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The Plainsmen #7
Dying Thunder
Dying Thunder
Terry Johnston Newly freed from service with the 10th Cavalry, Seamus Donegan joins a party of buffalo hunters as they follow the shrinking herds into the ancient hunting grounds of the Kiowa and Comanche. The presence of the white men ignites a storm of Indian fury and the group is besieged. Donegan and some 27 men and one woman take shelter in a few sod shanties. They hold off over 700 braves for five days in the fight at Adobe Walls. From then on, the U.S. Army would not rest until the Indians of the Staked Plain returned to their reservations. Under the command of Colonel Ranald Slidell Mackenzie, Seamus Donegan rides back to that embattled land as the U.S. Army tracks the tribes of Chief Quanan Parker to Palo Duro canyon--for a bloody showdown that would forever change the face of the West.
Terry Johnston Newly freed from service with the 10th Cavalry, Seamus Donegan joins a party of buffalo hunters as they follow the shrinking herds into the ancient hunting grounds of the Kiowa and Comanche. The presence of the white men ignites a storm of Indian fury and the group is besieged. Donegan and some 27 men and one woman take shelter in a few sod shanties. They hold off over 700 braves for five days in the fight at Adobe Walls. From then on, the U.S. Army would not rest until the Indians of the Staked Plain returned to their reservations. Under the command of Colonel Ranald Slidell Mackenzie, Seamus Donegan rides back to that embattled land as the U.S. Army tracks the tribes of Chief Quanan Parker to Palo Duro canyon--for a bloody showdown that would forever change the face of the West.
402 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
26 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Terry C. Johnston
77 books102 followers Terry C. Johnston was born January 1, 1947 in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Nineteen publishers rejected Johnston's first novel, Carry the Wind, before it was printed in 1982. However, this first novel was to gain the honor of receiving the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award for best first fiction. Johnston is known for his eye for historical detail, and he is a stickler for accuracy. He is known for traveling and exploring down known and unknown dusty roads during the hot summer months, and traversing slippery, muddy roads and hiking through snow to stand upon a historical sight that he would tell his readers in an upcoming book. "Parking in the lower lot, I trudged up the hill to reach the spot where Colonel John Gibbon's infantry waited out the last hours before their attack on the unsuspecting camp. Standing there in the icy snowstorm I was totally overwhelmed by the sight of those skeletal cones of lodgepoles standing stark against the low, gray sky . . ." Some of the sites that he would stand upon were known to the world like the Little Big Horn Battlefield and others would be obscure to the average reader like the Weippe Prairie north of Lochsa. He is known to combine "a roaring good tale with fascinating insights into the lives and times of his principal characters, generally managing to employ his extensive knowledge to enhance a story rather than intrude upon it" (Whitehead, 1991). Johnston would say that he considered himself "not a literary writer but a storyteller." His desire was to reach and teach thousands if not millions of readers about the early western frontier.
He accomplished part of this goal, not only through his books, but through discussions given to elementary children, lectures at symposiums, and historical one-week tours "during which you will re-live the grit and blood, the tears and tragedy of the great Indian Wars." He would blend historical fact with human emotion to re-create the past during his historical tours each summer. One presentation he gave to a fourth grade class was about the Plains Indian culture. He held a discussion with a Honors English class in Castle Rock middle school about "research, writing, and editing that goes into producing two historical novels each year, when compared to their "term papers." He gave keynote speeches at seminars and lectures at symposiums. He traveled all around Montana to sign books for fans, and he signed the books at the local Albertson's in each town. He held radio interviews that "took me into cities, talking before audiences, I never would have managed to reach otherwise."
Nineteen publishers rejected Johnston's first novel, Carry the Wind, before it was printed in 1982. However, this first novel was to gain the honor of receiving the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award for best first fiction. Johnston is known for his eye for historical detail, and he is a stickler for accuracy. He is known for traveling and exploring down known and unknown dusty roads during the hot summer months, and traversing slippery, muddy roads and hiking through snow to stand upon a historical sight that he would tell his readers in an upcoming book. "Parking in the lower lot, I trudged up the hill to reach the spot where Colonel John Gibbon's infantry waited out the last hours before their attack on the unsuspecting camp. Standing there in the icy snowstorm I was totally overwhelmed by the sight of those skeletal cones of lodgepoles standing stark against the low, gray sky . . ." Some of the sites that he would stand upon were known to the world like the Little Big Horn Battlefield and others would be obscure to the average reader like the Weippe Prairie north of Lochsa. He is known to combine "a roaring good tale with fascinating insights into the lives and times of his principal characters, generally managing to employ his extensive knowledge to enhance a story rather than intrude upon it" (Whitehead, 1991). Johnston would say that he considered himself "not a literary writer but a storyteller." His desire was to reach and teach thousands if not millions of readers about the early western frontier.
