Talons of Eagles

April 3, 1995
This latest installment in Johnstone's series about frontiersman Jamie MacCallister (Eyes of Eagles, etc.) finds the former gunfighter, now 50, leading a serene life of retirement in Colorado even as his sons are fighting on both sides of the Civil War. Summoned to Washington, Jamie is offered the position of chief scout for the Union by Lincoln himself. But though the rugged Westerner loathes slavery, he loves states' rights more, and, after a meeting with Robert E. Lee, he signs up with the Confederacy as commander of a guerrilla band. Following the Confederate defeat, Jamie returns to Colorado, where his hopes for a peaceful existence are shattered by his old war foe, Aaron Layfield, who, in the war's waning days, had announced his plans to stamp out any lingering rebels and exterminate the Indians. Top on his hit list is Jamie, whose family he considers a ``hotbed of insurrection.'' Despite some interesting period lore, the narrative is padded with lengthy historical discussions and further weakened by lackluster prose.

April 15, 1995
The third book in Johnstone's Eagles series continues the saga of Jamie MacCallister. Raised by Indians and a survivor of the Alamo (the scout who carried out dispatches), Jamie is forced to choose sides when the Civil War erupts. He declines Lincoln's offer of a Union commission and becomes the leader of MacCallister's Marauders. He nips at the Union's heels and is a factor in many Southern victories. But as the tide turns against the South and the Union troops rape and pillage, the Marauders become an agent of revenge. The most brutal Union troops will feel the wrath of Jamie's boys. Of particular concern is Aaron Layfield, a Union commander with a sadistic streak honed by religious fervor. With the war winding down, Jamie has a final mission in mind: get Layfield. Solid, page-turning entertainment featuring a larger-than-life, old-fashioned hero in MacCallister. ((Reviewed Apr. 15, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)