The Mack Bolan books were my go-to read during my early teens. At 130 pages or so, The Executioner novels were a breezy bit of escapism full of everything a growing boy needs -- guns, guns and more guns. Author Don Pendleton wrote the first Bolan book,  War Against the Mafia in 1969. Since then, Hollywood has tried and failed to bring the character to the big screen despite attracting heavy hitters like Sylvester Stallone , Clint Eastwood and, more recently, Vin Diesel .