FRONTIER AMERICA

 

PREACHER & MACCALLISTER 1:
FRONTIER AMERICA
By William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone
Pinnacle Books, August 2019

As the father of a young Crow tribesman, Preacher would like nothing more than to see the long-time natives and newly arrived settlers live together in peace. Then the killing starts . . . 

As a family man and frontiersman, Jamie Ian MacCallister is more than happy to help the officers at Fort Kearny negotiate a peace treaty with the Crow nation. Until it all goes to hell . . . 

This is not the American dream they were looking for. This is a nightmare. A brutal, blood-drenched frontier war that two heroic men must fight and win – or one struggling nation will never come together. For liberty and justice for all . . . 

Book one in a series that features both Preacher and Jamie Ian MacCallister, that is billed as them being together for the first time, yet as the story progresses, we are told that they already know each other and there is mention of how they met. Is there a book that tells this story? Perhaps there is in one of their own series, but I wouldn’t know as I’ve not read any of the Preacher books, or the Eagles series which starred MacCallister. I believe some of the Preacher books tell of how he met his son’s mother, rescued the woman who would become his son’s wife, and of where a revenge hungry enemy that has sworn to kill Preacher came from. This foe turning up in this book to create all kinds of deadly problems that Preacher will have to deal with whilst struggling to keep the peace between the Crow and the US Army.

From my previous paragraph you might think Preacher has the larger role to play in this book, but it’s actually MacCallister that takes centre stage. The two main characters don’t meet until just over halfway into the story. 

The author regularly switches between his characters, and it soon becomes apparent that both Preacher and MacCallister will eventually come together on opposing sides. On the Crow side we have the coolheaded leader who doesn’t want war, but will fight if he has to. There are also younger braves who’d like nothing better than to take on the soldiers. The American troopers are led by a glory hunting Lieutenant who sees the Crow as inferior and expects them to do as he wants. It’s his arrogance that will be the cause of violence between the two sides when he discovers that there is a white woman living among the Crow and he decides she needs rescuing. The woman in question is Preacher’s son’s wife, Butterfly. 

There are plenty of exciting, tense scenes and exhilarating, brutal fights throughout the fast-moving story. Two of the most memorable clashes being between the hate filled Sergeant O’Conner and the giant Crow warrior Big Thunder. Even when everything seems to have been resolved there is one more savage battle waiting as renegades lead by Preacher’s long-time enemy attack the unsuspecting Crow. 

I found Frontier America to be a very enjoyable tale that left me eager to read the next book in the series and check out both Preacher and MacCallister’s own series.  

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

An Arizona Christmas

By William W. Johnstone with J.A. Johnstone

Pinnacle, November 2017

Like most families, the Jensens gather together to celebrate the holidays. This year, since half the clan is scattered across the American West, they've decided to split the difference and meet up in Tucson. Matt and Luke will be there, for sure, and maybe Ace and Chance, too. That leaves Sally, Preacher, and Smoke Jensen, who've reserved three seats on a westbound stage to make sure they don't miss out on the festivities. What could possibly go wrong? 

Mother Nature is the first to strike, dusting up the trail with a sandstorm as blinding and deadly as any northern blizzard. Then comes an Apache ambush, forcing the passengers and drivers to seek shelter in a cave. Even if Smoke and Preacher manage to shoot their way out of this, they have another big surprise waiting--a ruthless gang of outlaws after the cargo of cash on the stage, happy to slaughter anyone who tries to stop them. If the Jensens hope to save Christmas this year, they'll need to save their own lives first . . .

The seventh Johnstone book set at Christmas and the first one I’ve read. Great to see the author bringing together some of the Johnstone’s greatest characters but as expected the trail to their Christmas rendezvous doesn’t run smoothly.

Most of the story concentrates on the dangers facing Smoke, Sally and Preacher as they journey together first by train and then stagecoach, and it’s whilst travelling on the latter that most of this tale revolves. The stage is also filled with a number of interesting characters too and the author often switches between them as well as those attempting to stop one of them reaching Tucson.

With outlaws, Apaches, and Mother Nature out to destroy the stagecoach and its passengers the book offers plenty of action and there is an impressive body count. Once the travellers are pinned down in a cave the tension mounts as you’ll be wondering just how they can possibly escape.

One thing I particularly enjoyed was the names of some of the characters, Ballard and Tuttle for instance which many long-time readers of westerns will recognize as past authors of the genre. A nod to those old time pulps which is strengthened by the comments in the last part of the story about newspaper reporters and writing for those pulps.

If you’re looking for a fast read that is packed with gunplay then this is certainly worth adding to your ‘want to read’ list. 

  

Matt Jensen: The Last Mountain Man

as by William W. Johnstone

with J.A. Johnstone

Pinnacle, September 2007

Matt Cavanaugh was nine years old when a band of outlaws slaughtered his family…Now Matt is 18, honed by hardship, steeped in survival and carrying the last name of the man who raised him: Smoke Jensen. With Smoke’s wisdom and his own courage, Matt Jensen begins a relentless hunt for the outlaws who murdered his family in cold blood. Soon Matt discovers there’s a lot more to vengeance than hunting down a man – and that in the clash of guns and guile, true justice is waiting just beyond a town called Perdition…

This is an extremely readable, and entertaining, book that moves at a brisk pace, full of exciting action, great characters – both good and bad – and a number of humorous moments, such as the incident involving a ham.

The author begins with the killing of Matt’s family and then covers Matt’s life as he struggles to survive on his own in an orphanage and then the wilderness. It’s in the latter part that he is taken under the wing of Smoke Jensen and a good portion of the book covers this time of Matt’s life. Another of Johnstone’s series characters makes an appearance here too, that of the first mountain man: Preacher.

The final part of the book see Matt Jensen out on his own putting everything he’s learnt into practice as he tracks his family’s killers.

I don’t know who wrote the back blurb but there’s an almighty clanger there, the leader of the gang of outlaws is named as Winston Pugh, yet in the book he’s called Clyde Payson.

Does Matt succeed in his quest for vengeance? I guess that’s something you’ll have to find out for yourself.