The Executioner (book series)

The Executioner

Cover sample of The Executioner #1: War Against The Mafia
Author	Don Pendleton
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Action
Publisher	Pinnacle (1969–1980) Gold Eagle (1981–present)
Publication date	1969–present
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	188 (1981–1986) 220 (1987–2008) 192 (2008–present)

The Executioner is a monthly men's action-adventure series following the exploits of the character Mack Bolan and his wars against organized crime and international terrorism. The series spans #434 installments (as of January 2015) and has sold more than 200 million copies since its debut installment, War Against the Mafia. The series was created and initially written by American author Don Pendleton, who penned 37 of the original 38 Bolan novels. In 1980, Pendleton licensed the rights to Gold Eagle and was succeeded by a collective of ghostwriters.

Since its inception in 1969, The Executioner series has spawned several spin-off series including: Able Team, Phoenix Force, and Stony Man (the series into which Able Team and Phoenix Force were eventually merged). Every other month, the Executioner series is complimented by the release of a Super Bolan, whose titles are twice the length of a standard Executioner novel.

Mack Bolan is a Vietnam War veteran serving as a sniper. It is in these jungles where the young Bolan honed his military capabilities and his deadly accuracy. His 97 confirmed kills gave birth to the nickname he would carry for the rest of his life: The Executioner. Amidst the chaos of war, Bolan also earned the moniker "Sergeant Mercy", for his compassion and willingness to help innocent Vietnamese citizens put in harm's way or wounded by the conflict around them.

During his tour of duty, Bolan was called home on emergency leave to bury his family, who were killed by their father, Sam Bolan, in a triple-murder/suicide. Upon his return home, Bolan learned loan sharks from a local branch of the Mafia "family" had forced his sister Cynthia into a life of prostitution to pay back the family debt. Upon learning the news, his father could not bear it and committed the horrendous act. Only Bolan's 14-year-old brother Johnny survived his wounds.

Bolan realized that the real enemy was not in the jungles of Vietnam, but at home. The Mafia's schemes affected everday innocent civilians such as his own family. Using the tactics he learned during his military combat, Bolan refused to return to Vietnam and instead took his war to the Mafia. City by city, he strikes ruthlessly to bring down the mafia and to clean the country of this horrific criminal organization. His actions would divide opinions. Some government and law enforcement officials were pleased with his efforts, while some sought to bring his war to an end.