Cheyenne Raiders [Paperback]

Jackson O'Reilly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1982

With over six million books in print worldwide, Robert Jordan is an international bestselling sensation. Yet even the most rabid Jordan fans don't know that the block-buster talent behind Winter's Heart is also one of the finest storytellers ever to take on the Old West. Written by Jordan under the name Jackson O'Reilly, Cheyenne Raiders is a little-known classic, a stunning tale of bravery, discovery, and love in the time of war.

Yale-educated Thomas McCabe accepts a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and is sent to live among a nomadic tribe in the wilds of Missouri. After saving the life of a young brave, Thomas is grudgingly accepted by the Cheyenne -- and falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful Night Bird Woman. Determined to marry the girl he has seen all his life in dreams, Thomas must first prove himself by passing the excruciatingly painful and spiritually breathtaking Test of Fire. During this initiation he is visited by a Spirit Vision, one that carries a message powerful enough not only to teach Thomas the true meaning of courage, but to remake the lives of the proud -- and imperiled -- people he will come to call family.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Long before Jordan (The Path of Daggers) became a bestselling fantasy novelist, he wrote swashbucklers and westerns under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly. Forge released the O'Neal 1981 The Fallon Pride in hardcover in 1996; now the O'Reilly 1982 western receives the same treatment. Only Jordan's cult status can explain why. Childishly imagined, if smoothly written, this tale of horse raids, grizzlies, buffalo, sagebrush and gold is a curiosity rather than a lost gem. In 1837, the Bureau of Indian Affairs sends 25-year-old Yale grad Thomas Benton McCabe to report on the life and culture of the Cheyenne. (McCabe is fleeing a Boston socialite who wants to marry him for his money.) McCabe has barely crossed the Arkansas River before he saves the life of Spotted Fox, a Cheyenne brave with a broken leg. The grateful chief presents him with a tepee and a woman, and invites him to live with the tribe. Hardly breaking a sweat, "Mack Cabe" becomes the unwitting hero of a horse-stealing raid on the Utes; his adopted tribe gives him the name Horse Runner. Before he can learn to say kemo sabe, he has fallen in love with another maiden, Night Bird Woman, and must therefore fight Three Hatchets, the warrior she is promised to. A buffalo hunt, hand-to-hand combat, marriage, the Sun Dance ordeal, a gold strike, a grizzly bear, comeuppance for the greedy Bostonian and miscellaneous adventures ensue as the youthful Jordan/O'Reilly leaves no pulp cliche unused. Fans seeking earnest, latter-day Zane Grey clones might just enjoy it. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"In Cheyenne Raiders, Robert Jordan demonstrates the talent that would one day take him to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, and make his name a household word around the world. Taut plotting, dynamic characters, and vivid descriptions make this fur-trade-era novel one of the best of the genre."--W. Michael Gear & Kathleen O'Neal Gear

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dell Publishing (May 1982)
• ISBN-10: 0440011795
• ISBN-13: 978-0440011798
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,281,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good historial read, February 6, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cheyenne Raiders (Hardcover)

After four years of reading the law in Boston, Yale graduate Thomas Benton McCabe decides he needs a change. He accepts a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and almost immediately is sent west to write a report on a remote Cheyenne tribe. At home, the assignment seemed easy, but in the middle of Missouri exclusively surrounded by Indians for miles, the job appears impossible.

Thomas saves the life of a Cheyenne chief, Spotted Fox. Though he distrusts the whites who always come in peace, a grateful Spotted Fox allows "Mack Cabe" to join his tribe. Soon Mack falls in love with Night Bird Woman. In accordance with tribal law, Mack will have to first fight her intended Three Hatchets. If he survives that test, he must surmount the Test of Fire for the honor of marrying Night Bird Woman. Unbeknownst to Mack his tribulations are just beginning.

CHEYENNE RAIDERS is a reprint of a novel that fantasy fan favorite Robert Jordan wrote in the early 1980's as Jackson O'Reilly. The story line is fast-paced, filled with non-stop action, and picturesquely makes the late 1830's seem alive. The motives of the characters are never fully developed as the adventures that happen to Mack take center stage. Fans of western novels with plenty of conflict, activity, and energy will enjoy CHEYENNE RAIDERS. Still Mr. Jordan's "Wheel of Time" fans might only want to read this as a curiosity piece that showcase the author's earlier work.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book about Life with the Cheyenne!, May 31, 2003

By 

Evelyn Horan (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cheyenne Raiders (Paperback)

This is a fast-paced story with lots of action about Thomas McCabe sent to live with a tribe of Cheyenne in Missouri in l837.
Customs, traditions and a way of life he soon comes to appreciate are all part of the plot as he is sent on a job for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to observe and record the Cheyenne for the Bureau. Excitement and adventures are in each chapter of the novel. A good read!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One - three

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great story but bad ending., May 24, 2007

By 

Leroy A. Peters (Bozeman, MT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cheyenne Raiders (Thorndike Western II) (Hardcover)

I just finished this book last night. It had a great story but a sad ending. I was hoping Thomas McCabe and Night Bird Woman would live together forever as husband and wife. Unfortonately that didn't happened. Don't get me wrong they live together until death do they part, but I was hoping they would live together until they die of old age!! Because of that I give this book 3 stars instead of 5. Other than that it was a good book.