THE BARON WAR

The fourth in Sherman’s novels about the Barons of Texas (Grass Kingdom, not reviewed, etc.), with the Civil War as a backdrop. As always, what’s most important to the cattle ranchers is land, and, here, Aaron and Martin Baron of the Box B ranch are pitted against a traditional Mexican bad guy, Matteo Aguilar of the Rocking A ranch, and his militia of Yankee, Mexican, and Indian hired guns. Battles, personal quarrels, family squabbles, split loyalties, and romance add enough action to keep the tale moving along at a satisfying pace, and, this time out, Sherman addresses the issue of slavery (he’s against it).

Fans of the series won't be disappointed if they’re looking for more of the same.