Showing results by author "Douglas Hirt" in All Categories

Five hundred quiet years had passed, and then for only the second time within the collected memory of man, the earth shook. Footsteps froze and eyes went wide while birds exploded from treetops and filled the sky in frenzied flight.

A dark power is at work, intent on gaining complete control of the CradleLand, the birthplace of the still-young world. All that stands in the Power's way is one troublesome line of humans: descendants of Seth. They are of the only remaining clan clinging to an all-but-dead faith. And yet it's from that faith that a prophecy threatens all plans of world dominion.

Blood on the snow! There was probably no better tracker in the West than the famous Kit Carson. With his legendary ability to read signs, it was said he could track a mouse over smooth rock. So Kit didn't expect any trouble when he set out on the trail of a common thief. But he hadn't counted on a fierce blizzard that seemed determined to freeze his bones. Or on a band of furious Comanches led by an old enemy of Kit's - an enemy dead set on revenge.

Kit Carson was legendary for his fighting skills. He could go toe to toe with any man and come out on top. But how could he beat an enemy that wasn't even human? When Kit found himself snowbound in an isolated mountain cabin with only a few friends, he knew they were in for a hard time. But then they started to see signs that they weren't alone - and whatever was out there in the snow wasn't like anything they had seen before. Kit and his friends had all heard tales of the Wendigo, but could they survive meeting one face-to-face?

The Vengeance Trail. Kit Carson knew trouble could be brewing as he tracked a band of Blackfeet, but he wasn't expecting to come upon the remains of a brutal massacre. The Blackfeet had butchered a small group of Shoshone, leaving behind nothing but maimed bodies - and one crying baby. Kit set out to bring the baby back to his people, but the Shoshone found him first. They had found the bodies of their families and friends, and had just one thing on their minds - revenge. And with Kit holding one small survivor of the massacre, he's their only suspect!

When Ornax Milwok decided he wanted an adventure, he set his sights on the most unlikely place to have it in. Earth! Not only does Earth lie clear across the galaxy, the whole planet has been strictly off limits for at least the last 200 years! But for young Ornax, getting there was simply a challenge to overcome - a challenge he finds the solution to in a chance meeting with an intergalactic trader named Captain Goldtooth. Alas, the friendly captain of the space schooner Forbidden Weighs is not all that he seems to be.

Trapper's treasure! The high point of any trapper's year was the summer rendezvous, the annual gathering where mountain men from all over the frontier met to trade the pelts they had risked their lives for. But for Kit Carson, the real danger lay in getting to the rendezvous. He was leading a party of trappers, all of them weighed down with a year's worth of furs. That was enough to make them a tempting target for any killer on the trail - especially when the trail led through Blackfoot territory.

The untamed frontier was filled with dangers of all kinds - both natural and man-made - dangers that only the bravest could survive. And so far Kit Carson had survived them all. But when he set out north along the Missouri River, he had no idea what lay ahead. He couldn't know that the Blackfeet were out to turn the river red with blood. And when he hitched a ride on a riverboat, he couldn't know that keelboat pirates were waiting just around the bend!

With skills and ability unrivaled by any in the West, Kit Carson felt truly at home among the wonders - and dangers - of the vast American frontier. But when he arrived in the rich fur-trapping country of the Flatheads, he found unexpected enemies waiting for him. A renegade British fur agent had been stirring the local tribes into a war of vengeance against the Americans, including their new captive - Kit. Suddenly it fell to Kit to stop the war before it started...or become the first casualty.

Fed up with the life of a lone gunfighter, Thomas Langely left Miles City, Montana - and a past strewn with the blood of those he had beaten to the draw. Planning on pursuing a peaceful life in the New Mexico Territory, the jaded adventurer disguises himself as a tenderfoot shopkeeper and tries to steer clear of trouble. But when he discovers a sinister plot hatched by ruthless bandits to drive a gritty widow and her beautiful adopted Indian daughter off their ranch, Langely can stand it no longer and turns to the gun.

