Black Sun: The Battle of Summit Springs, 1869 (Plainsmen) [Mass Market Paperback]

Terry C. Johnston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2012 | Series: Plainsmen (Book 4)

No one captures the glory, adventure and drama of the courageous men and women who tamped the American West like award-winning author Terry Johnston. His Plainsmen series brims with colorful characters, fierce battles and compelling historical lore.

Grueling winter gave way to bloody spring as Seamus Donegan and his fellow Army scouts rode west with the Kansas Pacific Railway. Led by the legendary "Buffalo" Bill Cody, they withstood blazing hit-and-run raids by Cheynne Dog Soldiers--while trailed by a skulking enemy from Donegan's past. Then, in midsummer, the fleeing Cheyennes camped. And the 5th Cavalry mounted the brutal surprise attack that would give rise to a fierce new warrior-leader named White Horse: the battle of Summit Springs, 1869.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Armchair cowboys hankering for the excitement of military campaigns may enjoy this tale of the Old West, where white men are brave, red men are savages and women are better off someplace else. Other readers, however, will find their patience tried by the work's limited perspective and its facile reduction of motives to good and evil. This new addition to Johnston's ( The Stalkers ) Plainsmen series continues the story of Seamus Donegan, who is hired as a civilian scout by the U.S. Fifth Cavalry's chief of scouts--none other than "Buffalo Bill" Cody; the two promptly become fast friends. The Fifth's mission is to drive the Plains Indians toward Custer's Seventh Cavalry. Although they put in long hours tracking and withstanding attacks by the Cheyenne, Donegan and Cody occasionally have some fun: when "Wild Bill" Hickok spends some time with the Fifth, they hijack a beer shipment en route to another army outpost (an event that the author, in his introduction, assures us did take place) and whup some Mexican scouts in a fistfight, even though the three of them are pitted against 15 of those "blood-eyed greasers."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Praise for Terry C. Johnston’s bestselling Plainsmen Series

“Rich and fascinating…There is a genuine flavor of the period and of the men who made it what it was.”—Washington Post Book World

“The author’s attention to detail and authenticity, coupled with his ability to spin a darned good yarn, makes it easy to see why Johnston is today’s bestselling frontier novelist. He’s one of a handful that truly knows the territory.”—Chicago Tribune

“Action-packed...lively, lusty fascinating.”—Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph

“Johnston is a skilled storyteller whose words ring with desperation, confusion, and utter horror of a fight to the death between mortal enemies.”—Publishers Weekly

“Meticulously researched…genius.”—Rocky Mountain News

“Johnston [is] the great frontier historical novelist of his generation.”—Spur Award-winning author Paul Andrew Hutton, of Phil Sheridan and His Army

“Excellent...keep[s] readers in suspense.”—Fred Werner, noted Western historian

“Johnston can be considered the king of the Indian wars’ fiction writers.”—John D, McDermott, author of A Guide to the Indian Wars of the West

“Memorable characters, a great deal of history and lore...and deep insight into human nature, Indian or white.”—Booklist

“Johnston’s way of telling his story will capture your imagination!”—Guns & Ammo

“Gutsy adventure-entertainment...larded with just the right amounts of frontier sentiment.”
—Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (February 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312924658
• ISBN-13: 978-0312924652
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Black Sun-The Battle of Summit Springs, 1869, November 21, 2000

By 

Teri Moss (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sun: The Battle of Summit Springs, 1869 (Plainsmen) (Mass Market Paperback)

Black Sun is the 4th in the Plainsmen Series and the 4th book of Terry Johnston's that I have read. Since reading it, I have read the next 4 books in the series. Terry Johnston brings the old west to life with his descriptive writing. He has researched this period of time and knows what he is writing about. Black Sun was like the other books that I have read of his in that once you start reading, you can't put it down. He is successful in taking his reader captive and transporting them to the old west to be a spectator of the adventures of Seamus Donegan and his friends, fictional and real life. I highly recommend this book and the others in the Plainsmen Series.

3.0 out of 5 stars Cavalry-Indian hostilities on the plains, June 9, 2010

By 

New England Pat (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sun: The Battle of Summit Springs, 1869 (Plainsmen) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Battle of Summit Springs in July of 1869 is the subject of the fourth book in Terry C. Johnston's "Plainsmen Series". This engagement is sometimes referred to as Major Eugene A. Carr vs. Tall Bull of the Cheyennes. The Indians, specifically the warrior society known as "Dog Soldiers", raided in Kansas and Colorado at will, terrorizing ranchers and wagon trains and kidnapping white women and children. Carr's Fifth Cavalry was dispatched to seek and destroy the Indians and put a stop to the depredations once and for all. Carr was guided by Buffalo Bill Cody and Pawnee scouts in searching for the Indian village until it was located at Summit Springs. Seamus Donegan, Johnston's fictional hero, rides side by side with Buffalo Bill throughout the pages of the adventure. This story doesn't quite measure up to Johnston's first three books but his fans will nevertheless enjoy this historical novel.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Plainsmen Series by Terry C. Johnston., September 13, 2005

By 

Dutch "Bakkerman" (Snohomish WA , USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sun: The Battle of Summit Springs, 1869 (Plainsmen) (Mass Market Paperback)

Anybody even remotely interested in the mid 1800's events that took place in the Dakota's, Wyoming, Montana and even Texas, should have the 16 book series. I purchased every single one, after reading the "Sioux Dawn" book from our local library, I was hooked and it has given me a completely different outlook on the happenings to the Indians in this country. I was born and raised in the Netherlands and my "Indian Knowledge" was strictly from the movies. But this book has opened my eyes to what we as human beings can do to each other. And most of what they did to the Indian Nations is nothing to be proud of. How many times did the white man break the treaties they made with the natives?? I don't know, haven't been able yet to figure out how many times.

In one of the books Mr. Johnston mentions that he is planning as many as 22 or 23 for the Series, I for one will purchase every one of them. Mr. Terry C. Johnston is very fast becoming my favorite historical/novel writer.

Yours,

Richard H. Reupert