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From: chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: Mack Bolan
Message-ID: <3332@sun.uucp>
Date: Fri, 7-Mar-86 14:00:54 EST
Article-I.D.: sun.3332
Posted: Fri Mar  7 14:00:54 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Mar-86 00:24:41 EST
References: <81@cad.UUCP>
Organization: Third Person, Omniscient
Lines: 39

>    Does anybody know who writes Mack Bolan books?
> Any opinion aboout them would also be welcome.
> Apparently it is some genre of thriller or mystery.

The Mack Bolan books are written by a large number of people under a house
name. At one point my father and I were doing som research into writing one
of them, but at the last minute the publisher decided to cut back on
freelance submissions so it never got published.

The Bolan books have an interesting demographic. The main orientation is
male, mid 20's to mid 40's, with a heavy readership base in Vietnam vets.
The prime attraction is to people who feel that the government has gotten
to the point where it can't protect itself through normal channels any
longer, and so Stony Brook is set up to function outside the government
as a completely secret agency.

The books are completely non-sexual. Bolan doesn't like or dislike women, he
doesn't really notice them at all. Hin only real interest is in his
assignment -- almost as though he was a killing machine (something he does a
LOT of in these books, since the people he is sent up against don't deserve
a lot of mercy, and the audience isn't into giving it to them....)

There's also a strong emphasis on hardware, lots of guns and esoteric
warmaking machines in fully glory. 

The stories I read were pretty well written, consistent with the style
guide, and rather enjoyable if you can get into their premise. Also QUITE
powerful, since as of a year or so ago they weere publishing a book a month
and had split off two new seriese from the original. We had a good premise
going, I'm sorry we never got it out into the real world.

chuq

-- 
:From catacombs of Castle Tarot:        Chuq Von Rospach 
chuq@sun.ARPA				FidoNet: 125/84
{decwrl,decvax,hplabs,ihnp4,pyramid,seismo,ucbvax}!sun!chuq

Somehow, Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...