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Dark Trails Saga
Scavengers: A Porter Rockwell Adventure
An untouchable gunslinger. A lost hoard of gold. A host of brutal adversaries. What could possibly go wrong?
Deputy Marshal Porter Rockwell can't be harmed by a bullet or a blade. As long as he never cuts his hair, Rockwell is free to right wrongs and chase criminals without worrying about the consequences. But when he learns about a map to a mysterious cache of gold, he's embroiled in a battle for the treasure with enemies lining up on every side.
As outlaws, villains, and a surprisingly formidable Ute chieftain stand between the Deputy Marshall and the gold, bullet and blade might not be what finally take Rockwell down. It could be plain old bad luck...
Scavengers is a Western with colorful characters and wit straight out of a Tarantino flick. If you like mixing horror with your pulp, strong and admirable heroes, and weird Westerns, then you'll love the first book in David J. West's Porter Rockwell series.
Buy Scavengers to join the hunt for gold today!
Deputy Marshal Porter Rockwell can't be harmed by a bullet or a blade. As long as he never cuts his hair, Rockwell is free to right wrongs and chase criminals without worrying about the consequences. But when he learns about a map to a mysterious cache of gold, he's embroiled in a battle for the treasure with enemies lining up on every side.
As outlaws, villains, and a surprisingly formidable Ute chieftain stand between the Deputy Marshall and the gold, bullet and blade might not be what finally take Rockwell down. It could be plain old bad luck...
Scavengers is a Western with colorful characters and wit straight out of a Tarantino flick. If you like mixing horror with your pulp, strong and admirable heroes, and weird Westerns, then you'll love the first book in David J. West's Porter Rockwell series.
Buy Scavengers to join the hunt for gold today!
- GenresFiction
266 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 24, 2017
115 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 23, 2017
This book is the best western I’ve ever read. The characters are varied and easily distinguishable. Every setting pops out at you and feels recognizable as so very western. Action is overflowing and the tension is constant, not a boring part in the entire book. There is a natural flow to the whole piece that feels like an old spaghetti western movie, back when movies were fun to watch. It feels like you’re really there, walking with the characters. This author knows what he’s doing and he does it with exquisite talent.
One star is taken off because the book suffers from tremendous punctuation and editing problems. It got distracting, and I had to read passages multiple times to get the meaning. Imagine having a delicious meal at a gourmet restaurant, but the waitress interrupts you after every bite. It feels like reading a really fun rough draft of the novel that should have been released. The author has issued a statement that he’s planning to fix this and address it going forward with a new setup. If he fixes that, this book deserves 5 stars.
I love this author. He is fast becoming one of my top 3 authors for sheer fun and immersive storytelling. If he gets a stronger editing team, he’ll be a real contender for the top spot. I wish they’d turn his works into movies and tv shows, I’d watch them in a heartbeat.
One star is taken off because the book suffers from tremendous punctuation and editing problems. It got distracting, and I had to read passages multiple times to get the meaning. Imagine having a delicious meal at a gourmet restaurant, but the waitress interrupts you after every bite. It feels like reading a really fun rough draft of the novel that should have been released. The author has issued a statement that he’s planning to fix this and address it going forward with a new setup. If he fixes that, this book deserves 5 stars.
I love this author. He is fast becoming one of my top 3 authors for sheer fun and immersive storytelling. If he gets a stronger editing team, he’ll be a real contender for the top spot. I wish they’d turn his works into movies and tv shows, I’d watch them in a heartbeat.
April 25, 2017
Larry, Curley, & Moesha?
Wild and crazy story, but I loved it! Humor in serious situations is always needed! Great collection of characters with only one thing on their minds! Gold or survival!!!
Wild and crazy story, but I loved it! Humor in serious situations is always needed! Great collection of characters with only one thing on their minds! Gold or survival!!!