Cripple Creek, Colorado, is the most infamous sinkhole of vice and violence in the Rockies. The town's steamy bordello row and gambling halls beckon to Brad Medford, who is set on tasting all the pleasures a young man can find. He sets out across the long miles to reach Cripple Creek and prove himself a man, but misfortune takes a hand when Brad's path crosses that of a renowned gunfighter. It turns out Brad's first meal in Cripple Creek may be his last.

No man knew how to survive the dangers of the West like the legendary frontiersman Kit Carson. But even Kit was in for the ride of his life when he found himself trapped on a flimsy raft hurling down the roaring Green River - straight into a mysterious canyon surrounded by impossibly high sheer rock walls. Kit's first worry was trying to find a way out...until he came face-to-face with a primitive tribe of Indians hidden in the canyon, preparing to fight a bloodthirsty enemy tribe in a battle for their lives - a battle Kit would have to take sides in, whether he liked it or not.

Jacob Kellogg is just looking for a meal and a place to sleep when he arrives in Calico Lace, Colorado. But what greets him as he rides down the street are townsfolk who stare at him with open hostility. Getting a drink from the saloon is as pleasurable as pulling teeth. Then when the "welcome wagon" appears in force, Kellogg soon realizes he picked the wrong town to pass through. He chose the wrong place at the wrong time.

Andoreana Dean was the only survivor of a blaze that destroyed her home while her father was away. Now Franklin Dean is searching for his daughter with a U.S. Marshal. Dean and the lawman know that Andy has been picked up by the notorious Neville Hallidae gang. But what the manhunters don’t know is how the presence of little Andy Dean is changing each one of the hard-bitten bank-robbers, and setting off a struggle among them. Now, as the law closes in on two sides, Andy is caught in between. Each outlaw knows Andy can identify them and that their final choice must be between her life...or theirs.

At age 42, Captain Ethan Brandish had finally given up his command of Fort Lowell, deep in the Apache territory of Arizona. He knew there had to be more to life than constantly battling rattlesnakes and renegades, and now he would find out what it was. But the vicious Apache leader Yellow Shirt had another fate in store for Brandish. He and a group of renegade warriors had attacked an isolated stage station and ridden off just before Brandish arrived on the scene.

The West had been good to Josh McKendree. He had built a new life for himself with a loving wife and a fine young son. Then half-breed trapper Jacques Ribalt took it all away from him when he slaughtered McKendree’s family over a simple land dispute. From that day on, McKendree had only one thing left - a need to make Ribalt pay for what he did. And the West became just a place where his family’s killer was hiding. But no matter where the murderer rode, no matter what he did, the West wasn’t big enough for him to escape McKendree’s vengeance.

Campaigning for the presidency of the United States, Senator Stephen Douglas is the target of assassins who hope to benefit from a war between the states. His trip on the Tempest Queen offers a golden opportunity for the charming but deadly Genevieve St. James, the assassin. Meanwhile, Clifton Stewart is still searching for his lost love, Mystie Waters. He finds the ruins of the riverboat she last served on and can only conclude that she was one of many casualties of a tragic explosion.

Having impulsively thrown away his chance for forbidden love with Mystie Waters, Clifton Stewart knew he had made a mistake. Forsaking his family fortune, he signed on as a crewman with the Tempest Queen to search for the mysterious chambermaid. His search was interrupted by an assault that left him with amnesia and Captain Hamilton's beloved boat vulnerable to a gang of hard bitten river pirates.

Jeffrey Quicksall has finally put the past behind him. He’s worked hard for his outfitter’s license, enjoys guiding off-worlders on safari to hunt dinos, and generally looks forward to spending downtime either at the Safari Club bar in Elstadar City, or camping with his daughter, Kar, who lives at the local boarding school. Until the day dragons attack his mistrigger in legal hunting territory! Suddenly Magistrate Stemoplisen threatens to confiscate his outfitter’s license.

In the golden age of the Mississippi, men and women from all walks of life climbed aboard the mighty riverboats and forged a nation's destiny. Dexter McKay, the gambler, had a heavenly way with a deck of cards, and a devilish bag of tricks when his luck ran out. Clifton Stewart, land owner, was heir to a cotton and sugar empire. But his hard head for business was betrayed by his soft heart for a pretty woman. Mystie Waters, the chambermaid, caught the eyes of every man on board.