Fort Misery
Fort Misery book cover

Fort Misery

Paperback – January 24, 2023

Price
$6.79
Format
Paperback
Pages
352
Publisher
Kensington
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0786049615
Dimensions
4.11 x 0.89 x 6.73 inches
Weight
6 ounces

Description

William W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net. J.A. Johnstone learned to write from the master himself, Uncle William W. Johnstone, who began tutoring J.A. at an early age. After-school hours were often spent retyping manuscripts or researching his massive American Western History library as well as the more modern wars and conflicts. J.A. worked hard and learned, later going on to become the co-author of William W. Johnstone’s many bestselling westerns and thrillers. J.A. Johnstone lives on a ranch in Tennessee and more information is at WilliamJohnstone.net.

Features & Highlights

  • The baddest men in the West battle for their lives against a relentless band of bloodthirsty prairie rats in Fort Misery—first in an electrifying new Western series from National Bestselling Authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone.
  • JOHNSTONE COUNTRY.
  • WHERE THE LAND IS UNTAMED—AND SO ARE THE DESPERADOS.
  • Captain Peter Joseph Kellerman was once a promising career soldier who’d proven his mettle in battle time and again. Now he’s fighting a battle with a whiskey bottle. He’s also in charge of Fort Benjamin Grierson, located west of hell, deep in Arizona Territory’s Mohawk Valley on the arid edge of the Yuma desert. The men under his command aren’t fit to wear the uniform. Killers, thieves, and ravagers condemned to death but who’ve chosen to serve, holding down the hated Fort Misery.Santiago Lozado, the most wanted bandit on both sides of the border, has set his sights on Fort Misery. He wants vengeance against Kellerman for killing his son and has raised an army of brutal Apaches and Comancheros to slaughter every man wearing Union blue—only to encounter a wild bunch of desperate men unafraid of shedding blood and fighting to the death . . .

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(68)
★★★★
25%
(57)
★★★
15%
(34)
★★
7%
(16)
23%
(51)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Disappointing

Does not measure up
1 people found this helpful
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An unusual and excellent book from the Johnstone Clan.

Quite a turn from the typical trail the Johnstone Clan takes. After reading a couple hundred Johnstone books, none take on the foundation of an ensemble cast, basically, trapped on a deserted island in a desert. Seems a new writer joined the stable, as the prose also has a different take. This book reads closest to a Zane Gray-type book than any of the others I've read. It's very involved and intriguing throughout.

The story is well trod territory in fiction. Here, with the Johnstone touch. A staple of the Johnstone Clan of writers are very good characters. In this volume, the effort is kicked up a few notches. Recent Johnstone novels have found characters a slight less strong. 'Fort Misery' is a crowning achievement is character creation for the Johnstone Clan of writers. Each of the very large crowd is distinct and interesting. Not an easy task to pull off.

Adding to that is the dialogue. Recently Johnstone Clan books have had the characters sounding more alike than not. Here, there is even a cadence is found in voices. Specifically, the character, Kellerman is wonderfully written in vocal dialogue. I kept picturing, Englishman, Leo McKern as the character.

The pacing is also tough involving a tale of communities of characters in conflict. This novel paces very well and each chapter over laps with the next in a way making the story even more involving.
I like how the author has characters separated by distance not knowing what had happened at one place and speaking as if something else had happened.

This is an excellent book to post during the 20th anniversary of the death of William Johnstone.

I had access to preview this book through NetGalley.

Bottom line: i recommend this book. 10 out of ten points.
1 people found this helpful
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Not the usual stuff

At first I was not sure what to think about Fort Misery by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone but soon I got into it and it was very funny. I liked the premise of the story and the characters is well made up. It is a western of sorts and it's a rather dark story. It has most of the elements required and as it should be it's all about good versus evil, sort of. Sometimes the bad aren't so bad. I must thank Kensington Books, Pinnacle and Netgalley for making this advance copy available and the author for making this stuff up.
1 people found this helpful
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Terrible

So boring I couldn’t finish it. Dumb dialogue and slow-moving story. Much prefer L’Amour and Compton.
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Better than I expecting

Clean language, good story, fast moving. Be hard to expect more. I really enjoyed the book.
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Not the best

This is not one of the finest Western novels of the Johnstone syndicate. It seems more along the lines of a comedy like the old TV drama called "F Troop." There are a bunch of misfits in this aptly named fort.

There are parts where there is some high adventure but the misery of the fort is caused by marauding Comancheros, Comanche, and Apache. There are some interesting moments where the misfits stationed there acquit themselves very well and others less than admirably.

Additionally the last chapter seems to be added in with little or no connection to the rest as archeologists arrive to dig looking for lost items from earlier Spanish explorers.

Not a totally bad book but, in my view, far less than I have come to expect of the Johnstones.
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A new Johnstone series that only adds to their excellent library of titles

YAY!!! A new Johnstone series! I love any of the many books by William W and JA Johnstone. There are many Johnstone series, each centering on one "family" or group of individuals who have drawn a line and dare the really bad guys to cross it. Fort Misery is an Army installation located in Arizona Territory during a period of time when every day brought new challenges, none of them easy, all of them life threatening. Fort Misery is populated by a crew that chose misery over prison. Each character has a story and these 5 star authors are well known for the back story that brings these desperate men to their current hell.

I have yet to read a Johnstone title that I would not recommend to any and every one looking for a great western/ action read.