Publisher's Synopsis
HECK CARSON IS BACK...AND FIGHTING TO THE LAST MAN.Writing in the style of Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey, Larry McMurtry and William W. Johnstone, Best-selling western author John Spiars, of Riders of the Lone Star and Hell and Half of Texas, returns with Bound for Vengeance, the third novel in the Heck Carson Series.Barely surviving the attack by the men in black, Heck Carson sets out on the killer's trail. Traveling west through the high country, he heads straight into the heart of a dark conspiracy, where treachery and violence are used to maintain order and where human life is of little value. Oro City is a gold boom town nestled in the Rocky Mountains, where a man only known as the General reigns with an iron fist, and keeps the inhabitants in virtual slavery. With an army at his disposal and a fortune in gold, the General's evil plan seems assured of success, that is until he meets former Texas Ranger, Heck Carson.With the help of his friends, and a few new acquaintances, Heck treks over the icy peaks of the Rockies, toward an ultimate showdown with the fate of the United States hanging in the balance.While the Civil War rages, and the Blue and Gray collide in bloody battles, it is on the unknown battlefields where heroes and villains not mentioned in the history books, fight for the soul of a nation.EXCERPTS: "If we don't go, they'll keep sending these killers after us. The only way to end this is to take the fight to them."Hearing gunfire behind him, Paul turned his head just in time to see three cowboys fall to the ground. The bodies of the dead were trampled under the horses of the approaching men in black.The four men carefully led their horses down the steep slope, taking turns walking in front, in an effort to identify and avoid the drifts. The trail skirted the sheer face of the mountain, and only a few feet of unstable earth separated the men from the abyss.Red screamed as the liquid ran into every cut and seemed to burn the flesh as it ran down his back. He screamed and pulled at his bindings with every ounce of strength he had left. "Your men killed the boy. He was Carson's friend, and he's not one to let something like that go unanswered.""We're walking into a hornet's nest," August said, as he watched the fifteen men ride away, "and now we're going in with twenty-five less guns."As they came into view, the approaching army looked like a single black mass moving across the green prairie. Heck didn't believe that a hundred men on horseback could look any more imposing if they were ushering in damnation itself.Following the rays of daylight that penetrated the deadly haze, twenty men emerged from the carnage. Far from the salvation they had expected, the men emerged into a hail of bullets that tore into their bodies from every direction all at once.Sickened by the destruction and death he had unleashed, Heck, with more than a twinge of regret, pushed down the plunger of the second detonator."This is the face of war, I'm afraid," Heck said. "Just remember, you didn't ask for this evil to come to your town."Leaping forward, Heck caught the man's body before it hit the ground, and ran out the door with it on his shoulders. Two shots that were meant for Heck, struck the body of the dead barkeeper, giving him the chance to take careful aim. His first shot struck one of the gunmen between the eyes, and his second hit the other one in the belly. Heck knew that the second man would die, but not before he spent agonizing moments wishing he was dead.John Spiars is the author of the Heck Carson Series. He is a writer and amateur historian with a passion for the history and myths of the "Old West". He is a native Texan, and lives in North Texas with his wife and four children. When not writing western novels he maintains a blog about Texas history and travel called Under the Lone Star
