A new western story

Set in Montana territory near the end of the Civil War, D.B. Jackson’s second novel, Unbroke Horses, is a western by any measure. From a literary perspective, the novel explores human nature when it is tested by the extremes of evil. Readers will witness how the values and beliefs of a son of a clergyman can be severely tested when challenged by three Civil War deserters who are dispossessed of all virtue while living on the fringe of humanity.

Tethered about the neck with a rawhide lace and made to bid the commands of General Ike Smith, the survival of fourteen-year old Matthew Stanford depends upon his ability to adapt to malevolent ways—a lesson he learns quickly. For all that he finds distasteful in his captors, he also discovers an unexplained affinity for the power that resides in the violence that defines them. The adolescent boy goes on to abandon the teachings in which he was raised to embrace the mindless violence he witnesses.

Unbroke Horses, edited by Patrick LoBrutto (Stephen King, Louis L’Amour, Elmer Kelton), explores the biblical theme of good and evil wrestling for the soul of a young boy and, due to the mayhem he witnessed and finds intriguing, it appears his soul will have no chance for salvation. However, his single opportunity for redemption may lie with an old Indian horse trainer and a small band of “unbroken” horses. Readers will be talking about this one.

Find out why westerns are so popular by reading Unbroke Horses by D.B. Jackson here!