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Sawbones #1
Sawbones
VENGEANCE WITH A SCALPEL
On the blood-stained battlefields of a divided nation, Dr. Samuel Knight used his surgical skills to treat wounded Confederate soldiers. In the brutal prison camps of the Union Army, he offered his healing services to fellow captives who'd given up Hope. But now, with the war over and the South in ruins, the good doctor faces his hardest challenge yet: to save himself.
Penniless and hungry, Knight has to beg, borrow and steal to survive in a post-war hell that used to be his country. Bu the time he reaches his home in East Texas, it's been taken over. Ruthless Union soldiers rule over the town with an iron fist. A Yankee carpetbagger is living in his old house--and the jackal has forced Knight's wife to marry him. A normal man might give up,. but Dr. Samuel Knight is going to take back what belongs to him. With a heart full of grit and a hunger for revenge and with swift, surgical precision, he'll stick a bullet in every dead man walking.
On the blood-stained battlefields of a divided nation, Dr. Samuel Knight used his surgical skills to treat wounded Confederate soldiers. In the brutal prison camps of the Union Army, he offered his healing services to fellow captives who'd given up Hope. But now, with the war over and the South in ruins, the good doctor faces his hardest challenge yet: to save himself.
Penniless and hungry, Knight has to beg, borrow and steal to survive in a post-war hell that used to be his country. Bu the time he reaches his home in East Texas, it's been taken over. Ruthless Union soldiers rule over the town with an iron fist. A Yankee carpetbagger is living in his old house--and the jackal has forced Knight's wife to marry him. A normal man might give up,. but Dr. Samuel Knight is going to take back what belongs to him. With a heart full of grit and a hunger for revenge and with swift, surgical precision, he'll stick a bullet in every dead man walking.
- GenresWesterns
378 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2017
353 people are currently reading
790 people want to read
About the author
William W. Johnstone
1,041 books1,395 followersWilliam 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 7, 2018
Sawbones by William Johnstone (Pinnacle 2018) is the often sad but not uncommon tale of a Confederate soldier returning after the Civil War to a Union-controlled South in search of the life he left behind. Instead, he finds his wife remarried, his house absconded by carpetbaggers, and his town cowed into submission. Before the war, he was a well-respected surgeon. He took those skills to the battlefield but was captured and lived out the war in a Union prison. When the war ended, his captors released in Georgia, forcing him to walk back to Texas (he wasn't given a horse, train ticket, or any money). Each step, he lost weight and hope. In his desperation to simply survive, he got on the wrong side of both the law and the cavalry, and ended up joining a gang of similar former Confederate soldiers as their doctor. It was there he discovered two things about himself. One, he was a crack shot, few faster, and two, he didn't like the outlaw life.
In typical Johnstone fashion, this story is filled with details about Yankee prisons, the South after the Civil War, and life in western towns. It's a fascinating read where the facts are exquisitely woven into the plot and characters. This is highly recommended not just for those who love Westerns but for those who are interested in survival against all odds.
--received free from NetGalley in return for an honest review
In typical Johnstone fashion, this story is filled with details about Yankee prisons, the South after the Civil War, and life in western towns. It's a fascinating read where the facts are exquisitely woven into the plot and characters. This is highly recommended not just for those who love Westerns but for those who are interested in survival against all odds.
--received free from NetGalley in return for an honest review
February 18, 2021
This was a bit of a mess.
The main character doesn't push the plot forward as much as the plot just continually happens to him. And, speaking of the plot, it's all over the place.
People also act very weird in here. A soldier comes home from a Civil War prison camp and his wife now hates his guts and practically wants him dead because the letters he wrote her were never sent by his captors. The main character also continually goes from "Oh no, I killed someone and violated my doctor's oath to do no harm!" to doing things like literally trying to murder a man in cold blood in his own bed.
The main character doesn't push the plot forward as much as the plot just continually happens to him. And, speaking of the plot, it's all over the place.
People also act very weird in here. A soldier comes home from a Civil War prison camp and his wife now hates his guts and practically wants him dead because the letters he wrote her were never sent by his captors. The main character also continually goes from "Oh no, I killed someone and violated my doctor's oath to do no harm!" to doing things like literally trying to murder a man in cold blood in his own bed.
April 10, 2018
Loved the book but did not like the ending.
