Blood Bond

Blood Bond #1

by William W. Johnstone

In the years since Matt Bodine saved Sam Two Wolves' life, the bond between these bloodbrothers becomes legendary, until General George Custer's war on Indians comes to Little Big Horn River and forces the two to choose sides. Reprint.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1989

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

[Daniel]

4.5 stars ...

Ooooweeee doggie! These Johnstones sure know how to spin a yarn ... and with 800+ books in their repertoire, I'll be enjoyin' them for quite a spell! This is about as good as "western" historical fiction gets! 👍😁👍

[Craig]

This was the first in what became a long-running series of Western novels. It introduces Matt Bodine and Sam Two Wolves, who become blood brothers after Matt saves Sam's life. The pair have some entertaining adventures, and both characters are drawn with depth and humor. Their bond is tested when General Custer makes his stand on the river. The historical element is nicely introduced, but the pace is slow compared to the subsequent books. Still, it's a good, early Western in the Johnstone library.

[Doug Phillips]

William Johnstone continues to entertain with his legion of work. This book is no exception, with an interesting creation of characters that include Caucasian and Native American protagonists. As seems to be an aspect of Johnstone's books, there is violence - but only so much as to seem realistic for the time and places.

Without giving too much away, the book has an interesting historical fiction element tied to the Battle of Little Bighorn. While it is a risk to invoke too much history that fits the narrative, Johnstone does a decent job without the story progression seeming contrived.

As Book #1 in this series, I look forward to reading more in the series. With the continued titles being created by the author's nephew, I could fill many months reading these westerns.

[Miranda]

Pretty good

I debated. Between a 3 and 4 star rating, then erred on the generous end.

Overall, this was a pretty good book. I enjoyed the characters, and the plot more pretty smoothly. I felt this book had really good imagery and (though I may be a poor judge since westerns aren't a typical genre for me) I felt like it had all the markers of a "classic western". I can't speak much on the historical accuracy. I'd have to do some fact checking, that I frankly don't want to do.

If you enjoy westerns, this would be a good one. It's a quick read. It is a little graphic in terms of violence, but not horribly so. There's also quite a bit of language, so I wouldn't recommend this for younger than about junior high level.

[Nolan]

The story has some historical fiction with the Battle of Little Bighorn. Matt and Sam are somewhat in and around that.

One part of the story Matt and Sam go to a town to get supplies since they are running out of food and run into trouble. Once the trouble is over, they leave and go home without getting any supplies.

[Kevin Jackson]

Listen to what other people tell you.

This author has a great way of portraying the characters in the story. Matt and same really made me laugh with their antics. What a great story.

[Richard Guerrero]

I have read a couple of books with Bodine and his blood brother Sam Two Wolves years back and I thought this was one of them. It was not, great book and story. They are two of my favorite characters. Serious and some good humor. One of my favorite western series.

[David]

I have always enjoyed books about the cowboy days of the American West. This is a nice pit of cotton candy for the brain.

[Al Collier]

For the beginning of a series this is slow and dull but lays good groundwork for the rest. The rest of the series with only two books are much MUCH better.

[Joshua Bunnell]

I love every Johnstone I have picked up to read and blood bond is no different. I will definitely be reading the read of this series.

[Susan1566]

Enjoyable quick read. Typical Johnstown read - good vs bad, lots of action, not necessarily accurate but that doesn’t matter

[Kevin C]

1st in a long series. Matt and Sam riding in the Old West around the time of Custer's Last Stand. Good story. Any Civil War era fiction fan will enjoy this immensely!!!

[Peter Wright]

Plenty of western action. A fun diversion

[Derrick]

I've read a few of the Blood Bond's already, but never the first one. It was nice to finally hear the beginning. I enjoyed that Matt Bodine was a little more quicker to pull the trigger and not taking crap from anyone compared to later ones where he's a bit more peaceful.

[Dennis F. Hyde]

Blood Bond Book 1

Another great read from a super writer of the o!d west. Frank Morgan is a most capable gunfighter filled with compassion to a degree. Never one to run from a fight, but always tries to avoid trouble. All you western fans will enjoy this story so "giddy up."

[Tara Hall]

This is the first book in the Blood Bond Series. I had read several of the series books before, and was glad this came back into print, as I always wanted to read the first book to find out the whole story of the two blood brothers that is alluded to in each sequel. Great western storytelling, with just the right amount of blood and battle, great dialogue and a lot of historical facts scattered in for an authentic feel. A keeper I'll read over, for sure! my only criticism is that there were more than a handful of typos, mostly missing beginning quotation marks, which made me have to reread sections to find out where characters switched from thinking something to saying it aloud. But still a story I would recommend!

[Eff]

I absolutely love this book. A copy of it is on my shelf at all times. William W. Johnstone does an absolutely marvolous job describing the old west and the cowboys and outlaws who ruled it. This novel dipicts the begining story of two young men, Matt Bodine and Sam Two Wolves, and who they impacted the lives of all whom they met. This first novel touches on how and why they became the wandering cowboys the readers read of in later books. It tells of Matt and Sam's fight with society, both the white man's and the Native American's, their fights with each other, and which culminates in the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

[Mason Smith]

this book is about two young men they are in their 20s. sam two wolves is a native american and matt is a white that comes from a big ranch. they became blood brothers after matt saved sam's life when they were 12 years old. the book is about custers last stand. and how the native americans are being push off their land.

i really liked this book mostly because i like westerns. but i liked that they are like real brothers and even though they fight some time they still love each other. it makes me think about me and my brothers.

[Carol]

This is one of the westerns that give you the impression that it will be the same old same old and then it gets a little more into the characters, who you want to love by the time they get through the childhood part of the book.

I have read this book so many time that I have multiple copies. If you like westerns that are about the relationships rather than romance, you will like this one.

[Darlene]

It was so good, I read the whole series and would love to find another like it. Great buddy story set in the old west on the Front Range where I live, so town, river, mountain, and regional names are familiar. The funny parts endear the characters and I would love to meet these brothers anytime.

[Jamie Uribe]

I try to push myself to finish this book but I couldn't. I like the writing style and the story. But I just cant get past the slowness of the story. I tried to finish, but I dint want to push myself to much.

[rick incremona]

Yewhaw

Loved this one. Excellent characters, decent historical fiction, and oddly enough no one in this story knew Preacher, or the jensens. I will absolutely keep reading along!


This time around I did the graphic audio version and wow that was good

[Stephen Moore]

Love it!

[Little Timmy]

Another good western series by Johnstone. This one follows the adventures of two brothers as they travel the old west. Recommended

[Rob Smith, Jr.]

Another retelling of the story of Custer. This time with the Johnstone Clan's first part of the Blood Blonde series. It's pretty accurate and the inclusion of the fictional characters are well done.

The duo, being written as half-brothers, is the best part of the tale as the writing well depicts brotherhood, however it is formed. From mild disagreements to the complexity of romantic entanglements. Just another example where the Johnstone Clan well creates characters.

Plotting of the entire book is even, which can be tough to do while balancing true events. The battles are pretty standard Western gun fights and indian battles. The Custard affair becomes a countdown to it's ultimate end.

Bottom line: I recommend this book: 7 out of ten points.