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The Nemesis Series #1
Nemesis
The fools killed his family...then made him a lawman. This wild and wooly western, in the Louis L'amore tradition, comes from renowned author L. J. Martin, whose over 20 novels have brought compelling reading to so many. McBain, broken and beaten from the Civil war, is reluctant to return to his family, as a snake dwells in his belly and he can't get the images out of his mind...until he learns his sister and her family have been murdered. Then it's retribution time.
278 pages, Nook
First published January 22, 2011
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288 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
December 1, 2012
Good old "shoot the bad guys" western. Had great fun reading it. I hope to be a cowboy in my next life.
First Paragraphs
Chapter One It’s been fifteen years since I’ve killed a man. At least a man against whom I held a grudge, the recent unpleasentries excluded as in the smoke and haze of battle you seldom saw the face of a man you dispatched. And that whole affair seemed President Lincoln’s grudge and only my duty as a sworn soldier. Not that the taste in your mouth is any sweeter for the small difference. After all, killing is killing. But that man fifteen years ago, when I was a younger of only fifteen years, came against my family, and he was well known to me and mine. I have now carefully cleaned and sighted my weapons again, and cast a few bullets, as I have a task before me. But I hoped the task would never shadow my door nor sour the taste in my mouth again. I’d hoped no man would offend or threaten me or mine so much I’d feel the need… the requirement… to put them in hell. The devil of it is it looks like I now have an even half dozen lowlifes on my list of chores. Five of the six offenders, seeming dry and dusty, rode into my sister’s homestead, three hundred twenty acres in the middle of thousands more of federal free-graze land, feigning needing the well for their horses and their own parched throats. Sarah McBain MacIntosh was as fine an upstanding Christian woman, a lady, a sister— and at one time a friend— as God ever created, and would never turn a man away from a mere drink of water or a hot meal for that matter.
Martin, L. J. (2011-01-17). Nemesis/L. J. Martin (The Nemesis Series) (pp. 5-6). . Kindle Edition.
First Paragraphs
Chapter One It’s been fifteen years since I’ve killed a man. At least a man against whom I held a grudge, the recent unpleasentries excluded as in the smoke and haze of battle you seldom saw the face of a man you dispatched. And that whole affair seemed President Lincoln’s grudge and only my duty as a sworn soldier. Not that the taste in your mouth is any sweeter for the small difference. After all, killing is killing. But that man fifteen years ago, when I was a younger of only fifteen years, came against my family, and he was well known to me and mine. I have now carefully cleaned and sighted my weapons again, and cast a few bullets, as I have a task before me. But I hoped the task would never shadow my door nor sour the taste in my mouth again. I’d hoped no man would offend or threaten me or mine so much I’d feel the need… the requirement… to put them in hell. The devil of it is it looks like I now have an even half dozen lowlifes on my list of chores. Five of the six offenders, seeming dry and dusty, rode into my sister’s homestead, three hundred twenty acres in the middle of thousands more of federal free-graze land, feigning needing the well for their horses and their own parched throats. Sarah McBain MacIntosh was as fine an upstanding Christian woman, a lady, a sister— and at one time a friend— as God ever created, and would never turn a man away from a mere drink of water or a hot meal for that matter.
Martin, L. J. (2011-01-17). Nemesis/L. J. Martin (The Nemesis Series) (pp. 5-6). . Kindle Edition.
January 4, 2013
Westerns are not my usual cup of tea. I prefer mysteries, thrillers, etc.. However, I have read several books by L J Martin, (non-westerns) and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Because of this, when I saw "Nemesis", I grabbed it. Might as well see if he can write a good western, was my thought, especially since I have nothing better to do right now.
Well! L J Martin CAN write a good western!
I read it all in one sitting and even forgot to munch on my dish of pretzels.
My recommendation to you is to give it a try, even though westerns may not be your cup of tea, either. If you are already a western fan, definitely read this. If you aren't... well, join me as a NEW fan of the traditional western novel, as written by L J Martin.
Well! L J Martin CAN write a good western!
I read it all in one sitting and even forgot to munch on my dish of pretzels.
My recommendation to you is to give it a try, even though westerns may not be your cup of tea, either. If you are already a western fan, definitely read this. If you aren't... well, join me as a NEW fan of the traditional western novel, as written by L J Martin.
March 1, 2013
This tough, gritty, western that sometimes makes you want to look the other way, would have had Sam Peckinpah chomping at the bit to get at it. And I never saw the ending coming! Well Done, L.J.!! Already got Book 2 and looking forward to reading it! You and McBain have a new fan!!
May 31, 2013
I like a good western novel but I usually don't read them in one sitting. This book was the exception! I found it very captivating and didn't want to be interupted. Enjoyed reading and will be reading more in the series.
October 15, 2012
L. J. Martin Delivers with the classic western Nemesis.
September 19, 2014
Haven't read many westerns since Zane Grey as a kid but quite enjoyed this 'slap leather or crawl' gun play. Not that there was much 'High Noon' man to man quick draw stuff and was thus probably more true to life in the real back-shooting Wild West.
I like the tone of voice which to my mind gave it an authentic feel. McBain came across as a man from the 1880s even if his dialogue or vocab wasn't valid. (I have no idea as to the actual accuracy). His character was consistent and I could largely believe in him and go along happily down the trail.
The story of revenge and retribution is very common - Eastwood's Josey Wales, or Bronson etc spring immediately to mind so we all know the path and the outcome but the entertainment value never falters merely because the timeless themes are common.
This is not high literature but fun.
I like the tone of voice which to my mind gave it an authentic feel. McBain came across as a man from the 1880s even if his dialogue or vocab wasn't valid. (I have no idea as to the actual accuracy). His character was consistent and I could largely believe in him and go along happily down the trail.
The story of revenge and retribution is very common - Eastwood's Josey Wales, or Bronson etc spring immediately to mind so we all know the path and the outcome but the entertainment value never falters merely because the timeless themes are common.
This is not high literature but fun.
January 5, 2013
I don't typically like westerns but seeing that it took place where I used to live in Montana, I thought I would give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I took to McBain.
February 3, 2013
This was a fun, hokey, dern good Western. No shortage of colloquialisms, actually I think there is one in every paragraph, but that's what paints the Western landscape in this book.
February 2, 2013
I haven't read a western in a long a time and I'm glad I picked this one, it was a really good, easy shoot 'em up read!
February 26, 2013
Good old time revenge motif bloody western
June 27, 2013
Best ever !!!
Loved this story. It’s an absolute cracker tale of revenge, but with so much more. If you are ever going to read a western – make it this one, you won’t be disappointed.
Loved this story. It’s an absolute cracker tale of revenge, but with so much more. If you are ever going to read a western – make it this one, you won’t be disappointed.
September 29, 2015
A good western
My father in law loved western's. When after cancer and memo made him bed ridden I would read to him even though they were not my favorite.
My father in law loved western's. When after cancer and memo made him bed ridden I would read to him even though they were not my favorite.
December 30, 2018
When I first saw this book, I was over the moon: Wow, I thought. A western that's not a romance! I honestly didn't think those existed anymore.
I wasn't disappointed. All those spaghetti westerns I watched and adored as a kid, starring John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and others? Ja, this is exactly like those. A simple plot centred around revenge, barely believable action sequences, dirty rotten cheaters getting shot over the poker table in smokey saloons... I felt like I was in heaven.
Imagine my surprise when I got to the end, skimmed through the other books by this author and publisher, and realised that the genre is alive and well. Where have you been all my reading life?
On the editing side, it's not the most polished bit of writing I've ever read, and I spotted a few typos, missing words, and redundancies throughout the text. But the plot was good and kept me interesting.
Another thing worth mentioning is how easy it was to get back INTO the story after having to put it down for a couple of days. Because, you know, life happens, and sometimes you can't read as much as you'd like. And when that happens, I've read books where it takes five or ten minutes, sometimes, to get back into the story and figure out, "What's happening again?" This isn't one of those books. It's a nice, easy read.
So if you're looking to re-live your cowboys-and-indians loving youth, and you don't care for bodice rippers, I highly recommend you give this one a read.
I wasn't disappointed. All those spaghetti westerns I watched and adored as a kid, starring John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and others? Ja, this is exactly like those. A simple plot centred around revenge, barely believable action sequences, dirty rotten cheaters getting shot over the poker table in smokey saloons... I felt like I was in heaven.
Imagine my surprise when I got to the end, skimmed through the other books by this author and publisher, and realised that the genre is alive and well. Where have you been all my reading life?
On the editing side, it's not the most polished bit of writing I've ever read, and I spotted a few typos, missing words, and redundancies throughout the text. But the plot was good and kept me interesting.
Another thing worth mentioning is how easy it was to get back INTO the story after having to put it down for a couple of days. Because, you know, life happens, and sometimes you can't read as much as you'd like. And when that happens, I've read books where it takes five or ten minutes, sometimes, to get back into the story and figure out, "What's happening again?" This isn't one of those books. It's a nice, easy read.
So if you're looking to re-live your cowboys-and-indians loving youth, and you don't care for bodice rippers, I highly recommend you give this one a read.
April 29, 2019
L J Martin - Nemesis Series Bk 1 - Nemesis - Reviewed 4/29/19
Revenge is the only thing on his mind when he arrives at Nemesis!
The fools killed his family...then made him a lawman. This wild and wooly western, in the Louis
L'amore tradition comes from renowned author L. J. Martin, whose over 20 novels have brought compelling reading to so many. McBain, broken and beaten from the Civil war, is reluctant to return to his family, as a snake dwells in his belly and he can't get the images out of his mind...until he learns his sister and her family have been murdered. Then it's retribution time.
What did I like? Well, this is my favorite genre and my favorite author and neither one has let me down yet. I love this author’s style of writing and of course, the fact that it is a western is the number one in my book.
What will you like? The West comes alive again in this awesome series. Greed, murder, and revenge will be sweet. The twists and turns will have you coming and going trying to keep up, but the responsible ones will meet their end and the law will be served but by who? I enjoyed this book and shed a bunch of tears but could not put it down.
Revenge is the only thing on his mind when he arrives at Nemesis!
The fools killed his family...then made him a lawman. This wild and wooly western, in the Louis
L'amore tradition comes from renowned author L. J. Martin, whose over 20 novels have brought compelling reading to so many. McBain, broken and beaten from the Civil war, is reluctant to return to his family, as a snake dwells in his belly and he can't get the images out of his mind...until he learns his sister and her family have been murdered. Then it's retribution time.
What did I like? Well, this is my favorite genre and my favorite author and neither one has let me down yet. I love this author’s style of writing and of course, the fact that it is a western is the number one in my book.
What will you like? The West comes alive again in this awesome series. Greed, murder, and revenge will be sweet. The twists and turns will have you coming and going trying to keep up, but the responsible ones will meet their end and the law will be served but by who? I enjoyed this book and shed a bunch of tears but could not put it down.
April 2, 2020
MURDER, REVENGE, GUNS, SIBLINGS
5 STARS ! This Old West Era Drama takes place after the Civil War & has a ranch owner plus his family murdered to get the range for cattle. Unknown having family the rancher's Mrs's brother comes to town with his trusted dog to seek both the Journal of his Sisters' & each of the men responsible for the burning of his nieces. Action packed, fist fights, night attacks & a whole lot more! This is one western that you can picture in your mind. Furthermore, the wonderful described portrayals of the landscape, the ground covering how it affected the horses'' hooves informative.
5 STARS ! This Old West Era Drama takes place after the Civil War & has a ranch owner plus his family murdered to get the range for cattle. Unknown having family the rancher's Mrs's brother comes to town with his trusted dog to seek both the Journal of his Sisters' & each of the men responsible for the burning of his nieces. Action packed, fist fights, night attacks & a whole lot more! This is one western that you can picture in your mind. Furthermore, the wonderful described portrayals of the landscape, the ground covering how it affected the horses'' hooves informative.
November 5, 2018
An LJM Western About/Murder/The Hunt/The Find/The Revenge
LJM has penned the first Nemesis western novel which is about a man and his sister's family. A wealthy ranch owner wants a small homestead for the water. He has the family murdered. The brother of the murdered sister, an ex Union Calvary officer, who is tired of death, is in seclusion until he received a letter notifying him of his sister's family murder. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
LJM has penned the first Nemesis western novel which is about a man and his sister's family. A wealthy ranch owner wants a small homestead for the water. He has the family murdered. The brother of the murdered sister, an ex Union Calvary officer, who is tired of death, is in seclusion until he received a letter notifying him of his sister's family murder. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
August 23, 2018
Nemesis
This is the first novel have read by L. J. Martin and a fine read it was. Taggart Mcbain is out for revenge. His younger sister and her family were murdered because a cattle baron wanted her lands. McBain figured eight or more men were involved in the heinous feed and he intended to kill every one of them.
This is the first novel have read by L. J. Martin and a fine read it was. Taggart Mcbain is out for revenge. His younger sister and her family were murdered because a cattle baron wanted her lands. McBain figured eight or more men were involved in the heinous feed and he intended to kill every one of them.