October 22, 2017
Weak protagonist.
September 22, 2020
Still, still,still,still another Johnstone Clan series start. Usually these are the best written of the dozens produced over the recent years. This is not one of those. Further indicating the Johnstone Clan needs to take all energies into the many current series existing as those are lagging more and more.
This one has a fresh perspective to the current efforts of revisionist fools wanting a fantasy view of history. This is also the best part of the book. The reconstruction view is as I've read it from first hand accounts and otherwise documented. The reconstruction Yankees were often far worse than Southerners, mostly due to the fact laws were in their favor and those moving into areas created the laws. This story is based in such a story.
The concept is a great one. Following a doctor and his adventures. That's not what happens here.
The problem is the main character which has a consistency problem throughout. He is written as a gunfighter, then as a doctor, then as a member of law enforcement and then as a lost soul that wants to drift. The character flings from these stances at whim throughout the book. His views are written one way and then another and then another. With no practical reasoning why the views are all over the place. I found myself often disliking the character. The supporting characters are also a mostly unlikable lot. Even love interests were hard to like.
Due the shifting main character, the plotting doesn't make sense as it could. The main character goes in one direction for stated reason. Then does the opposite for a stated reason. And then does the opposite. The ending is very frustrating as another shift occurs. I got the impression more than one ghost writer may have had this assignment and there were disagreements.
The characters are, as usual, very well created, except the main one. Each ends up shifting to one degree or other. Dialogue is very good. Setting is so-so this time around.
Something else is that the title stinks. Unless I missed it, the main characters is never referred to with the title and the title is further inconsistent with the character, as is the cover art.
The entire book is a recent example of the Johnstone Clan losing grips with consistency.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.
This one has a fresh perspective to the current efforts of revisionist fools wanting a fantasy view of history. This is also the best part of the book. The reconstruction view is as I've read it from first hand accounts and otherwise documented. The reconstruction Yankees were often far worse than Southerners, mostly due to the fact laws were in their favor and those moving into areas created the laws. This story is based in such a story.
The concept is a great one. Following a doctor and his adventures. That's not what happens here.
The problem is the main character which has a consistency problem throughout. He is written as a gunfighter, then as a doctor, then as a member of law enforcement and then as a lost soul that wants to drift. The character flings from these stances at whim throughout the book. His views are written one way and then another and then another. With no practical reasoning why the views are all over the place. I found myself often disliking the character. The supporting characters are also a mostly unlikable lot. Even love interests were hard to like.
Due the shifting main character, the plotting doesn't make sense as it could. The main character goes in one direction for stated reason. Then does the opposite for a stated reason. And then does the opposite. The ending is very frustrating as another shift occurs. I got the impression more than one ghost writer may have had this assignment and there were disagreements.
The characters are, as usual, very well created, except the main one. Each ends up shifting to one degree or other. Dialogue is very good. Setting is so-so this time around.
Something else is that the title stinks. Unless I missed it, the main characters is never referred to with the title and the title is further inconsistent with the character, as is the cover art.
The entire book is a recent example of the Johnstone Clan losing grips with consistency.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.
March 2, 2019
DR. SAMUEL KNIGHT ON LAM
The end of the Civil War or as some refer to as the War Of Succession. Whichever label you applied, it was a "Dark Time." Many men both Union and Confederate headed back home wondering their places survived. This included families...very sad sad times in the United States Of America..
Dr. Samuel Knight rode, caught rides on wagons, borrowed a couple of horses, and the possible end to his life happened when he was captured times two by the winning Union forces, who patrolled southern towns disarming Rebs they caught walking home or wherever. Dr. Samuel Knight, a trained surgeon who was imprisoned in Elmira, N. Y. prison camp until the end of the War..per Dr. Knight the prison was on the same level as the southern prison Andersonville, horrific horrific these prisons could be compared to Nazi Death Camps and the Russian prisons located in Siberia...Dr. Knight finally makes it back the Texas Panhandle to his home, which had changed; only to discover his wife Victoria had remarried Gregory Donnelly, a man from the north who had plans for the town he lived in. To take over and make it his town..Victoria certainly didn't want Samuel anymore...now as you read Dr. Samuel Knight is on the run from the United States Calvary and the long arms of Gregory Donnelly who wants him dead...hope to read more about Dr. Samuel Knight and his future...right???
The end of the Civil War or as some refer to as the War Of Succession. Whichever label you applied, it was a "Dark Time." Many men both Union and Confederate headed back home wondering their places survived. This included families...very sad sad times in the United States Of America..
Dr. Samuel Knight rode, caught rides on wagons, borrowed a couple of horses, and the possible end to his life happened when he was captured times two by the winning Union forces, who patrolled southern towns disarming Rebs they caught walking home or wherever. Dr. Samuel Knight, a trained surgeon who was imprisoned in Elmira, N. Y. prison camp until the end of the War..per Dr. Knight the prison was on the same level as the southern prison Andersonville, horrific horrific these prisons could be compared to Nazi Death Camps and the Russian prisons located in Siberia...Dr. Knight finally makes it back the Texas Panhandle to his home, which had changed; only to discover his wife Victoria had remarried Gregory Donnelly, a man from the north who had plans for the town he lived in. To take over and make it his town..Victoria certainly didn't want Samuel anymore...now as you read Dr. Samuel Knight is on the run from the United States Calvary and the long arms of Gregory Donnelly who wants him dead...hope to read more about Dr. Samuel Knight and his future...right???
September 8, 2018
This was my first book written by this author. I liked it, but didn't love it. First, it was nice to read a book where the Confederates were not treated as the bad guys. I think it was a fairly realistic look at Reconstruction and the carpetbagger politics. What I didn't like was the number of miracle escapes gifted to the main character. One or maybe two, OK, but there had to have been six or more. The main character was Dr. Samuel Knight, a former Confederate surgeon returning to his home in Texas after being freed from the horrors of Elmira prison in New York. He arrives home to find that everything has changed. The town is being run by carpetbaggers and the force of Federal troops. His wife, believing him dead, has married one of the carpetbaggers. After a number of miraculous escapes from custody Dr. Knight is forced to join a band of outlaws lead by a man that he had spent time with in Elmira. But all he really wants to do is head west and start a new life and return to his profession. The story of his time with the outlaws is interesting, especially when they battle Comanches, but I found his skill with a pistol be be a bit unbelievable, especially with no experience and almost no practice. Once I got into the book I did enjoy it, but was disappointed in the ending.
December 11, 2018
The Johnstone legacy continues in the book “Sawbones”, an ‘affectionate’ term for doctors in the Old West. When (Dr.) Samuel Knight returns home from a Civil War POW camp, he finds his life turned upside-down, inside-out and in every way messed up. His wife has remarried a Yankee Carpetbagger who has taken control of the town. Driven out, Knight finds himself throwing with a ragtag group of outlaws where he discovers his uncanny abilities with a handgun and rifle. Conflicts with the “Bluecoats”, the local law, and even his own gang lead the doctor to leave, head farther west, and find a new life. But the past won’t leave him alone. I received an advanced digital copy through #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 14, 2018
This starts out with some good ideas and promise.
Yet as you get closer to the end.
Discover it is maybe set for start of series.
A lot of major plot points, not wrapped up.
Including main villain/ rivalry.
With out giving more of spoiler away.
Simply leaves a bad taste for the reader.
The way it closes.
No idea if it will continue another book.
At this point do not care.
Just a really disappointing, and multi point, non closure ending.
Yet as you get closer to the end.
Discover it is maybe set for start of series.
A lot of major plot points, not wrapped up.
Including main villain/ rivalry.
With out giving more of spoiler away.
Simply leaves a bad taste for the reader.
The way it closes.
No idea if it will continue another book.
At this point do not care.
Just a really disappointing, and multi point, non closure ending.
February 17, 2019
I picked this up several times and as I leafed through it, it didn't seem like it was going to be very good. Bought it on sale as a Kindle book and it proved to be a pretty good tale. No great but a fun read. I was worried the author (Whoever it really is) was going to try to throw a lot of medical aspects into the book but he (or she) just wrote it as a western. I'll give another in the series a try if the price is right.
October 30, 2018
An old fashioned western set soon after the Civil War. A surgeon makes his way home to East Texas to find his wife remarried to a carpetbagger, his farm stolen by the same, and another doctor in his practice.
February 8, 2019
Sawbones
This was a really good story about post war Texas and the people trying to rebuild it. The story line is really good as are the characters in it. The author has an eye and an ear for what he writes ,and it shows.
This was a really good story about post war Texas and the people trying to rebuild it. The story line is really good as are the characters in it. The author has an eye and an ear for what he writes ,and it shows.
May 14, 2022
Trite
The title led me to hope it was more about medicine in the old West but it is just another shoot um up western with cliches, shallow characters, and bad history. Ok for the genre but not what I thought it would be. Won't be reading any more from this author.
The title led me to hope it was more about medicine in the old West but it is just another shoot um up western with cliches, shallow characters, and bad history. Ok for the genre but not what I thought it would be. Won't be reading any more from this author.
January 10, 2026
Great Start
This is a good beginning to a new series that I look forward to reading! I really enjoyed the new characters and can't wait to see what is in store for them.
Four and a half stars
This is a good beginning to a new series that I look forward to reading! I really enjoyed the new characters and can't wait to see what is in store for them.
Four and a half stars
September 20, 2017
Loved it. Love the characters, love the idea... If you don't like westerns, pass this one up. But if you do like westerns, you won't be disappointed.
August 20, 2018
Sawbones is the first book from the Sawbones series. I enjoyed this book and recommend it. I give it four and a half stars.
October 23, 2018
While it drags in spots and lacks the humor of their other books, this is an enjoyable read.
February 10, 2019
Rewards of the loyal.
Even though you sometime don't do what is right if you are loyal things can work out for the best.
Even though you sometime don't do what is right if you are loyal things can work out for the best.
February 10, 2019
Lots of shoot-em-up action.
February 18, 2019
Great read.
I liked the characters very much.the story was great and I would recommend it to everyone
I liked the characters very much.the story was great and I would recommend it to everyone
October 22, 2019
This is not my type of book, but I enjoyed it for the ridiculous read it was. It was like reading a country music song. Could have used more Hector Alton -- the best character!
January 7, 2021
Overall a good read
February 6, 2022
A awesome book!
Loved this book, what a great storyline! Couldn't put it down! Poor guy seems like he just can't get a break!
Loved this book, what a great storyline! Couldn't put it down! Poor guy seems like he just can't get a break!
June 6, 2024
So....i didn't like the whole first 3/4 of the book. Too depressing, but the end part I like ok, though I didn't enjoy the very end either....
December 4, 2024
A very unusual western. I’m not sure I am the target audience for this type of book. I will read the second one in the series and make a determination from that.
December 9, 2024
Have liked this author's work but just did not really take to this story.
April 5, 2019
Great Book
This was a spellbinding story, so we'll written. I don't think I have read a better book in a long while.
This was a spellbinding story, so we'll written. I don't think I have read a better book in a long while.
July 16, 2023
Sawbones, William W Johnstone (western)
Jeff Book Review #132
Sawbones (2017) is about a former Confederate surgeon who finally makes his way back home to Texas after the Civil War and finds his pre-war life is no longer an option for him. There are gunfights, fistfights, horse thefts, outlaws, hidden agendas and betrayals, doomed optimism and the weighty chains of past crimes always dragging him down.
This is my third posthumous Johnstone read, which are being "co"-written by/with his niece J.A. This one is more akin to "Fort Misery" (my review #80) than "Old Cowboys Never Die" (#122). Maybe I need to find some older Johnstone westerns.
Verdict: An at-times mindless and lame but at-times fun western.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
Jeff Book Review #132
Sawbones (2017) is about a former Confederate surgeon who finally makes his way back home to Texas after the Civil War and finds his pre-war life is no longer an option for him. There are gunfights, fistfights, horse thefts, outlaws, hidden agendas and betrayals, doomed optimism and the weighty chains of past crimes always dragging him down.
This is my third posthumous Johnstone read, which are being "co"-written by/with his niece J.A. This one is more akin to "Fort Misery" (my review #80) than "Old Cowboys Never Die" (#122). Maybe I need to find some older Johnstone westerns.
Verdict: An at-times mindless and lame but at-times fun western.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
March 18, 2023
Somewhat enjoyed till some weird "anti woke grrrr" undertones happened and I found out who wrote this. Also the ending was rushed and so shitty it nearly killed the whole experience 🕺
September 23, 2018
This is not a Smoke Jensen book but that does not stop you from falling in love with Dr. Knight! He is a total badass and this is definitely a great book. I can’t wait to see more Dr. Knight novels.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews