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Super Bolan #1
Stony Man Doctrine
Extensive terrorist activity across the United States forces Mack Bolan, the Able Team, and Phoenix Force to plan an all out counterattack
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1983
7 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Don Pendleton
1,671Ìýbooks178ÌýfollowersDon 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 27, 2016
America is cool! Those damn ruskies spent 20 years uniting every (and I mean EVERY) terrorist cell in order to bring the US down! Protect the Democracy! America!
The plot is bland, there's tons of gunfire, each and every detail about every piece of equipment is mentioned and repeated (even in cases as "the terrorist shot from {manufacturer and name of the gun} {caliber of rounds} {type of rounds, in this case hollow point}, but they just glanced the bumper." Why did I need to know all that, if nothing happens?!)
Speaking of which - terrorists. Everywhere. In every sentence that isn't about Guns or America. There are pakistanis, israelis, japanese bosses and everything is lead by Russians, of course. One exception - there are revolutionaries in Cuba who want to OVERTHROW COMMIES and FIGHT FOR THEIR COUNTRTY AND DEMOCRACY. Those are nice.
If I hear "m16 m203" one more time I'm gonna hurl all over my camo cargo pants, tactical boots with super secret knife holster on the inside of the tigh, but I'm gonna miss the Heckler & Koch MARK 23 semi-automatic pistol with a laser aiming module and a suppressor, because I always keep it in my shoulder holster - that way it's closer to my heart.
The plot is bland, there's tons of gunfire, each and every detail about every piece of equipment is mentioned and repeated (even in cases as "the terrorist shot from {manufacturer and name of the gun} {caliber of rounds} {type of rounds, in this case hollow point}, but they just glanced the bumper." Why did I need to know all that, if nothing happens?!)
Speaking of which - terrorists. Everywhere. In every sentence that isn't about Guns or America. There are pakistanis, israelis, japanese bosses and everything is lead by Russians, of course. One exception - there are revolutionaries in Cuba who want to OVERTHROW COMMIES and FIGHT FOR THEIR COUNTRTY AND DEMOCRACY. Those are nice.
If I hear "m16 m203" one more time I'm gonna hurl all over my camo cargo pants, tactical boots with super secret knife holster on the inside of the tigh, but I'm gonna miss the Heckler & Koch MARK 23 semi-automatic pistol with a laser aiming module and a suppressor, because I always keep it in my shoulder holster - that way it's closer to my heart.
August 19, 2013
It took me thirty years to read this book. I was a regular reader of the Mack Bolan, the Able Team and Phoenix Force series as a young teenager. This was the first Super Bolan which brought all three Stony Man teams together to fight in one big Bolan book. When we moved from Exton to Lansdale, a couple of boxes were lost, including one with Stony Man Doctrine in it. It wasn't on the bookshelves anymore. I don't remember if I tried a library. But thirty years later, thanks to Thrift Books, I finally read it and it was good, like all the Executioner books always were. Live Large! Stay Hard!
June 16, 2023
Basically the first The Avengers of the entire Golden Eagle dadlit collection. Mack Bolan teams up with his old pals from both Phoenix force and Able Team and takes on the first of many global terrorists.
Obviously pretty basic stuff that's happened in basically every single one of these books. However, derived ideas aside, combining all these characters with an interwoven plot actually works really well here as each team takes on a separate aspect of the mission, culminating in the big showdown during the last chapter.
It also succeeds in straight up, no holds barred thrills. Up to this point, Stony Man Doctrine is easilv the most action packed of these books. Each chapter is a masterclass in finding new ways to blow things up, shoot people, or just ratchet up the violence. Countless things explode, countless rounds of ammo are spent, and countless terrorists are mowed down in a variety of ways.
Sure it's not the most original thing l've read, but this is still one of my all time favorite genres and as a dad myself, I fit right into its intended reading demographic.
Obviously pretty basic stuff that's happened in basically every single one of these books. However, derived ideas aside, combining all these characters with an interwoven plot actually works really well here as each team takes on a separate aspect of the mission, culminating in the big showdown during the last chapter.
It also succeeds in straight up, no holds barred thrills. Up to this point, Stony Man Doctrine is easilv the most action packed of these books. Each chapter is a masterclass in finding new ways to blow things up, shoot people, or just ratchet up the violence. Countless things explode, countless rounds of ammo are spent, and countless terrorists are mowed down in a variety of ways.
Sure it's not the most original thing l've read, but this is still one of my all time favorite genres and as a dad myself, I fit right into its intended reading demographic.
May 28, 2024
This is a reread, been a couple of decades so it was time. Still really enjoy it, was fun seeing Able Team, Phoenix Force, Jack Grimaldi, and Bolan team up for such a world trotting mission. Many terrorist groups were combining forces to hold America hostage by having the means to chemically attack major cities. All of Stony Man is on the mission since there were so many terrorist forces that were needing to be stopped and they were spread out. Of course they all come together for the final battle, when the terrorists' main base was located
Highly recommended, I did this reading kind of backwards, been rereading the early Executioners and decided to read Stony Man Doctrine in the right order with them. However, I also started reading Able Team and Phoenix Force, which I read all of before Doctrine. Really only the first few in both team books take place before Doctrine. Though it didn't take anything away from enjoying the book.
Highly recommended, I did this reading kind of backwards, been rereading the early Executioners and decided to read Stony Man Doctrine in the right order with them. However, I also started reading Able Team and Phoenix Force, which I read all of before Doctrine. Really only the first few in both team books take place before Doctrine. Though it didn't take anything away from enjoying the book.
December 18, 2016
OK, I think I'vs satisfied my curiosity about the so-called Men's Adventure Series of the 1980s. I've read one prior Executioner book, one set in San Francisco where I was born, because of the book's location. In this case the curiosity revolved around my being a sucker for crossovers, and this book crosses over the Mack Bolan, Executioner books with two spinoff series from when the Executioner changed publishers.
When these war against the Mafia and terrorist books began Byron Preiss started his Weird Heroes series in part as a counterpoint to these violence ridden melodramas (perhaps not the best word to use). Preiss was right in saying heroes should aspire to be more, but he was wrong when he compared these 1980s characters to their 1930s forebears saying the 1930s characters were better.
There really is no difference between Bolan and say The Spider (aka Richard Wentworth). Both characters pretty much glory in killing their opponents, they have a team of nondescript agents at their beck and call, and the characterization is zero (I mean I think even The Shadow had more story than The Spider).
The plot is essentially someone put together an all-star group of 1980s Republican terrorists cliches. I mean this is right out of Reagan era politics (the terrorists are Cubans, Arabs aka Palestinians, and Africans-hello Africa is a continent not a country). Talk about lack of originality, the terrorist group is called Hydra.
So, no characterization, Reagan era politics (the only good commie is a dead commie), and a terrible sex scene (which made me think the author has never been laid in his life).
Read for curiosity sake, but for no other reason IMO.
When these war against the Mafia and terrorist books began Byron Preiss started his Weird Heroes series in part as a counterpoint to these violence ridden melodramas (perhaps not the best word to use). Preiss was right in saying heroes should aspire to be more, but he was wrong when he compared these 1980s characters to their 1930s forebears saying the 1930s characters were better.
There really is no difference between Bolan and say The Spider (aka Richard Wentworth). Both characters pretty much glory in killing their opponents, they have a team of nondescript agents at their beck and call, and the characterization is zero (I mean I think even The Shadow had more story than The Spider).
The plot is essentially someone put together an all-star group of 1980s Republican terrorists cliches. I mean this is right out of Reagan era politics (the terrorists are Cubans, Arabs aka Palestinians, and Africans-hello Africa is a continent not a country). Talk about lack of originality, the terrorist group is called Hydra.
So, no characterization, Reagan era politics (the only good commie is a dead commie), and a terrible sex scene (which made me think the author has never been laid in his life).
Read for curiosity sake, but for no other reason IMO.
Read
January 8, 2025This is the first “Super Bolan� book, meaning that it is double the length of your standard Executioner thriller.
This one brings Mack, Able Team, and Phoenix Force together to take on a terrorist army that is launching horrible attacks on America.
Mack and the gang feel just like they do in their own independent book. This is a plus and minus for me. Mack and Able are by far my favorites in the entire series but I just can’t get into Phoenix Force. The chapters that follow them specifically really dragged for me. It is because of that that I’m giving this one 3 stars since Phoenix has a lot of chapters in this book.
Stony Man Doctrine has a heavy Tom Clancy vibe to it with the globe trotting and terrorist plot which is good. The action is explosive and the kills are brutal. We get to see Mack and his team get exhausted from their endless missions making these men feel much more human. They all shine in the action sequences and nobody is given any special treatment once they all work together.
The villains, Hydra, are decent. The chapters that follow them aren’t slow and don’t make me wish I was back with the Stony Man crew. They are a believable evil that is fun to see get destroyed.
This books really does feel like the publisher took an Executioner, Able Team, and a Phoenix Force book jammed together. That’s not a bad thing if you like PF. I don’t. When they are on page I sighed a lot since I just can’t get into them. But if you like great Bolan moments and terrorist getting put in the forever box this is for you.
This one brings Mack, Able Team, and Phoenix Force together to take on a terrorist army that is launching horrible attacks on America.
Mack and the gang feel just like they do in their own independent book. This is a plus and minus for me. Mack and Able are by far my favorites in the entire series but I just can’t get into Phoenix Force. The chapters that follow them specifically really dragged for me. It is because of that that I’m giving this one 3 stars since Phoenix has a lot of chapters in this book.
Stony Man Doctrine has a heavy Tom Clancy vibe to it with the globe trotting and terrorist plot which is good. The action is explosive and the kills are brutal. We get to see Mack and his team get exhausted from their endless missions making these men feel much more human. They all shine in the action sequences and nobody is given any special treatment once they all work together.
The villains, Hydra, are decent. The chapters that follow them aren’t slow and don’t make me wish I was back with the Stony Man crew. They are a believable evil that is fun to see get destroyed.
This books really does feel like the publisher took an Executioner, Able Team, and a Phoenix Force book jammed together. That’s not a bad thing if you like PF. I don’t. When they are on page I sighed a lot since I just can’t get into them. But if you like great Bolan moments and terrorist getting put in the forever box this is for you.
April 28, 2022
High on action porn, light on plot.
I generally like the solo Bolan books better than these team books because having a large cast of characters in these kinds of books is lost on me. Everyone just becomes "guy with gun 1", "guy with gun 2", "guy with gun 3", etc.
I generally like the solo Bolan books better than these team books because having a large cast of characters in these kinds of books is lost on me. Everyone just becomes "guy with gun 1", "guy with gun 2", "guy with gun 3", etc.
September 6, 2021
Dirty war is on!
Where did the other terrorist forces hide? The death list to the President had named five cities: New York, Washington, D.C., Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Had the terrorists pre-positioned murder squads in all the cities? Were millions and millions of people held hostage in a waiting game that would soon explode into bloodletting? He placed a pawn on each city.But how many other squads waited in the United States to do mass murder?There could be no answer.
"The guy cares. The whole world is Bolan's family. He reacts to the destructive principle inherent in the human situation, and he's fighting it. The goons have rushed in waving guns, intent on raping, looting, pillaging, destroying. And he is blowing their damn heads off, period, end of philosophy. And that is a high and heroic idea."Ìý —Don Pendleton
Where did the other terrorist forces hide? The death list to the President had named five cities: New York, Washington, D.C., Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Had the terrorists pre-positioned murder squads in all the cities? Were millions and millions of people held hostage in a waiting game that would soon explode into bloodletting? He placed a pawn on each city.But how many other squads waited in the United States to do mass murder?There could be no answer.
"The guy cares. The whole world is Bolan's family. He reacts to the destructive principle inherent in the human situation, and he's fighting it. The goons have rushed in waving guns, intent on raping, looting, pillaging, destroying. And he is blowing their damn heads off, period, end of philosophy. And that is a high and heroic idea."Ìý —Don Pendleton
June 4, 2022
"One doesn't win by killing. That only litters the world with corpses."
This is an enjoyable book, nothing more, nothing less. It is very of its time, very action-packed with copious amounts of heavy gunfire and descriptions of said weapons. This is the first Mack Bolan book I have read and I can guarantee that I will continue. This pulpy, schlocky action-book kickstarted an immense series spanning over several hundred books featuring the character of Mack Bolan. I can now see how.
This is an enjoyable book, nothing more, nothing less. It is very of its time, very action-packed with copious amounts of heavy gunfire and descriptions of said weapons. This is the first Mack Bolan book I have read and I can guarantee that I will continue. This pulpy, schlocky action-book kickstarted an immense series spanning over several hundred books featuring the character of Mack Bolan. I can now see how.
August 6, 2018
Stony Man Doctrine is probably my favorite Mack Bolan story ,The begining of the books to the end of the book contains total all out action with Mack Phoenix force and Able Team story holds up after all the reads and years I've owned the book if you like action and adventure then this book is for you Highly recommended
September 3, 2018
I like Bolan and the storyline. This one was a little hard to get into. The overall storyline was good. There is a lot of action in this book. I read it during free time over a couple of months and that made it harder to get into the book. I will definitely read Stony Man II and continue in the series.
October 19, 2019
This was my favourite of the "SuperBolan" series, probably because Able Team and Phoenix Force fight alongside Mack. I remember reading Stony Man Doctrine during the school summer holiday when I was fifteen. I re read it twice in the one week. I read it again when I was off work a few years back with the flu and I still loved it.
November 24, 2018
Nowhere near as good as my recollection of the original series I read as a teen.
June 28, 2021
great book
November 3, 2024
Read this a very log time ago, I my re read it to see if it holds up.
March 2, 2013
I have a nearly complete collection of the Executioner series, which I realized is nearly 40 years old. Re-reading them I can now see the glaring differences in the way of thinking between then and now. I believe that were the books as written being submitted for publication today they wouldn't get past the front office. Not because they are poorly written ( to be truthfully, they are formulaic, akin to the Mills&Boon type books for girls, this time for blokes) but because the subject matter, war between the former Soviet Union and the USA is now forced back in memory, maybe to the point of repression. To paraphrase Mack Bolan himself, " there will always be other wars". True enough, today's bad guys aren' t the old guard, and maybe a little Bolan War Everlasting might still be needed.
About this book in particular, very jingoistic in tone and lab gauge, but a good bit of adventure, keeps you heart pumping and though dated a little, still exciting. I won't be getting rid of my collection any time soon
About this book in particular, very jingoistic in tone and lab gauge, but a good bit of adventure, keeps you heart pumping and though dated a little, still exciting. I won't be getting rid of my collection any time soon
July 5, 2021
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I completely change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring down a lot)
First time read the author's work?: No
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
-------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
First time read the author's work?: No
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
-------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
August 9, 2016
The first Stony Man book. Mack Bolan teams up with Able Team and Phoenix Force to battle a troika of terrorist called Hydra. The bad guys want all American troops out of every foreign country. If they don't get what they want the will launch chemical attacks. Stony Man is sent in to stop them but this time it's a "dirty war.'
This book was 371 pages. When Gold Eagle books goes over 300 pages, it's a 50/50 chance that it is padded a bit to much. The action here is plentiful, but it just doesn't get me going. Probably because the teams talk about stopping the terrorists then fight them. Repeat for 371 pages. Nothing out of the ordinary.
This book was 371 pages. When Gold Eagle books goes over 300 pages, it's a 50/50 chance that it is padded a bit to much. The action here is plentiful, but it just doesn't get me going. Probably because the teams talk about stopping the terrorists then fight them. Repeat for 371 pages. Nothing out of the ordinary.
November 11, 2011
Not too sure about Mack Bolan being a super secret agent of the goverment. I liked when he just went on killing mafia people.
But still. Quite entertaning, although the audio book version I listened to was a bit lamely produced.
But still. Quite entertaning, although the audio book version I listened to was a bit lamely produced.
August 15, 2009
I listened to this book on tape. It was not read all that well and could have use some sound affects.
Read
November 30, 2017Mack Bolan together for the first time with his two strike teams: Phoenix Force and Able Team
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