Rough-hewn and utterly fearless, hired cowboy Tom Horn's been doing dirty work for big cattlemen of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association across the plains and state. A master at running off homesteaders, cattle rustlers, and horse thieves, some say he's taking his nefarious tactics perilously far. When some of the cattlemen agree to rein this wild buck in, little do they know the lengths Horn will go to in the name of personal freedom. In Tom Horn: Killer of Men and Monsters, author Rick Eskue summons up some of American's most rugged individuals in a historical novel that conjures wild times on this country's harsh frontier, where every man is for himself, and justice is, at best, precarious. Based on the true exploits and ultimately the undoing of this enigmatic man who played by his own rules, this epic reimagining of Horn's life explores some fascinating possibilities. When Horn lands in the Cheyenne County jail for an extended period, is finally convicted of murder, and is now facing the gallows the next morning, he pulls off a crazy escape by lassoing the jailer, getting his keys, and taking off with his cell mate on stolen horses. But luck isn't always on his side, as Deputy U. S. Marshal Joe LeFors (the famous Lawdog who chased Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) is looking for the new escapee, Tom Horn. Tom reunites with old acquaintances President Theodore Roosevelt and Geronimo when he randomly hops aboard the president's Pullman car on a Union Pacific train leaving Cheyenne. Tom's tale takes a turn for the incredible, as other-worldly Native American dark magic imbues him with an animal savagery to combat his pursuers. With a posse of six seasoned lawmen nipping at his heels, Tom must summon a man's courage and then some to stay alive. Tom Horn had the resume of a dangerous man: Rough Rider, Deputy Sheriff, Pinkerton Agent, Range Detective, Paid Thug, and Cold- Blooded Killer. Now framed for the one murder he didn't commit, he's a man with a price on his head, riding a fast horse to escape the clutches of those who would love to see him dead-- corrupt government officials, an ambitious lawman, greedy bounty hunters, and a rogue Lakota medicine man leading an army of blood-thirsty monsters. But Horn was never a man to run for long, and when he stops, there'll be Hell to pay. The historical account of Tom Horn ends with his execution for the murder of the 14-year-old son of a sheepherder. Loosely based on historical events, this version offers the alternative scenario of what might have been, had Horn escaped the hangman's noose. Set in the tumultuous time of the turn of the 20th century in a West that was still wild, this account follows Tom Horn as he seeks his own brand of justice against the malicious officials who imprisoned him, befriends the famed Theodore Roosevelt and legendary Apache war Chief Geronimo, and confronts a far greater threat than the infinite greed of the white man-legions of monstrous timber wolves controlled by a demonic Lakota Shapeshifter, inspired by revenge and intent on the absolute extermination of the White-Eye. It was the time of the Ghost Dance, the end of the Buffalo, and the termination of freedom for the Lakota Sioux. For fiercely independent Tom Horn, it was the closing of the Old West, the coming of barbed wire, and the conclusion of the old ways of doing things.With plot twists and turns as unpredictable as the terrain of the North Dakota Badlands-- but then, the Badlands were noted for ghostly mirages-- it was an unearthly place of Indian spirits where a man could easily hallucinate or go insane. And in winter, a place where the sun could fry a man's brain while his body froze to death. Eskue has spun a fantastical tale from the whole cloth of this country's most fascinating forbears. It's a spirited, highly original story of a man in charged times-surviving by whatever means necessary.
About the Author: Rick D. Eskue is a writer who grew up in Southeastern Arizona, Geronimo's home territory. He currently lives with his wife, Beverly, and dog, Nugget, and enjoys hiking in the desert hills, spending time with his four grown children and 10 grandchildren, using Old West and ancient Roman weaponry (catapults and swords), and he is interested in all things related to Tom Horn, Theodore Roosevelt, and Geronimo.