COVER GALLERY: SHILOH

SHILOH by Dalton Walker

Cover art by Guy Deel

A series of eight books published by Charter/Diamond Books from October 1990 until July 1992

The West made him a man. The War made him Shiloh . . . named for the bloody battle that twisted his soul. And when the fighting ended, he became a bounty hunter. Because for him, death is a way of life.

Lawrence Callahan was a heatless killer who deserved to die. And Shiloh reckons he deserves the $1,000 reward for bringing him in. There’s just one or two things standing in his way. Like a little dustball called Splendid, Nevada. Like a man named Merriweather who’s got the town – and the sheriff – under his thumb. Like Merriweather’s two sadistic sons . . . 

Shiloh’s not in town one day before he’s on the wrong side of trouble. But the fine citizens of Splendid are about to discover that Shiloh’s only got one side – his fighting side!

First they killed a man in cold blood. And then they shot Shiloh’s horse. The vicious gang of outlaws, led by a crazed butcher named Follard, didn’t realize they were dealing with the deadliest manhunter alive. But they’d find out – the hard way . . . 

Shiloh’s coming after them. There’s no bounty at stake – this time it’s personal. But the body count is rising, the desert sand is red with blood, and Follard ain’t running scared – he’s gunning for Shiloh.

Who is the hunter . . . and who is the prey?

Every man has his price, and tycoon J.W. Bannerman has Shiloh’s figured out just right. The old coot is desperate to win back the only thing he’s ever lost: his daughter. And the mighty chunk of change he’s throwing Shiloh’s way has the bounty hunter thinking he’s the right man for the job.

But before Shiloh can get his nose to the trail, he’s sniffed out by a fearsome rival. A man of his own breed – a bounty hunter. Now the hunter is the hunted . . . and only one can survive.

Pinkerton lawman Christian Brady was a good man. Now he’s a dead man – and Shiloh hits the trail vowing revenge against the low-down vermin who slaughtered his old war pal. Then some fool of a badge tosses Shiloh in jail . . . for Brady’s murder.

Breaking out’s the easy part. It’s the crazy lynch mob and cold-blooded posse hot on his heels that’s got Shiloh worried. And when a bounty hunter like Shiloh becomes the hunted . . . there’s no defense quite like bullets and blood.

Frank Haven has the evil heart of a dictator, the twisted mind of a madman, and fifty kill-crazy desperados to do his fighting. He holds a small border town in a reign of terror, governing a labor camp where no one finds mercy. Above and below the Rio Grande, every lawman wants him stopped. But only one man has the guts.

Shiloh infiltrates the camp’s inner circle posing as one of Haven’s gun-toting gang. Now the only way out of hell is straight through it – as Shiloh tries to battle Haven with blood and bullets.

First he killed a man in cold blood. Then the crooked gambler named Ratlin set off across the mining country of northern California, leaving blood and bodies everywhere he hung his hat . . . 

What Ratlin doesn’t know is that the deadliest manhunter alive is hot on his trail. And when Ratlin tries to backshoot Shiloh, it’s his first big mistake. Now gunning down Ratlin isn’t enough . . . the bounty hunter won’t stop until he sees this killer swing from the gallows. 

In the midst of a harsh Nevada blizzard, Shiloh takes refuge in an abandoned barn – and finds himself held captive by three low-down ranch hands from the Lazy B. In a blaze of bullets, Shiloh busts out of their trap. But wealthy rancher Horatio Ballock will see to it that Shiloh stays in trouble – and plenty of it.

At a high-stakes card game, Shiloh calls Ballock’s son a cheat. Now he’s got the rest of the Lazy B after his hide, along with a slick gun named Falcon. Suddenly the bounty hunter is on the wrong side of the chase – and he’s running for his life.

Cephas Beck was a mean old man – a mean, rich old man. When Shiloh trades blows with Beck’s lowlife son Elias, he’s quick to discover that Cephas Beck can pay any price for revenge on anyone who messes with his boy.

But faster than Shiloh can count his new enemies, fate steps in – and Elias meets a cruel death under the hooves of a ferocious stallion. Now Cephas’s greedy dreams of racing the magnificent beast come crashing down in a madman’s rage for vengeance – and Shiloh is hired to track a mount fit for the Devil himself!

Shiloh #4

THE HUNTED

as by Dalton Walker

Diamond, July 1991

Hank Proffitt is a bounty hunter who is also known as Shiloh...named thus after the bloody battle that twisted his soul. A battle that still fills his dreams with grotesque nightmares.

Pinkerton lawman Christian Brady and Shiloh first met in the aftermath of the battle he’s named after. Shiloh is staying at Brady’s ranch, Brady’s wife playing matchmaker for Shiloh and a pretty widow who owns a neighbouring ranch. After spending a night with this young woman Shiloh returns to Brady’s ranch to discover a scene of carnage, brutal slaughter and torture. Now Shiloh wants revenge on the men who killed Brady and his wife but it’s Shiloh who is accused of the crime and the sheriff throws him in jail. Breaking out is the easy part. It’s the crazy lynch mob and cold-blooded posse hot on his heels that’s got Shiloh worried. And when a bounty hunter like Shiloh becomes the hunted…then there’s no defense quite like bullets and blood.

This author, Henry Schlesinger, wrote the first six Shiloh books. Here he presents us with a Shiloh whose character seems at odds with itself. Shiloh comes across as a tough, savvy man, a man who should be alert and quick to react, after all being a bounty hunter his life could hang on his reactions. Yet at times Schlesinger gives us a Shiloh who almost seems dim-witted, easy to catch, easy to hurt.

The book starts at a gentle pace and seemed to take awhile to get to the start of the action which when it comes is brutal, almost savage to the extreme. After Shiloh escapes from jail there’s an exciting chase that for me was the best sequence in the book.

Later Shiloh comes across a con-man and his female assistant who try to rob him. Shiloh nevertheless stays with them while recovering from his wounds, and they don’t try to kill him in his sleep and take what they want. Again this seems a little to good to be true.

So in conclusion not a bad read yet one that seems a little muddled in its charactizations. But if you want blood and guts then there’s plenty of that to keep you satisfied once it gets going.

Shiloh #3

 BLOOD RIVAL

as by Dalton Walker

Diamond April 1991

A series that I’ve not managed to read in number order but to be honest I don’t think would make much of a difference to anyone’s enjoyment of the books.

Henry Proffitt is a bounty hunter tortured by dreams of his experiences in the Civil War, and of one battle in particular from which he’s become much better known as Shiloh.

Every man has his price, and tycoon J.W. Bannerman has Shiloh’s figured out just right. The old coot is desperate to win back the only thing he’s ever lost: his daughter. And the mighty chunk of change he’s throwing Shiloh’s way has the bounty hunter thinking he’s the right man for the job. But before Shiloh can get his nose on the trail, he’s sniffed out by a fearsome rival. A man of his own breed – a bounty hunter. Now the hunter is the hunted…and only one of them can survive.

Henry Schlesinger (writing as Dalton Walker) presents a tale where just about everyone comes across as somewhat mad, twisted and sick. Most, you hope, will end up dead by the end. The violence is fairly graphic and comes frequently. A couple of surprising revelations liven up what could have been just another bounty hunter chase story, making this not a bad entry into the series, in fact one of the best of the eight books.

If you like despicable characters and graphic violence then this could be worth a look.

Shiloh #8

BLOOD BOUNTY 
as by Dalton Walker

Diamond, July 1992

Cephas Beck was a mean old man, a mean rich old man. Shiloh trades blows with Beck’s lowlife son Elias and knows it won’t be long before Elias attempts to kill him. He also knows that if he has to kill Elias, Cephas will pay any price for revenge on anyone who hurts his boy.

Fate has other ideas and Elias meets a cruel death under the hooves of a ferocious wild stallion. Now Cephas’s greedy dreams of racing this magnificent horse came crashing down in a madman’s rage for vengeance - and Shiloh is hired to track a mount fit for the Devil himself!

Gary McCarthy, author of books seven and eight of the Shiloh series, was around this time writing his Horsemen series and this plot could easily have been adapted to fit that series so it seems McCarthy was in a phase of writing books featuring horses. Not a bad thing as it presents a new slant on the bounty hunting trade by having Shiloh tracking a horse instead of a man.

McCarthy’s Shiloh doesn’t come across quite the same as the man created by the original author, Henry Schlesinger, he comes across as a much better educated man in thoughts and speech. The dreams that are supposed to haunt Shiloh are almost non-existent and he isn’t as quick to use his fists or guns, would rather look for other options to solve his problems than using violence. At times I found myself picturing another character that McCarthy writes about in place of Shiloh, that person being Custis Long of the Longarm series.

Having said all that I found this story to be an entertaining read, a book filled with action and an interesting plot. The ending of this book being a satisfying conclusion to not only the story but to the series.