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Deathlands #6
Pony Soldiers
Ryan Cawdor and his band of post-holocaust survivors come face-to-face with a specter from the past: out of the swirling dust that was once New Mexico bursts a regiment of pony soldiers, led by a man with flowing yellow hair.
Brandishing Colts and Winchesters, the horsemen grimly prepare to destroy the ragtag strangers, intruders who dare to pnetrate their ruthlessly defended stronghold.
As the final showdows nears, Ryan makes a startling discovery: either he and his companions have chron-jumped back to the 1800s, or General George Custer has been catapulted into the twenty-second century...
Brandishing Colts and Winchesters, the horsemen grimly prepare to destroy the ragtag strangers, intruders who dare to pnetrate their ruthlessly defended stronghold.
As the final showdows nears, Ryan makes a startling discovery: either he and his companions have chron-jumped back to the 1800s, or General George Custer has been catapulted into the twenty-second century...
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1988
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230 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 12, 2016
The torture "scenes" were pretty tough to get through.
January 22, 2019
3.5 rounded up. Not the best of the Deathlands series, but still entertaining. Less graphic violence and sex than some previous ones, until the end... Pretty graphic nasty scene then.
January 31, 2020
I love the audio book versions.
April 13, 2025
I first encountered the Deathlands series maybe 6 months ago at a local thrift store where something like a dozen of these things were on sale at a dollar a piece. One look at the cover art and the absolutely gorked descriptions on the back had me sold on the spot. And, of course, they were in the ideal condition for this sort of thing: beat to shit, spines cracked into near unreadability, cheap binding coming unglued, you know the deal. I purchased them all and have since found more at other used book stores. I have decided I want to obtain the entire series (of which there are over a hundred) with one crucial restriction: I will not acquire any of these through online sellers. I will buy them only from secondhand stores, preferably in barely adequate physical condition. It just feels correct.
Pony Soldiers is the first I’ve read in the series, the sixth entry: in true pulp tradition, reading these in order might add to the experience but is ultimately unnecessary. What are you in for? EXACTLY what you imagine. Ryan Cawdor and his ragtag team of wasteland survivors scratch out a living adventuring across post-nuclear holocaust America trying to find a better life while dispatching mutants and men by the dozen via blade, bullet, or bludgeon. There’s lots of GUNS and all the women are fucking HOT and the men are fucking GRUFF and the mutants are fucking DEADLY and the characters they encounter have MYSTERIOUS SECRETS which could make them allies or enemies depending on ever-changing circumstances. In short, it RULES. What appears to be the primary structural gimmick of the series- a collection of pre-war fallout shelters with connecting teleportation systems that the team can enter but not necessarily control the destination of- is an outstanding device to create limitless monster-of-the-week potential which allows the lack of meaningful continuity to be easily handwaved. Rarely does a series like this provide such an elegant excuse, and I’m eager to get further in to see what sort of wild bullshit they cook up.
In this case: we’re in the American southwest, where Cawdor’s team encounters a local tribe of American Indians who are in a long-running low-intensity conflict with a group of raiders who have modeled themselves after General George Custer’s army. What follows is what I imagine the entire series is composed of: a tense alliance of convenience, ragged firefights, daring rescues and escapes, and broad yet punchy character moments that merely reiterate what you already know: that the whole team are rough and ready marauders who will do whatever it takes to survive in post-nuclear America and also that the girls in the group have FAT TITS. It goes without saying that this is all excellent. What makes it distinct? Two things, to my mind. First, a broad range of influences reconfigured into the fantasy, from old Westerns to early Cold War spy films to more hardbitten and contemporary (for their time) post-apocalyptic works like Escape From New York or Wasteland, providing a rhythm and atmosphere a bit richer than expected. Second: a lean and rangy sadistic streak that provides the harder edge that you might want from this sort of setting but rarely find. The torture scene toward the end is legitimately nauseating and the absolute willingness to threaten the one adolescent male character with violent gang rape does a lot to set this apart from the pack.
In short, highly recommended for those among us with death metal album art tattoos and/or who believe that only the first two Fallout games are real.
https://hideousrecollection.substack.com
Pony Soldiers is the first I’ve read in the series, the sixth entry: in true pulp tradition, reading these in order might add to the experience but is ultimately unnecessary. What are you in for? EXACTLY what you imagine. Ryan Cawdor and his ragtag team of wasteland survivors scratch out a living adventuring across post-nuclear holocaust America trying to find a better life while dispatching mutants and men by the dozen via blade, bullet, or bludgeon. There’s lots of GUNS and all the women are fucking HOT and the men are fucking GRUFF and the mutants are fucking DEADLY and the characters they encounter have MYSTERIOUS SECRETS which could make them allies or enemies depending on ever-changing circumstances. In short, it RULES. What appears to be the primary structural gimmick of the series- a collection of pre-war fallout shelters with connecting teleportation systems that the team can enter but not necessarily control the destination of- is an outstanding device to create limitless monster-of-the-week potential which allows the lack of meaningful continuity to be easily handwaved. Rarely does a series like this provide such an elegant excuse, and I’m eager to get further in to see what sort of wild bullshit they cook up.
In this case: we’re in the American southwest, where Cawdor’s team encounters a local tribe of American Indians who are in a long-running low-intensity conflict with a group of raiders who have modeled themselves after General George Custer’s army. What follows is what I imagine the entire series is composed of: a tense alliance of convenience, ragged firefights, daring rescues and escapes, and broad yet punchy character moments that merely reiterate what you already know: that the whole team are rough and ready marauders who will do whatever it takes to survive in post-nuclear America and also that the girls in the group have FAT TITS. It goes without saying that this is all excellent. What makes it distinct? Two things, to my mind. First, a broad range of influences reconfigured into the fantasy, from old Westerns to early Cold War spy films to more hardbitten and contemporary (for their time) post-apocalyptic works like Escape From New York or Wasteland, providing a rhythm and atmosphere a bit richer than expected. Second: a lean and rangy sadistic streak that provides the harder edge that you might want from this sort of setting but rarely find. The torture scene toward the end is legitimately nauseating and the absolute willingness to threaten the one adolescent male character with violent gang rape does a lot to set this apart from the pack.
In short, highly recommended for those among us with death metal album art tattoos and/or who believe that only the first two Fallout games are real.
https://hideousrecollection.substack.com
October 17, 2024
I recently took a short vacation, so of course I had to take a couple of my guilty pleasure books along. Pony Soldiers by the ubiquitous Deathlands author James Axler was one.
Never disappointed by a Deathlands title. This go 'round we find the companions in the nuke-restructured Southwest. They encounter a traditional band of Mescalero Apache living/existing in a hidden canyon. Their nemesis? A group of Pony Soldiers led by who appears to be none-other than George Armstrong Custer himself. That is all the spoiler I'm going to give you. You'll have to read the book for how this came to be.
As usual ultra-violent, graphic content. The companions do what they do so well; kicking butt and not taking names. No one left to take a name from.
This is the sixth entry in the Deathlands series, early enough that the final troupe of warrior survivalists is not quite set. It is interesting to witness the evolution of the main character cast. The adventure and action was wild and wooly. A good mix of humor, rage, terror and humanity.
As always, violent escapist reading for the not so squeamish reader. Enjoy!
Mike
Never disappointed by a Deathlands title. This go 'round we find the companions in the nuke-restructured Southwest. They encounter a traditional band of Mescalero Apache living/existing in a hidden canyon. Their nemesis? A group of Pony Soldiers led by who appears to be none-other than George Armstrong Custer himself. That is all the spoiler I'm going to give you. You'll have to read the book for how this came to be.
As usual ultra-violent, graphic content. The companions do what they do so well; kicking butt and not taking names. No one left to take a name from.
This is the sixth entry in the Deathlands series, early enough that the final troupe of warrior survivalists is not quite set. It is interesting to witness the evolution of the main character cast. The adventure and action was wild and wooly. A good mix of humor, rage, terror and humanity.
As always, violent escapist reading for the not so squeamish reader. Enjoy!
Mike
August 4, 2022
I think I will say the same thing about every Deathlands book until I find one that is either better or worse than all the others...
They are an insane (inane?) ride through a post apocalyptic version of the movie Hobbs and Shaw on ketamine with mutants and portals through time and space.
If you're interested in the above description, you will more than likely find something you enjoy in the Deathlands series. They are INCREDIBLY formulaic but I thoroughly enjoy the characters, and most story arcs are interesting enough for me to pick up the next one eventually.
The Graphic Audio versions are superbly made.
I'd probably give most Deathlands books a 3.5/5. Since Goodreads doesn't allow that, I'll give them a 4/5.
They are an insane (inane?) ride through a post apocalyptic version of the movie Hobbs and Shaw on ketamine with mutants and portals through time and space.
If you're interested in the above description, you will more than likely find something you enjoy in the Deathlands series. They are INCREDIBLY formulaic but I thoroughly enjoy the characters, and most story arcs are interesting enough for me to pick up the next one eventually.
The Graphic Audio versions are superbly made.
I'd probably give most Deathlands books a 3.5/5. Since Goodreads doesn't allow that, I'll give them a 4/5.
September 4, 2019
This is a fantastic series, I'm reading it slowly, but I recommend this book.
September 9, 2011
My ratings system is as follows. One star is GOOD. The book is entertaining, easy to read and you don't want to stop reading because something about the book is compelling you not to. Two stars is GREAT! This time the story is not only entertaining, but highly creative, unique, easy to read and hard to put down. Three stars is EXCELLENT. Here the book has all aspects of one and two stars, but now the book is thought and emotionally provoking. Four is AWESOME. This is the read that is not only creative, original and emotionally and utterly captivating, but you are overwhelmed at how talented and skilled the author is in telling you their story. Literary brilliance. Five is PHENOMENAL. This is the book that has all the components of the previous four ratings but leaves that lasting impression. It's the book that changes dramatically your point of view and your interpretation of experiences you or others around you endure.
November 30, 2009
I love when villians come back!
October 18, 2013
The violence gets kicked up a notch and a villain from the past resurfaces. Previews left me to believe that they had journeyed back in time but you quickly find this is not the case.
July 11, 2015
The saga of Ryan Cawdor and his travelers continue with the "Pony Soldiers". This books introduces us to a new character who is also an "old acquaintance" of Ryan, JD, Doc and Kristy's.
January 26, 2016
An average apocalyptic adventure story. This one takes a century after the last war and now there are mutants running around the earth. Recommended
April 30, 2017
You get used to reading about things in postapocalyptic fiction, especially torture. Whew, this one kicked it up a notch, to the point that I felt sick a couple of times.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews