Savage Territory

Matt Jensen: The Last Mountain Man #4

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

It was a duty to a dead man. Matt Jensen had promised his friend, slain by an outlaw named Pogue Willis, that he would deliver money to his brother in St. Louis. But Matt's search leads him from St. Louis to Arizona Territory, and into the company of a rich Easterner and his beautiful young wife. For Matt, the schemes of some citified land prospectors don't mean much, until the young woman is seized by renegade Apaches and it's up to Matt to save her life from brutal death...Soon, Matt Jensen is learning a lesson in courage, betrayal, and fate - the fate that brought this woman to his side - and is bringing a killer named Pogue Willis all the way to a savage territory...with more killing on his mind.

Genres: Westerns, Novels, Ebooks

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

William W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.

Reviews

[RICHARD STENTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each book in the Matt Jensen series has a certain familiar story line but this just adds to the adventure being told. Here Matt starts our with the Army as a Scout and runs into incompetent Army leaders which causes his to quit this job and strike out for a visit to an old friend who just happens to have robbers at his ranch just a Matt is arriving. This serves to save his friend and family but starts the story of these bandits which he meets later as the story unfolds. A good friend is killed and he is there just as he is dying which provides for the story to take Matt all the way to St. Louis by train. The town of St Louis is interesting and introduces Matt to the telephone. After finding the person he is searching for has gone to Phoenix to start a brewery. On the way to Phoenix he is introduced to a businessman who is also going to Phoenix with his wife and chief financial officer to buy a ranch. The businessman is quit interesting in a bad way and this leads to lots of very interesting events which should not be missed. Another page turner and I read it in one day.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 4 out of 5]

By its very title this book would seem politically incorrect by today’s standards. It does however disdain book larnin’ Westpoint style against practical experience learned in the field citing the example of the arrogance of Custer and the early grave it led him to.

Matt Jensen is a wandering gun for hire. He may not enjoy killing to the degree that other quick draw artists seem to, but he makes no hesitation about shooting to kill if he feels the need. As the hero of this series his deeds are painted in a positive light. Calling him merely an alpha male seems like a put down.

For those who haven’t read previous books in the series we are given snatches of back-story.

[Richard Guerrero · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was OK, I did notice on the last book of this series and even more so on this book that the author is taking segments from past books they wrote and including them in this series. I read all the books with preacher, smoke Jensen, and the McAllister‘s. As I am reading this book at times I feel like I read it before, then I realize it was with Falcon McAllister for instants on a few of the segments. I am disappointed because of that. I do like the characters but again do not like them filling in with the past segments.

[David Burnworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt makes a promise to a dying friend which leads him to St. Louis and from there to Arizona Territory and this is where the real story occurs. Matt eventually finds the brother of his dying friend and keeps the promise. During his travel, Matt befriends a trio of people in this and when one of his friends is taken by a renegade Indiana and his followers, Matt sets out to get her back

[rick incremona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little turned off at the return of the name Dampster for another attorney in the story, and i thought dr Presnell was also re-used but said that the good doctor was a new friend and not an old one from the wreck. otherwise this was a fun story, everyone who deserved their comuppance did.

[Warren A. Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

[Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story really enjoyed this one and has a great ending.

[Daniel Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really special book for me. I have been strictly a sci-fi reader since I was a preteen. Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clark were the only writers I could name, then my Dad passed away. He had been a huge William W. Johnstone fan and subsequently a J.A. Johnstone fan. I contacted the author through the Net and told of my Dad's story and told J.A. that the best way to honor my Dad would be to name a character in a western after him. The answer was a simple "OK", details were given later. So when the book came out, I read it and I have to tell you, I became an instant fan of J.A. Johnstone. I also became a western fan and especially the mountain man genre. The Matt Jensen stories are exciting, edge of your seat reading. I promise you will love this book and all of William and J.A. Johnstones books. Oh, FYI, Robert Williams, sheriff of Phoenix page 161.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading these in order and this is the fourth in the series. After a bumpy third book, this one gets more on track of the first two with similar quality and story telling. This is not as good as the first two, but still, involving story telling better than most all of the rest of the Johnstone Clan written books.

Seems this is the same writer as the other three books, for, again, there is an interest in trains, a Perry Mason-type trial and attention to detail missing in most Johnstone books. The writing is very good. The characters well written, as usual.

This is the first of the four where the outcome is pretty obvious from the start. The writer keeps the reader guessing as to just how the obvious ending could possibly occur with so many characters going in so many different directions. It all works well.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 of 10.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Jensen makes a promise to a dying friend to take money to his brother in St. Louis. There he gets hooked up with a couple from the east, a self-centered businessman and his wife. The brother's trail leads back to Phoenix. There, when the eastern woman is taken by Apaches on the warpath, Matt sets out to find her.

[John Boyda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read other Johnstone books and enjoyed them but I just couldn't get into this one. All the characters were shallow. The bad guys were really bad and the good guys were really good. There was no nuance of character at all. The book was full of cliches and I had to put it down without finishing it. I can't recommend that anyone waste their time with this.

[HornFan2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read, definitely can tell that parts of 'Savage Territory' were written by WWJ and just needed to be finished by the ghost writer. The only bad thing was the rushed ending to conclude the intertwining storylines.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not generally a western reader but this wasn't bad. I think I may try another book by this author.