Iron Eyes Makes War

as by Rory Black

A Black Horse Western from Hale, October 2009

The infamous bounty hunter, Iron Eyes, is forced to chase the wanted outlaw Joe Brewster down into an arid desert even though he has been badly wounded in a showdown with Brewster’s brothers.

Losing his pony, Iron Eyes is forced to follow on foot. To his surprise, he discovers an oasis in a valley. Iron Eyes trails the outlaw into the valley and soon finds that a few families are living there under the threat of death by Don Miguel Sanchez and his army of vaqueros.

Will Iron Eyes leave or fight until the bloody showdown?

Rory Black is a pseudonym used by Michael D. George for his Iron Eyes books, and this is the twelfth in the series. You don’t have to have read the previous books to enjoy this story.

Iron Eyes makes for a dramatic hero just by his appearance alone, his emaciated build and his scar-covered face make for a memorable character. One thing that many readers may not like about Iron Eyes is his views on and treatment of horses – so if you’re a horse lover you may prefer to skip this one. For those of us who do read this we get an action packed story of a single man taking on massive odds, although he does get some unexpected help. We also see a touch of tenderness from Iron Eyes – a man who is presented as a cold killer who cares nothing for others – with his words to a child, perhaps there is some kindness within him after all?

The book is easy to read and thunders along at a rapid pace building well to its savage finale that should provide a satisfactory read for most western fans.

I mentioned Iron Eyes’ appearance earlier, and this really makes me wish Hale could afford to commission cover paintings for its books, as I’m sure artists could come up with some truly spectacular images of this skeletal man.

Iron Eyes Makes War has a publication date of October 30th, but it is available now from many Internet booksellers.