Executioner Book Series - Don Pendleton continues his "The Executioner" series with the third entry, "Battle Mask", published in 1970 by Pinnacle Books. In the last book, "Death Squad," we saw protagonist Mac Bolan target two mafia families in LA. Bolan's crew was wiped out during their attack on Julian DiJorge and his mob family. DiGeoge somehow escapes in the book's finale, and Bolan continues to be pursued by law enforcement and mob assassins after bringing war to both the East and West Coast families.
"Battle Mask" begins with Bolan recounting the firefight that killed his death squad of colleagues and friends in the last book. The DiGeorge Enforcers will be 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 several enforcers and manages to kill some with an assist from an older man. Bolan switches vehicles and arrives at New Horizons, a plastic surgery facility run by one of his old war buddies named Brantzen. The author gives a little background story about how the two used to provide medical care to villagers in Vietnam. Bolan asks Brantzen to make a new face so he can avoid the many detectives and assassins hunting him. Brantzen agrees and Bolan receives a "battle mask".
Executioner Book Series
Meanwhile, the search for Bolan by Captain Tim Braddock of the LAPD continues. He is one of the main characters and was in the last book. His investigation and prosecution, considered a "hard case", is heating up. Sergeant Carl Lyons joins the fray and plays a bluff on Braddock. In the last book, Lyons allowed Bolan to escape and soon Braddock realizes that Lyons is not too motivated to catch Bolan. He dismisses Lyons from the investigation, and I assume this will eventually lead to Lyons joining Bolan's fight in later books (an early look ahead shows Lyons as an Able team member).
Dogsland: When We Were Executioners
One of the more entertaining parts of Pendleton's "The Executioner" debut in "War Against the Mafia" was Bolan joining the mob to kill from within. Like the book, Bolan does the same here. With his new face, he infiltrates the DiGeorge family by teaming up with Don's daughter Andrea. She dislikes her father and feels that his gun had something to do with her husband's murder. Bolan pretends to be her fiancé, a mob boss from New Jersey named Frank Lambretta. Soon DiJorge hires Lambretta to be an enforcer and names him as Frank Lucky.
After accepting the job of mob enforcer for DiGeorge, Bolan begins a careful dissection of the family and their assets. He wastes important dates and appointments to Carl Lyons, and between Bolan and the police, the George empire is slowly being dismantled. Bolan attacks Pena and his crew as well as an enforcer named Marasco. In typical Pendleton fashion, the reader is thrown 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 very good rebound from the lackluster "Death Squad". The third book in the series recaptures much of the debut's high-octane action 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 Bolan and Braddock. All in all a great book and one that sets the series back on course. There's no denying that Don Pendleton's The Executioner (1969) was the catalyst for men's action adventure fiction of the 70s and 80s. The series attracted hundreds of imitators with the majority fixated on the idea of "he" at the end. Thus the brands 'The Enforcer', 'The Butcher', 'The Punisher', 'The Avenger' were born. Except for one novel, the first 38 books were written by Don Pendleton (the oddest was the 16th entry, William Crawford's "Sicilian Massacre"). After legal battles with publisher Gold Eagle, and perhaps just a lack of ideas, Pendleton left the series in 1980 to focus on the 'Joe Copp' and 'Ashton Ford' installments. In return, Gold Eagle remained without Pendleton's pen, renaming it 'Mack Bolan' with entry number 39, "The New War".
Like all great bands, there comes a time when the act either stops or simply evolves into the next lineup with the "replacement singer". They've all done it - AC/DC, Journey, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden... It seems to be the rite of passage. With "The New War" from 1981, Mack Bolan's life changes under new writers. The mission remains the same, but the methods vary drastically. Under author Saul Wernick, in-the-know readers discover that Bolan is fighting crazy terrorists in Central America—for the United States.
Vintage The Executioner Book 1971
Bolan, fugitive from justice, wanted by FBI, CIA. And even a "Bolan Taskforce" now working for the United States. It would only make sense right? Can't beat 'em, touch 'em. But it's the other way around here – the government has joined Bolan's fight.
The opening pages of this book are 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 "Stoni Man" Get a foundation here. "The Executioner" series regulars like April Rose and Hal Brognola are now in charge as director of the CIA. (In a way). Specifically, Mack Bolan no longer exists, instead he was created as John Macklin Phoenix, a retired colonel. The entire Phoenix program is now a covert operation that runs out of a Virginia farm called Stony Man. It is officially a C.I.A. "Quiet House" spread over 160 acres.
Behind the curtain are many known allies of Mack Bolan. Carl Lyons, Hermann "Gadgets" Schwarz and Rosario "Pol" Blancanales are in Stony Man. The three would later collaborate as the Able Team (series debut in 1982). Other Stony Man players are here too, including Jack Grimaldi and Leo Turrin, both supporting characters up to single-digit entries in The Executioner. Considered the "Stoney People", they are mostly just spectators in "The New War".
Bolan's mission is to find an American secret agent named Laconia. He was captured by Islamic terrorists and imprisoned in a jungle base between Colombia and Panama. After days of intense torture, he floats between worlds and the rush is on for Bolan to capture or kill him. Bolan, understanding the sense of urgency, battles overwhelming forces and a looming hurricane that could destroy any air support.
Vintage The Executioner Book 19 1974 Detroit Deathwatch
First, Saul Wernick is not a remarkable writer. At best, his prose contains a lot of exclamation points that are dated and unnecessary even for 1981. Pulpy hyperbole is not typical of a Bolan novel, so Wernick's writing style alienates fans and creates even more wear and tear. However, I am probably committing a betrayal when I say that I want Bolan to fight internationally. I prefer Bolan vs armed terrorist more than any mafia war. I love Pendleton, but after 10+ Mack vs Mob novels... I need some release. "The New War" introduces a lot of interesting ideas and expands the vigilante idea into a wholesome and entertaining concept. Although the novel is not written in a particularly literary prose, it is a necessary new bolan that introduces me to the Stonyman universe. From here you can use "The New War" as an "origin" story. A simple reboot for a new generation of fans. I am one of them. The well-known million-copy byline of executioner novels has now become a guarantee of the most exciting writing in a whole new category of hard-hitting adventure fiction. Don Pendleton wrote more than thirty books a few years ago before he wrote the first book in the execution series, War on the Mafia. This was the beginning of what is now America's hottest action franchise. With thirty-two volumes in total and three more on the drawing board, Don doesn't have much time to write anything but execution books. Each book is written in about six weeks as Don simultaneously collects and directs the research for upcoming adventures. A highly decorated veteran of World War II, Don saw action in the North Atlantic Submarine Wars, the invasion of North Africa, and the attacks on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Later he led a team of naval scouts who landed in Tokyo prepared for the Japanese surrender. As if that wasn't enough, he also went back for more in Korea! Before turning to full-time typewriter duties, Don held positions as a railroad telegraph operator, air traffic controller, aviation technician, and even had a hand in the early ICBM and Moonshot programs. He is a father of six and now lives in a small town in Indiana. He writes among a unique collection of weapons, photos and books - usually half-buried in research, news clippings and maps. Whether it's Boston, Cleveland, or Nashville, you'll get the feel
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