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The Executioner #29
Command Strike
Mission Unthinkable. . .
Long live the king, the king is dead. Augie Marinello, Boss of All the Bosses, has paid the final tab to the Executioner. But from the ashes of Augies defeat is rising a new and stronger syndicate - better than ever. The big "if" seems to be David Eritrea, formly chief advisor to the dead king, now heir presumptive to the Marinello throne. Eritrea is trying to rally the Five Families of New York to his banner, to radically reoganize the entire New York crime structure and establish himself as the Boss of New York. From that position, Eritrea can control La Commissione and forge a new coalition of international underworld power. The only question seems to be whether Eritrea has "legs enough" to take over New York. It is a situation tailor-made for Bolan. The ironic part is that Bolan himself was the tailor. He actually helped the fledgling Eritrea to his feet and gave him the push to get him started toward the throne. Now he has to cut the legs out from under the guy. . . but how?
Long live the king, the king is dead. Augie Marinello, Boss of All the Bosses, has paid the final tab to the Executioner. But from the ashes of Augies defeat is rising a new and stronger syndicate - better than ever. The big "if" seems to be David Eritrea, formly chief advisor to the dead king, now heir presumptive to the Marinello throne. Eritrea is trying to rally the Five Families of New York to his banner, to radically reoganize the entire New York crime structure and establish himself as the Boss of New York. From that position, Eritrea can control La Commissione and forge a new coalition of international underworld power. The only question seems to be whether Eritrea has "legs enough" to take over New York. It is a situation tailor-made for Bolan. The ironic part is that Bolan himself was the tailor. He actually helped the fledgling Eritrea to his feet and gave him the push to get him started toward the throne. Now he has to cut the legs out from under the guy. . . but how?
177 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
45 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Don Pendleton
1,524 books190 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
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 3, 2026
Excellent planning and plotting as Mack goes undercover to take down the New York mafia.
September 9, 2022
3.5 stars
Based on how this series has kinda waxed and waned over its 30+ books, I wasn't expecting much. Thankfully, I
can say I was mildly surprised (and entertained) with Command Strike.
Bolan isn't messing around anymore and we are FINALLY getting close to the endgame as multiple
wings of the mafia have been complelty wiped out.
It's not perfect or as exciting as previous entries into
the series but I'm hoping a literary leaf has been turned as we close in on the final couple books.
Based on how this series has kinda waxed and waned over its 30+ books, I wasn't expecting much. Thankfully, I
can say I was mildly surprised (and entertained) with Command Strike.
Bolan isn't messing around anymore and we are FINALLY getting close to the endgame as multiple
wings of the mafia have been complelty wiped out.
It's not perfect or as exciting as previous entries into
the series but I'm hoping a literary leaf has been turned as we close in on the final couple books.
April 25, 2020
The 29th entry in Pendleton's action/adventure series, with former soldier Bolan working on a grand slam of the hierarchy of the Mafia baddies.
Might be a little much of the insider angle as Sarge tries to portray a top enforcer for the mob, and I've been wondering the last few stories how he drives his "warwagon", a huge GMC recreactional vehichle, without anyone catching on.
Still one of the better '70s/'80s men's series.
Might be a little much of the insider angle as Sarge tries to portray a top enforcer for the mob, and I've been wondering the last few stories how he drives his "warwagon", a huge GMC recreactional vehichle, without anyone catching on.
Still one of the better '70s/'80s men's series.
March 7, 2021
All of the mafia dons will be present for Augie's funeral. How will The Executioner play this one out??
