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Mack Bolan the Executioner #102
Executioner 102 Split Image
Sample copy. Very slight crease to spine. Very slight edge wear. Tiny stain on top corner of first text pages. Text is perfect, but beginning to tone. Same day shipping first class.
- GenresFiction
Unknown Binding
First published May 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 3, 2025
3.5 stars
102 entries into the eponymous “Executioner” series and Mack “The Bastard” Bolan is still doing his thing, taking out bad guys left and right, giving no quarter, and being a total badass at it the whole way through.
In Split Image, Bolan takes a break from executing countless mafia goons and goes back to working for the government, trying to defend American freedom and root out a mole in the CIA who’s dead set on releasing an undercover KGB agent to wreck havoc. Plot wise, this one might not be up to snuff as other Executioner novels, as the story is a bit muddled and doesn’t read as straightforward as we are used to. While it works at times, it leads to one of the more confusing entries, especially around the half way point when a failed assassination attempt on the president is just randomly thrown into the mix, with little build up. There is an eventual explanation that does eventually make sense but it’s jarring and feels random.
Where Split Image excels, however, is its fast pace and tons of action. McDade’s work with Bolan is slowly getting better and is minutely pushing out Mike Newton’s work as the best consistent Executioner author, and that’s due to the way he manages to make the moments of explosions and gunfights feel fresh and exciting. There’s a car chase through the Louisiana swamps, the aforementioned assassination attempt, and a daring shootout in the New Mexico hills and all of them are tons of fun and creative. Also, unlike Newton’s more recent entires (once Gold Eagle decided to tack 70-80 extra pages into each one of these books), Split Image doesn’t feel needlessly wordy or padded with unnecessary details and dialogue.
Obviously this one doesn’t measure up to some of the more non stop stories (#’s 60-80) (and even the near perfect Save the Children…which has, up to this point, been the best of the expanded works), however, it’s a step back in the right direction and feels like a more contemporary entry in a series that constantly evolved with the times.
102 entries into the eponymous “Executioner” series and Mack “The Bastard” Bolan is still doing his thing, taking out bad guys left and right, giving no quarter, and being a total badass at it the whole way through.
In Split Image, Bolan takes a break from executing countless mafia goons and goes back to working for the government, trying to defend American freedom and root out a mole in the CIA who’s dead set on releasing an undercover KGB agent to wreck havoc. Plot wise, this one might not be up to snuff as other Executioner novels, as the story is a bit muddled and doesn’t read as straightforward as we are used to. While it works at times, it leads to one of the more confusing entries, especially around the half way point when a failed assassination attempt on the president is just randomly thrown into the mix, with little build up. There is an eventual explanation that does eventually make sense but it’s jarring and feels random.
Where Split Image excels, however, is its fast pace and tons of action. McDade’s work with Bolan is slowly getting better and is minutely pushing out Mike Newton’s work as the best consistent Executioner author, and that’s due to the way he manages to make the moments of explosions and gunfights feel fresh and exciting. There’s a car chase through the Louisiana swamps, the aforementioned assassination attempt, and a daring shootout in the New Mexico hills and all of them are tons of fun and creative. Also, unlike Newton’s more recent entires (once Gold Eagle decided to tack 70-80 extra pages into each one of these books), Split Image doesn’t feel needlessly wordy or padded with unnecessary details and dialogue.
Obviously this one doesn’t measure up to some of the more non stop stories (#’s 60-80) (and even the near perfect Save the Children…which has, up to this point, been the best of the expanded works), however, it’s a step back in the right direction and feels like a more contemporary entry in a series that constantly evolved with the times.
Displaying 1 of 1 review