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.
Very different from the 1st two books in the series, as Hunter deals with a large grizzly killing his cattle and preying on him and his ranch hands. There were some shoot-outs with surly characters, the adoption of a young boy to help out on the ranch, and some tense moments with Anna going back to visit her brother and father (read 1st 2 books in the series) Some stories could have played out better.
There is some Native American/ghost/spirit stuff via Red Otter, one of Hunter's ranch hands and attests to the bear possibly being the spirit of someone Hunter killed in the past. So Hunter has this in the back of his mind as he tracks the bear. Given this is set in late fall in the Black Hills, one may think the bear would be finding a den to hibernate, but it was just starting to snow, so possibly the grizzly was still looking to fatten up.
Will the grizzly wipe out Hunter and his livelihood, or can Hunter and his ranch hands take care of this killer, while dodging bullets from random bandits?
Hoping the series will continue. Also, still haven't figured out why Hunter in the books has blonde hair while the book cover personas are darker.
William W. Johnstone is one of my favorite authors and never lets me down when I want to insert a feel good western adventure into my reading list. This bood does not fail and introduces one to the fact that after the Civil War there remained great anamosity between the war veterans and in the west the Greycoats were not liked and prohibited from going into some places. This fact with the introduction of Indian beliefs added to the story of tracking and hunting of a rogue grizzley bear who was doing much damage to the cattle. It is the story of Hunter and his family and their place in this territory as Graycoats living among mostly Northern Soldiers and the family differences which comes to a violent end when Hunter courts the families daughter. The tracking of the Bear is the central theme and how the Bear gets into the head of Hunter via the Indian Spirits announced by his Indian ranch hand. It is a little hard to believe in some of the tracking and killing parts of this story but a great read.
An excellent read set in the Badlands of South Dakota. Action from the first page and periodically throughout the entire book. Hunter, the protagonist, goes after a hard-to-kill bear that is destroying his cow herd. Troubled by an Indian superstition that the bear is taking revenge on foul deeds once committed, Hunter grapples with the remembrance of a Union killing he made in the Civil War. Along with the narrative of the bear hunt, other interesting characters have their own challenges: death of an estranged father and reconciliation, confrontations with rustlers. The story brought up images of Faulkner's The Bear short story and his portrayal of unsavory characters. A face-paced adventure.
Third book of the series, Hunter Buchanon. Wow, what a story!! Best one I have read by J.A. Johnstone and the ghost writers in a while. A grizzly bear has come into the area killing cattle and men. Hunter and his men go after it and Red Otter, one of Hunter’s ranch hands, calls it Otshee-Monetoo. An evil spirit. There are some other stories put into the book, but the grizzly bear is the main story and worth reading. Very fast paced, just the way a book should be.
This western is fast paced, with lots of action, and great descriptions of the land, and hills. Hunter the main character has some encounters with the top predator, who is ravaging his cattle. Also includes romance, and family situations. I highly recommend this Western book.
Loved this book, the way things turn around for Cass was awesome! Outlaws, rogue bears, young boys, wounded ranch hands all delivers a incredibly good storyline! I was glad to see Nasty Pete back in this one too, was not happy with Ghost in the second book.
This is one those books that can be read over and over again. I enjoyed every page, had a hard time putting it down. I think other readers will enjoy this book. I would recommend it to everyone
I do not think f this as a western.....not a lot of cows , camp fires or stampede ing cows. But it was about a rancher in the late 1800 dealing with multiple issues...
Wow! I was actually kept on my toes reading this book. Those bears that are that big and "smart" really took my breath away. I can not imagine going head-to-head or toe-to-toe with something that huge. I do say that Hunter was all he was made out to be and more.
This had some interesting different story parts which I enjoyed. I enjoy the lead character as well and also another person in previous books that I won't spoil. This one was quite sad though and that part is not my favorite in Westerns.
I didn't love this. The grammar and writing was pretty bad. The story was all over the place with the main storyline having the same or less importance as the side stories.
I enjoyed the story and the characters but the American west slang seemed a bit forced. I did get used to it, though! All victories in the west seemed hard earned and this one is no exception!
I have never been a Western reader, but this is my second book by William Johnstone. I have read. I couldn't put it down. His books are so interesting.