Massacre at Red Rock

By Jack Martin

The Crowood Press, May 2017

Liberty Jones is tired of war – he fought hard in the Civil War, saw great suffering and endured much himself. Now all he wants is to be left in peace, but trouble has a way of finding him. He rides into the town of Red Rock to escape a marauding tribe of Indians, but any hopes of safety he may have held are soon dispelled. For the town is under military command and facing a gathering of great Indian tribes who are determined to drive the people from the town and reclaim their land.

Liberty, along with a rag tag band of townspeople, must face impossible odds and soon blood will run deep in the streets of Red Rock.

Massacre at Red Rocks is a very fast paced book that is more or less filled with non-stop action as the mix of Indian tribes launch attack after attack on the town. There are brief explanations as to why the military won’t give up Red Rocks and why the Indians are so determined to destroy the town.

Jones is at first at odds with Captain Roberts but this soon becomes a grudging respect as the fighting ability of Jones becomes apparent to the soldier. There are one or two lighter moments amidst the carnage, such as when Jones and the English gambler, Sinclair, get arrested. This leads to the pair meeting an old-timer in jail which gives birth to the tales' sub-plot.

There are a couple of tips of the hat towards favourites of the author, such as naming the English gambler Lord Simon Sinclair – a mix of names of two of Roger Moore’s famous television characters, Simon Templar (The Saint) and Lord Brett Sinclair from The Persuaders. Knowing that Jack Martin is also a massive fan of the third Edge book, Apache Death, by George G. Gilman, there are certainly nods of the head to that story too. All of this added to my enjoyment of the story.

Jack Martin is a pseudonym used by Gary Dobbs, and he has certainly come up with a very entertaining tale that should satisfy all of us who like stories packed with action.