed by Pendleton – that Mack knew what was happening back home prior to the first few letters arriving on his second tour. In this re-imagining, he knew all along. 

The action heats up in Vietnam as we see Bolan and his death squad liberating a young woman and child from a NVA stronghold near the Cambodian border. It's intense cat-and-mouse tactics that mirror Bolan's solo fights much later in life. But here we have Bolan as squad leader, effectively orchestrating the Hell that is unleashed on the NVA base. In a neat fan experience, Mertz provides a cameo of pilot Jack Grimaldi. Familiar readers will know that Grimaldi and Mack originally meet in Executioner #10, later to become longtime allies within the Stony Man group. Retconning that exchange, Mertz has Grimaldi rescue the Death Squad from the NVA fight and pilot the group to safety. While Grimaldi and Bolan never officially meet here, both are respectful to each other leading Grimaldi to think to himself, “I wonder if our paths will ever meet again”. This is fun stuff. 

“Dirty War” eventually tangles with plenty of firefights and escapes, building in a hot lead assault on Bolan's camp, a hunt and destroy mission and the eventual escape from enemy patrols in Cambodia. At 376-pages, it never gets too exhausting with dialogue or slow motion. This is 80s Bolan – 1,2,3,Kill at its finest. Mertz is clearly having a lot of fun with the concept and adds tremendous depth to the characters that made up that original Death Squad. Without giving away the spoilers, we know that Gadgets and Pol would survive that Mafia battle and go on to form Able Team (launched in 1982 by Gold Eagle).

Fans of the Bolan universe, this is simply mandatory reading. It's fun, indulgent and clever. It's clearly designed for the series' fans but should be considered an important part of the Bolan origin story. If you are new to the series, I would start here and then work into Executioners 1 and 2. But regardless of order, just read it.

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The Executioner #39 - The New War

There's no denying that Don PendletonDon Pendleton's The Executioner (1969) was the catalyst for 70s and 80s men's action-adventure fiction. The series went on to spawn hundreds of imitators with the majority fixed on the idea of “er” at the end. Thus, The Enforcer, The Butcher, The Punisher, The Avenger brands are born. Other than one novel, the first 38 books are penned by Don Pendleton (the oddity was the 16th entry, William Crawford's Sicilian Slaughter). After legal battles with publisher Gold Eagle, and maybe just lack of ideas, Pendleton left the series in 1980 to focus on Joe Copp and Ashton Ford installments. In turn, Gold Eagle continued on without Pendleton's pen, rebranding it as Mack Bolan with entry number 39, The New War. 

Like all great bands, there comes a time when the act either calls it quits or simply evolves into the next lineup featuring the “replacement” singer. They've all done it – AC/DC, Journey, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden...it seems to be the rite of passage. With 1981's The New War, Mack Bolan's life changes under new writers. The mission remains the same, but the methods vary drastically. Under writer Saul Wernick, familiar readers find Bolan fighting crazed terrorists in Central America – for the US government. 

Bolan, fugitive from justice, wanted by the F.B.I., C.I.A. and even a “Bolan Taskforce”, is now working for the US government. It would only make sense right? Can't beat them, join them. But it's the other way around here – the government is joining Bolan's fight. 

The book's opening pages is not only important to the direction of the series, but it also builds what we now consider the Bolan Universe – the series of Able Team, Phoenix Force and Stony Man gain a foundation here. The Executioner series regulars like April Rose and Hal Brognola are now in charge as a directive of the C.I.A. (sort of). Specifically, Mack Bolan no longer exists, instead he has been created as John Macklin Phoenix, a retired Colonel. The entire Phoenix Program is now a covert operation running out of a Virginia farm called Stony Man. It's officially a C.I.A. “quiet house” spread over 160 acres. 

Behind the curtain are plenty of familiar Mack Bolan allies. Carl Lyons, Hermann “Gadgets” Schwarz and Rosario “Pol” Blancanales are at Stony Man. These three would later collaborate as Able Team (series debut in 1982). Other Stony Man players are here as well, including Jack Grimaldi and Leo Turrin, both supporting characters as far back as single-digit entries in The Executioner. Billed as “Stony People”, they are mostly just spectators in The New War. 

Bolan's mission is to locate an American secret agent named Laconia. He's been captured by Islamic terrorists and imprisoned on a jungle base between Colombia and Panama. After days of intense torture he's hovering between worlds and the rush is on for Bolan to capture or kill him. Bolan, understanding the sense of urgency, is battling overwhelming forces and a looming hurricane that could play havoc for any air support. 

First and foremost, Saul Wernick isn't a remarkable writer. While average at best, his prose contains plenty of exclamation marks that were outdated and unnecessary even for 1981. Pulpy hyperbole isn't typical for a Bolan novel, thus Wernick's writing style alienates fans and creates even more abrasion. However, I'm probably committing an act of treason when I say that I want Bolan fighting internationally. I prefer Bolan vs Armed Terrorist more than any mafia war. I love Pendleton, but after more than 10 novels of Mack vs Mob...I needed some liberation. 

The New War introduces a lot of interesting ideas and expands the vigilante idea into a robust and entertaining concept. Even though this novel isn't written with a distinct literary prose, it's a much-needed new Bolan that introduces me to the Stony Man universe. From here, one can use The New War as an “origin” story. A simple reboot for a new generation of fans. I'm one of them.

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The Executioner #10 - Caribbean Kill

It's no secret that I really didn't care for the ninth installment of Don Pendleton's vigilante series The Executioner. Vegas Vendetta was a marathon of complacency, resting on the laurels of Bolan's status as the mob killer. With that novel, the narrative was one-dimensional, relying on planning and plotting The Strip's war of attrition, but Pendleton just never got to the white-knuckle action. Or, really any action. Thankfully, the author shifts gears with the tenth volume, Caribbean Kill. It begins and ends with a bang.

Bolan, fresh from his Vegas hit, boards a plan and haphazardly flies it smack dab into a mob mansion on Puerto Rico's southern shoreline. Bailing before impact, the flying firebomb scorches the site, scattering Glass Bay's mob army into the jungle. The tone is set as Bolan diagnoses his situation: 

"He had two full eight-round clips of ammo, plus six rounds in the service clip. He was literally up a tree, soaked to the skin with sticky salt water. He was hungry, and he was just about physically exhausted. Less than a quarter-mile away, an army of some fifty to seventy-five guns was methodically sweeping the periphery of the bay in a determined hunt for his person." – page 32.

From some brief but captivating cat and mouse tactics, Bolan begins to diminish and demoralize the ranks, eventually catching a ride into San Juan where the majority of the book's action takes place. Bolan eventually befriends a female cop named Eve. She's running a covert scheme to take down a mobster named Sir Edward. The two become a romantic item, with the author going as far as describing Eve as the Female Executioner. They hide out with farming couple named Juan and Rosalita while the mob scours the countryside for their whereabouts. 

With the help of a pilot named Grimaldi, Bolan is able to ebb the tide. Hunting both Sir Edward and Quick Tony Lavagni (had a cameo in Executioner #05), the fight takes him through the jungle, up the shoreline and into the city streets. It's this wild-ride that's bumpy, thrilling and laced with gunfire. With Caribbean Kill, Don Pendleton is firing on all cylinders. Place this one up there with the series debut, Nightmare in New York and Chicago Wipe-Out as early standouts.

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Russell Davis - The Ghost behind the Books: A Paperback Warrior Unmasking

It all began with a haircut.

I was waiting my turn at the barbershop reading a 1970s vigilante paperback, and the guy sitting next to me said, “Have you ever heard of a series of novels called The Executioner about a guy named Mack Bolan?”

I told him that I was very familiar with the series and regarded myself as a fan. In fact, I write for a wildly-popular blog covering vintage men’s fiction.

Then the guy said, “I wrote many of them. And lots of other books like that, too.”

He introduced himself as Russell Davis, a name I confess I didn’t know. It turns out that his anonymity as an author of genre fiction was no accident, and my investigation into his body of work uncovered some interesting business practices among house name authors. His story illuminates the difficulty in unmasking the real authors behind the legendary pseudonyms of men’s adventure fiction.

I checked the guy out with some writers and editors in the genre, and Davis’ claims checked out. He was the real deal. We met for coffee, and I heard his story.

His first sale was a science fiction short story in a 1998 anthology edited by Ed Gorman and Martin Greenberg called “The UFO Files.” The story was published under Davis’ real name.. “I received a letter from a guy in prison who read my UFO story. The guy’s letter was rambling, but the theme – as far as I could tell – was that the creatures we perceive as aliens from outer space are actually angels sent by God. I had young kids at the time and felt increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of unbalanced readers posing a threat to my family, so I opted for pseudonyms wherever feasible going forward. Most of my short fiction has been under my name, though not all of it, and all but a few of the novels I’ve written have been under various pseudonyms.”

His first novel sale came in 2001 as co-author of “Tom Clancy’s Net Force Explorers #17: Cloak and Dagger,” and the success of that book opened new doors for Davis in the world of house-name fiction. “My mom met Tom Clancy before he died and told him that her son wrote one of his books,” Davis said. “Needless to say, Mr. Clancy was not amused.”

For Davis, 2008 was a big year for his writing career as a professional ghost. He sold two novels in Gold Eagle’s ‘Room 59’ spy series published under the house name Cliff Ryder. Gold Eagle, a Harlequin imprint, had always been generous with giving the real authors a writing credit on the copyright page. But having learned his lesson from his prison fan mail experience a decade earlier, Davis opted to have the writing credit go to a pseudonym he created to hide beneath the house name. “I began using the names Garrett Dylan and Dylan Garrett for the house name books I wrote to preserve my anonymity,” he said.

At the barbershop, Davis told me that he wrote two adult Western novels in ‘The Trailsman’ series as Jon Shape, but I was unable to find any record that this was true. Weeks later at coffee, I asked him about this, and he let me in on an industry secret. “Ed Gorman was contracted to write two books in The Trailsman series, but he was swamped with work at the time,” he said. “Ed called me and asked if I’d be willing to write the books for him in exchange for $2,000 per novel. Ed was probably making $4,000 per book for the job, so it was a win-win. I asked him if he’d created plot outlines, and he said he’d sold them on the basis of the titles alone – ‘Louisiana Laydown’ and ‘California Crackdown’ - so I had to write them with no guidance other than the titles. I finished the books quickly, and the publisher was never the wiser. Subcontracting your house-name work to other ghostwriters for a reduced fee was a common practice, but it was rarely discussed in public.”

Davis’ ability to write fast, high-quality genre fiction landed him an opportunity to work on the legendary Don Pendleton series, ‘The Executioner.’ “I was a fan of the series from way back, but I hadn’t read one in years,” he said. “The editor sent over a box of recent Bolans, so I could get a feel for the current format, and I got to work on my first one.” His initial outing was published in 2009 as “The Executioner #371: Fire Zone,” and the going rate for a Pendleton ghost at the time was a flat $4,000 fee per book. “I can only assume that the more seasoned and popular authors of the series – like Michael Newton or Mel Odom – commanded a higher fee,” Davis said. The success of his first venture lead Davis to author a total of eight installments of ‘The Executioner’ series as well as double-sized ‘Super-Bolan’ paperback.

Gold Eagle worked hard to maintain a continuity in the Mack Bolan universe. When Davis wrote a scene in ‘Super Bolan #148: Decision Point’ (March 2012) that found Mack flying an airplane, he quickly heard from an editor at Gold Eagle. “Mack can’t fly a plane,” the editor said, and this was news to the author. “I told her that he could fly a helicopter,” he said. “Why not a plane? She replied that it was in the Bolan bible. The problem was I had never been provided the document telling me what Mack could and couldn’t do. I’d learned on-the-job by reading books in the series. Despite my argument, rules are rules, and the airplane scene was cut.”

In keeping with his low-profile approach, Davis’ work on the Mack Bolan brand was credited to either Dylan Garrett or Garrett Dylan on the copyright pages. “And then for one book, Gold Eagle screwed up and gave me credit under my real name,” he said. “The moderator of the Mack Bolan fan website somehow put it all together and sent me an email asking if I had written all the Dylan Garrett titles in the series. I told the truth, and he amended his website crediting me for the books I wrote. Basically, I was outed.”

Davis has also worked on media tie-in novels connected to The Transformers, The Librarian, and The Twilight Zone. He’s also been active in the science fiction writing community, and is a former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). These days he spends his time working on screenplays and as a university professor at a Master of Fine Arts Program for Genre Fiction. “If you want a master’s degree in how to write paranormal vampire romances, I guess I’m your guy,” he said. “I’m also going to be back writing original novels soon, and there are some announcements coming very soon on that front.”

In any case, Davis’ days as a ghost writer for media tie-in books are likely over. “I enjoyed the work while I was doing it, and it was a good way to make some money. But there’s only so many hours in the day I can spend writing, and the idea of doing my own thing with screenplays and original novels is ultimately more fulfilling from an artistic standpoint.”

Selected Men’s Adventure Bibliography of Russell Davis

‘Net Force Explorers’ as Tom Clancy:
- #17: “Cloak and Dagger” (2001)

‘The Trailsman’ as Jon Sharpe:
- #319: “Louisiana Laydown” (2008)
- #324: “California Crackdown” (2008)

‘Room 59’ as Cliff Ryder
- #2: “Out of Time” (2008)
- #4: “The Ties That Bind” (2008)

‘The Executioner’ as Don Pendleton
- #371: “Fire Zone” (2009)
- #392: “Shadow Hunt” (2011)
- #395: “Hazard Zone” (2011)
- #405: “Lethal Diversion” (2012)
- #415:  “Ivory Wave” (2013)
- #416:  “Extraction” (2013)
- #428:  “Desert Impact” (2014)
- #436:  “Perilous Cargo” (2015)

‘Super Bolan’ as Don Pendleton
- #148: ‘Decision Point” (2012)

The Executioner #59 - Crude Kill

Chet Cunningham authored six Executioner novels between 1983 and 1986 beginning with the 59th installment, Crude Kill. I have always enjoyed Cunningham's blunt writing style, and I liked his violent Executioner novel, Baltimore Trackdown, the series' 88th entry. With another exceptional Gil Cohen cover, a solid author and the promise of quality consistency, there was no hesitation behind choosing Crude Kill to read and review. 

After liberating hostages from a Milan stronghold, Bolan learns that a mastermind-terrorist named Lufti has targeted an enormous oil tanker called The Contessa. His evil plan is to dump thousands of tons of oil into the Mediterranean Sea if he doesn't obtain millions in gold and the obligatory freeing of all criminal cohorts associated with his criminal empire. Of course the ransom won't be met because Bolan arrives just in time to terminate the baddies. The real enjoyment is the journey to get there.

