Washington I.O.U.

The Executioner #13

by Don Pendleton

The Executioner #13 Washington IOU

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Pulp

187 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Don 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

Reviews

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mack Bolan finds himself in Washington D.C. in what may be his most important battle yet in his war against the Mafia. It will definitely be one of his most bloodiest as the unrelenting action starts off from the very beginning. The Mafia’s vile tentacles reach deep into the city and may have found their way into the White House itself.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early 70s men's adventure series, with Bolan taking his war on the Mafia to the capitol.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mack Bolan’s war against the Mafia brings him to Washington DC where he goes after a "new wave" boss man by the name of Lupo, a man educated and groomed to enter the halls of power. But Bolan’s extensive success in the past has also served to teach the Family a thing or two, mostly about how not to fight Bolan. This time, rather than send waves of enforcers after Bolan, they decide to try to “absorb” him into their activities and render him ineffective. They do this by creating fake Bolans and have them cause havoc among the upper echelons of the DC crowd, up to and including shooting into the windows of the White House itself. It's an attempt to turn the tide of popular opinion against Mack Bolan. Now there's more at stake than just Bolan's life. It's his reputation.

Sometimes you just gotta read a Mack Bolan Executioner book. The fact that this one focuses on targeting corrupt politicians in Washington DC just makes it more fun.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bolan invades D.C. on the trail of "Lupo", a new wave Mafia guy - educated with a wealthy pedigree, groomed to weave in and out of the halls of power in Washington.

He has a group of bad guys called "the Wolf Crew", five former military tough guys who, combined, give the Executioner a run for his money.

Great action story from Pendleton.

[Tony Petry · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far Don Pendleton has been solid on his writing, packed full of action and the story flows and never hits a bump.

[James Hein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another easy read to clear the mind for the next one.

[Curtis]

These Mack Bolan books are becoming increasingly frustrating to read. There's this unnamed emotion that filmmaker Quentin Tarantino once described: The feeling you get when something is so good that you're angry it's not great. Now, it's a stretch to say these books are "so good" but each one shows more promise than it achieves, hence the frustration. Especially the endings.

Here we get another rushed and truncated ending that fails to payoff the build up, made all the more confounding due to several unfocused and "filler" sections earlier in the book. Something I haven't mentioned before, each book begins with a prologue that introduces the reader to Bolan and his "war." I understand the need to familiarize readers who might be joining the story for the first time, but in a book this short do we need 5% of the word count to be summary? Chapter 5 is basically another summary chapter, establishing why Bolan is in Washington and what he plans to do. But chapter 6 is the worst offender, so bad I skipped over whole paragraphs. It's Bolan's (really Pendleton's) philosophical justification for "good" men killing "bad" men (including the Vietnam War!) that basically boils down to "life is violence" so therefore violence is natural and okay. Life is only violence from an extremely myopic perspective -- No, I won't be drawn into an argument with a dead author.

Clearly Pendleton bit off more than he can chew with this series. He seems to be getting more and more obsessed with justifying his protagonist than telling exciting stories. And he's much better at setups than payoffs (aren't we all?). By three-quarters of the way through this story, he's set up a mob blackmail ring that has the potential to influence national politics, a Bolan impersonator who's wreaking havoc on D.C. (including a few rifle shots into the White House) to get public opinion against him, and a presidential candidate beholden to the Mafia.

This last development comes at the end of chapter 14, one of my favorites that Pendleton has written. It's Bolan thinking through all the info he's gathered so far, a kind of Sherlock Holmes deduction where he puts all the pieces together and figures out what the mob's endgame is: "He [Bolan] would have to find the man who was being groomed as the next President of the United States." I got shivers when I read that. Bolan taking out a candidate for the presidency. How would that change the trajectory of the entire series? The possibilities!

Spoiler warning, here's how it plays out: Bolan destroys the blackmail ring and rescues the sexy staffer of a corrupt Congressman. She asks that Bolan leave the Congressman to her (she'll see he's prosecuted, rather than being killed by Bolan). He says, "I'm going to leave his boy for you, also." Which boy? "I don't know, but you will. A presidential contender, probably. You'll know him."

Yup. That's the payoff.

This isn't the first time that Pendleton sets up some intriguing goal for Bolan and then runs out of space to write it.

I'm starting to question whether or not I should keep reading these books. Curiosity is driving me more than enjoyment at this point. At a minimum, a palate cleanser of some kind is clearly overdue.

[Christian D. D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bolan blasts the Beltway bad guys!!!!

“THE EXECUTIONER BOOK #13: WASHINGTON I.O.U.” by Don Pendleton

Another classic, fun-filled action-adventure from Mack Bolan’s legendary Mafia Wars. This time, The Executioner blasts his way into the Nation’s Capital, disrupting the Mob’s insidious plot to happily and habitually hobnob with the whores of the Hill.

RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS (and noteworthy passages):

“He stood on the small porch for a moment, casually lit a cigarette while his eyes probed the dimly-lit parking area.” Huh? Since when was Bolan ever a smoker? (Unless it’s strictly for role-playing/undercover purposes?)

“The Beretta’s whispering death overtook him there, two of her grim little messengers plowing into the rear of the gunner’s skull at cerebellum level to liberate bubbling blood and jellied matter into the swiftly discoloring water.” Aahh, Rest In Peace, Mr. Pendleton, you had such a way with words.

“‘The game of crud. Capitol Crud.’” Haha.

“I’m a mob whore. I disguise myself as a legitimate and respected member of the government community, and I seduce reputable and upstanding male members of that same community.” Haha, the 5Hs (Habitually and Habitually Hobnobbing with the wHores of the Hill) [inside joke]

“Something beyond her comprehension was coming up, she realized that. It was a game for experts, as incomprehensible as football and all the talk about ‘reading the defense’ and ‘reading the offense.’ She knew something very angry was about to happen, and she was entirely willing and grateful to have an expert calling the signals for her side.” BOY, how times have changed in the decades since this book was written; nowadays there are PLENTY of women who can understand and discuss the technical aspects of football!

“If a national attitude of ‘peace at any price’carries over into this closer cannibalism at home, then I feel nothing but doubly dead in a very troubled grave. Sometimes, dammit, you’ve got to be ready to sacrifice peace in favor of a higher morality … and don’t anyone think that peace itself is the highest order of things. It can be the lowest order. Peace, in its ultimate form, is death.” Wow. And Amen.

“Most of the people I have known who yearn so for the eternity of heaven can hardly stand one hour a week in church. How the hell are they going to remain sane through an everlasting round of hosannas?” Haha, good question.

“Life itself is a consummation of violence. We all kill and ingest other living things so that we may go on living. Even the gentle doe mangles and crushes and digests the beautifully-alive wild flowers, adding them to her own storehouse of life, and she does so without a quiver of conscience. This is the universal nature of life.” [emphasis added] Spot-on; roll THAT in your pipe and smoke it, vegan-tards!!

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Closer to a 3.5, I say its a lesser Pendleton written Executioner novel. In the last several books he has been sniffing at some huge plan by the mafia. Well he finds that its to take over the whole government by select blackmail and to even get their own guy as president. But it takes a lot of Executioner hits to get to that point. Again a lesser one but any Pendleton is better then alot of books.

Still recommend for fans of the series or just fans of men's adventure. The Executioner is the granddaddy of them all.

[Kaj Samuelsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not much for politics and Mack Bolan have some drastic solutions to political corruption.

[Davidus1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good follow up to Boston Blitz.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In many ways this volume feels like the end of a saga. Mack Bolan has been chasing the mafia all around the world and taking out many of the smaller fish and learning more and more about Cosa di tutti Cosi (the thing of all things) movement that hoped to become the second government of the US. It seemed natural that as Bolan continued to encounter more and more wealthy mob leaders who lead respectable lives (Al 88 from the last book being a good example) that sooner or later he would end up in Washington and taking on even bigger fish. This is what happens here… but things are not so wrapped up so Pendleton could continue to write more books.

This book begins simple enough. Bolan has been following Claudia Vitale around for several days. I am guessing that Bolan is caught up with his sleep as the book begins. Claudia appears to be a “bagman” for the mafia, dropping off packages at various drop points… or as she says, “a mob whore”. Her respectable day job is working for an old congressman who has ties to the mafia, but is too senile to really be a threat (a commentary on those 90 year old’s who continue to be propped up in Congress perhaps). Bolan has stayed silent until a group of mafia enforcers come to ensure she commits suicide on a bottle of pills. Obviously, these guys don’t last long. Claudia becomes the main female of this book, but Mack keeps it respectable, even though she flashes a bit flesh quite a bit in his direction.

After a rather subdued opening chapter, we are informed that Bolan is looking for Lupo, a mysterious mafia figure who is the most powerful man in the country. He controls power in congress and is slowly maneuvering his way into the White House. Bolan doesn’t know his true identity, which ends up being a twist at the end of the book. He isn’t very powerful in a literal sense, but he does wield so much financial and political power that Bolan knows he must tread carefully.

With that basic setup, Bolan begins his usual quest of cornering mafia bosses and getting them to work for him and blasting away some enforcers. In this book we are introduced to a group of enforcers called the “Wolf Pack”. In fact, Pendleton spends a lot of time building them up. At first it seemed like an interesting setup with Bolan vs. a group of hunters who will be tracking him during his path of destruction (something promised in Vegas Vendetta). However, this isn’t the case. At least one, Ramon “Bandalero” Vasquez, who shows up later and to supply Bolan with some information. At first, I wondered if this character would later join the Stony Man in later books, but a quick look at the lineup on the internet, it doesn’t appear like he is one. I do wonder if he will show up later in some capacity as there was a lot of character building with him. The same is also true of a wheelman named “Ripper” Dan Aliotto, who is also built up as a possible ally.

Like many Executioner books, this one moves very quickly through the story. I actually enjoyed the pace and didn’t mind the breezing through what could have been a deeper plot about corruption in Washington. Many authors would use this basic plot to get on a soapbox for many pages about the corruption of politics. But not Pendleton, it is mentioned and then he moves on.

There is a least one other interesting wrinkle in this story that is unique. There is briefly introduced an actor who puts on high shoes and pretends to be Bolan. He makes an attack on the White House and kills several “innocent” Washington officials. Once again, Pendleton takes a plot device that many authors would turn into an entire book and turns it into a minor subplot. This subplot appears wrapped up at the end but is open ended enough for a return.

Eventually, Bolan finds his way to this mysterious Lupo and they have their own final confrontation in his large underground lair (at least that is my impression of it). I loved this final scene as Lupo’s secret is revealed and his guests make quite an impression.

As I said at the beginning, this feels like the end of a saga. In fact, the epilogue has Bolan riding out of Washington going to his next battleground. Only here we don’t actually know where he is heading. To this point, all roads were leading to Washington. I will have to wait and see where Bolan’s war will continue.

[Joe Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bones for a great story are here and Don Pendleton lays them out in a shape that is very appealing, he just forgets to tie them together with flesh and make this thing real. For me, this was one of his weaker entries in the historic men's adventure series.

Mack Bolan heads to Washington to break down a Mafia plot to Do Something Bad, the details of which are a little vague, but involve political blackmail and potentially putting their own man in the White House. He starts his D.C. blitz by rescuing a Washington call girl/Mafia plant from a hit squad and using her to begin dismantling the machinations of the mysterious Lupo. So far, so good!

But then we get into a slog of endless philosophical chapters with Bolan debating his mission with himself or with others and visiting a bunch of landmarks to remind us we are in D.C.

Not much happens until the final third when Pendleton tries to wrap things up fast. Some of this involves his usual punchy prose (there is a confrontation at the end that left me cheering!) and he introduces the really good idea of having the mob make a fake Bolan to frame him for murder, but most of the plot is quickly handwaved away in the end. If the story had used some more of the doppelganger in place of the philosophy sessions it would have had more impact.

The action scenes are also distressingly brief and non-threatening. Bolan never seems to have the faintest issue in this one, no matter how many cops or mobsters are supposedly on his trail. I don't mind a superhero, but one that just walks around and randomly picks off one guy at a time isn't a great fit for an action novel.

Not a total waste of time, but one of the less interesting installments.

[ShanDizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

But Bolan was no moralist and his war was not directed against the common weaknesses of mankind. His war was with the Mafia itself, which he saw as a ravenous leech at the throat of his nation, a monster bloated fantastically by an insatiable appetite for wealth and power, a nightmarish crime cartel with tentacles wiggling out in all directions in a determination to encompass the world.

His first brush with the mob’s political ambitions came in New York where he learned that La Cosa Nostra (translated literally, Our Thing, or this thing of ours) was giving birth to an even more formidable the Thing of all Things, a movement described by worried government officials as “the nation’s invisible second government.” Bolan found the smell of Mafia hanging heavy in the Washington atmosphere. ...A full-blown mob conspiracy against the nation’s governmental machinery was practically verified by a U.S. Justice Department official, Harold Brognola, an old “friend” who fed Bolan’s intelligence into the central crime computer at Washington.Brognola, a grudging and often unwilling “accomplice” to the Bolan campaigns, was thoroughly shaken by the implications that organized crime had strongly infiltrated the congress, the federal judiciary, and various executive departments of official Washington.

[Richard Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like a John Wick kind of story, or maybe Taken, where there's a ton of violence but it feels pretty focused on people who deserve it, you might find these books are close in style and entertaining in a similar way.

This is the third book of the series I've read, and yeah, it's pulp, and occasionally problematic in an early 70s way. And maybe in the real world the extreme violence and vigilante behavior would be indefensible, but in the world of novels, where morality is judged by the rules of the fictional world it's in, I think it works. The protagonist eliminates the bad guys and saves some good guys. Hard to argue with that.

The author shows a lot of creativity here and in the other stories I've read, more by far than I expected, and I think it's past time I stopped being surprised. This series, and the very premise it's founded on, won't be acceptable to many readers, but there's no question the author is a genuinely skilled writer. These are brisk reads, full of quick action, snappy dialogue, and almost no fat.

I liked it.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t think Mack in D.C. would be this enjoyable though I gladly stand corrected. Sure, I’m still chasing the high I got from Nightmare in New York but it’s hard to not like even more mafia baddies getting their due in the capital of America. As usual this one is pretty basic and follows the exact same formula, however at this point, as the common saying goes…if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following leads discovered in earlier books, Mack Bolan travels to the nation's capital where he learns that a blackmail and bribery operation has just about turned the government over to the mob. Naturally, he doesn't much like that idea so he goes on his latest hunt. Honestly, this one started to feel routine. There wasn't a lot fresh about this book. The mob tried a new tactic but it didn't have enough impact on the story in my opinion. Maybe the next one will find the magic again.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Executioner heads to Washington DC to foil a plan for the mafia to take over the federal government using their almost limitless money and power. One thing I really appreciate about how this author writes is that he provides room for bad guys to change and for there to be redemption if a person is willing to turn away from evil. That isn’t very common in this genre.

[Liam Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this story cemented Mack Bolan as an American Hero where he stops an evil plot by the Mafia to try to destroy the U.S. Government from the inside to form their own. I thought it was an interesting part when Mob Boss Lupo sent a Mack Bolan doppelganger to kill innocent civilians to frame Bolan but he was able to kill the impostor to clear his name

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book featured a lot of fun twists and turns and Pendleton's voice was especially resonant in this. Made for especially fun entry in a series that is both a great time capsule and a classic action/adventure series

[Joel B Champagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great plot

One of the better Bolin stories. A very complicated plot and complicated characters. I enjoyed this story due to it"s
complexity.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Graeme Hunter somerville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Loved every minute of it storylines, plots the lot.I will look forward to the next books with interpolation and intrigue

[Duncan McCurdie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is the Mafia deep inside the nations politics?

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Executioner #13
More action aplenty as the geezer takes on Washington in this Executioner yarn.

[Alvaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first 38 books of the series foreshadows characters and major events, which surface later. These "significant tidbits are aftershocks, mostly notable and important during Bolan's war and destruction of the mafia. He makes his closet and longest lasting ties, which are characters which of course are often re-occurring throughout the series.

***An interesting note and potential surprise for the uninitiated: Bolan is described as a veteran of both Korea as well as Vietnam in these stories. He is described as being in his 30's and well seasoned as a powerful warrior of which no one can dispute. "Stay hard" and then "Live large" was his original catchphrases!

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Brad Theado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

read some time in 1980