Iron Eyes the Spectre

By Rory Black

The Crowood Press, December 2017

Having delivered the body of wanted outlaw Mason Holt to the sheriff at Diablo Creek, infamous bounty hunter Iron Eyes collapses, badly wounded, and his would-be sweetheart Squirrel Sally desperately tries to find a doctor to help him.

However, unknown to Sally, she is heading into a dangerous and uncharted desert where a mysterious tribe of Indians live. Then when Holt’s older brothers discover their sibling is dead, they vow revenge and set out after the man who killed him. Soon both outlaws and Indians alike realize how dangerous Iron Eyes is.

The Iron Eyes series began way back in June 1999 and has gone from strength to strength ever since. Iron Eyes the Spectre being the twenty-eighth book in the series. Rory Black is a pseudonym used by Michael D. George and under his own name and other pseudonyms he’s written many Black Horse Westerns making up a variety of series along with a few stand-alone titles. Whenever I want a fast, action packed read I’ll often reach for one of his books because I know for sure I’ll be getting just that.

Iron Eyes the Spectre starts with the wounded bounty hunter travelling unconscious in the back of Sally’s stagecoach. It isn’t long before Sally is fighting for their lives as the Indians attack. This makes for some tense reading as you have to wonder how a heavy stagecoach can outrun the assault.

Every now and again the author leaves Sally and Iron Eyes in a deadly situation to write a chapter detailing how the older Holt brothers find out about the death of their younger sibling. This discovery leads to a violent reaction that eventually sees them heading into the desert in pursuit of Iron Eyes.

The author is extremely good with his descriptions of both characters and action scenes. Iron Eyes attempt to free Sally from the Indians is both dramatic and entertaining. His plan desperate and foolhardy leading to a humorous exchange to finish the book that left a grin on my face and the hope that it isn’t too long before the next Iron Eyes adventure is published.