It had been a long time since Mack Bolan had deceived himself about his ability to win this war. He knew, and had known almost from the beginning, that it was just another ‘Nam—a war of delay and containment, a war of attrition, a war of hopelessness and frustration. But he had gone on fighting this one the same way he’d fought the other one—with determination, dedication, total commitment of the self without regard for personal comfort or ambition. And to hell with all the moralizations, the equivocations, the rationalizations. His war was “wrong,” sure immoral, illegal, and brutal. But so was the enemy, a thousandfold. They were cannibals, and all of civilized society was simmering in their pots...All he was really doing was simply opposing the cannibals—shaking a stick at them and trying to divert them from their meal until the cavalry could arrive. The problem, dammit, was that there wasn’t any cavalry. There wasn’t anybody to really nail these guys, to put them out of business, or even to discourage the expansion into more and bigger pots. These cannibals had already learned the litany and they were using it against those they chose to eat. Where’s your search warrant? Where’s your evidence? Call my lawyer and send for the bailbondsman. Change of venue. Plea bargaining. Courts of appeal. Friendly judges, bought and paid for. “Made” legislators and Congressmen, “smart” cops and “wise guy” prosecutors. Amici di l’amicu, or friend of the friends—from the ward heeler clear to the White House itself. It was enough to shiver a guy, yeah—especially one who knew the true brutal ferocity of these savages. And Mack Bolan had never learned to live with his shivers.
It had been a long time since Mack Bolan had deceived himself about his ability to win this war. He knew, and had known almost from the beginning, that it was just another ‘Nam—a war of delay and containment, a war of attrition, a war of hopelessness and frustration. But he had gone on fighting this one the same way he’d fought the other one—with determination, dedication, total commitment of the self without regard for personal comfort or ambition. And to hell with all the moralizations, the equivocations, the rationalizations. His war was “wrong,” sure immoral, illegal, and brutal. But so was the enemy, a thousandfold. They were cannibals, and all of civilized society was simmering in their pots...All he was really doing was simply opposing the cannibals—shaking a stick at them and trying to divert them from their meal until the cavalry could arrive. The problem, dammit, was that there wasn’t any cavalry. There wasn’t anybody to really nail these guys, to put them out of business, or even to discourage the expansion into more and bigger pots. These cannibals had already learned the litany and they were using it against those they chose to eat. Where’s your search warrant? Where’s your evidence? Call my lawyer and send for the bailbondsman. Change of venue. Plea bargaining. Courts of appeal. Friendly judges, bought and paid for. “Made” legislators and Congressmen, “smart” cops and “wise guy” prosecutors. Amici di l’amicu, or friend of the friends—from the ward heeler clear to the White House itself. It was enough to shiver a guy, yeah—especially one who knew the true brutal ferocity of these savages. And Mack Bolan had never learned to live with his shivers.
Read
April 26, 2025Plot & Reaction:
What I wanted from Savage Fire, I get here. The mystery is paced better. Bolan’s attacks on Mafia bad guys are disguised and never attributed to him. He even avoids taking out visiting dignitaries to keep any whiff of his involvement in the violent proceedings. More than once, Bolan even reviews key plot points from this book, Savage Fire, and Dixie Convoy (for himself or other characters) to help tie things together for the reader.
More than any other books since the Death Squad / Battle Mask pairing, this book and the previous one read as a two-part story. We finally get answers to who "Peter" is, who's been behind all the intrigue of the past two books, and how Bolan's going to resolve the threat to Turrin's cover. In one of his ballsiest moves yet, Bolan walks among the entire New York mob in disguise as a Black Ace of Spades (the highest rank in the mob's own gestapo) to ultimately deliver David Eritrea as a patsy to fix the breach of Leo Turrin’s cover and save Harold Brognola's job. Contrary to my prediction last book that Bolan's Black Ace disguise was wearing thin, he doubles down on it here with gusto!
Someone leaked the fact that a “highly placed Mafioso was actually on the Justice Department payroll, with intimations that the U.S. government was therefore sponsoring a certain degree of criminal activity.” Hal Brognola was being summoned before Congress to reveal the agent’s identity, something that would mean death for Leo given the leak. The only way for Brognola to avoid testifying would be to resign. But Bolan figures out a way to save both of his friends at once. And he not only saves both Leo and Hal but advances their positions as highly placed undercover agent and top cop Fed respectively.
