Jurassic Jackaroo: A Hunted Tribe Prequel - Book 1: Jasper’s Junction

The Hunted Tribe #0

by Roma Gray

Cowboys, a Native American Legend and...a Dinosaur? How does the greatest gunslinger of the old west end his career? By hunting a dinosaur animal spirit, of course.

Karl Redgrave has a big plans for his retirement party. He's bringing together the world's greatest criminals, murderers, warriors, and assassins to hunt something worthy of them a highly intelligent, seven-foot tall dinosaur spirit; known to the natives as the Grishla.

Of course, Karl wants only the best on his safari, so he has pitted these men against each other in a deadly contest in an old ghost town, with five winners securing a place in the hunt.

Who will live? Who will win? And if they win, can they survive the final confrontation with the beast?

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2017

About the author

Roma Gray is the author of a multitude of horror short stories, novellas, and novels.

Please check out my series of anthologies, novels, novellas and shorts in the Trick-or-Treat Thrillers series. From horror to ghosts stories to backyard monsters to tales of science fiction, you can count on a variety of topics, all with a Halloween flair.

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Reviews

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay doubters ... I am not a fan of prequels ... going back in time generally makes me roll my eyes. However (comma) I should have known Roma Gray would knock this OUT! Or knock her readers out! This morsel of dinosaur goodness will leave you wanting more ... and you may find yourself re-reading THE HUNTED TRIBE in anticipation of the next installment to this absolute thrillride series.

[BookLoversLife · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved book 1 of this and was excited to listen to the prequel to it. This is almost two short stories that collide together at the end. On one side, we see Jack (Sorry, I can't even begin to spell his Indian name so I'll stick with Jack). Jack belongs to the tribe that the Grishla cursed. His tribe sacrifice people to appease the Grishla, but when his mother is sacrificed, it hits Jack hard. He is too young to do much about it but he's never forgotten or forgiven them for doing it. Now he's grown, he finally gets tired of their ways and when his childhood friend gets offered as the sacrifice, he decides to rescue her and run away. They are hunted by the tribe for their desertion.

On the other side we see Karl Redgrave calling the elite of the hunters, assassins, murders etc, to fight a battle. They are to find 5 Faberge Eggs and whoever finds it will be rewarded. There are no rules so it's a fight to the death for some. Those 5 winners will hunt a very elusive creature, called the Grishla.

Initially when I started reading this, I was quite confused as to what was going on, but once I figured out the two separate stories, I enjoyed this a lot. It wasn't as enjoyable as book 1 but it was close! The plot, as I said, was two separate stories that come together in an unforgettable way at the end. I liked Jack's story the most and really felt for him. His tribe was horrible and it was nice that he found his own path.

The last half of the book was extremely fast paced and intense and made up for the confusion at the start. This is a solid addition to the series and I'm hoping we get book 2 soon!

Terry F. Self had a lot of different tones and voices for the different characters and was easy to listen to, I just found him to be a little unenthusiastic with the reading. A little emotion behind his words would have brought this to life fully!

I was given this free audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

[Bookwyrm Speaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this one on a Facebook audiobook promotions group offering Audible codes for honest reviews. I had a bunch of other books to finish, but the author was local, and the premise interested me, since I have always been fascinated by Native American superstition. I'm glad I took a chance on it, since I discovered a talented author and a fantastic narrator.

In the turn of the turn of the 19th century western US, a retired gunfighter who has more money than he can spend meets a Native man with an interesting story to tell. A story about his tribe, and a curse that brings death from an ancient monster to all that speak of it out loud. An ancient monster his tribe brought about with their shamans' magic and hubris. Right then, part of the roof collapses and the Native runs out of the room, leaving the gunslinger to wonder if what he said was true. Following the native out of the saloon, he finds him, just as he is being slaughtered by a creature of nightmare. Speaking to it, he finds he's not a target, since he hasn't spoken of the monster. This gives him an idea for some excitement in his life, something sorely lacking since he retired.

A bit in the past, we see a young native boy talking to his mother, confused why she is so sad. Turns out, she was supposed to pass her magic on to her children, and since she didn't, well, the tribe wants the magic back from her. They get it back too, in a horrific scene the young boy is forced to watch. Ten years later, a girl he had a crush on when he was younger is about to meet the same fate. Instead, he convinces her to run away with him to the white mans world, where hopefully, the tribe and it's evil wont be able to find them.

A year later, we find them working a ranch with an immigrant Australian couple who moved to the states to start a ranch. They are happy and accepted by all the local townsfolk and church members, and have begun to reconstruct their lives. Then, out of nowhere, the girl is captured by their tribes shamans, who have managed to track them down and need to get her back to complete the sacrifice. The boy and the rancher determine to take off after them and get her back. This leads to a series of misadventures as they try and get her back before they reach the tribe, but things don't quite go as planned.

