If ever there was a character in any of David Gemmell's books that came close to being deadlier than Druss, it would only be Jon Shannow. While Druss is pure terror and chaos, a simple man by his own thoughts, and Waylander is constantly caught between love and hatred, Shannow is a whirlwind of controlled fury, ice cool and not a man to mess with. The difference between Shannow and most of Gemmell's other heroes is that he is more ready to kill by instinct, than to let a man live, a harsh world calls for a harsh law. Even Druss gives a warning to thieves unlike Shannow who just kills them. In the year 1987, the oceans of the Earth formed into a gigantic tidal wave, and destroyed the world. During that tidal wave, many nuclear bombs were launched and denonated after the water shorted out many computer circuits, and caused much of the world to be radioactive. A period of time passes and the people of Earth start to live in a Wild West colonial style of life. Pretty soon brigands and thieves appear, as is the folly of human kind throughout the ages, and the known world as it is, becomes increasingly hostlile, more so than it was before. Out of the brigands and the mists of the frightened farmers, appear pistoliers known as brigand slayers. Few in number they are, but still they make a difference to the harsh world. After the mentor brigand slayer of a young man is murdered Jon Shannow rises out of depths of childhood and leaps into manhood bringing fire and death to the wicked. After many years of searching forthe elusive Jerusalem and defeating evil as he goes, the Jerusalem man meets a widow named Donna and decides to settle down after many years of searching. When a group of families travelling to new lands to settle in, ( after Shannows brother, Daniel Cade is reported to be coming ) Shannow and Donna decide to travel with the group and run head on into the evil nation of the Hellborn. Although a harsh story, it is filled with suspense as we learn the coldness of Shannow demeanor in each of his gunfighting scenes. I gave the book a four out of five when comparing it to the other Jon Shannow novels because it lacks the righteousness of "The Last Guardian" and the action, mystery and intrigue of "Bloodstone". It is more of a journey of misfortune and death, with hard lessons to be learnt. All in all a great read, and a must for Wild West fans. ((Zane Swenson))