In one of the biggest cases of retconning I’ve seen, Barney Matilda (a character just introduced in the previous book) is revealed to be the Mob’s Palpatine, the Ace of Aces in charge of the others, the mysterious “Peter,” and the evil that’s been behind it all from the very beginning. (It was previously believed the Aces reported only to La Commissione and were autonomous in their ability to police anyone who steps out of line.) Most twisty of all, the Talifero brothers that featured so prominently in the early part of this series are revealed to be Barney’s children! He tells Bolan that he (Matilda) pulled the plug on Pat just weeks prior. It’s kind of fun to rethink through the whole series imagining the old dude pulling the strings, even if it is a cheap way to add stakes to the story.
Continuing Bolan’s shift in strategy, he’s no longer trying to defeat the Mafia; his goal is to fracture their alliance and get them competing against each other. A country of regional factions is easier for law enforcement to combat than a unified national (or even international) organization that’s above the law and out of reach. This shift in strategy makes for more interesting books too. Instead of Bolan assaulting the compound, he has to infiltrate and play the bad guys against each other. Like Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars.
Returning characters:
The survivors from the previous book all show up: David Eritrea, Billy Gino, and Barney Matilda. Plus the regulars: Leo Turrin and Harold Brognola. There’s also the only other Danger Girl we haven’t seen since their introduction in Vegas Vendetta: Sally Palmer.
Timeline:
A continuation of the previous book, this book begins the very next day and spans approximately 24-36 hours. The epilogue refers to “early spring.” This lines up with Colorado Kill Zone and Acapulco Rampage taking place in the winter. Additionally, Sally says she's been spying on and for Barney Matilda as his lover ever since Vegas. That really makes me question the timeline -- are we talking a year, five years? The longer it gets, the less plausible that story point is.
Additional comments:
The book cover does in fact depict a scene from the book.
After having read the summary from the War Book (penned by Mike Newton, not Don Pendleton), I’m starting to wonder if these prologues are ghost written as well. I don’t know why this hasn’t occurred to me sooner. The function of the prologue is to introduce new readers to the Bolan saga; regular or sporadic readers might also need a refresher after waiting months for each book. It seems like it would have been tedious for Pendleton himself to have to come up with a new prologue each time that basically says the same exact thing only differently. It might be interesting to read all the prologues in succession to see how the writing styles compare.
Apparently, in addition to Black (major) Aces, there are also Red (minor) Aces. Much like the “red shirts” in Star Trek, they don’t live very long.
No mention of Bolan’s injuries the night before in Pittsfield.
What I wanted from Savage Fire, I get here. The mystery is paced better. Bolan’s attacks on Mafia bad guys are disguised and never attributed to him. He even avoids taking out visiting dignitaries to keep any whiff of his involvement in the violent proceedings. More than once, Bolan even reviews key plot points from this book, Savage Fire, and Dixie Convoy (for himself or other characters) to help tie things together for the reader.
More than any other books since the Death Squad / Battle Mask pairing, this book and the previous one read as a two-part story. We finally get answers to who "Peter" is, who's been behind all the intrigue of the past two books, and how Bolan's going to resolve the threat to Turrin's cover. In one of his ballsiest moves yet, Bolan walks among the entire New York mob in disguise as a Black Ace of Spades (the highest rank in the mob's own gestapo) to ultimately deliver David Eritrea as a patsy to fix the breach of Leo Turrin’s cover and save Harold Brognola's job. Contrary to my prediction last book that Bolan's Black Ace disguise was wearing thin, he doubles down on it here with gusto!
Someone leaked the fact that a “highly placed Mafioso was actually on the Justice Department payroll, with intimations that the U.S. government was therefore sponsoring a certain degree of criminal activity.” Hal Brognola was being summoned before Congress to reveal the agent’s identity, something that would mean death for Leo given the leak. The only way for Brognola to avoid testifying would be to resign. But Bolan figures out a way to save both of his friends at once. And he not only saves both Leo and Hal but advances their positions as highly placed undercover agent and top cop Fed respectively.
