The Executioner #11 - California Hit

After the deadpan narrative in “Vegas Vendetta”, the ninth installment of 'The Executioner' series, I was alarmed that author Don Pendleton had reached a subdued complacency. Thankfully the subsequent entry, “Caribbean Kill”, delivered what most would expect from these early installments – white-knuckle action laced with gunfire. After taking a year hiatus from Pendleton's novels, I was excited to read the series' 11th volume, “California Hit” (1972).

Bolan arrives in San Francisco to extinguish Roman DeMarco's criminal empire. Targeting the Capo Mafioso, Bolan sets his targets on DeMarco's two most loyal generals. As the book opens, there's a sense of familiarity as Bolan stakes out a mob dwelling called The China Gardens. In a blitzkrieg of explosives, Bolan eliminates dozens of enforcers before being ushered to safety by a bodacious Asian woman named Mary Ching. While on the run from a special police task force called Brushfire, Bolan roots out a Chinese criminal cell that is aligning with the mob to force a power struggle within the Mafia ranks. That's a lot to unpack for any reader.

Pendleton's narrative has a lot of forward momentum but mostly these battles have become commonplace within the series. Surprisingly, the most gripping portions were dedicated to characters from Bolan's past. For example, the novel's 10th chapter is titled “Alpha Team”. This of course is a tie-in to Bolan's firefighting team in Vietnam called Team Alpha. It is also the name of a successful spin-off series that debuted in 1982.

“California Hit” also brings to light the fact that Bolan served in some capacity during the Korean War. I'm not mathematically gifted but I think Bolan would have been too young for that campaign. Regardless, these history lessons are connected with one of Bolan's former squad members, Bill Phillips. It's Phillips that opposes Bolan's mission by attempting to quell the flames with his Brushfire team of anti-Bolan personnel. There are a number of cameos or mentions throughout the novel – Leo Turrin, Gadgets Schwarz, Rosario Blancanales and Bolan's brother Johnny.

While “California Hit” won't make any Bolan “best of” lists, it is about par for the course for the series' double-digit entries. There's a number of characters, narrative threads and series' characters to keep readers briskly flipping the pages. The book's last few paragraphs introduces the next mission – protecting Johnny in Bolan's hometown of Pittsfield. I'm excited to see how it plays out in “Boston Blitz”.

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