After working closely with series mainstay pilot Jack Grimaldi, Bolan's first target is to destroy a commandeered former German U-Boat that Lufti's forces are using as protection. Cunningham soaks 40 pages with blood and guts, propelling the narrative, along with Bolan, onto the oil tankard's deck. The remaining 150-pages is saturated with bullets, bravado and bombs. Cunningham's literary style always borders on the grotesque – brains jellied, intestines splattered, flesh searing – but it’s all just an over-the-top attempt to please his dominant male audience. The intense violence factor is probably a prerequisite to write Bolan books. Trust us, none of his fans were tipping off Tipper Gore in 1983.

Crude Kill is another enjoyable Bolan saga sure to please fans of the series. The book also features an explanation from Don Pendleton regarding why he handpicked Chet Cunningham to join his revolving carousel of Bolan authors. Based on just Crude Kill, the reason is obvious.

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Stark #01 - Funeral Rites

UK publisher Sphere launched in 1966 and rose to prominence with the 1976 printing of “Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker” by Alan Dean Foster (as George Lucas). But, action-adventure readers know the publisher's work through the myriad of 'Conan' and 'The Executioner' releases. The publisher gained the rights to release Don Pendleton's Executioner series, beginning with “War Against the Mafia” in 1973. Losing the series to rival English publisher Corgi, the company emulated 'The Executioner' motif for a new series entitled 'The Revenger'. 

The Revenger would run for 12 total books, the first ten written by Terry Harknett ('Adam Steele', 'Edge', 'Apache') and the last two by Angus Wells ('The Eagles', 'Jubal Cade'). The house name used by Sphere is Joseph Hedges. Later, Pyramid Books acquired the rights to reprint the books in the US but changed the series name to 'Stark' to avoid confusion with another The Revenger series written by Jon Messman. 

“Funeral Rites” is the debut novel of the series and was released in the UK in 1974 with a printing in the US a year later. The book introduces us to the criminal John Stark, a prison inmate in England. He robbed an electronics company while being employed by a criminal organization called The Company. To keep Stark quiet behind bars, they promise to continue the heroin drop into Stark's lover Carol. The Company henchmen aid Stark in his escape from prison so he can continue to do jobs for them.

After these events transpire in chapter one...this book turns into a real turd. 

Stark is brought to sea and reunited with his arch enemy Ryan. Oddly, Ryan provides Stark a bedroom and a nympho named Sheri. In my opinion, Stark loses credibility when he pounds away at Sheri while thinking of the love of his life, Carol. This just seems incredibly selfish, but considering the lack of depth in the book it makes sense the character is easily disliked. Shockingly, Ryan leaves Stark alone so he can set fire to the boat and escape with Sheri.

The author completely loses direction and focus and dedicates the next 100-pages to Stark sleeping, eating...and sleeping and eating. He goes on tangents about how Stark is ravished from hunger but there's no reason for it. He has money and there's food all over London! Ryan, being the book's villain, does nothing. Instead, the author has our antagonist thinking about his lover Jay and how he misses his vibrator. Ugh. In one astonishing, scene Ryan has a mistress flail him with a tree branch before “impaling” herself on him. It's absolutely bonkers.

Action? Well, there's a little here and there. In one wild scene we have Stark's Colt Python against the bad guy's Tommy – with Stark obviously the immortal hero. In a hilarious scene Stark accidentally elbows Jay, knocking him into a sink where he bleeds to death. To get answers to some question (I stopped following the senseless plot), he thrust Sheri's face into the wound while threatening to drown her in the gash if she doesn't tell the truth. Ridiculous.

I hated this book. And it isn't because the English spell “Pajamas” as “Pyjamas” or that they insult the good guys here by calling them a “Tinker's Cuss” (?). No, it isn't that. This character has absolutely no talent. Stark is a thief who was caught. End of story. There's nothing else to it. The Company wants to capture him, there's a bad guy named Ryan, a lover named Carol Burnett (!) and an effort on the author's part to bury 120+ pages in dialogue and trivial descriptions of tea cups and wall décor. 

How this series lasted 12 entries is beyond me. Why Pyramid felt the need to reprint it, God only knows. For me, this series lasted one book.

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The Executioner #03 - Battle Mask

Don Pendleton continues The Executioner series with this third entry, Battle Mask, released in 1970 via Pinnacle Books. In the last novel, Death Squad, we saw protagonist Mack Bolan target two Mafia families in L.A. Bolan's crew was wiped out during their attack on Julian DiGeorge and his mob family. DiGeoge somehow escaped in the book's finale and Bolan continues to be pursued by law enforcement and Mafia hitmen after bringing war to both the east and west coast families.

Battle Mask begins with Bolan recounting the firefight that killed off his death squad of colleagues and friends in the last book. DiGeorge enforcers arrive being led by Lou "Screwy Looey" Pena. Bolan sees their approach and lights them up with flares and a .50 caliber before rolling out. 

On his way to Palm Springs he is tracked by more enforcers and manages to kill off a few with an assist from an older man. Bolan switches vehicles and arrives at New Horizons, a plastic surgery facility ran by one of his old war buddies named Brantzen. 

The author provides a little backstory on how the two of them used to supply medical help to villagers in Vietnam. Bolan asks Brantzen to do a new face so he can avoid the numerous detectives and hitmen that are hunting him. Brantzen agrees and Bolan gets a "battle mask".

In the meantime the search continues for Bolan via Captain Tim Braddock of the LAPD. He is one of the main characters and was featured in the last book. His investigation and pursuit deemed "Hardcase" is heating up. Sergeant Carl Lyons is in on the action and is playing a bluff on Braddock. In the last book Lyons allowed Bolan to escape and soon Braddock realizes that Lyons isn't too motivated to capture Bolan. He dismisses Lyons from the investigation and I am assuming this will eventually lead to Lyons joining Bolan's fight in later books (an early peek ahead shows Lyons as an Able Team member).

One of the more enjoyable parts of Pendleton's The Executioner debut in War Against the Mafia was that Bolan joined the ranks of the mob to kill from within. Like that book Bolan does the same here. With his new face he infiltrates DiGeorge's family by teaming up with the don's daughter Andrea. She has a dislike for her father and senses that his goons had something to do with the murder of her husband.  Bolan disguises himself as her fiance, a Mafia good from New Jersey named Frank Lambretta. Soon DiGeorge hires Lambretta to be an enforcer and pegs him as Frank Lucky. 

Once Bolan accepts the job as mob enforcer to DiGeorge he begins a careful dissection of the family and their assets. He spills important dates and deals to Carl Lyons and between Bolan and the police the DiGeorge empire is slowly dismantled. Bolan targets Pena and his crew as well as a enforcer named Marasco. In typical Pendleton fashion the reader is thrust into car chases and shootouts as the noose is placed on DiGeorge. The climax could have been a little better but I'm not complaining. 

The end result is a really good rebound from the lackluster Death Squad. This third book in the series recaptures a lot of the high-octane action of the debut and is spread throughout the book in many different angles. Aside from the Mafia portions there are some really good side-stories that sort of break up the detective work being done by both Bolan and Braddock. Overall a great book and one that sets the series back on course. Buy a copy of this book HERE

The Revenger #01 - The Revenger

There’s no denying that Don Pendleton’s 1969 premier of The Executioner series was the prime catalyst for the gritty, vigilante vengeance sagas. The early 70s was a fertile time period, growing numerous series’ that commonly referenced “er” ending titles (i.e. Butcher, Penetrator, Enforcer). Author Jon Messman had contributed to the genre as early as 1968 with five Nick Carter: Killmaster novels over a two-year period. After his own failed series, Hotline, Messmann was placed on a Signet debut called The Revenger in 1973. As Glorious Trash scribe Joe Kenney points out, initially this was probably a one-off novel that escalated into six total volumes. The book exhibits no signs of a continuation and is missing advertisements for the next book. There isn’t a display indicating The Revenger is the first of a series. These are typical publisher traits inviting readers to stick around for the next installment – with their cash in hand. Regardless how it was intended, The Revenger is pure quality. The whole series now exists as a brand new edition through Brash Books.

Today, this plot has run its course and may have been treading familiar ground even in 1973. It’s the revenge yarn we’ve read and watched since the early pulp adventures and westerns. Messmann utilizes it really well by exploring the human emotions while simultaneously providing a very vulnerable “executioner”. Ben Martin is ex-military and served in Vietnam as a killer for various US branches including the CIA. In brief recollections, the reader tells us how Ben would wait patiently in rice patties or filthy jungles for days awaiting perfect shots. His skills were valuable and Ben served his time well. 

In the book’s opening pages, we see Ben as a produce shopkeeper in lower Manhattan. He’s happily married to Donna (they make love a lot) and they have a small son, Ben Martin Jr. Ben’s shop is experiencing the typical Mafia protection racket, this time extended by the Gennosanti family. They want payment for protection or the store owners will experience…stiffness. When they knock on Ben’s door, he sticks an envelope opener through a guy’s hand and disarms them. Coolly, he calls the police who ultimately are pressed by the attorneys to let the enforcers just walk.

This particular family is managed locally by Joe Colardi. The Colardi family presents itself as fine, upstanding citizens and attend PTA meetings and donate large sums to the school. Generally, they are well liked. Beneath the surface, Joe is under pressure to deliver results for the Don of the Gennosanti family. With Ben refusing to pay, roughing up his goons and generally resisting the mob’s presence, Colardi has Ben’s son kidnapped. After a brief phone exchange, Ben agrees to negotiate with the Colardi crew if they can safely return his son. Unfortunately, they accidentally allow the boy to walk off of a rooftop to his death. Colardi loses his mind knowing that the Don won’t be happy of the negligence and the kidnapping, which was unbeknownst to him.

The second half of the book starts to resemble The Executioner debut War Against the Mafia. Ben becomes a bone-chilling assassin, seemingly dismissing life, marriage or any semblance of normality. His only purpose is to kill the mob. Like Bolan’s first planned assault, Ben purchases long guns and optics from a sporting goods store and camps out in the city taking out targets. Ben kills 13 enforcers in a few short hours and puts Colardi on the run in a city he has sworn to rule. Eventually, the Don becomes involved with a strategic plan to eliminate Ben’s explosive vendetta. The finale occurs on an early morning Ferry trip as Ben faces Colardi and Don’s enforcers.

Overall, this book works exceptionally well as the typical revenge yarn. It keeps a a brisk pace considering there is seldom any gunfire exchanges. Ben is the believable action hero - making mistakes, carelessness, vulnerability. In this book, he’s simply a human doing very human things. Emotions, debating strategy, recalling experiences while still trying to communicate with his wife Donna post-tragedy. The breakdown from human to cold assassin is a slow burn, but a morbidly entertaining one. The book’s bloody closing pages sort of recycles Ben Martin’s life. Killer to family man to killer…and perhaps family man again? If only it were a stand alone novel. Five more entries prove that isn’t the case. Messmann would later go on to write most of the first 200 volumes of The Trailsman while dabbling in other genres like science-fiction and horror.

The Executioner #213 - Blood Harvest

California native Mel Odom (b. 1957) was a prolific contributor to the Mack Bolan universe, penning almost 30 titles collectively in the Executioner, Super Bolan and Stony Man series. In addition, Odom has also authored a number of television and film tie-in novels such as Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Roswell and Blade. But, my experience with Odom is strictly the Mack Bolan titles, in particular the Executioner #213 Blood Harvest, published in 1996. Why? The synopsis indicates that Mack Bolan is fighting zombies in New Orleans. 

In the 1990s, one of the urban legends for young people on the bar scene was that a potential one-night stand could end up with one of you waking in a bathtub of ice and realizing that an organ had been cut from you by black marketers. This premise is used to its full potential in Blood Harvest as readers immerse themselves in this horror story in the book's prologue.

Posing as an F.B.I. agent named Fox, Bolan infiltrates a New Orleans homicide investigation to learn more about the organ harvesting ring. Most of the book's narrative features firefights every other chapter as Bolan targets key players in the organ heist. Eventually, Bolan teams up with a female investigator as the two follow the cohorts involved.

The zombie portion of the premise is somewhat accurate. The problem with the harvesting ring obtaining these organs by torturous methods is the timing. Because of the short lifetime of the organs, removing them and transporting them to the rich buyer provides a real sense of urgency. To resolve the problem, criminals use a voodoo priest named Papa Glapion to cast spells on the victims. By placing them in an "undead" hibernation - not breathing, but still technically alive - the bodies can be easily moved to different locations and then harvested to preserve the goods. 

Those of you who know Odom's writing understand that he is a gun porn enthusiast by describing each make, model and caliber of the weapons used by the fighters. I don't typically like this style and feel that it takes me out of the scene completely. I want to feel what the characters feel, not the well oiled South African automatic shotgun with dual magazines. But Odom's writing is serviceable and Blood Harvest is high on action and short on plot. One doesn't confuse these high-numbered men's action-adventure entries for literary masterpieces. If you want Bolan executing baddies (and the undead) in bars, cemeteries, bayous and oil rigs you've come to the right place.

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Able Team #01 - Tower of Terror

With The Executioner's overwhelming retail success, it was just a matter of time before publisher Gold Eagle would expand the Mack Bolan universe. In June 1982, Gold Eagle launched two successful spinoff series - Able Team and Phoenix Force. The publisher used The Executioner's creator, Don Pendleton, on the covers of the first three novels of each series as a co-author. Of course Pendleton had no hand in the writing, it was only a marketing scheme to lure consumers familiar with the Pendleton name. Instead, house names were assigned to each series: Gar Wilson for Phoenix Force and Dick Stivers for Able Team. Like the later Bolan installments, the books were really penned by a revolving door of authors. We're examining the debut Able Team book, Tower of Terror, authored by L.R. Payne. It was the first of 51 total series installments.

In the Vietnam War, Sergeant Mack Bolan commanded a special forces unit called Team Able. Much later, Bolan's crusade against the mafia warranted Bolan to call upon his old team again. These events occurred in The Executioner #02: Death Squad. Unfortunately, the entire team was killed in that battle except Bolan, Rosario “ Politician” Blancanales and Herman “Gadgets” Schwarz. Both of these former members have served Bolan periodically throughout his war (and the book series). Carl Lyons is a former Los Angels Police Sergeant that became Bolan's ally during his West Coast mob fight. Under the direction of Bolan and Stony Farm director Hal Brognola, these three men combine as a trio to fight criminal cells within the U.S. Thus, Able Team is born.

