Rory Black

 Venom of Iron Eyes

by

Rory Black

(Michael D. George)

The notorious gang led by Peg Leg Grimes was headed for the remote and peaceful town of Cooperville to rob the bank of its recently-obtained hoard of golden eagles. But unknown to the gang, the bounty hunter Iron Eyes was also in town to collect a reward. When the robbery went ahead and the bank exploded into matchwood, Iron Eyes vowed to get the money, and the outlaws—for Grimes has made one mistake: he had stolen Iron Eyes’ prized Palomino stallion to make his escape ...

It isn’t death that rattles Iron Eyes — it’s a woman. And in this yarn, he spends half his time trying to outrun Squirrel Sally.

The trouble starts when Iron Eyes drives a stage into Cooperville stacked with corpses. The reward will be hefty, but he’s forced to hang around town to collect it. While he waits, Peg Leg Grimes and his gang blow the bank sky‑high with too much dynamite, catching Iron Eyes and the local law in the blast.

Squirrel Sally figures her Iron Eyes is dead. She hits the vengeance trail without hesitation, swearing to gun down the varmints responsible.

But Iron Eyes isn’t dead — or maybe he just refuses to lie down — and soon he’s on the bloody trail himself.

The writing is solid and the action suitably brutal, but Iron Eyes repeats his own name so often it wears thin. Not the strongest entry in the series. One for the die hard fans. 3.5/5  

This book can be bought from Amazon or Piccadilly Publishing.

Rory Black

 The Shadow of Iron Eyes

Iron Eyes #14

by

Rory Black

(Michael D. George)

Blinded after an accident, bounty hunter Iron Eyes roamed aimlessly until he heard the hungry crackle of flames devouring a ranch house in the distance. As he rode closer, he smelled the cold, metallic stench of spilled blood, and worse, the stink of burning bodies. Dismounting, he tried to learn more about what had happened to these people … but that was when he stopped a bullet, too.

Wounded, he fell, then lay helpless as his assailant came closer, intending to finish the job.

What happened next led the bounty hunter south to a place where only the Devil would feel at home. A place where the law had never ventured, a place where Iron Eyes would have to kill anyone who stood in his way.

Iron Eyes is nearly blind—temporarily, but badly enough that he moves through the world in a fog. In that dazed state he stumbles upon a burning ranch house, the bodies inside already beyond saving. Before he can make sense of the scene, a hidden gunman shoots him down.

When he finally wakes, he discovers his attacker is a girl named Sally—young, sharp, and far more dangerous than she first appears.

Thrown together by circumstance, these unlikely partners set out after the killers, riding hard toward the Mexican border, where their pursuit ends in blood and violence.

As a story, it isn’t the strongest entry in the series, but it isn’t the weakest either. This is the first time readers meet Squirrel Sally, who becomes a recurring presence in later Iron Eyes novels. Iron Eyes himself remains exactly as expected—unyielding, impossible to kill, and stubborn enough to keep going even half‑blind.

The odd piece is Mason Burr, a cold‑blooded killer whose storyline barely intersects with the main plot. He drifts alongside the narrative only to cross paths with the true villains near the end, without contributing to the final showdown. His inclusion seems mainly to set up how Squirrel Sally eventually acquires the stagecoach she uses in future books.

Still, the writing is solid, even if this installment doesn’t quite stand with the best of the series.

3/5 

Michael D. George

 Kid Fury

by

Michael D. George

The remote settlement of War Smoke lies quiet - until the calm is shattered by a gunshot. Marshal Matt Fallen and his deputy Elmer spring into action to investigate. Then another shot rings out, and cowboy Billy Jackson's horse gallops into town, dragging its owner's corpse in the dust: one boot still caught in its stirrup, and one hand gripping a smoking gun. Meanwhile, the paths of hired killer Waco Walt Dando and gunfighter Kid Fury are set to converge on War Smoke...

Matt Fallen has his hands full in this fast‑paced western. A murder kicks things off, and before the dust can settle, two deadly gunmen ride into town. One is a hired killer, determined to make this the marshal’s final sundown. The other is barely more than a boy—Kid Fury—quick on the draw and burdened with a reputation he never wanted. Like it or not, he may be the only hope Matt Fallen has left. Black Horse Westerns don’t get the recognition they deserve. Sure, like any line, a few stories miss the mark, but crack one open and you’re almost guaranteed a fast, exciting ride. This book is no exception. Strong characters, intrigue, suspense, and enough action to keep the pages flying. I’ve read several of Michael D. George’s novels over the years, and this one delivers exactly what I’ve come to expect.

5/5. 

Dean Edwards

 Land of the Lost

by

Dean Edwards

Young drifter Hal Harper rides into the remote town of Senora when he finds himself looking down the barrels of the law. What Harper does not realise is that the ruthless outlaw Tate Talbot and his gang have managed to get themselves elected as sheriff and deputies. Talbot has discovered that there is a wanted poster on his own head worth a small fortune so he has the ingenious idea of collecting his own bounty by killing the innocent Harper and claiming the drifter is the outlaw known as Diamond Bob Casey. Harper manages to escape to the remote uncharted desert south of Senora but can he survive in the Land of the Lost?

Tate Talbot’s plan is as ruthless as it is cunning: kill Hal Harper, tell everyone he's the outlaw Diamond Bob Casey, and walk away with a $20,000 bounty. 

 But Harper slips away into the desert—a place as merciless as the killers on his trail.

When the sands seem certain to finish him, Harper is rescued by a small band of Indians from a tribe he’s never encountered before. Yet salvation comes with its own peril: the Apache are hunting them, and Harper is caught in the middle.

From the frying pan into the fire, Harper must fight to survive as enemies close in from every side.

This is a taut, fast-paced western packed with action. Edwards keeps the tension high, the twists sharp, and the pages turning right to the last shot.