Panic in Philly

Panic in Philly...but there was very little of Philly in it. on the positive side this is how the Executioner should be, uncertain, unsure, questioning himself and his motivations, and not the impervious Gold Eagle super-soldier. Yes, it is an early novel but it clearly is a very different character to the later GE novels. But in Panic in Philly we only get to see two houses. The action takes place over the course of a single evening and Bolan moves from one Mafia safe house to the Capo's house and that is where the story remains. For much of the story it feels like a stage play and you can almost feel the directions as 'character enters' or 'character exits'. Which is a shame as I would like to have seen a little more of the city itself instead of generic houses. But Bolan carries off his first impersonation of a Black Ace, something that would continue in later books and turns the Mafia factions upon themselves, playing off their paranoia and fears. That was a good plot. And we can only imaging the horrors when Frank the Kid shows up in New York with the severed head of the wrong Bolan. The dialogue felt wrong in many places and I don't know if it is my lack of understanding of gangster language or that the dialogue has dated badly. It through me out a few times trying to decipher what the characters were on about. And Leo's weird sign language to the aging Don was...just weird.

I like this book. Mack is a man who commands respect. Even from his eneimies. He just infiltrates the Dons home completely takes control. I like when Mack kills the Black Ace then passes him off as himself. Really good stuff here. He cuts it close a couple of times. Highly recommened reading good entry in the series. 8 stars

After all these months fighting the unwinnable war the Big Guy can actually see a faint glimmer at the end of the pipeline that a victory could possibly be obtained. The dwindling numbers of the Families due to attrition of various forms which Bolan could certainly attest to. He himself had removed quite a few of those from circulation. The federal strike forces had put away a few more. These actions, coupled with the normal attrition through aging and interfamily violence, were combining to put the handwriting on the wall for all who had eyes to see. So, sure, it was no surprise to Bolan to learn that "the organization" was trekking to the old country for an infusion of hot new blood into their declining empire. What chance of any type of victory when the Mob could simply recruit vast numbers at any time to bolster their numbers with gradigghia imports from Sicily. So the Big Guy had come to Philadelphia to face this new enemy, to test them, and—if possible—to turn them back. In this title the Big Guy comes closer than ever before to capture by the Police trapped at the top of a telephone pole and surrounded it seems it is all over for the Big Blitzer but wow what a scene to read. Also this title features the Big Guy's first impersonation of a Black Ace after he takes out one Johnny Cavaretta and takes his place. Infiltrating under the Black Ace guise he once again manipulates the opposition like putty and sends them off fighting against each other. One of the better scenes also in this title is at the end where leaving the compound he comes across a Taliferi crew at the gate and has to fight his way past them resulting in him taking a few hits fine reading indeed. Highly recommended reading in the series.

Pendleton definitely had it going for Panic in Philly. This was a bit of a roller coaster ride from Mack almost getting taken down by the cops at one scene to taking over the Mafia house in another. In true Bolan fashion, he begins with a massive strike on a Mafia site to reveal his arrival, and then he moves on to taking down the city main man. While doing so, the Executioner protects many as he destroys the villains. The main battle scene at the end is a brilliant move by Bolan (great work by Pendleton). It didn't have as much action as many of it predecessors, but it was a great read and one I'll definitely be looking to re-read in the future.

I heard good things about this book and went in with high expectations. On the one hand, I was disappointed in the story, but yet I found it difficult to put it down. My major problem with the story was that everything went too easy for the Big Guy. He just waltzed into the mob compound and took over. The mobsters were in awe of him and the cops were only half-heartedly trying to stop him. Still not sure exactly why Mack came to Philly - other than there was organized crime there. Usually there is something or someone that causes him to choose a location for his war on the mafia. Living in the Philadelphia area, I hoped for lots of local referances, but saddly there were only a few. All that being said, it was still a fun read. Mack played the role of the master manipulator in this one, and it was cool to see how he turned everyone against one another.

This book kept me very interested, I was constantly wondering what was going to happen to Mack and when is he going to get caught, a great "cover" story by bolan wass foiled in the end though. All in all a very good, action packed story.

Bolan works his magic from the inside on the Philly mob and tears them up. This book starts off with lots of action including a big hit on a mafia hard site. After Bolan's narrow escape from the law he infiltrates the Philly family citadel posing as a powerful enforcer. Once Bolan got inside the action slowed down for the rest of the book until about the last 6 pages. There's a lot of intrigue and supsense in those chapters though as Bolan works to bring death and destruction to the mafia in Philadelphia by pitting them against each other. The story finishes off with a nice action scene but it's not one of the better ones. The great opening action and the good tense plot developments in the middle earn this one 7 stars. I almost went to 8 stars but this one just missed that plateau.

Very good read. I enjoyed the way Bolan went underground assumeing the role of the hit man hired to kill him. If one can find this book read it!

This is one of the better Bolan reads out there. What made it interesting for me was that Bolan infiltrated the mob and toyed with them in a particularly clever way before sticking it to 'em. Great stuff.

A kick-ass entry into the series. Some nice undercover/role playing on Bolan's part in this one. A must read for those interested in the war against the mafia saga.

Good entry which has one of the most exciting prologues in all of the original Mafia Wars. Undercover role was done well, with nice action scenes.

I'm just now getting back into reading the Mafia wars. I'm loving it!! This book is one of the best. A must read for all Bolan fans who love to see him battle against the mafia.

A good read, and had some exciting plot twists. The cliffhanger was brilliant, and well-written.

This had to be one of my favorites of the earlier Bolans as this was the book which darn near could have been the last of Mack Bolan, ever. Well, ok, we got that Jim Thompson piece of crappola, but we'd have been subjected to some really ugly and stupid garbage. The ending was a cliffhanger... and really, that cliffhanger picked up as the wounded Mack ended up in Jersey Guns. Plus, the battle with the Sicilian army, and taking out the Black Ace was sheer brilliance.