Mountain Rampage (Mack Bolan: the Executioner)

Mountain Rampage is a decent, action-packed entry in the Executioner series; it is also the debut of short-lived (ghost)writer E. Richard Churchill, who would go on to helm the much better #56: Island Deathtrap. This time, the plot revolves around our hero, Mack Bolan, assaulting an unnamed international terrorist organization. It seems they are developing mind control drugs in a mountain fortress masquerading as a rest home. Soon, they will drop their sinister creation into the nation's water supply... While the author does a fair job of describing the villains and their drugs, he fails to ever really explain their group or their motives. Like Island Deathtrap, the action takes place all in a day or two and is contained within a single rural location where Mack must interact with stubborn locals suspicious of outsiders. However, the novel is over 160 pages in (most Executioner novels, including Island Deathtrap) run 180 pages. To make up for this, the publisher has padded the book with ads for Mack Bolan: Live Large! bumper stickers and excerpts of forthcoming books. Excerpts include: Executioner #55: Paradine's Gauntlet, Dagger: The Centaur Conspiracy and SOBs: The Barrabas Run. There is also a cheery three page promo piece about the new authors and direction the publisher is taking The Executioner series in now that creator Don Pendleton has left the series (#38: Satan's Sabbath was his last book).