by Thomas McNulty
A Black Horse Western from Hale, April 2010
His name is Hank Benteen, but the Sioux call him Wind Rider…
When Benteen rides into a Wyoming valley, he saves a homesteader’s life and that of his two children, but there’s a range war brewing and some of the cowboys are hiding a murderous secret.
Suddenly, Benteen finds himself involved in a deadly conflict as he resolves to help the homesteaders against impossible odds. Before long, Benteen finds himself the target of two greedy men intent on murder. Their dream of acquiring land by forcing out the homesteaders has turned into a deadly game and Benteen will need all of his skills as a gunman in order to survive…
When I finished reading Thomas McNulty’s first BHW, Trail of the Burned Man, I finished by saying I was looking forward to more from this author, so I eagerly picked up this book hoping it would entertain me as much as the first one did.
Once again I found Thomas McNulty’s writing to be extremely readable, the plot developing quickly and easily drawing me into the story. With the man known as Wind Rider, McNulty has created a superbly drawn character that almost immediately had me wishing their were more stories about him. Thomas McNulty does delve into Benteen’s past as he fleshes his hero out but I’m sure there are many tales yet to be told about him.
What seems to be a straightforward land grab story proves to be anything but as Thomas McNulty puts his own twist to this familiar plot.
The book is also filled with some great action sequences. The one fairly early on where Benteen strolls into a saloon and, although heavily out-numbered, forces a gunfight with a group of cowboys, really defines Wind Rider, as well as providing some very exciting reading.
Once again Thomas McNulty has proved he’s an author worth taking the time to read and, like before, I look forward to his next BHW.
Wind Rider is officially released on April 30th but is available now from Internet booksellers.
6 comments:
Great review of what sounds like an excellent read.
I wonder which gets a Black Horse author more dosh - buying the book, or borrowing it from the library?
Interesting question.
I don't think there are that many books available to buy - which is why they sell out so fast.
Maybe a BHW writer can answer that one?
Us non-Brit authors don't get any money from library reads.
I've been following Tom McNulty for a while now. I urge you all to check out his exceptional western DEATH RIDES A PALOMINO. I've yet to catch up with WIND RIDER, but after reading your review I'm looking forward to it big-time. Speaking personally, I make more money from folks borrowing my books than I do from the initial sale. But let's not forget the Large Print editions as well. They seem to be a whole lot more popular than the standard-print ones.
That's good to know. Simple economics means I borrow more than I buy, though it's fun to own a few Black Horses. They're so darn well-made - built to withstand anything - when our civilisation crumbles Black Horse Westerns will be the only artefacts to survive :)
That is so true. Although I think the quality of the covers had suffered a bit in recent years, Hale has always done an outstanding job on the actual production of these attractive little books.
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