Terry C. Johnston

[mongrel]

I think Terry Johnston finally overdid it with his saga of Titus Bass -- nine books total if I'm not mistaken -- but the original trilogy of "Carry The Wind", "Borderlords", and "One-Eyed Dream", dealing with the fur trade in the early-to-mid 1830's, is great stuff. And, of the other books (not all of which I've read), "Dance On The Wind" is the best -- the first story in the saga, dealing with Titus Bass as a boy and young man in Kentucky and St. Louis.

And on a completely non-BP-related historical note, anyone wanting to read a spectacular series of books set in a country that had not yet become a unified England, during the reign of Alfred the Great -- acquire Bernard Cornwell's "Saxon Tales". In order, they are (so far -- the saga continues): "The Last Kingdom", "The Pale Horseman", "Lords Of The North", "Sword Song", and "The Burning Land". The main character is a Saxon captured as a child and raised by vikings, who is an unrepentent pagan and pretty much completely without the modern scruples that too many writers end up putting into their historical fiction. The books are meticulously detailed and at times incredibly violent; my one and only complaint with them is that they're too short.

[Red Badger]

Or is it that your like me and you read too fast?   :mini-devil-28492

I'll have to look into the "Saxon Tales" Sounds good...

[slikrickabn]

Terry Johnston was a great writer who died before his time.  Loved the Plainsman series by him also.

slik

[mongrel]

Oh, yeah, the Plainsman series.... I believe it was the first book that contained one of the great scenes and narrative lines of all time. The main character had been on the lookout for an uncle of his whom he believed to have deserted his (the main character's) mother when she was desperately down on her luck with kids to feed. Catching up with the uncle just prior to the Battle Of Beecher's Island, the main character, who was a large man and a very good rough-and-tumble fighter, hit his uncle with what was described as "his best Sunday-go-to-meeting punch" between the eyes. The uncle, also a large man and experienced fighter, simply shook his head and grinned, at which point the Great Line was written -- describing how the main character realized it was going to be a very, very long day....