In the series debut, a Puerto Rican terrorist group called FALN have claimed a Wall Street skyscraper. Thankfully, they chose to do this on a Saturday morning when the building is mostly empty. Quickly the terrorists commandeer the facility and plant bombs on nearly every floor. A Vietnam Vet turned business executive ushers a dozen employees to safety on one of the building's higher floors and the call goes out that the building is wired to blow. The NYPD calls the FBI who then calls Stony Man to get Able Team on the scene.

The problem lies in the fact that Able Team spends 160-pages of this 187-page novel running all over town hunting clues on who the terrorists are. Mercifully, they arrive at the building as the book closes but only have a brief encounter with the primary villains. This is acceptable if the hunting was more of a character developing storyline that delved into police procedural. Maybe it is my love of mid 20th Century crime-noir, but I found the investigation to be a sluggish exercise with very little to offer readers. Gadgets played with gadgets, Lyons rode around in a cab and Politician seemed like an unnecessary character here.

Needless to say, I hated this book. I counted the pages down just hoping it would end or the book would spontaneously combust. It isn't Hall of Shame material, but it is safe to say Able Team was unable to fulfill my reading pleasure. Perhaps another author will produce a different result. I'm in no hurry to find out.

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The Executioner #70 - Ice Cold Kill

British author Peter Leslie (1922-2007) was a talented writer who penned a number of various literary works in his lifespan. Writing five novels in the popular television tie-in series Man from U.N.C.L.E., Leslie also penned a three book trilogy, Father Hayes, about a Catholic priest battling demonic forces. Along with a trilogy of Chicago gangster novels, Bruno Farrell (as Ed Mazzaro), action fans might remember Leslie best as a heavy contributor to the The Executioner series. Beginning with Ice Cold Kill (1984), Leslie went on to write seven The Executioner titles as well as five giant size Mack Bolan entries. 

Ice Cold Kill offers an interesting assignment for Bolan. The Grand Duchess Rytova, an exile from Czarist Russia, asks Bolan to penetrate the Soviet Union and rescue an esteemed scientist. The scientist, Korsun, has created a complex computer that makes deductions that mirror the human brain. In effect, it can make inspired guesses bases on a infinite number of unrelated data. In reality, none of this really matters. We want to see Bolan kill bad guys.

The interesting aspect to the assignment is that Korsun's identity hasn't been fully established. All Rytova and Bolan know is that Korsun wants to defect from the Soviet Union to China, expecting to serve the cause of communism better. Bolan must escort her out of the country but also persuade her to defect to the west. Bolan's persuasion isn't typically in verbal debate. This mission adds a deeper depth to the typical run 'n gun. 

Leslie provides a ton of fireworks through this 180-page advenute. From breaking into the Soviet Union, meeting Korsun (which turns out to be a surprise for the reader) and escaping, there is plenty of action sequences to please genre fans. Aside from the normal episodic delivery, Ice Cold Kill is much better than average and a firm entry in this long-running endeavor.

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The Executioner #04 - Miami Massacre

Don Pendleton's fourth The Executioner book, Miami Massacre, is more of a chain reaction event that ultimately ties up some loose ends. Protagonist Mack Bolan's West Coast war on the DiGeorge Mafia family dominated the second and third entries and left the crime-ridden empire in a shambles. After his Palm Springs "gutting", amidst a police manhunt and a Mob kill contract, Bolan heads eastward to flush out the rest of the rats.

Despite this book's title the opening pages are set in Phoenix, AZ with Bolan targeting the offshoot sector of DiGeorge's family. Looking for Johnny"The Musician" Portocci, a DiGeorge head, Bolan ends up dismantling what little is left at the Phoenix stronghold. Equipped with his ever present Luger 9mm, Bolan knocks off a few guards before finding a prostitute that advises him the entire clan has left for Miami to attend a Mafia planning event. This sets the stage for the eventual "Miami Massacre".

What I really love about this book is that Pendleton turns the pages with a very violent presentation. This is a Mack Bolan that is driven by hatred for the Mob. It is his reason for rising and existing each day. In several scenes the author has Bolan as a reaper of death, targeting various Mafia members in their beachfront hotels and villas. In one riveting sequence, Bolan goes door to door and brings his brand of point blank justice. It's Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians in ten minutes of blood and gun-powder. The pages themselves seemed soaked with this lethal energy that consumes our hero. 

Non-spoilers for those who should be reading The Executioner; two prior characters show up to really create a whirlwind closure to this particular DiGeorge storyline. The book's climax comes in three exciting waves that left me surprised with each "false ending". One scene involves an ambush that turns into a front lawn skirmish between Bolan, an ally, a cop and Mafia enforcers. A second sequence near the end has Bolan hunting the Mob in an industrial park (kudos to a small piece of gun porn). The end comes on the water with a boat battle.  

Miami Massacre has a little romance, loads of gunplay and a calculated push to make Bolan the unstoppable killing machine that he is. In a number of ways this is the end of the four-part story. The next one picks up in Europe as Bolan's allies have a welcome addition to his Mafia war and a tempting invitation to take the fight globally. Stay tuned for Continental Contract. Buy a copy of this book HERE

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 05

In this episode, we discuss the massive Mack Bolan universe, including the origin, spin-offs and legacy of "The Executioner". Additionally, Eric reviews the 88th "Executioner" novel, "Baltimore Trackdown", by Chet Cunningham. Tom reviews the newest adult western novel, "Gunsmith: Deadville", by Robert Randisi. Listen below or on streaming services like Apple, Google, Spreaker, YouTube, Stitcher, etc.

Listen to "Episode 05: The Executioner Mack Bolan" on Spreaker.

The Executioner #104 - Devil's Horn

Remember the one where Mack Bolan becomes the star of the Chuck Norris “bring'em back” alive flick Missing in Action? Well, it never happened, but it should have based on Dan Schmidt's The Executioner installment Devil's Horn (1987), the 104th book in the series. Like a combination of Missing in Action, Rambo 2, and an installment of MIA Hunter, Devil's Horn deposits Bolan and Jack Grimaldi in a Southeast Asia Hellhole as prisoners in a drug cartel's brutal labor camp. Interested? Read on.

When Devil's Horn begins, Bolan is in The Bowery, the Lower East Side of Manhattan Island, trailing the origins of a massive amount of domestic drug imports. His trail leads to Ronny Brennan, a top-tier drug dealer with arms in various criminal factions as a Mob businessman. After Bolan destroys a drug warehouse, he pressures Brennan to reveal the source of a huge opium farm in Thailand. After a furious firefight, Bolan forces Brennan to ride shotgun as drug enforcers and low-level dealers tail the two to a local airstrip where Grimaldi is waiting. Quickly, Bolan and Brennan climb aboard as Grimaldi rockets the trio to Southeast Asia. 

With a large load of armament and equipment, Grimaldi's plane flies over the whereabouts of the drug farm. But, he gets a little too low and the plane is shot down on the outskirts of the farm. While pushing Brennan into the bush, both Grimaldi and Bolan attempt to escape the onslaught of waves of Vietnamese soldiers, hired mercenaries, prison sentries, and drug enforcers. In a scene right out of Rambo 2, Bolan and Grimaldi climb a hill to make a final stand against the invading forces. Eventually, the two are forced to surrender and are ushered into the living Hell of prison life in the jungle. 

A sadistic warlord named Torquemandan controls the Thai drug farm and has two top henchman inflicting years of punishment on the farm's prisoners. Bolan and Grimaldi discover that a large majority of the prisoners are American military prisoners-of-war that have been transported into Thailand by the Vietnamese government. Bolan also learns that there's a CIA spook imprisoned as well as many South Vietnamese prisoners that were allies to the U.S. during the Vietnam War. 

The orientation outlines what Bolan and Grimaldi will expect in their new lives. The duo will join the other prisoners as slave labor. They work from dawn until dusk scraping the sap off of poppy seeds (opium) and placing it in buckets. Their only nourishment is a handful of rice and a cup of water at dinner. Most of the prisoners are on the verge of death and are routinely beaten, whipped, tortured, and killed. Bolan is warned by the prisoners to never eat the meat that is served with the rice - it's the cooked flesh of the prisoners that are executed! After the harvest season, the prisoners will carry 100-pounds of opium on their backs and forced to march 200 miles to deliver it. Most will then be executed or die of exhaustion. 

I read Dan Schmidt's Eagle Force installment Death Camp Columbia years ago and loved it for all of the same reasons I loved Devil's Horn. I enjoy Schmidt's workmanlike writing style and his use of ultra-violent prison settings for both of these novels. Death Camp Columbia was authored just two years after Devil's Horn, and features a similar premise when the four-man mercenary team Eagle Force becomes imprisoned in a Columbian jungle Hell. It was obvious that Devil's Horn served as a template for that particular novel. 

Schmidt is an on-the-nose writer that uses a low dose of gun-porn to describe and detail the harrowing action sequences in his men's action-adventure novels. His style incorporates a violent, gory combination laced with plenty of brutal scenes of torture and dismemberment. If you need “brains bashed into pulpy matter” then Schmidt is your guy. He was an active Bolan scribe and had a great handle on the high-numbered version of the character. In Devil's Horn, Schmidt also incorporates a human element to Bolan's suffering, but also a sympathetic, endearing quality to Bolan's love of American soldiers and the overpowering need to free the prisoners-of-war. I also enjoyed both Grimaldi and Bolan's chemistry while enduring the harsh elements and horrendous torture dished out by Torquemandan's henchmen. Needless to say, good things come to those who wait. The inevitable confrontation was worth the price of admission and felt like a satisfying conclusion to one of the most violent Executioner novels I've read. Devil's Horn is an absolute must-read if you love Mack Bolan. 

Buy a copy of this book HERE.