Sixkiller, U.S. Marshal

Sixkiller: US Marshal #1

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

THE GREATEST WESTERN WRITERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
 
In his powerful bestsellers, William W. Johnstone captures the passion and fury of the untamed west. Now, inspired by one of America’s most legendary lawmen, he makes history come alive—with a vengeance…
 
THEY CALLED HIM SIXKILLER  
He was born in the Going Snake District of the Cherokee Nation—and forged a destiny as bold as his name. John Henry Sixkiller was as fearless as they come. He fought in the 2nd Cherokee Mounted Rifles, his father’s regiment during the Civil War. Served with the Longhorse Police in Indian territory upholding the law among five tribes in a time of violence and change. But now, Sixkiller faces his greatest challenge yet. As a U.S. marshal, he must take on the most notorious outlaws the west has ever seen. Horse thieves who kill without conscience. Train robbers who terrorize the railways. And one ruthless enemy whose bloody reign of fear would bring Sixkiller to the ultimate showdown.
 
His name means justice. His story is America’s.

Genres: Westerns

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 26, 2016

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

[Phillip · Rating 2 out of 5]

William Johnstone, while alive, was one of the great western writers. Today, his books are written by a relative (J.A. Johnstone) and a litany of ghost writers, some of whom are better than others. Unfortunately, this wasn't written by one of the better ones. I've read several of the novels that WERE written by Johnstone, and they are far better novels in content and execution. I've read that the current stories coming out of this western-writer-novel-mill were ideas discovered by his estate, but ideas are one thing...a great work of literature is quite another.

That said, I accept these current novels for what they are, and I have read and will continue to read them, as I am invested in many of the characters, like Flintlock, Shawn O'Brien, and, here, John Henry Sixkiller (great name, by the way). I like that Sixkiller's past is explored well, with just enough background info to give us insight into what makes him who he is. I liked that often, unnecessary details are eliminated, and the chapters flow from one event to the other. What I don't like is the rather disjointed narrative structure. The first half of the book reads more like a short story collection of Sixkiller's adventures while going from a cattle rancher to a US Marshall. I can see why the author(s) included these adventures, but most of them don't connect to the overall plot of the story, except to provide the gunfighting which--let's all admit it--we read these westerns for in the first place. Sixkiller certainly confronts his share of bad guys, but once again, as I've mentioned in other reviews of the authors of these novels, other than mentioning "the bullet struck so and so in the chest and he went down," the description of the violence is just pathetically inept and lacking. I am not into gratuitous violence, but when the "bad guy" is getting his comeuppance at the end, I deserve more than "he was shot in the head." Frankly, though for some time Johnstone was my favorite western writer, I now have to place Louis L'Amour in the top slot. The revenge is far more satisfying in his stories, particularly his Kilkenny trilogy. Another author whose westerns are well written and rewarding is Ralph Cotton. Now, I'll continue with the remaining five books in this series, only because I like and respect Sixkiller, and I'm hopeful that the future novels in the series will be more cohesive around a single plot and "bad guy" whose exploits are as detailed as his death, as he dies in vengeful ignominy. I remain hopeful, but I'm not holding my breath.

[William Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a good book. It talks about the indian territory and how the railroad run thru the West.Then you had the outlaws.A U.S.Marshall by the of sixkiller,who was half Whiteman and half Cherokee.Sixkiller would always do what is right,but don't cross him.Because you will be the one to die.

[Michael Sigler · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5
When I first read a William W. Johnstone book, I couldn't put it down. This book I couldn't wait to be over. I've learned a grave lesson with this novel: DON'T read Johnstone books that are written by J.A. Johnstone, after William's death.
This book reads like a poorly written YA western, with flat characters that are hard to care about and boring action that is easy to glaze over. The plot, a random and poorly written string of short jobs catching outlaws, only comes to a head 3 pages before the end.
John Henry Sixkiller, loosely based on real life half-Indian American lawman Samuel Sixkiller (he's actually referred to as Sam a few times in the book by mistake), is a quarter as interesting as his real life counterpart.
I won't be continuing this series, nor will I be reading any William W. Johnstone books written by his nephew.

[Brandy Sixkiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book based off the life of my great great grandpa.

[Barbara Lee Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

TRYING TO OUTSMART U.S. MARSHAL SIXKILLER

Lets start with the "Indian Removal Act" which was the beginning of"The Trail Of Tears "for the Five Tribes which were located in North Carolina, Georgia,Alabama, Mississippi. This is the beginning for John Henry Sixkiller's life. His mother who was white and his father Cherokee, James and Elizabeth Sixkiller were the parents of John Henry Sixkiller.
The author included a lot of information regarding how people the Native Americans were treated and in my opinion hasn't ended. All this mistreatment including The Indian Removal Act was an enactment of them President Andrew Jackson, who was still angry 😠 with Congress regarding the defeat of The Civil War, just keep in mind that Andrew Jackson was also elected President of the Confederacy..
John Henry Sixkiller father was murdered by a would be Indian robber, who John Henry Sixkiller trailed and shot him. John Henry Sixkiller is illustrated as an educated individual who believes in the law, even though he faces continual racism as he carries out his job of United States Marshal, this was bestowed on John Henry Sixkiller by the infamous "Hanging Judge Isaac Parker." That gave John Henry Sixkiller the authority to arrest white men. John Henry Sixkiller belonged to the Indian Police in the Indian Territories, they had no authority to arrest white men who headed to the Territories to escape the possess that were chasing them for bank robberies, murder or whatever lawless acts they performed.
United States Marshal John Henry Sixkiller can now make arrest in any state or Territories.
This is a great adventure featuring United States Marshal John Henry Sixkiller and his tracking skills and dedication and respect for the law. If you break the law, United States Marshal John Henry Sixkiller doesn't care what color you are, he will track you down..you can bet on that!!

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed several books later in the series, so I came back to where it started. The book begins with the story of his parents and proceeds to the point he became a U.S. Marshal. It covers many of his experiences until he is sent by the Judge to insure no problems in a railroad being built into the Nations. There he will confront a childhood adversary. Johnstone really only completely develops one character, but it has a good plot and a lot of action.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have been great. The actual story is so full of potential and Marshall Sixkiller, a real person, should have made for a great story. However, this book was bland and dry, the characters felt emotionless, there were breaks in the story line that were not needed and distracted from what was happening. It's sad that I found the information from internet searches more fascinating than the storytelling in this book. It wasn't that I couldn't find anything good but the flaws were so glaring that I just couldn't enjoy the book. I am glad though that I read the book because it introduced me to a fascinating man and history that was not known to me before. I want to know know more of this man and the part he played in our history. I guess in that respect alone I am grateful to the author.

[Jon Rodgers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best Johnstone book I have read. Almost like two people were writing. The descriptive parts of the book were very good, but the dialogue was poor. Who ever wrote the dialogue was poor. They made a bunch of cowboys talk like they were prim and proper matrons at a New York City tea social.

[Kenneth jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great work of historical fiction on the American west

I love the characters the author has created from Ben Raines to Matt Jensen but this character Sixkiller counts as another great hero. His westerns show the dangers and the triumphs of those who settled the west and those heroes who chose to do right and brought law and order in the midst of disorder

[Elwin Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my introduction to Johnstone books and in spite of a couple of issues, I am hooked and plan to read more. The main issue I have is separating real from fictional characters, which I can live with. As I read more issues I will maybe get more critical in my reviews.

[larry brashear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Western!

A truly wonderful gripping tale of yesteryear! The good guy wins. Every one of this Author's books literally can not be put down.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book hard to get into. Maybe I need more time with the hero, as he is a real, historic person.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the next book

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting characters and history of American Indians and history of railroads but not one of his better written stories. Seems a jumble of stories slapped together hodgepodge.

[Jacob Middaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

William W. Johnstone has brought my interest in reading back. I true western novel that I enjoyed and hope may other's do as well.

[James Shipma · Rating 5 out of 5]

cliche gunslingers. quippy one-liners. incredible read, highly recommend.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Henry Sixkiller became a Cherokee policeman in the Indian Territory by circumstance. His father, a Cherokee(his mother a white), and he had sold a small herd of cattle and his father had gone to the bank to get the cash for the deal. Leaving the bank, he was shot from behind and robbed. Witnesses identified the killer, a half breed. John Henry got himself appointed a policeman to make it legal and went after his father's killer.

He rose through the ranks to become the chief.

He became a U. S. Marshal by happenstance as well.

As a Cherokee policeman, he had no authority over whites. But when an outlaw band killed four men, a woman, and a little girl robbing the bank, he went after them. They wouldn't be arrested and he had to kill them defending himself.

Judge Parker in Fort Smith appointed him a Marshall, retroactive by a month, and he worked that job for a few years.

Then he got the assignment to watch over the two railroads in a race to lay track to the Indian Territory. The winner got to build a line through the Cherokee lands in the territory to Texas and the millions of dollars that would come their way. The loser would likely die , the business crumbling.

Parker expected trouble.

But their was also a third party that was stirring up trouble between the two railroads, destroying equipment, pulling up track, wrecking trains, and blaming each side.

And leading the bunch was an old enemy of John Henry's.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a very good enry as a new series from the Johsntone Clan. It's a bit over long. Seems it could have been broken up since this is still another Johnstone series. Despite the minor criticism of length, this book is head and shoulders above most all other contemporary books involving being over long. At least it's a well written and not excessive over long. The story fills in well.

Please see my review of 'The American' by Andrew Britton that i read just before this book. The writing in this book is very, very good. The one thing that has the Johnstone Clan series of books stand out is the writing of the characters. You can hear the distinctive voices of the characters. The dialogue if excellent. So are the actions of the characters. Something missing in most contemporary writing today. Have to wonder if the P.C. culture that has that happening?

Bottom line: I recommend this book.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

You should not miss this book. It lays out the life of John Henry from a child in the nations, thru the civil war, head of the Indian Police and into his new life as a US Marshall. John Henry Sixkiller is a soft spoken solid man who does his job with a sure and steady hand and an analytic brain. This puts him far and above most of the men he goes up against. He is ready and willing to track and shoot down injustice and has the determination to see it thru. This is the new hero in town.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I have not read any westerns since Louis L'Amour stories over 20 years ago. Perhaps a real fan of the genre would have enjoyed this more. It struck me as a collection of stories with the same hero. The characters were stereotypes and I never really connected with them. Not a bad book, but I don't care to read more.

[Frank Haggerty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on a Goodreads Giveaway. This was the first Western I read in over 20 years! I really enjoyed the story. The characters are well developed and the action is not-stop. The authors have painted a picture of the old west that is inspiring. I will surely read the next book in this enjoyable series.

[Bryan Thomas Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Western, good characters but not as flawed as they could be nor are the obstacles what they could be. Sixkiller is too good to ever risk defeat and thus I was left feeling less satisfied ultimately, especially with an abrupt, rushed as usual final confrontation.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, solid Western. Lots of action, average writing.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read many novels by this author and this is another good one. I will recommend this book to everyone.

[E. C. Swartout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painkiller, U.S. Marshal

This was a very good book. The author did a good job of keeping the story moving and entertaining. Recommended you read it.