Mack Bolan: "Payback"

“Payback” (Mack Bolan)

By Michael A. Black.

Gold Eagle Books

ISBN #978-0373615711

Price $6.99

315 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

Mack Bolan and Jack Grimaldi are sent to Arizona to look into The Wolves, a biker organization believed to be running drugs, guns, and people across the border. There’s also something going on with a weapons company named GDF that might be supplying the Mexican drug cartel with advanced weaponry. It also might tie in with a couple raids The Executioner had headed into Mexico, where the cartel was tipped off before the raid, and then another team beat the Executioner to the area. Someone in high office might be leaking their movements to someone else.

This was another topnotch adventure of Mack Bolan. This time he may be up against super soldiers; men enhanced with a super drug to give them great strength and speed. Author Michal A. Black has walked the walk, and knows the ugly business first hand. It’s good to see the Executioner series written by someone who has been there and knows the score. Readers who like great action stories with a good plot and interesting characters will find “Payback” an exciting read. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

The Executioner: Deadly Salvage

“Deadly Salvage” (THE EXECUTIONER)

By Michael A. Black.

Gold Eagle Books

ISBN #978-0373644308

Price $5.99

186 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“The Executioner Is In Top Form.”

Mack Bolan and Jack Grimaldi are sent to the island of St. Francis to look into the disappearance of a government code expert and his daughter. There, they discover billionaire Will Everett III supposedly filming an action movie. But corrupt police on the island harass the Americans, and Bolan discovers a team of Russian agents also on the island looking for a corrupt Russian nuclear scientist.

Plenty of action from the first page on, and The Executioner is in top form as he battles rogue Russian and American soldiers hired to start a nuclear war between the two super powers. The author knows how to write action scenes with a believable plot and characters. He creates great villains and beautiful women, with lots of bodies littering the battlefield. Fast paced, and easy reading. Highly recommended for fans of men’s action series.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

Heroes of Ancient Greece

"Heroes of Ancient Greece" by Tom Johnson & Others. The stories capture the best of the sand and sandal flicks of our youth. This collection has four enjoyable tales by three authors who grew up with those muscle-men action adventures also. The first half of the book is allotted to Hercules with two adventures, while the second half is devoted to Atalanta. Hercules and the Moon Goddess by Tom Johnson pits the mighty half-mortal half-god against the Moon Goddess, a woman from another world with a crew of giant robots at her command. Michael A. Black then presents Spawns of the Titans, in which the mighty Hercules must battle a sea monster and a giant Cyclops to free an island of chained slaves. Artist Ron Wilber starts off the second half with The Legends of Atalanta, a three-page comic book retelling the legend of the mightiest female warrior that ever lived. Tom Johnson then returns with Atalanta and the Golden Lion, telling the story of Atalanta's journey to Africa on the Argo to battle a prehistoric beast and giant golden lion. And finishing up this fantastic collection is Ralph Horner's Atalanta Alters the Tide of Alida. Atalanta must travel to the undersea kingdom of Atlantis to save its people and destroy a number of foes in the arena. Cover image by Ron Wilber, and colors by Sarge. Based on Greek Mythology, the stories lean towards science fiction and fantasy, and you can tell the authors enjoyed writing these romps in mythical adventures. As you read them, you will imagine each story as a film produced by the famous Italian directors of the 1950s & `60s. Long out of print, but Tom has one copy left for $16.50 post paid (US).

Out of Print Books

Just in time for Christmas, four out of print books that are still available from the author. These will make great gifts. Postage is $3.99 per book. Contact the author at fadingshadows40@gmail.com

Heroes of Ancient Greece By Tom Johnson, Michael A. Black, Ralph E. Horner, and Ron Wilber. Two of the greatest of the Greek heroes were Hercules and Atalanta, and both have survived in their own identities, as well as being the patterns for many other heroes of print, song, and screen. But no hero has ever achieved the strength of the mighty Hercules. Nor has any arrow ever flown as swift and true as one shot from the bow of Atalanta! Monsters from the land, sea, and moon face our heroes in these exciting pulp adventures! This volume contains stories by Doc Atlas creator, Michael A. Black, paranormal author, Ralph Horner, and Tom Johnson, author of the popular Jur novels. Fully illustrated by Ron Wilber, including a three-page comic by the artist. If you like your heroes strong, your heroines beautiful, and the action fast, then go no further, this adventure is for you! $16.50 from the author.

Guns of The Black Ghost by Tom Johnson. This is my tribute to Walter Gibson and The Shadow. Set in contemporary times, Jimmy Malone dons a black hood and cape sending fear into the hearts of evildoers, as he battles the underworld in the tradition of a modern day Shadow or Spider. Burning eyes, a mocking laugh, and blazing automatics announce his entrance into an affray. Gangsters cringe when they come up against the guns of the Black Ghost! $16.50 from the author.

Pangaea: Eden’s Planet by Tom Johnson. Seven astronauts en route to Mars encounter a time warp in space that disables their ship. Crash landing on Earth, they discover an alien planet sixty million years before the dinosaurs. Pangaea, the super continent, is filled with danger and terror, as they must survive against fierce reptiles that ruled the Earth 250 million years in the past! $13.95 from the author.

Tunnel Through Space by Tom Johnson. This is an exciting story of survival at the beginning of the universe. Sucked into a Black Hole, their cargo ship crashes on an alien world populated by savages and prehistoric beasts. But love can be found even on a primitive planet with two suns! $16.50 from the author.

Sleeping Dragons

Sleeping Dragons (The Executioner)

By Michael A. Black

Gold Eagle Books

ISBN #978-0373644193

Price $5.99

190 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Very smooth and plenty of action”

Don Pendleton’s The Executioner: “Sleeping Dragons” by Michael A. Black. The latest in the Mack Bolan series has The Executioner and his pal, Jack Grimaldi in Hong Kong investigating the murder of a CIA agent. The agent had been following Eddie Lee, a Chinese arms dealer, and discovers he’s making a deal with a mysterious Libyan for Drones and something they call the “sleeping dragons”. A super weapon the Libyans need to kill the infidels and take back their homeland.

I had only read a few of the early Executioners by Don Pendleton before I got tired of all the disbelief in one man’s massive killing of Mafia gangs, so wasn’t a follower of the series. The idea of a one-man army in Vietnam just turned me off completely. Soldiers didn’t operate alone in the jungles of Vietnam, so Sergeant Mack Bolan never caught on with me. Now, after saying that, when I heard that Mike Black, a real soldier, and Vietnam veteran was the author of “Sleeping Dragons”, I had to give this book a try. To my delight, the story takes place in Hong Kong, which is one of my favorite settings. Bolan and Grimaldi go up against a Chinese gang this time, instead of the Mafia. Bolan has his job cut out for him, and it’s not an easy walk. Plus, there appears to be a traitor in British intelligence that is setting them up. If Gold Eagle Books continues the series with authors like Michael A. Black, they will have a new fan of the Executioner series. This entry is topnotch all the way.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories