Desert Hawks

Apache Wars #1

by Len Levinson

In the night, Mangus Coloradas peered at the flickering lights of the White Eyes encampment, and then, farther south, at the fires of the Mexicans. Never had he viewed so many enemies.
He raised his fist into the air as he spoke to his men. “The People have been given this land by Yusn, and the White Eyes are not greater than He. If the White Eyes refuse to let us live here, we will make them pay for every valley with their blood and bones.”
n the American camp, Lieutenant Nathanial Barrington listened to a veteran sergeant. “Lieutenant, I been in a few scrapes afore, and the only thing to do is just go all-out and fight like a son of a bitch. Don’t ask for no quarter, don’t give one.”
And a thousand miles away in New Mexico, young and beautiful Maria Dolores Carbajal wondered what would happen to her family and her if the Apaches chose this time to attack, or if the Yankee invaders reached her home on the Santa Fe Trail.
The battle the next day would not end the struggle for any of them ... but only mark the beginning of a tidal wave of conflict that would sweep up them all ...

Genres: Military Fiction, War

350 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2023

About the author

AKA John Mackie, J. Farragut Jones, Nicholas Brady and Gordon Davis; also has ghost written as Clay Dawson.

Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Len Levinson served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1954-1957, and graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Social Science. He relocated to NYC that year and worked as an advertising copywriter and public relations executive before becoming a full-time novelist.
Len has had over eighty titles published and has created and wrote a number of series, including The Apache Wars Saga, The Pecos Kid, The Rat Bastards, and The Sergeant.
After many years in NYC, Len moved to a small town (pop. 3100) in rural Illinois, where he is now surrounded by corn and soybean fields ... a peaceful, ideal location for a writer.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Len Levinson is a top professional action/adventure novelist who has written more than 80 novels and several popular books series, including THE SEARCHER, THE SERGEANT, THE PECOS KID and the RAT BASTARDS series. DESERT HAWKS is the first book in Levinson’s Apache Wars Saga series, originally written in the 1990s under the pseudonym Frank Burleson. I listened to the Audible recording of DESERT HAWKS narrated by Bill Quinn. I initially expected the book to be a typical Indians vs. the cavalry Western, which would have been fine with me since I like that genre. But I found that Levinson had elevated it above the typical level both by his writing skill and the fact-based historical context he provides. The novel follows the lives of several central characters in Texas during in the turbulent years after the fall of the Alamo, when the American Army fought the Mexicans and the Apaches fought both. The characters are well-drawn and three-dimensional. The lead characters, especially U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant Nathaniel Barrington, undergo significant character development. And, the novel is much more grounded in true facts than many Western novels. For me, aspects of the novel even helped illuminate history by adding small but eye-opening details. For example, after the United States annexes Texas and sends in troops to “pacify” the towns, one of the Mexican characters wonders if the Americans will make them slaves, like the “Negroes.” It made me realize that would have been a logical concern. Levinson’s depiction of Apache warrior chief Mangas Coloradas and his people are also interesting and refreshingly unsentimentalized. The novel is written from an omniscient viewpoint and follows characters from all sides of the Mexican-American and Apache War conflicts, including male and female Americans, Mexicans, Apaches, and black slaves. The settings range from New York to New Mexico and the story includes action, tragedy and romance. DESERT HAWKS reminded me of some of the other epic historical novels I’ve liked, such as John Jakes’ NORTH AND SOUTH TRILOGY and KENT FAMILY CHRONICLES. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the rest of the novels in Levinson’s Apache Wars series. 5 stars.

[Jeffrey S. Bray]

Bloody New Mexico

A lot of people died for that land.Ranchers,Prospectors,Cattlemen,Apaches,Soldiers,Mexicans.
Simple,but good. Soon to be forgotten if we don't write about it and read about it.