Don Pendleton Books In Order

Publication Order of The Executioner Books

Publication Order of Ashton Ford Books

Publication Order of Joe Copp Books

Publication Order of Mack Bolan Books

Publication Order of Phoenix Force Books

Publication Order of Stewart Mann Books

Publication Order of Stony Man Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Able Team Books

To be a pioneer of a major work of fiction takes more than just contributing greatly in such a genre, yet Don Pendleton did that and more. He gave the genre its name; action/adventure and the name would be used not just in novels but in the film, games and comic magazines too. The father of the action/adventure genre, Donald Eugene ‘Don’ Pendleton was born in Little Rock Arkansas in December 12 1927. Don Pendleton himself was an action man. He enlisted for the Navy when World War 2 broke out when he was just 14 years old as a radioman. He served in all theaters of the war until 1947. In 1952 he would re-enlist again to serve in the Korean conflict until 1954.

After service in war, Don Pendleton took up a job with the Southern Pacific Railroad as a telegrapher until 1957. He then moved to work for the FAA as an air traffic control specialist and later worked for Martin Marietta as a senior engineer on the Titan ICBM programs. He then moved to the NASA where he worked on the Apollo Moonshot program as a senior engineer. Later he worked with the C-5 air transport aircraft program. It was only in 1967 that Don Pendleton resorted to writing full time and by this time he had already written a short story in 1957 and a novel in 1961.

Don Pendleton was prolific from the moment he turned to full time writing and in a short while he had a number of novels in mystery, science fiction and futuristic genres. He also produced a screen play, short stories and essays and poems. It was in 1969 that War against the Mafia was published and would revolutionize the action/adventure genre as we know it today. This book would be the first in the Executioner Books series. It would lead to thirty seven sequels in twelve years which would all sell over 200 million copies worldwide. The first 38 books have been translated in over twenty five languages. In 1980, Don Pendleton sold the franchise ‘Don Pendleton’s Mack Bolan’ to Harlequin’s Gold Eagle Books and Satan’s Sabbath was the last he ever wrote in the series.
Don Pendleton still had more in terms of action novels series and between1987-1992 he wrote the Joe Copp, Private Eye series. These series feature the action packed adventures of Joe Copp a private investigator. There are six books in this series. The other series was the Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective Series. These were written from 1986 to 1987 and were also six books which covered the adventures of Ashton Ford, a navy officer and spy who had psychic powers.

In 1990, Don Pendleton worked with his wife Linda Pendleton to produce the non-fiction novel, To Dance with Angels which covers life after death and spirit communication. Again, with his wife they co-wrote the non-fiction Whispers from the Soul: The Divine Dance of Consciousness. They also co-wrote the ��Metaphysics of the Novel and the Novelist’. Roulette; The search for the Sunrise killer, was the last book Don Pendleton wrote and it was also co-written by his wife. Don Pendleton passed away on October 23 1995.

War on the Mafia his first book of the Executioner series sees the main actor Mack Bolan introduced for the first time. He is a Vietnam War hero where he served as a sniper and his exploits at the war front has earned him the name; The Executioner after 93 confirmed kills. He is called home from Vietnam in an emergency to the funeral of his father, his mother and his sister who died on the same day. Arriving home he learns the cause of deaths from his surviving brother. Apparently, his father got in debt with a local loan shark and was not able to pay the amount within the set time. The loan shark is affiliated to the Pittsburgh mafia causing trouble on the family. Cindy, Mack Bolan’s 17 year old sister is forced to take up prostitution in order to pay off the debt. When he finds this out, Mack Bolan’s father comes home one evening and snaps, shooting his wife, his daughter, his youngest son and himself. All die save for the youngest son, Johnny who survives with a gun wound in the leg.

It is Johnny who, when seated at the front of their house with his elder brother, takes Mack Bolan through the activities of the mob in his hometown. The Pittsburgh mafia has control on everything in the town. From drugs trade to prostitution cartels to corruption, the mafia is everywhere and powerful. Mack Bolan, makes a decision not to go back to the war in Vietnam but fight the crime in his hometown. The Mafia has an army and is well armed and also outnumbers Mack Bolan. However, Mack Bolan’s set of skills both in weaponry especially as a sharp shooter, hand to hand combat makes him more than just a one man army. In a short while the Pittsburg mafia is decimated at all levels and the cops seemingly cannot keep up with the new vigilante in town, The Executioner; Mack Bolan.

In the second book of the series, The Executioner; Death Squad, Mack Bolan the one man army against the mafia is back. This time he is not alone but comes with his friends, other Vietnam War veterans. The friends are nine in total and under the leadership of Mack Bolan they make the most lethal death squad in town. Their names just like Mack Bolan’s The Executioner point to a part of their lethal skills. For example there is Deadeye, Boom Boom, Chopper and Gadgets. All are deadly and they take on a new enemy, the Los Angeles Mafia. Soon they are not just fighting the mafia but evading the police force too, who view them and Mack Bolan in particular as cold blood mass murderers. The chase is on and in only 182 pages, Don Pendleton weaves a fast paced action packed narrative that is the hallmark of many of his action/adventure books.

By the time the Death Squad was being published in its fifth printing that is in 1978, the books in the series had already sold over twenty million copies. Riding on the popularity of The Executioner series, many spin offs were written from Sharpshooter, Butcher, Penetrator to Marksman all of which did well. Even Marvel Comics’ The Punisher which would go on to see two movies made from it was influenced by the Executioner book series. Surprisingly, no movie was ever made out of the books despite mulled efforts. Presently, now the film rights to the series are owned by Sony.

3 Responses to “Don Pendleton”

1. William Garwood: 2 years ago

   I picked up the first Executioner book when I was in AIT training at Fort Mounmouth, Nj. 1974.

   Was Blood Vortex the Last book? And was the series actually end? and How?

   Thanks for great reads!

   Bill

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     It’s currently the last book – will not surprise me if there is more though 🙂

     Reply
2. Angela and William Shea: 2 years ago

   Thank you for the lists of books in order written by our favorite authors. We listen to many different thriller, mystery, sci fi, spy and adventure series and we rely on these lists.

   Reply