In one of the biggest cases of retconning I’ve seen, Barney Matilda (a character just introduced in the previous book) is revealed to be the Mob’s Palpatine, the Ace of Aces in charge of the others, the mysterious “Peter,” and the evil that’s been behind it all from the very beginning. (It was previously believed the Aces reported only to La Commissione and were autonomous in their ability to police anyone who steps out of line.) Most twisty of all, the Talifero brothers that featured so prominently in the early part of this series are revealed to be Barney’s children! He tells Bolan that he (Matilda) pulled the plug on Pat just weeks prior. It’s kind of fun to rethink through the whole series imagining the old dude pulling the strings, even if it is a cheap way to add stakes to the story.
Continuing Bolan’s shift in strategy, he’s no longer trying to defeat the Mafia; his goal is to fracture their alliance and get them competing against each other. A country of regional factions is easier for law enforcement to combat than a unified national (or even international) organization that’s above the law and out of reach. This shift in strategy makes for more interesting books too. Instead of Bolan assaulting the compound, he has to infiltrate and play the bad guys against each other. Like Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars.
Returning characters:
The survivors from the previous book all show up: David Eritrea, Billy Gino, and Barney Matilda. Plus the regulars: Leo Turrin and Harold Brognola. There’s also the only other Danger Girl we haven’t seen since their introduction in Vegas Vendetta: Sally Palmer.
Timeline:
A continuation of the previous book, this book begins the very next day and spans approximately 24-36 hours. The epilogue refers to “early spring.” This lines up with Colorado Kill Zone and Acapulco Rampage taking place in the winter. Additionally, Sally says she's been spying on and for Barney Matilda as his lover ever since Vegas. That really makes me question the timeline -- are we talking a year, five years? The longer it gets, the less plausible that story point is.
Additional comments:
The book cover does in fact depict a scene from the book.
After having read the summary from the War Book (penned by Mike Newton, not Don Pendleton), I’m starting to wonder if these prologues are ghost written as well. I don’t know why this hasn’t occurred to me sooner. The function of the prologue is to introduce new readers to the Bolan saga; regular or sporadic readers might also need a refresher after waiting months for each book. It seems like it would have been tedious for Pendleton himself to have to come up with a new prologue each time that basically says the same exact thing only differently. It might be interesting to read all the prologues in succession to see how the writing styles compare.
Apparently, in addition to Black (major) Aces, there are also Red (minor) Aces. Much like the “red shirts” in Star Trek, they don’t live very long.
No mention of Bolan’s injuries the night before in Pittsfield.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2022
The plot of the previous book in the series (Savage Fire) leads directly into this one. It also incorporates events from Dixie Convoy, so those three books make up a trilogy within the larger Executioner series. (It also makes for a minor continuity error--Bolan is wounded at the end of Savage Fire. Command Strike picks up the next day and he's apparently completely healed.)
Command Strike is a ton of fun. Bolan is trying to prevent the Mafia from forming a strong national organization. He wants them to remain territorial and occasionally fighting each other rather than become a more dangerous unified threat. This means he has to manipulate events. Being this is an Executioner novel, this often means shooting the right people at the right moment. But it also involves him assuming the role of a top Mafia assassin and putting himself in a position to order about his mortal enemies, while they remain completely unaware of his true identity. Between this and the judicious use of violence, he plans to force the would-be national Don to give himself up to the Feds (rather than be killed by his former collegues) and keep the various families at each other's throats.
Command Strike has an intricate plot, but Pendleton moves things along in his usual expert fashion and manages to smoothly fit a lot of plot twists and action into this short book. In a way, it's similar to earlier entries in the series, such as Battle Mask and Panic in Philly, in which a lot of the fun comes from watching Bolan turn the bad guys against one another.
Command Strike is a ton of fun. Bolan is trying to prevent the Mafia from forming a strong national organization. He wants them to remain territorial and occasionally fighting each other rather than become a more dangerous unified threat. This means he has to manipulate events. Being this is an Executioner novel, this often means shooting the right people at the right moment. But it also involves him assuming the role of a top Mafia assassin and putting himself in a position to order about his mortal enemies, while they remain completely unaware of his true identity. Between this and the judicious use of violence, he plans to force the would-be national Don to give himself up to the Feds (rather than be killed by his former collegues) and keep the various families at each other's throats.
Command Strike has an intricate plot, but Pendleton moves things along in his usual expert fashion and manages to smoothly fit a lot of plot twists and action into this short book. In a way, it's similar to earlier entries in the series, such as Battle Mask and Panic in Philly, in which a lot of the fun comes from watching Bolan turn the bad guys against one another.
October 7, 2021
The Pendleton written ones are all good but this one was better then a lot of them. It cleared up a lot of points building up in the last few books. Now that the Boss of Bosses was dead, his advisor is trying to fill in but Bolan doesnt like that ideal. Bolan comes up with a way to get his undercover friend off the hook, destroy any unity the mafia has between families, and take out the Ace of Aces. Though for all of it to happen everything has to work out just right and well Bolan has a loud way of getting things to work out.
Very good, highly recommended. Though you do need to read at least the last few books before to really get it. Would also help to have a working knowledge of the series, some of the stuff could be hard to follow without it
Very good, highly recommended. Though you do need to read at least the last few books before to really get it. Would also help to have a working knowledge of the series, some of the stuff could be hard to follow without it
September 6, 2022
Putting Bolan undercover as a mysterious high-ranking mafioso is a pretty silly premise in a lot of ways, but isn't the worst idea for mining a slightly different niche for this long-running series. The central scheme of the novel is clear enough to be understood without being too straightforward to be interesting.
July 5, 2024
Page Turner again
Book after book, Mr. Pendleton adeptly manages to keep us glued to his stories, and adventure after adventure, he astounds with the actions of our title hero, Mack Bolan. Amazing job tying this one in to so many that came before it. Can't wait to read the next !!!
Book after book, Mr. Pendleton adeptly manages to keep us glued to his stories, and adventure after adventure, he astounds with the actions of our title hero, Mack Bolan. Amazing job tying this one in to so many that came before it. Can't wait to read the next !!!
June 9, 2018
Another good read from Don Pendleton. It was very interesting finding out the true identity of Barney/Peter etc. Nice to see the NY mob's fate as well.
June 24, 2018
Great read!
September 22, 2018
This seemed to end a long story arc so the next one may be interesting
August 15, 2020
Once again we're treated to the absolute finest in action/adventure fiction brought to us by the king of the genre the one and only Don Pendleton. No other adventure author could ever hold a candle to the master Don Pendleton.
November 18, 2023
Rather forgettable- but some great character names.
July 8, 2014
After 'Savage Fire' my expectations were low.
There are a few holes in this one, but the ride was 4-star fun. This is an obvious sequel to #28, 'Savage Fire.' Many of the series stories have stood on their own two feet, but the last two tied directly into 'Command Strike.' As disappointing the end of 'Savage Fire' was for me, the end here felt very satisfying. It nailed down one fact, this story is coming to an end.
I may begin the Remo William's series next.
There are a few holes in this one, but the ride was 4-star fun. This is an obvious sequel to #28, 'Savage Fire.' Many of the series stories have stood on their own two feet, but the last two tied directly into 'Command Strike.' As disappointing the end of 'Savage Fire' was for me, the end here felt very satisfying. It nailed down one fact, this story is coming to an end.
I may begin the Remo William's series next.
May 12, 2015
An excellent men's adventure series from the 60s, 70's and 80's. The first 38 books are outstanding but then the series is taken over by a bunch of new writers writing under the name of the original creator and they take the series into a new direction I did not care for. The first 38 books are very recommended
May 29, 2016
Role camouflage at its best. Bolan takes over as the top Ace in the Mafia and writes the script on who is going to take over the Mafia empire.
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August 15, 2016read some time in 1981
April 9, 2017
All's well that ends ...
This was a long story line that was very well written through several books. Did not get tired or bored. Kept my interest all the way.
This was a long story line that was very well written through several books. Did not get tired or bored. Kept my interest all the way.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews