When I was in the eighth grade I knew a kid who read Mack Bolan books every day and that's all he talked about. I read a few, they were pretty entertaining.

I read almost all of them growing up and I had forgotten all about them until you mentioned the name.

50 years just vanished

I only read a few of the Mack Bolan books, but I read the Hank Frost "They Call Me The Mercenary" series, the Dan Track series and the Defender and the Survivalist series too - all by Jerry Ahern (primarily).

The Hank Frost series is the reason that I purchased and did most of my early shooting stuff with a Browning Hi Power!
Good times, a few years back (5 or 6 now?) I re-purchased the Hand Frost series and re-read it.

I remember reading each Executioner book. I actually suggested last week to someone to look at reading them.

I am actually re-reading the series as we speak.

Last July when I was helping my parents shut the house down, I ran to half price books on Bethel road in Cols, OH. They had a good portion of the Mac bolan, Phoenix Force and Able Team series on the clearance rack for a $1 a book.

I bought like 50 books.

I stop at every used book store I see when i am traveling to see if they have any editions that I haven't read.

The early editions used to have a different weapon inside the back cover of each book. That is how I learned about all the different weapons of the world when I was growing up.

Reading Mac Bolan is where I fell in love with the Beretta 93R, the Beretta MP12 and Spectre M4 SMG with the casket style magazine.

I'm starting to think we had the same exact childhood.

Yes I read a lot of those books back in the 80s. Phoenix Force was my favorite series. I still have from book 1 to 51. They were a nice quick read with a high body count.

All of those were great- when you are on a sub books are good things. Really enjoyed The Destroyer, Clive Cussler, Sci Fi in general as well.

I have quite a collection including a few of the Super Bolans. Always thought with the right actors and director this could be an amazing movie franchise.

loved him as a kid, good action stuff, easy to read as well

Ahh the memories. Quick reads and enjoyable.

Noticed nobody has mentioned Nick Carter -- another of my favorites way back then.

Tinyman

I grew up on Lois L'Amour and Alistair Maclean. I don't think i have read hardy boys.

quote:

Originally posted by redstone:
I grew up on Lois L'Amour and Alistair Maclean. I don't think i have read hardy boys.

I really enjoyed Alistair MacLean - Ice Station Zebra, etc. read them as a young teenager. The Satan Bug was and still is the only thing that ever bothered my sleep. For a night or two after I read it I had some nasty nightmares about what if such a biological agent actually existed. Yikes!

I read most of the authors/series mentioned previously, starting in the tweens. A few other favorites that I haven't seen mentioned yet:

*Travis McGee in the "colors" series
*Casca, the immortal soldier - Barry Sadler
*books by Stephen W Meader (Bulldozer, Sabre Pilot, etc)
*books by Walter A Tomkins (ignited my interest in ham radio - see K6ATX)
*Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series
*Tom Swift series
*Donald E. Westlake's 'Dortmunder' books

And who can forget the great Mike Hammer series from Mickey Spillane?

Got into Mack Bolan in the early 80s while in high school, read a lot of them but swung over to the Able Team spin-off/group and fell for that one hook line and sinker.
Carl Lyons was sort of the ex-cop turned operator working in a world full of professionals.
His choices was "different", Colt Python, Achtison (sp?)12guage assault shotgun, and his frankenColt Gov't model that had all the goodies of Bolan's 93R.

At one time I thought they'd tapped Stallone to star in the movie, but that's all I ever heard about it.

Dale

Loved reading the series back in the early 80s, along with the 2 companion series "Able team, and Phoenix Force" made for some great time killing reading to allow the mind to have a break from reality (work)

You guys might get a kick out of this. I've got the super Phoenix Force and Mack books in a closet, not gonna dig them out. My PF series is on one of my book shelves. These books were put out from 1982 to 1991 but it took me years to get them all. Back then it was just hitting the used book stores to find the ones I didn't have. When I got my first computer in 2002 and got on the web I located and bought #50 which I didn't have.

read about everyone. wish I still had them. nostalgia.

Read everything in those days. TV had three channels and not alot on!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
I have quite a collection including a few of the Super Bolans. Always thought with the right actors and director this could be an amazing movie franchise.

What is a Super Bolan?

When I was a teen the Stars and Stripes bookstores on the military bases stocked the Bolan series, and that other guy. You could treat the bookstore pretty much like a library if you were not blatant about reading in store. I read a few for free. They were okay. The Conan series was more interesting, those I bought.

National Lampoon was the best. Some smarm of a clerk refused to sell me an issue so I bought a subscription. Man was NL funny.