Meanwhile, in Jasper's Junction, a ghost town the gunslinger had made as a prop, the Gunslinger has invited a bunch of gun fighters, warriors, thieves and assassin's to compete in a hunt in the town for items that, when found, will show their skill and get them into the game of riches the gunslinger has proposed. All they have to do is find one of several Fabergé Eggs recently stolen from the Tsar of Russia's collection, and get them to the saloon. Of course, they have to make it through lethal traps, hired gunmen out to kill them as well as each other, since millions of dollars are on the line and they will all kill anyone in their way. This interesting group of characters is whittled away until only 5 are left, and the gunslinger gives his proposal: Be part of his safari to hunt a mythical monster which he wont give details about to avoid invoking the curse.

Meanwhile, in the mountains, the young native man and woman face their tribe as they are about to do the unspeakable to them. Suddenly, a commotion arises, and the ceremony is disrupted and chaos ensues. In this confusion, the young native man is given an offer of a chance to come out on top if he's willing to make a rather unpalatable deal. Seeing no other choice, he accepts, spinning the future onto its head, and leaving us to ponder where his story will go next.

For a fairly short book, the world building in this one is well done. You get a good feel for where the story takes place, especially Jasper's Junction, which feels like an old west version of the Marvel Comics villain Arcade's Murderworld, only competent in killing people. The characters are well executed, with their motivations and actions feeling natural and organic to who they are and what they have experienced. The villain, if you can call an ancient spirit monster a villain, is excellent, keeping hidden and only striking when the moment is right, and it's final appearance turns the whole story topsy-turvy. The whole thing feels like a combination of Grimdark weird west mixed with the inventions and adventures of Wild, Wild West. All we needed was Robert Conrad to make a cameo to make the whole thing perfect.

Narration was handled by Terry F. Self, who did a fantastic job both bringing the characters to life and keeping the narration flowing. He avoided trop accents for the natives and foreign characters, taking a nuance approach. His change of tones, inflections and emphasis definitely differentiated each character, and he is definitely a reason to consider checking this book out.

[Melissa Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've listened to a fair amount of stories by Roma Gray. Usually, it seems to be a hit or miss for me. On that note, this was a really good pre-story to book 1 of this series, although I'm not sure how it connects or meets up with book 1.

Anyways, as always, Terry F. Self does a great job as a narrator!

Questions/Comments:

Katwon (?) had been traveling for a while, so obviously he would stink. But why would he smell like fish exactly?

I was a little confused when the "killers" were in Carl's town. The first guy (forgot his name) and his assistant hadn't heard about the rules yet, although everyone seemed to have. Why was that? For example, one of the guys ends up telling another that "Carl said if you get a shot, take it." So when did Carl go over the rules?

Why did Jack end up thinking/telling Andy that because the red magical guys from the altar are alive, they must be intelligent? That just seemed like a questionable thing to say considering not all things alive are intelligent. Just saying.

[M.L. Sparrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog at http://mlsparrow.wix.com/mlsparrow

Wow, I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did, for no particular reason other than horror isn't usually my first choice to read, however, it was fast paced and I was hooked right from the get-go. Personally, I'm not sure I'd class it as a horror, but then this is only a prequel and there is plenty of time in the next book to work up to the scare factor! I also thought the back story about the tribe was interesting and the ending made me I look forward to the next instalment to see what twists and turns occur and how the story progresses.

[Dona Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jurassic Jackaroo: Book 1: Jasper’s Junction could be called a western, but it’s so much more, this is about people, greed, pride, puzzles, a quest and a hero, and it’s really well written. The story grabs you from the first page and refuses to let you go, indeed you don’t want to go, it’s one of those stories that leaves you wanting to read more at the end.

[Jim McDowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best Western-Dinosaur book/tape on the market!! :) Certainly a niche category, but a good one. I completely enjoyed this and will look for this author again.
I received a free copy in exchange for a honest review. I would have been satisfied and happy even if I had paid for it.
Never a dull minute.

[S.K. Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

A prequel to the Hunted Tribe, the book follows a group of killers and a tribe member as they try to outwit the Grishla. This was an enjoyable read and added to the series. Good fun. Highly recommended.

[Joyce Grubb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique horror story

A horror story about a tribe that wanted all the power, but it turned back on them in an large animal type. But the the real Monster is the people them selves.

[Bud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prequel but very good. I enjoyed this story as much as the original book. Never heard this reader Terry F. before (except with Roma’s stories) but thought he was really good and makes Roma’s books come alive. Good lead in the the hunted tribe