Explosion! Shooting! Punching! Sex! A testosterone fuelled violent thrill rides
The Executioner is an action-adventure series following the exploits of the character Mack Bolan and his wars against organized crime and international terrorism. The series spans #453 installments (as of December 2017) and has sold more than 200 million copies since its debut installment, War Against the Mafia. The series was created and initially written by American author Don Pendleton, who penned 37 of the original 38 Bolan novels. In 1980, Pendleton licensed the rights to Gold Eagle and was succeeded by a collective of ghostwriters.
In this, the first story, we are introduced to Mack Bolan, a Vietnam War veteran serving as a sniper. It is in these jungles where the young Bolan honed his military capabilities and his deadly accuracy. His 97 confirmed kills gave birth to the nickname he would carry for the rest of his life: The Executioner. Amidst the chaos of war, Bolan also earned the moniker “Sergeant Mercy”, for his compassion and willingness to help innocent Vietnamese citizens put in harm's way or wounded by the conflict around them.
During his tour of duty, Bolan was called home on emergency leave to bury his family, who were killed by their father, Sam Bolan, in a triple-murder/suicide. Upon his return home, Bolan learned loan sharks from a local branch of the Mafia "family" had forced his sister Cynthia into a life of prostitution to pay back the family debt. Upon learning the news, his father could not bear it and committed the horrendous act. Only Bolan's 14-year-old brother Johnny survived his wounds.Bolan realized that the real enemy was not in the jungles of Vietnam, but at home. The Mafia's schemes affected everyday innocent civilians such as his own family. Using the tactics he learned during his military combat, Bolan refused to return to Vietnam and instead took his war to the Mafia.
Despite the 2D characters lacking any sort of real emotional depth, the story itself is entertaining enough. Plus the book itself isn't particularly long, so you can quickly polish it off in an afternoon. Bolans love interest is far-fetched to say the least. A wanted killer, Bolan gets wounded and turns to a young, virginal, female for help. Of course, she's got supermodel looks and after a few days they're in love. And she's no longer a virgin too. Not at all believable. His ability remain indifferent about his surviving brother doesn't ring all that true, as well.. In other words, Bolan comes off almost like a Terminator, but with less emotion. the pages turned fairly quickly.
In future books we see Bolan going from city to city. There hs strikes ruthlessly to bring down the mafia and to clean the country of this horrific criminal organization. His actions would divide opinions. Some government and law enforcement officials were pleased with his efforts, while some sought to bring his war to an end.In the end, the government offered Bolan amnesty under the condition he work for them. Bolan accepted and emerged under the name Colonel John Phoenix beginning his war against terrorism and the KGB. Bolan works in conjunction with Hal Brognola, the Director of the Sensitive Operations Group and the liaison between Bolan and the Oval Office. Phoenix was chosen to be Bolan's new alias in reference to the mythological bird that would resurrect itself from the ashes of a former life, just as Bolan had done after the events of Executioner #38, Satan's Sabbath.
Sort of like sleazy action flavoured bubble-gum for the brain. Not at all memorable but saying that, I'd likely read another one in the series. But probably not all of the other 452 books too. If you think you'll like it, you probably will.