February 19, 2017
I don't read many westerns but if you ask me this book has Larry Mcmurtry written all over it. The only difference being it is not as vulgar has been recently. Don't get me wrong their is some wild and crazy stuff in here but it stays within the bounds of a PG 13 movie. (unless you have a more vivid imagination than I do) It isn't epic by any stretch of the imagination . It is just plain fun. This is the kind of a book that you read for the dialogue and the crazy characters like in a Wodehouse novel. Nobody remembers the plots of any Jeeves and wooster novel but the reader holds them in high esteem because they just make you smile to even think about them. I feel the same way after reading this. I will probably remember some of the incidents for a long time. Having grown up on the Ute reservation I did see that the author hasn't quite nailed down their culture. I didn't see a single Ute Indian character say "A" or "unut" anyone who has been around them knows that those are their two most favorite words in the world. Perhaps he will incorporate my cultural knowledge of the Ute tribe into his next book. : )
February 24, 2017
David J. West is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors as he writes in a genre which almost no one else I know does in the Weird West. I played a lot of Deadlands over the years and DJW manages to capture a lot of that setting's spirit even if it's closer to history. The first Porter Rockwell novel is surprising, thus, since it's more of a straight Western than anything involving Cthulhu or other supernatural events. Instead, it is a treasure hunt which reminds me of the movie "Three Kings" crossed with the Indiana Jones movies.
Porter Rockwell is a great main character, being a Mormon bounty hunter who believes he's blessed by God with immortality. Whether he is or not, he has outstanding luck and a badass nature which gives him an advantage against the virtual army of thieves and murderers which he faces in this book. Joining him on his latest quest, an unwilling search for ancient Native American gold, are Quincy and Roxy. Quincy is a educated Black man doing his best to survive in a West that hates him and Roxy is a runaway Mormon prophet's daughter turned card sharp.
I enjoyed the supporting cast a great deal with Quincy being a man struggling hard for respect but aware he's only going to get it from a small number of people. He's also a guy who is sweet on Roxy and finds out it may be reciprocated but she is aware it will simply be a nightmare to pursue it so she's turned her attention elsewhere. Roxy is also an independent woman who is pragmatic to know that will require lying, cheating, and stealing but also flattering to avoid getting something unmentionable to happen to her. Roxy reminds me a bit of Jodie Foster's character in Maverick and that's not a bad thing. Porter Rockwell, himself, really doesn't want to get involved with any of this nonsense but gets dragged along as the straight man--and works very well in that role.
Events start very small with Porter tracking down a horse, gun, and pie thief only to end up in a massive miniature war between Native Americans, US calvary, and a gigantic gang of outlaws. I loved every minute of this book and think other readers will too.
Porter Rockwell is a great main character, being a Mormon bounty hunter who believes he's blessed by God with immortality. Whether he is or not, he has outstanding luck and a badass nature which gives him an advantage against the virtual army of thieves and murderers which he faces in this book. Joining him on his latest quest, an unwilling search for ancient Native American gold, are Quincy and Roxy. Quincy is a educated Black man doing his best to survive in a West that hates him and Roxy is a runaway Mormon prophet's daughter turned card sharp.
I enjoyed the supporting cast a great deal with Quincy being a man struggling hard for respect but aware he's only going to get it from a small number of people. He's also a guy who is sweet on Roxy and finds out it may be reciprocated but she is aware it will simply be a nightmare to pursue it so she's turned her attention elsewhere. Roxy is also an independent woman who is pragmatic to know that will require lying, cheating, and stealing but also flattering to avoid getting something unmentionable to happen to her. Roxy reminds me a bit of Jodie Foster's character in Maverick and that's not a bad thing. Porter Rockwell, himself, really doesn't want to get involved with any of this nonsense but gets dragged along as the straight man--and works very well in that role.
Events start very small with Porter tracking down a horse, gun, and pie thief only to end up in a massive miniature war between Native Americans, US calvary, and a gigantic gang of outlaws. I loved every minute of this book and think other readers will too.
March 13, 2018
“It’s a hard thing to be a living legend. To be told by a prophet of God that if you never cut your hair no bullet nor blade can harm you. True enough, in some twenty-five since the night he had received that unusual blessing it had been absolutely correct. Blessed like Samson of old, Porter was promised incredible things and so far, they had proved one hundred percent correct. Porter bore no scars on his rangy body at all. And it wasn’t like he didn’t spend his life in the thick of things. He had been a scout, frontiersman, bodyguard and now lawman all without a single wound. But he still found himself ducking and dodging and fighting his way out of scraps. He didn’t stand around and let himself get hit, no sir. That’d be like tempting fate, and Porter wasn’t about to do that.”
I didn’t realize that Porter Rockwell was a real historical personage until I opened up this book. He was, and he lived a fascinating life. He has to rank pretty high on a list of people criminally underappreciated by the Western genre (along with Bass Reeves).
West has Porter caught up in a hunt for buried treasure that may or may not be cursed.
West writes with a good voice for a Western. Muscular. Laconic. Understated.
“‘You’d be surprised,’ answered Porter, ‘at what a little blood loss can do to a monster.’”
Porter Rockwell is an outlaw turned lawman. Running a fugitive down gets Porter caught up in the aforementioned hunt for buried treasure. A treasure that everyone from outlaws to bandits to cavalrymen to Utes are chasing. Porter falls in mainly with a black cavalryman named Quincy, and Roxy, a runaway with a magic faro table.
There weren’t as many SF aspects as I expected or hoped for. There is a buried treasure that may or may not be cursed, that is protected in any event by some Indiana Jones-style traps. There is a magic faro table and Porter may or may not be protected by God. Not that I don’t like stories that play around at the speculative edges, but I was a little thrown off just because it wasn’t quite what I expected.
But that is criticizing a story for what it isn’t rather than what it is. What it is is a fun weird western yarn that Robert E. Howard would have been proud of—or at least been happy to sell.
I didn’t realize that Porter Rockwell was a real historical personage until I opened up this book. He was, and he lived a fascinating life. He has to rank pretty high on a list of people criminally underappreciated by the Western genre (along with Bass Reeves).
West has Porter caught up in a hunt for buried treasure that may or may not be cursed.
West writes with a good voice for a Western. Muscular. Laconic. Understated.
“‘You’d be surprised,’ answered Porter, ‘at what a little blood loss can do to a monster.’”
Porter Rockwell is an outlaw turned lawman. Running a fugitive down gets Porter caught up in the aforementioned hunt for buried treasure. A treasure that everyone from outlaws to bandits to cavalrymen to Utes are chasing. Porter falls in mainly with a black cavalryman named Quincy, and Roxy, a runaway with a magic faro table.
There weren’t as many SF aspects as I expected or hoped for. There is a buried treasure that may or may not be cursed, that is protected in any event by some Indiana Jones-style traps. There is a magic faro table and Porter may or may not be protected by God. Not that I don’t like stories that play around at the speculative edges, but I was a little thrown off just because it wasn’t quite what I expected.
But that is criticizing a story for what it isn’t rather than what it is. What it is is a fun weird western yarn that Robert E. Howard would have been proud of—or at least been happy to sell.
February 26, 2022
I love a good western. If you throw in an aspect of weirdness to it (i.e. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, etc.) and you really get my attention. David J. West got my attention.
Porter Rockwell is a man on a mission, a mission of justice. He is tasked with bringing in Dirty Birdie McCurdie. McCurdie has a secret, one of a hoard of gold written on a bone map. Rockwell does not believe in the gold or the map and destroys it. The problem is there are other factions that DO believe in the gold and are willing to kill for it. Rockwell, along with his compatriots Quincy Jackson and Roxy Lejeune are engaged in finding the gold. The problem is keeping their heads on the shoulders and blood intact until they find it and after.
As a western, this book is excellent. The addition of the weird makes it even better. The pacing in the book is consistent and makes the pages literally fly by. There is action and blood aplenty and gold. Yes, there is gold. Who gets the gold, in the end, is the driving question that makes the book fly faster.
I did have a couple of problems. The first was misplaced punctuation, mostly quotation marks. The second problem I had was the hero was just a bit too heroic, in the sense that nothing harmed him even though there was plenty of time to get harmed. Also, the hero came up with plans that, for the most part, only he could handle. It would have been nice to see his compatriots pitch in at least seventy-five percent of the time.
All in all I give this 4 bookmarks out of 5.
Porter Rockwell is a man on a mission, a mission of justice. He is tasked with bringing in Dirty Birdie McCurdie. McCurdie has a secret, one of a hoard of gold written on a bone map. Rockwell does not believe in the gold or the map and destroys it. The problem is there are other factions that DO believe in the gold and are willing to kill for it. Rockwell, along with his compatriots Quincy Jackson and Roxy Lejeune are engaged in finding the gold. The problem is keeping their heads on the shoulders and blood intact until they find it and after.
As a western, this book is excellent. The addition of the weird makes it even better. The pacing in the book is consistent and makes the pages literally fly by. There is action and blood aplenty and gold. Yes, there is gold. Who gets the gold, in the end, is the driving question that makes the book fly faster.
I did have a couple of problems. The first was misplaced punctuation, mostly quotation marks. The second problem I had was the hero was just a bit too heroic, in the sense that nothing harmed him even though there was plenty of time to get harmed. Also, the hero came up with plans that, for the most part, only he could handle. It would have been nice to see his compatriots pitch in at least seventy-five percent of the time.
All in all I give this 4 bookmarks out of 5.
September 5, 2017
David J. West continues to challenge his story writing abilities and we're all the better for it. After walking, running, and haranguing Porter Rockwell through various adventures of the Weird West, West now brings us a novel length work which - for the most part - is a straight-up Western featuring the stalwart hero.
Rockwell finds himself caught up in the hunt for lost treasure. He makes a few friends along the way but mostly he is beset by enemies - hostile Natives, criminal gangs, a bandito army, a U.S. cavalry unit lead by an unscrupulous officer, and a manic German reverend with brainwashed followers.
Rockwell needs his guns, wits, strength and fortitude to blaze his way through adventure, enemies and traps. There are some great mental images I had while reading. West provides terrain descriptions that come to life, too. Porter is often out of the frying pan and into the fire as the cliffhanger action keeps the story moving along at a brisk pace.
The only touch of 'weird' here is the Reverend's mushroom-tainted communion drink and lost Spanish treasure. The rest is a Western, with a healthy dose of spaghetti-Western, at that.
If you like action-driven Westerns, you should give SCAVENGERS a read!
Rockwell finds himself caught up in the hunt for lost treasure. He makes a few friends along the way but mostly he is beset by enemies - hostile Natives, criminal gangs, a bandito army, a U.S. cavalry unit lead by an unscrupulous officer, and a manic German reverend with brainwashed followers.
Rockwell needs his guns, wits, strength and fortitude to blaze his way through adventure, enemies and traps. There are some great mental images I had while reading. West provides terrain descriptions that come to life, too. Porter is often out of the frying pan and into the fire as the cliffhanger action keeps the story moving along at a brisk pace.
The only touch of 'weird' here is the Reverend's mushroom-tainted communion drink and lost Spanish treasure. The rest is a Western, with a healthy dose of spaghetti-Western, at that.
If you like action-driven Westerns, you should give SCAVENGERS a read!
December 8, 2017
This one is more a straight-up Western, versus a creepy supernatural story. Previously I read the author's short stories and novellas, which are lively and entertaining. This book is too long in my opinion. It does have its weird aspects and the characters are interesting and always do the unexpected, as with all West's books I read so far. I suppose West will get better at long form books, I certainly plan to keep reading.
August 19, 2018
Violent western with just a bit of supernatural
Lots of cowboy action, lots of shooting, lots of the good old west. Very cinematic and I can see this easily becoming a movie. At times the hero was almost too lucky and far too smart to get captured/trapped like he did...felt almost like the author needed a convenient way for Porter to get captured...but in the end the story came to gain a nice fashion.
Lots of cowboy action, lots of shooting, lots of the good old west. Very cinematic and I can see this easily becoming a movie. At times the hero was almost too lucky and far too smart to get captured/trapped like he did...felt almost like the author needed a convenient way for Porter to get captured...but in the end the story came to gain a nice fashion.
December 25, 2017
First story that I have read from DJ West
Good story telling. Porter Rockwell is one of my favorite people to read about. Dropped one star because it was just a smidge unbelievable but it is fiction and that is ok.
Good story telling. Porter Rockwell is one of my favorite people to read about. Dropped one star because it was just a smidge unbelievable but it is fiction and that is ok.
February 20, 2020
Not your average Western
Look out Solomon Kane there's a new sheriff in town! Definitely along the pulp line in it's telling. I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to read more.
Look out Solomon Kane there's a new sheriff in town! Definitely along the pulp line in it's telling. I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to read more.
February 14, 2017
Ghosts and tall tales
This was hard to get into but very different from most western stories. More trouble than most could possible get. Two men and a woman
This was hard to get into but very different from most western stories. More trouble than most could possible get. Two men and a woman
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews