Double Play

This book started out like the typical Mack the Bastard storyline from the mafia wars days. Bolan, posing as the arms dealer, Frankie Lamb goes on the hunt for a female carde of assassin known as the Elements of Death. However, the Elements see through his plan before it even gets off the ground. After their first hit on a drug and arms shipment, Bolan and FBI Special Agent Maddy Tighe draw the attention of the Elements of Death and Columbian smugglers. Seeking backup they fall back to a safe house manned by Stony Man armorer "Cowboy" Kissinger and Phoenix Force Sniper Gary Manning. While I've been disappointed by past "team ups", Manning and Kissinger are there to play ball. They get plenty of action without stealing the spotlight from the title character and, while they are special operators at the top of their game, we're still reminded why its Mack Bolan who's earned the moniker, "the Executioner" Given the level of aggression and resourcefulness of the Elements, it becomes evident that these are some of the toughest and most organized foes that Bolan has ever faced, even with the Stony Man backup. None of them get out unscathed. There are also some cameo appearances from the rest of the Phoenix force team when they show up to escort an informant and narrowly save her from an assassination attempt. It's especially poignant that this campaign takes place on the streets of Chicago where the author reminds us that the Windy City has some of the most oppressive firearms laws in the United States. In this story the villains are funding arms shipments into the city to drum up support for their anti-gun politician. The master mind is angling to get promoted to Governor of Illinois through assassinations and political pressuring. He flat out says, "gun owning civilians are only one step above the criminals." I can't think of a more believable villain that the kind we as civilians face every day. Men who desire to steal away our rights, while telling us it's for our own good

I fully expect this book to someday make the top 20 of the list. It was that damn good! The villains were real and dastardly, and very well developed. Bolan had allies that made sense, and no one seemed to be "thrown in" just for effect. The plot was tight and moved a break neck speed. The fights were suitably over the top in true StonyMan style, but there was always a feeling of real danger in each encounter. Everyone involved took a beating in this one. It was very fun to see co-starring appearances of other StonyMan warriors, rather than just passing cameos. If I had to come up with a single gripe, I would say that sometimes Doug gets a bit heavy on the gory details of how ballistically induced apertures affect the human body. But that's more of a style thing, rather than a flaw. Either way, it never detracted from the narrative. All in all, the best Executioner I have read in a long time.

While it did seem to have a comic-book vein (A league of female assassins?), this one was in high gear from page 1. It didn't seem like the undercover role for Maddy Tighe was the most intriguing element of the story, but the character herself was solid, backing up Bolan to take down these lethal babes and their underworld cohorts. Kissinger, Gary Manning and briefly, Calvin James help out also. The final assault with fire bombs, gunships, sniper rifles and tons of ammunition expended was a blast.

Wow this title brings back memories from long ago. Mack is on the trail of a group of assassins named the Elements of Death (all women) who are not only deadly but have all the resources behind them. This is just a stepping stone on the ladder to the major player and the scenes where the first two of this group are taken down is superb.Lots of extras from Stony Man here Cowboy and Manning coupled with a female FBI agent who has completed the Blacksuit program play major parts coupled with cameos by James,Raphael and David. The action scenes at Mannings property are secondary to none and will blow you away.This book excels in the action scenes where the big guy is in blitz mode being watched by stone cold killers (these ladies have it believe me) and you read the fear starting to creep in and the doubts and the wonder on how is it possible to stop this guy. Everything they devise he waltz's through and they are at a loss. If you have read the original series and haven't read this you should start thinking about it, just start thinking back to the emotions of the Mafia soldiers during the big guy's blitz's. If you haven't read any of the original series by Don do yourself a favour and read some of them get an insight into the psyche/fears/emotions/thoughts of the big guy in his Blitz modes.At times during this title in Bolan's blitz mode sections I thought I was reading one of the original titles by Don himself and that is the best compliment I can give to the author.This is a brilliant title and I highly recommend it to you.

This is my very favorite Executioner novel yet, bar none. I've read maybe 50 books in the series, and I thought this one was the best combination of action, tight plot line, and character development. Too often when a writer tries to inject humor into the Bolan character, it comes across as forced and unnatural. Not so here--in this book Bolan comes across at his most likable and entertaining. All the characters are well developed, including the villians, and the book featured a nice mix of Stony Man characters, not enough to hijack the plot from Bolan, but enough to keep the action going non-stop. Great work, Mr. W.

Liked it yet same time disliked it. Disliked mainly the villain characters (Elemets of Death)that seemed to have dropped straight out of comic book. Story was interesting and action were solid but "Elements" sort of soured the whole deal so best I can rate this is 7. Other minor aspect in story that bothered me duiring reading of this story was that there were too much reference of peoples being send to hell or Bolan being some sort incarnation/manifestation of death. IMO this would have been much better if villains of story have been more mundane and I do not think it is meaningful to reader of these stories if some literal villain goes to hell or not or even if there is such place as hell.

Bolan plays rough with an all-female assassin group called the Elements of Death. This is a fun, unique entry that was utterly and completely unpredictable. I had no idea where the plot was going. It’s a rare event in this series to have a plot that is not standard issue, instead given an original, non-linear idea like this one. The setting of a major U.S. city, interesting villains and a lessons-learned reprise of the “Tooth and Claw” finale are all bonuses. If Stony Man ever contemplates to add a female member to one of its strike teams, this book alone should answer all arguments. No other novel in this series featured as many female warriors. Members of Phoenix Force and the secondary members of the series are given meatier roles here. Characterization is rock-solid, and the action scenes have not been better from this author. “Double Play” has to be considered as one of the best entries of the main-line Executioner series. This one clicked with me. Highly recommended.

Yeah, this was real good . Great villains, the Elements of Death. I love the cameos by PF , and Kisinger getting in on the action was cool. And I liked the blacksuit/was it FBI? She was really well done ! The battle on Mannings Farm was just awesome - reminded me of Tooth and Claw, the classic PF ! Keep up the good work Mr W . Thank you ! Eh Kay says - don't miss this one !

I enjoyed this book tremendously. Old school Bolan. Vintage Doug. The Bolan prerequistes: action, guns, carnage. Check. My own preferences: -No Arab terrorists: check -No Doomsday device: check -NO Evil Red Commies: check -Gangsters getting killed by the busload: check -Fresh original villains: check -References and geek Easter Eggs hidden in the choice of names: check -Kick ass female operator: check I could have used more of an epilogue, more quiet towards the end. That's just what I like, hence losing one star. The rest is just flawless.