March 19, 2020
A good story, poor sentence structure, typos
have now read all 3 of the nemesis series. I enjoyed all 3 stories, but found poor sentence structure and many typos often caused me to read sentences, if not whole paragraphs more than once. For the reasons above I will not be reading anymore this authors works.
have now read all 3 of the nemesis series. I enjoyed all 3 stories, but found poor sentence structure and many typos often caused me to read sentences, if not whole paragraphs more than once. For the reasons above I will not be reading anymore this authors works.
December 13, 2025
Very good
Started out kinda weird with some words the dictionary couldn't figure out. Then like magic it came together and I enjoyed it to the end. Ext well written, disruptive but not overly. Plenty of adventure.
Rock on!
Started out kinda weird with some words the dictionary couldn't figure out. Then like magic it came together and I enjoyed it to the end. Ext well written, disruptive but not overly. Plenty of adventure.
Rock on!
February 12, 2019
Not being a big fan of western themed books I decided to give this one a try. I must say I'm glad I did.
Not a long book but one with a familiar theme of revenge.
Not a long book but one with a familiar theme of revenge.
July 18, 2020
Excellent
Words off the top, twenty, more or less the same are not wrong with the right head to be good
Words off the top, twenty, more or less the same are not wrong with the right head to be good
August 25, 2020
DNF. Just was not interesting to me.
February 28, 2021
Revenge
Hero pulls the wool over almost everyone's eyes while completing a large task that he had started to get done.
Hero pulls the wool over almost everyone's eyes while completing a large task that he had started to get done.
May 8, 2021
Great story
The author does yeoman work tying the storyline together in a page turning novel that is hard to put down. Love the color he weaves into the story.
The author does yeoman work tying the storyline together in a page turning novel that is hard to put down. Love the color he weaves into the story.
May 22, 2021
Great western
Nothing can beat a fascinating western written by L J. Martin. It’s too complicated to explain just know you’ll love it.
Nothing can beat a fascinating western written by L J. Martin. It’s too complicated to explain just know you’ll love it.
March 18, 2013
Nemesis is one of those "one dollar make you holler" e-novels from amazon.com. I got it for free from one of the daily digests of free e-books. I wouldn't have paid for it, but it wasn't bad for a free novel. Lots of typos, misused or missing words, and editing problems, but the story line was adequate and it served to while away the time spent on airplanes.
Standard revenge-based story. A Civil War veteran with more fighting skill than sense gets word that his sister and her family have been wiped out by an evil rancher who wanted their land and water source. He loads his arsenal, saddles up his horse, and with faithful dog trotting at his side, heads west for vengeance. Said vengeance comes over the course of the book, while McBain (the hero/antihero) makes a few friends, meets the love of his life, and eventually rides off into the sunset, heading west for San Francisco.
This is supposedly the first in a series about McBain, who I suppose is the nemesis (though that is also the name of the town). I'm curious about what his next adventure might entail, but not curious enough to buy the next book. Might read it if it is made available for free, but I don't even know about that. Louis L'Amour's novels were much better, even on the third or fourth read. If I'm in the mood for a western, I'll probably just go re-read one of his.
Standard revenge-based story. A Civil War veteran with more fighting skill than sense gets word that his sister and her family have been wiped out by an evil rancher who wanted their land and water source. He loads his arsenal, saddles up his horse, and with faithful dog trotting at his side, heads west for vengeance. Said vengeance comes over the course of the book, while McBain (the hero/antihero) makes a few friends, meets the love of his life, and eventually rides off into the sunset, heading west for San Francisco.
This is supposedly the first in a series about McBain, who I suppose is the nemesis (though that is also the name of the town). I'm curious about what his next adventure might entail, but not curious enough to buy the next book. Might read it if it is made available for free, but I don't even know about that. Louis L'Amour's novels were much better, even on the third or fourth read. If I'm in the mood for a western, I'll probably just go re-read one of his.
August 29, 2016
McBain has spent the fifteen years since the end of the Civil War enjoying his time in the mountains. When he receives word that his sister, her husband and two kids have been murdered, he heads to Nemesis, NV to find that the only witness to these killings has also been murdered. He quickly endears himself to the town by foiling a bank robbery and is hired to be the town Marshall. Having an evil land baron helps set the tone for what is to come. I read this book in one day, not because it was a quick read, but because it was a page turner with action on every page.
February 9, 2011
If you like Louie L'Amour and Zane Grey you will love L.J. Martin's Nemesis.
October 20, 2012
Western novel -
April 16, 2015
I enjoyed this book enough to buy another one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews