THE BROTHERS O'BRIEN

Here's one I found over the Lincoln's Birthday weekend.  Had no idea this one was coming, so it was a nice surprise to come across.

Looking for this one to make bestseller lists, too.

THE FIRST MOUNTAIN MAN: PREACHER'S FURY

Congratulations to J.A. Johnstone, who recently posted on Facebook that this book has made its way onto the New York Times Bestseller List in the last week.   Good to see that the Western Novel has made a BIG comeback!

ASSAULT OF THE MOUNTAIN MAN

The newest book in the Mountain Man saga.  Gotta take my hat off to J.A. Johnstone for keeping Bill Johnstone's legacy alive and well. 

This will be my first real look into the world of the Mountain Man series - does anyone who reads this series think that it's ok to start with this one?  Please either comment or leave me an e-mail.  Thanks!

And thanks especially to J.A. for sending this and autographing it for me!

MASSACRE OF EAGLES

The newest novel in the popular "Eagles" series.  Thanks to J. A. Johnstone for sending the book.  Will definitely be a treat for me as it will be the first book in the series that I get to read.





SIDEWINDERS: DEADWOOD GULCH

A new (to me) series from William & J. A. Johnstone. 

I just got this one today, so I haven't been able to crack into it yet.  Pinnacle Books has done its usual nice packaging job here. 

The protagonists here are Scratch Morton and Bo Creel.  These boys are guarding a gold shipment to keep this one from slipping away like past ones have. 

There are always dead folks left at the scenes of the crimes, all of them bearing pitchfork marks, a sign of the "Devils of Deadwood" robber gang.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that these pitchfork fellas aren't just bored choirboys, but then neither, I imagine, are Scratch and Bo. 

Always happy to see another title in the Johnstone catalog and that J. A. is keeping Bill Johnstone's legacy alive. 

SAVAGE TEXAS

New Western series coming in September from William & J.A. Johnstone. Hadn't seen one of these things in a while.  The publisher will design the book cover and send one to the author ahead of time so that they can see what the book will look like. 

THE LONER: DEAD MAN'S GOLD

This is book #3 in J.A. Johnstone’s new western series, “The Loner”.  J.A. was kind enough to send this one to me because the one I had at the house apparently has gone the way of the dodo bird.  Thanks, J.A.!

The two “Loner” books that I’ve read so far have been very entertaining and the series seems to be doing well in readership and sales.  This is especially encouraging because Westerns, over the years, fall in and out of favor.  However, I see plenty of cowboy novels on bookshelves nowadays and this is a good sign. 

J. A.’s uncle, the late William W. Johnstone (I got to call him “Bill”), had sort of introduced the character of Conrad Morgan through the creation of Frank Morgan, Conrad’s father and protagonist of the “Last Gunfighter” novels Bill was still writing (with J.A.) at the time of Bill’s death. 

At the time Bill, Robert Kammen and I were walking the grounds of the Little Big Horn in the summer of 1987, I was more familiar with Bill’s work with the post-apocalyptic “Ashes” series and his unusual horror novels.  I didn’t really see Bill’s Westerns until some years later and now, in reprints, I see them all over the place.

The plot of this particular book is reminiscent of an Indiana Jones story in that there is a search for a lost treasure and the villain is right out of "The Wild, Wild West" (the TV show, not that dung-heap Will Smith movie).  Very interesting book and it moves right along nicely.

“The Loner” series is a good place to start if you’re looking for crackerjack Western novels.  Read them in order, though, if for no other reason than continuity. 

THE LONER: KILLER POKER

A new series using characters created by her late uncle, William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone carries on the family tradition here.  Nice cover art.  I've only read the first two and although I do have them all, I've misplaced the third in the series.  I am loathe to read them out of sequence, so the search among my stacks continues.