Executioner Books In Order

Publication Order of The Executioner Books

The “Executioner” series stars Mack Bolan, a sniper who in the Vietnam war had very few snipers that were as good or as ruthless as him. He spent twelve years in country and racked up a grand total of 97 kills that were confirmed. It was here that he would get the nickname that would stick with him for quite a long time, The Executioner. When he comes home, he finds that everything there has gone to hell and he starts fighting organized crime and international terrorism. It puts him on a path that divides a lot of people; he goes from town to town and tries to exterminate that town’s mafia problem. Some think he does good, some want him stopped.

The series has sold over two hundred million copies and over four hundred installments have been released. Novels are released quite frequently and is a men’s action adventure series.

At first, creator of the series, Don Pendleton wrote the novels. He wrote the 37 of the first 38 novels, with several ghostwriters penning the subsequent releases. Pendleton sold off the series to another publisher to allow them to continue to release the later novels. Besides the main series, there are also spinoff series as well.

Novel sixteen in the series, the first not to be written by Pendleton, was written while Pendleton and his publisher were wrapped up in a legal dispute over who exactly owned the rights to the series. That novel was written by a ghostwriter and released under a pen name. He was able to get the rights back and continue writing more of the novels.

“War Against the Mafia” by Don Pendleton is the first novel in the “Executioner” series and was released in 1969. When Mack Bolan returns home, he finds that his father has killed his mother, his brother, and himself. His sister has gone into prostitution he finds out later, because the mob wants her to pay back the family’s debt. The mafia, he learns, was putting pressure on his family to get their money from them. Bolan declares war on them to get retribution and to fix things. The first casualties are five loan sharks who are trying to get into their car, before they can even draw their weapons they are all killed.

Fans of the novel liked the great plot line, good writing, and that it is not too wordy so that anyone can read it. Some feel that the novel moves a long at a brisk pace to keep things moving pretty well. Some liked the way that Pendleton is able to describe the weapons, and there is great adrenaline charged thrills and violence to keep some macho men interested in things. These things have a lot of action, and it is easy to see how this series could transform action novels into what they are now. Some find, that even after re-reading the novel after they first read it many decades ago, it holds up and they find that Pendleton wrote a winner here.

Some did not like the way that some of the relationships are formed in the novel, finding that they seem strange but can be found in most men’s adventure novels. Some found this to be a bit of stretch, as two people who just met are able to fall in love and the woman was a virgin and beautiful. This sounded like something that you would read in Penthouse. There is some trashy stuff to keep things interesting enough.

“Death Squad” by Don Pendleton is the second novel in the “Executioner” series and was released in 1969. Mack plans his next attack, after the battle of Pittsfield left him wanted by federal agents, police, and hoods. He finds a party, and at the party is an old friend of Mack’s from the Army who has been tortured for information. The two, Mack and George Zitka, immediately start talking about getting together a death squad to hunt down more of these mafia people to heat up the war between Mack and the mob.

Fans of the novel enjoy the thrills and excitement that these novels have, finding it keeps things rolling for them. You just cannot stop reading these novels, find some. This novel is even better than the novel that starts the series. You get to see what happened to all of those Vietnam vets after they returned from the war; as they failed to find a foot hold on the civilian part of the world. This series is one to be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys reading pulp novels and anyone who is up for a lot of action.

Some did not like all of the new characters, finding that they were hardly two dimensional, and it was odd that they would be so ready to join in on Mack’s war with the mafia. You do not really get a chance to know these people, and Pendleton does not spend a lot of time fleshing them out. Some readers felt that you get to see that Mack is better by himself and struggles to be a member of a team. Some felt bored by this novel and were put off by some of the things that happened.

“Battle Mask” by Don Pendleton is the third novel in the “Executioner” series and was released in 1970. Mack’s death squad is in trouble. Two find themselves in jail and seven have died. There is only Mack Bolan left to continue the fight against the mob. He has a one hundred thousand dollar bounty on his head, and all of the cops in the city of Los Angeles is on the hunt for him. The mafia finds his hideout and attacks him there, but he is able to escape. After, he decides that the best thing that he can do to evade these people is to change his face. He has help from an old army surgeon, and together they change his face into something a lot less recognizable and more Sicilian. He soon schmoozes his way into enemy territory with the help of the boss’s daughter. This new face is going to scare anyone who sees it, just like his old one.