Shadow Rider: Blood Sky at Morning [Mass Market Paperback]

Jory Sherman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 27, 2007 | Series: Shadow Rider

Those who inhabit the harsh, beautiful, blood-red land between Tucson and Fort Bowie have never seen the like of the Shadow Rider—who appears out of nowhere and vanishes just as suddenly in the desert heat. Now death and lies surround him again. The Apache are under siege for murders they didn't commit—and Cody's riding hell-for-leather into a war where nothing's what it seems. But his mission is to get to the truth . . . and to kill the cause of the bloody chaos—even if it means laying down his own life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jory Sherman is the Spur Award-winning author of the westerns Song of the Cheyenne, The Medicine Horn, and Grass Kingdom, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Letters.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harper (February 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060885289
• ISBN-13: 978-0060885281
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,386,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

You can find my biography on www.jorysherman.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terse Vivid Language Shines Through, March 25, 2007

By 

Tom S. Coke (Belle Plaine, Kansas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow Rider: Blood Sky at Morning (Mass Market Paperback)

This book, which serves as my introduction to Jory Sherman, reads like a detective story out of the old west. I mean that in the best sense. The writing style throughout this books shines beyond nearly every Western I've ever read. I don't know why I didn't notice this auther before (since he's been writing for years), but he's amazing. Descriptive language in the book such as "The Colt bucked in his hand as it exploded with orange flame, belching out golden fireflies of burnt powder..." paint pictures like few Westerns. Though I haven't yet reached the last page of the story, I had to say what a rare work of fiction this is. I will most definitely begin reading other works by this author.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definately worth a read, June 22, 2008

By 

The Western Reader "steveml" (Nottingham, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow Rider: Blood Sky at Morning (Mass Market Paperback)

Those who inhabit the harsh, blood-red land between Tucson and Fort Bowie have never seen the likes of the Shadow Rider, Zak Cody - who appears out of nowhere and vanishes just as suddenly in the desert heat. Now death and lies surround him again. The Apache are under siege for murders they didn't commit - and Cody's is riding hell-for-leather into a war where nothing's what it seems. But his mission is to get to the truth...and to kill the cause of the bloody chaos - even if it means laying down his own life.

The first, in what I believe will be a trilogy, about Zak Cody - a half-Indian loner who works for U.S. President, Ulysses S. Grant.

Jory Sherman presents the reader with well-drawn characters, many of which seem to have hidden agendas. Sherman also spends quite a bit of time with flashbacks, explaining the background of Cody, his life as a child and events that mould him into the person he is today.

The book builds well as the hunt for the men behind the murders the Apache are accused of as it races to its climax. And here is were I wonder to the method used to end the book, it's a technique that should have readers looking for the next book as there isn't really any kind of climax to the story. It just ends, leaving many questions unanswered and the battle the reader is expecting not taking place. Frustrating to some readers I'd think?

The other problem with this kind of ending these days is that it takes so long for the publishers to put out the next book, eight months in this case, so a reader might just give up looking for the next one and feel Blood Sky at Morning to be an unsatisfactory read.

My advice would be to wait for all three books to be published before reading them, as you'll have less chance of forgetting what's gone before.

Have said all that, Sherman is a very good writer, and should be on the reading list of all western fans.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BLOOD SKY AT MORNING......SAILOR TAKE WARNING, June 16, 2008

By 

Kay's Husband (Virginia, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Shadow Rider: Blood Sky at Morning (Mass Market Paperback)

'Blood sky at morning' is a line within this book of the same title, a book that begins a trilogy. The second book in the series is entitled "SHADOW RIDER: APACHE SUNDOWN" with the third volume, 'SHADOW RIDER: GHOST WARRIOR" due out later in June, 2008.

The book is an excellent western set in Arizona Territory during the Apache Wars with some real life characters such as Generals Grant and Crook, Tom Jeffords, and Cochise woven throughout the story. The main protagonist is an ex-military man working directly for now President U. S. Grant and Major General George Crook, he carries credentials compelling any and all military to assist in his mission. Though he no longer is in the army, he carries the rank of Colonel. Many foolish, unwise men do not take proper heed of this man, Zak Cody, and pay for their foolishness with their lives. Zak doesn't enjoy the killing and will generally give men the choice of either shooting it out to die or walking away to live, mostly they try to brave and badger Zak and shoot it out, only to die.

This western novel of 227 pages sets in motion activity that will be concluded only in the final two volumes, so by end of the trail in this first volume, no closure has come to Zak Cody. The man, Ben Trask, he hates and hunts, the man who tortured Zak's father to death, is on the loose with Zak still trailing him.

If you enjoy Jory Sherman's work and want to saddle up to ride with him through 3 books you will find a plentitude of good reading here. Though the author's philosophy of life, faith, or spritualism sometimes nudges out the action, the book is still very enjoyable. Anyone who enjoys both a good western and a good story cannot go wrong riding the trail with both Zak Cody and Mr. Jory Sherman.

Semper Fi.