He accomplished part of this goal, not only through his books, but through discussions given to elementary children, lectures at symposiums, and historical one-week tours "during which you will re-live the grit and blood, the tears and tragedy of the great Indian Wars." He would blend historical fact with human emotion to re-create the past during his historical tours each summer. One presentation he gave to a fourth grade class was about the Plains Indian culture. He held a discussion with a Honors English class in Castle Rock middle school about "research, writing, and editing that goes into producing two historical novels each year, when compared to their "term papers." He gave keynote speeches at seminars and lectures at symposiums. He traveled all around Montana to sign books for fans, and he signed the books at the local Albertson's in each town. He held radio interviews that "took me into cities, talking before audiences, I never would have managed to reach otherwise."
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 29, 2017
I really enjoyed the book. I particularly like the way Johnston gave both accounts of feeling from the view points of U. S. soldiers and the Indians. I also liked the way he used both the Kiowa and the Comanche tribes to relate the similarities and differences the tribes had in handling situations. I also like the way Mr. Johnston told( in historical detail) many facts about the life of one of the greatest war chiefs of the Kwahadi Comanche, Quanah Parker, right up until his surrender to the U.S. Army.
August 20, 2016
This was fast paced from beginning to end. A bittersweet story of the last stand of the Comanches and the Kiowas on the Staked Plains of Texas that will make the reader pause and think of which side was right and which side was wrong. The players in this story are both good and bad. Nobody is innocent in the battles fought. One thing the reader will come away with is the tragedy that is played out in this struggle between the Whiteman and the Redman. An interesting period of time that will entertain the reader.
May 18, 2024
"Dying Thunder" (1992) is a historical fiction surrounding the 1874-1875 Red River War, which started when 250 starving Kiowas, Cheyenne, and Comanche warriors attacked a group of 28 buffalo hunters that included Bat Masterson and Billy Dixon at a three-building hunting camp called Adobe Walls. After the Battle of Adobe Walls the American army (actually a motley assortment of Texas Rangers, Buffalo soldiers, settling pioneers, buffalo skinners and mountain men, and gold-seekers) pursues and defends against the raiding Indian parties while the Comanche chief Quannah Parker tries to keep his shaky alliance together and get revenge while his people suffer. "Dying Thunder" features several dozen real life characters.
The first two pages of "Dying Thunder" open with some creepy sexual content which quickly puts it out of bounds for younger readers interested in fun history reads, which is too bad.
And then a hundred-page opening setup introduces a lot of the characters and backstories referencing earlier books in the Plainsmen series (which I haven't read). Throughout the rest of the book Johnston switches back and forth between providing informational plot points to set up the timelines and backstories and then having POV or dialogue that's supposed to put us in the middle of things. It is pretty dry through Chapter 13.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Riv...
The battle of Adobe Walls kicks off in earnest in Chapters 14 and 15 and Johnston's writing style really works well here (and in later action sequences), keeping the narrative edgy and suspenseful with action and fright among those on both sides, but also keeping a good bird's eye on the situation so the reader doesn't get lost.
One more item I'd like to note: I didn't know about the Battle of Buffalo Wallow before reading this book and am glad I did. Billy Dixon with another scout and four soldiers carrying dispatches between army units were caught by a swarm of a hundred or more Comanches. All six were wounded, one mortally, and subsequently awarded Medals of Honor even while Dixon was officially a civilian.
Verdict: A good historical fiction about the final Texas-Indian war and a worthwhile read for fans of westerns or military history.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
The first two pages of "Dying Thunder" open with some creepy sexual content which quickly puts it out of bounds for younger readers interested in fun history reads, which is too bad.
And then a hundred-page opening setup introduces a lot of the characters and backstories referencing earlier books in the Plainsmen series (which I haven't read). Throughout the rest of the book Johnston switches back and forth between providing informational plot points to set up the timelines and backstories and then having POV or dialogue that's supposed to put us in the middle of things. It is pretty dry through Chapter 13.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Riv...
The battle of Adobe Walls kicks off in earnest in Chapters 14 and 15 and Johnston's writing style really works well here (and in later action sequences), keeping the narrative edgy and suspenseful with action and fright among those on both sides, but also keeping a good bird's eye on the situation so the reader doesn't get lost.
One more item I'd like to note: I didn't know about the Battle of Buffalo Wallow before reading this book and am glad I did. Billy Dixon with another scout and four soldiers carrying dispatches between army units were caught by a swarm of a hundred or more Comanches. All six were wounded, one mortally, and subsequently awarded Medals of Honor even while Dixon was officially a civilian.
Verdict: A good historical fiction about the final Texas-Indian war and a worthwhile read for fans of westerns or military history.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
August 19, 2024
The Indian Wars continue covering the battle at Adobe Wells and McKenzie’s war against the southern tribes. While this is historical fiction, the author researches the battles and provides great detail. The series is driven by a fictional character, Seamus Donegan. A veteran of the Civil War, he goes west and makes a living as a scout for the Army. The Native American way of life is being destroyed and their plight is presented in a favorable manner. If you are interested in this period of history, this is an excellent series.
February 10, 2021
It got better.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews