Dirty War

As a stand alone book it's a good story. In context to the rest of the series there are a lot of holes in it. Some other reviews have stated how could the death squad be stateside when Mack comes for there maybe 3 weeks after the events in this book happen. And wasn't chopper on his deathbed from his wounds from the beginning of the book. That's one hell of a recovery. And are we to believe Doc Brantzen would Have A doctors office open in that time period. I think Not! The parts i did like were the rescue of Sioung's Wife and Daughter. I liked the Scenes Mack and his family at the airport. pretty much an average entry. 7 stars

The thing I enjoy about the early SuperBolans is that they went in experimental directions. They used that extra page count not only to build a bigger story, but to dig a little bit deeper into the lives of character in the Bolan universe. All while maintaining a nice level of action. We had Able Team, Phoenix Force, and Bolan together in Book 1. Johnny Bolan in Book 3 and in this book, a prequel fleshing out Bolan's origins. This is a non stop book. Lots of great action scenes, however, I still thing the highlight of the book are the scenes with Bolan and his family. At the airport while leaving for his tour of duty, looking back at the time him, Johnny, and his father went out and had a few beers. It's a side of Bolan we rarely, if ever, see. So I certainly liked that. My only real gripe was the interlude in the middle of the book. I understand it's a story within a story and the author wanted to remind us that this is the past and there is still a story going on in the present. But it felt a little jarring. It seemed a bit sudden and just as the book was really starting to tear along. That brief interlude kind of took me out of it a little bit. But besides that a very strong novel.

Another superb title by Stephan Mertz here and any fan of the series will want to read this one which gives excellent insight to many characters who will feature in the Executioner Mafia War series. Disregarding the wrapping current time text the title starts off with the big guy is about to catch a plane back to Vietnam for his second hitch. You will read some fine writing based on Mack's experiences on his arrival back to his station. All of the characters featured in #2 Death Squad and #3 Battle Mask are introduced here and some of the action scenes coupled with a terrific ongoing storyline will amaze you, add in some very fine characters introduced to support the wonderful storyline and you have some excellent reading. The finish is classic Bolan with his five man team facing odds of 600 to 5 and what happens well you have to read it of course but it is brilliant. The escape well you should have figured it out miles before this stage if you read this and was good but predictable. This is a terrific read in the series and if somehow you could remove the current stuff which would give too much away this title would be a must read prequel to the Executioner Mafia Wars series, do yourself a favour and read this preferably before #1 of the Mafia Wars series you will enjoy it and gain a valuable insight to many characters introduced. Highly recommended reading. So a ten rating but alas no. One star deducted as mentioned by Doug the timeline of this title has a GLARING oversight which stands out like the proverbial dogs b*lls HOW is it possible two weeks after the end of this title were all of the future members of the Death Squad back in the US and disillusioned just waiting to be recruited by Mack for #2 Death Squad?

*Some spoilers This was a fantastic prequel to the first Executioner. There was incredible action throughout and some interesting villians. Character development was done very well throughout the book. I liked reading about the missions Bolan went on in Vietnam and the earlier exploits of his Death Squad. I liked the characters of Gunsmoke Harrington, Deadeye Washington, and Bloodbrother Loudelk almost as much as Bolan. The action throughout the book was amazing, and i liked the clever tactics Bolan used to defeat his enemies. Especially towards the end when Bolan and company made the two enemy forces attack each other and they slipped through a tunnel. I also liked how the entire story was a flashback while Bolan was attacking the same mansion his Death Squad attacked years ago. Exciting villians like Linh also made this book amazing. Overall a fantastic read.

A super entry in the series showing Bolan's genesis on his original stomping ground of Vietnam. The mix of action, plot and characterization was top-rate, and it was refreshing to see Mack slugging it out with enemies other than the now-overdone lot of terrorists and drug cartelists. The author does a great job of getting inside Bolan's head and I have to agree with what others have said about the book's coda encapsulizing what The Executioner is all about in a nutshell. I had small quibbles with some plot contrivances but couldn't bring myself to take this down a notch from being a Big Ten. This one's worth tracking down, gang!

It's a mystery to me why this book does not rate higher on this list. I think it to be one of the all-time best entries in the long history of the character. Set in Vietnam, we get to see a much different Mack Bolan than we are used to. Here is a soldier fighting the good fight with fond memories of the family he longs to see again spurring him on. And the "SuperBolan" format allows plenty of "elbow room" for some much needed and well drawn characterization. With this book it really hits home just what a tragic character Mack is. We are reminded of how much he has lost and how there is no going back, EVER! Seeing him change over the course of the story from the optimistic soldier to the lethal, single-minded Executioner is tragic indeed. And his determination to fight on so that others might have a shot at happiness is truly heroic. For an added bonus, the last page of the book is as poignant a snapshot of Bolan as anyone ever needs to read. Mertz sums up the character, heck, the entire series, in that one last image. Beautiful writing. This was my first SuperBolan. And it was great! I thought at first that the larger format might be padded, but that is not the case here. And I like the "elbow room" to tell a more complete story. My only hope that the others in this series can be half as good. Descriptions, inner thoughts, character moments... this all fit the Super format and provide an excellent reading experience. This is one of the best Bolans, period. There is action galore, a great, varied plot with a breathless chase sequence, fine writing... an excellent read! Dirty War is really the start of the Bolan adventure and should be read first by any newcomer to Mack's world. Even ahead of Executioner #1. It gives the reader insight into who Mack is and what he fights for and lends an air of tragedy over the every Mack adventure. Hunt down a copy of this book. If you're a Bolan fan, it's a must have!

In a tale from the soldier's days in Vietnam, "Dirty War" follows Mack Bolan's Sniper Team Able through some action packed missions against an evil NVA major. This story is wrapped inside a short narrative about the Executioner hitting the hardsite home that was the the target of the Death Squad all those years before. This book is action piled on more action but with some nice sections of Mack's thinking about the war and his place in the world. Lots of familiar faces join Mack and his Death Squad partners. The Death Squad guys themselves aren't such caricatures here as I originally thought they were. The only point that really bothered me about this was the timing of the end and how it would fit continuity with the first stories. If Mack's Death Squad were all in Vietnam when he got the news about his family tragedy, how could they all be there to help him out a couple weeks later when he hit L.A.? Whatever, this one rates 8 stars for action, action and action.

This book is a masterpiece! It's definitely one of the best 3 or 4 Bolan books of all time. I liked the look in the past to see some of the death squad in action in Nam. A good prelude to death squad or the whole series for that matter. This is a must read for any Bolan fan.

This is a very different book from most in the series. Except for a few pages to try and establish current-day continuity, the entire novel is a flashback to Bolan's last days in Viet Nam. The action writing was superb, among the best in the series. However, there was too much effort trying to tie names from the current series to Bolan's Viet Nam days. The worst was Grimaldi, who performed an Evac for Bolan. Grimaldi can recognize the leadership and heroic qualities of Bolan although he never sees his face. This was too forced, and jarred the reader back to reality. Also, Bolan delivers a child as battle rages around him. Again, this was too unbelievable, and brought the reader out of the novel. The strength of the writing overcomes these momentary lapses and earns this novel a spot among the best of the series.

I loved Grimaldi's cameo. It made the world feel right.

Awesome, Awesome, AWESOME!!! This book is great!! It took me at least 5 years to even find this book, but the wait was worth it. I loved the scenes with Bolan's family & the way he kicked the loan-sharks butt in the airport. Did I say AWESOME!!!!!

DEFINATELY A GOOD ONE. A GOOD CHARACTER STUDY OF BOLAN'S DEATH SQUAD AND A GOOD PLOT. ALSO A GOOD LOOK AT THE MAN HIMSELF BEFORE HIS EVERLASTING WAR. THE PART WITH GRIMALDI WAS KIND OF FARFETCHED THOUGH.

A really great book that showed Bolan's last days in Vietnam. The scenes with his family were well done. A near classic.