THE BURNING MAN

JUBAL CADE

Book 6 of 22

THE BURNING MAN

By Charles R. Pike

Cover art by Richard Clifton-Dey

Mayflower/Granada Publishing, 1976

ebook, Piccadilly Publishing, July 2023

The negro hung from the flaming cross and watched. In front of his burning cabin the white-robed figures of the Klu Klux Klan repeatedly raped his wife. Then came Jubal Cade to spit death from his .30 calibre Spencer . . . 

When they post the reward for the capture of the Klan’s Grand Dragon, the bounty-hunters flood into St Louis. But Jubal Cade is there before them. He has seen the Klan’s savagery first-hand. And Jubal is a man who knows all about vengeance.

Cade gets involved with the Klan whilst visiting Andy Prescott, the young blind boy Jubal has taken under his wing. Cade is constantly trying to raise money so Andy can have medical care and now there’s a chance an operation will restore Andy’s sight. The money Cade could secure by bringing in the Klan’s leader would pay for that operation, and when the Klan kidnap the head of the clinic, Cade has two reasons for destroying the Klan.

The author behind the pseudonym of Charles R. Pike is Angus Wells and he brings together a lot of the series threads for this tale. Being in St. Louis brings Cade face to face with the man who has sworn to have Jubal killed, Ben Agnew. Now they have a common enemy. Can they put the past behind them for a while to take on the Klan and unmasked the Grand Dragon?

Like in many of the books written by the group of authors now known as the Piccadilly Cowboys, there is lots of references to them and the western characters they wrote about. Many of the characters names in this story are made up from combinations of these authors names and other people in the book publishing business. For instance, a fair portion of this tale takes place on a sternwheeler and this boat is named the William M. James – the author name fronting the Apache series.

Although Angus Wells wrote most of the books in this series he didn’t write the first three or create the character of Jubal Cade. Terry Harknett started the series, an author probably better known to western fans as George G. Gilman whose hero Edge is a favourite of many readers. Edge appears in person in The Burning Man, stepping out of the shadows to shotgun a man to death, saving Cade’s life. Edge and Jubal have a conversation that references a very well-known spaghetti western character a couple of times, and this exchange of words is one of the highlights of the book for me. 

I once asked Terry if he had anything to do with Edge appearing in this book and he said he couldn’t remember much about how it came about but did entertain the possibility that he wrote this section, or co-wrote it with Angus. If he didn’t, Angus captured the character of Edge extremely well, not just in action but also in his speech and gallows humour. 

The Burning Man contains lots of violent bloody action, something that Well’s excels at in his gory descriptions. With Cade being a doctor Wells has opportunities to describe in detail Cade’s attempts to save lives too. Wells doesn’t give Cade an easy ride of it either, Jubal has to endure suffering, not due to physical wounds, but mentally – to say more would be a major spoiler so that’s all I’m going to reveal here. To add some light-relief to the more brutal scenes, Well’s includes lots of groan-worthy humours comments, mainly coming from Jubal, that had me laughing out loud at times.

The Burning Man is a very good entry into this excellent series. This book is a must read for anyone following the series due to its connections with earlier books plotlines and a character Cade met in book five have roles to play in this story too. The inclusion of Edge in this story makes this book essential reading for fans of George G. Gilman’s most famous character as well as those who enjoy Angus Wells’ work.

American readers can get a copy here
British readers can get a copy here

THE VIOLENT LAND

JUBAL CADE

Number 21 of 22

By Charles R. Pike

Cover art by Richard Clifton-Dey

Granada Publishing, 1983

If Cade hadn’t wanted so badly to track down the man who murdered his wife, he probably would never have ventured into the mountains in such weather. Probably would never have found a couple of lovers crucified on a tree, or been taken by the crazed Ezekial to the weird lost valley which the iron rule of a fierce religion dictated that he should never leave alive . . .

But he did want to find the murderous Kincaid, and he had found the valley. Now, if he wanted to live, he would probably have to kill.

A series begun by author Terry Harknett, who many will know better as George G. Gilman, but from number four the books were all written by Angus Wells, except book 11 which was by Kenneth Bulmer. Harknett said he hadn’t the time to write any more of them after the first three due to other series commitments so happily passed the series over to Wells.

Wells continued with the theme of Cade searching for his wife’s killer, started by Harknett, throughout the series, giving the doctor a reason to be wandering all over the West. Wells soon made the series his own, stamping his very readable style on the books. Of the authors that would become known as the Piccadilly Cowboys, Wells wrote the goriest graphic scenes. Having a doctor as an anti-hero gave Wells the excuse to really get creative in his descriptions of violence and attempts to save people’s lives.

It's the fact that Cade is a doctor that keeps him alive once captured by Ezekial, as he is sick and isn’t ready to die, but even so it’s a fine line Jubal walks between life and death throughout the story. 

After discovering the hanged man and crucified girl, Cade tries to save the latter as she’s just clinging to life. A vicious wolf pack attack adds to Cade’s problems and he’s saved by Ezekial, only to be taken to a hidden community from which he isn’t allowed to leave - ever. Most of the rest of the story revolves around Jubal planning to escape and then putting his plan into action. He doesn’t make his bid for freedom alone, there are others that tag along and they are soon pursued by Ezekial and his right-hand men. The end of the book finishes just as violently as it began in a savage showdown that few will survive.

For followers of this series or fans of Angus Wells’ work, you’ll want to read this book. For those new to the series, it’s a fairly good entry point, even if it is the second-to-last book in the series, as it includes many of the elements the series is known for – good writing, an interesting plot, well crafted characters, bloody violence and detailed medical procedures. This one also contains some great religious speech as Ezekial uses the teachings of the Lord to justify his rules and Cade fires back quotes that make Ezekial doubt himself.

Having read all the books in this series a number of times, I would say it is certainly one of the stranger plotlines, and it’s more than entertaining for that reason alone. I wouldn’t say it was one of the best Jubal Cade books but it’s certainly a fun read.

I must mention the cover art, as this for me is one of the best covers of the entire series – all painted by Richard Clifton-Dey.