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Mack Bolan the Executioner #58
Ambush on Blood River
A soldier-for-hire named Scarr led a troop of Cubans back into the darkest heart of Africa. Scarr and his band of renegade mercs, under the control of the KGB, had returned to retrieve a fortune buried there by mercenaries years before.
The stolen hoard contained not only riches but damning documents that could ignite global horror. Mack Bolan had to snuff Scarr fast.
For this mission in the savage land of Blood River, The Executioner flanked himself with one of the deadliest forces known to modern man. . . .
Bolan flies with Phoenix Force.
The stolen hoard contained not only riches but damning documents that could ignite global horror. Mack Bolan had to snuff Scarr fast.
For this mission in the savage land of Blood River, The Executioner flanked himself with one of the deadliest forces known to modern man. . . .
Bolan flies with Phoenix Force.
183 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1983
About the author
Don Pendleton
1,529 books194 followersDon Pendleton was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, December 12, 1927 and died October 23, 1995 in Arizona.
He wrote mystery, action/adventure, science-fiction, crime fiction, suspense, short stories, nonfiction, and was a comic scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, essayist, and metaphysical scholar. He published more than 125 books in his long career, and his books have been published in more than 25 foreign languages with close to two hundred million copies in print throughout the world.
After producing a number of science-fiction and mystery novels, Don launched in 1969 the phenomenal Mack Bolan: The Executioner, which quickly emerged as the original, definitive Action/Adventure series. His successful paperback books inspired a new particularly American literary genre during the early 1970's, and Don became known as "the father of action/adventure."
"Although The Executioner Series is far and away my most significant contribution to world literature, I still do not perceive myself as 'belonging' to any particular literary niche. I am simply a storyteller, an entertainer who hopes to enthrall with visions of the reader's own incipient greatness."
Don Pendleton's original Executioner Series are now in ebooks, published by Open Road Media. 37 of the original novels.
Wikipedia: Don Pendleton
He wrote mystery, action/adventure, science-fiction, crime fiction, suspense, short stories, nonfiction, and was a comic scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, essayist, and metaphysical scholar. He published more than 125 books in his long career, and his books have been published in more than 25 foreign languages with close to two hundred million copies in print throughout the world.
After producing a number of science-fiction and mystery novels, Don launched in 1969 the phenomenal Mack Bolan: The Executioner, which quickly emerged as the original, definitive Action/Adventure series. His successful paperback books inspired a new particularly American literary genre during the early 1970's, and Don became known as "the father of action/adventure."
"Although The Executioner Series is far and away my most significant contribution to world literature, I still do not perceive myself as 'belonging' to any particular literary niche. I am simply a storyteller, an entertainer who hopes to enthrall with visions of the reader's own incipient greatness."
Don Pendleton's original Executioner Series are now in ebooks, published by Open Road Media. 37 of the original novels.
Wikipedia: Don Pendleton
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 5, 2023
This is men’s adventure done right- gritty, violent, pulp action. A team of specialists tasked with pulling off a near impossible mission in the savage landscape of darkest Africa.
December 8, 2021
Ambush on Blood River is definitely a men's adventure novel, but it comes from an older tradition than the Executioner books and similar series. It's a straight-up pulp novel that could have been set any time since 1920. In this one, Mack Bolan and Phoenix Force team up to go to Africa. I can't remember much about the plot (I read it at least 35 years ago) but it was extremely entertaining. The heroes came through and the baddies all got what they had coming to them. Highly recommended.
February 4, 2024
Alan Bomack has written a great one with this adventure in Africa. He teams Bolan up with Phoenix Force as they go after a unit headed by a KGB leader who is after a cache of hidden treasure, and some papers which could be used against America. PF and Bolan must follow them and then try to take what is found. Plenty of double dealing and other hazards are to be found.
Highly recommended, one of the better post Pendleton books so far.
Highly recommended, one of the better post Pendleton books so far.
June 29, 2023
After a few missions stuck in the wilds of the USA, Bolan and Phoenix Force embark into the dark continent of Africa on a treasure hunting mission in an attempt to clear the names of the pro-African democrats and maybe get rich in the process too.
This was one of the better Executioner novels (as a lot of the early to mid 80’s Golden Eagles were). There isn’t a ton of story, nor is it very deep but that’s all made up for in yet another very well written and paced entry into the series. There’s tons of great scenes (like Bolan taking on a leopard, a race across a rotting bridge, and a firefight on a train that reminded me of the fantastic scene from the equally fantastic Extraction 2 film). Furthermore, it’s action packed from beginning to end and is so fast paced that it’s over in only a few hours of reading.
As I always say, Pendelton farming out his main character to various authors seems to be the best thing he could have done since almost everything after Bolan’s original war against the mafia has been pretty consistently entertaining.
This was one of the better Executioner novels (as a lot of the early to mid 80’s Golden Eagles were). There isn’t a ton of story, nor is it very deep but that’s all made up for in yet another very well written and paced entry into the series. There’s tons of great scenes (like Bolan taking on a leopard, a race across a rotting bridge, and a firefight on a train that reminded me of the fantastic scene from the equally fantastic Extraction 2 film). Furthermore, it’s action packed from beginning to end and is so fast paced that it’s over in only a few hours of reading.
As I always say, Pendelton farming out his main character to various authors seems to be the best thing he could have done since almost everything after Bolan’s original war against the mafia has been pretty consistently entertaining.
August 25, 2021
Bolan fought a leopard! Yes. An African leopard. Whaat!!! It was riveting and awesome!
May 29, 2025
Nicely done in that it has Bolan and Phoenix Force and it gives some background on the Congo. However, it is clear that major plot elements were inspired by/lifted from Daniel Carney's
The Wild Geese
and Fredrick Forsyth's
The Dogs Of War
.
January 31, 2021
Short and to the point. Fantastic world that is built. It's my first in the Bolan series and I am happy it was.
May 28, 2021
One of the better stories of Vietnam and Bolan.
August 8, 2015
Mack Bolan joins up with his Phoenix Force for a treasure hunt in central Africa. Bolan and his men have to fight the Leopard Squad, a brutal arm of the current regime, animal attacks and of course double crosses. The final action that takes place on an old train is the highlight of this book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews