And heres another good book about Smoke Jenson who beyond all odds thrives to kill people and bring about a personal revenge. Wyatt Earp is not a very central figure so dont buy it because of that. Buy it because it's a good shoot 'em up book.

Non stop action in the tradition of the dime store Western! Missouri bushwackers get their come uppance in the wake of a Dodge City bank robbery. After the Rebs lost the war they should have stayed the Hell out of Dodge!

This novel is typical of all of Johnstone's novels, he's written in the 90s. This novel uses a horror/thriller backdrop...sequel to Rockabilly Hell...and establishes folks views on politics and religion. Bill Johnstone has been my favorite author...but he needs to tone down on political subject matter. His books become repetitious afterwhile. All you have is different chararcters in different situations spouting off about how the U.S. should be. Which to a greater extent I agree with Bill. On about the book. This one is better than the first, more action and more travelling around. Weird twist in the latter half of the book on who or what is causing people to lose their minds.

If you read Rockabilly Hell then you can't miss Rockabilly Limbo. It continues the tale of the the ghost bars, and our hero's battle against them. This book has more violence than the original and the evil covers more territory. It is a fast paced triller that any Johnstone fan comes to expect. Enjoy!

I cannot believe anybody would give this sorry mess 4 or 5 stars. It is horrible. This was my first and only Johnston book and I wish I had never picked this one. I know the Devil is around but this is so bad and boring, I could hardly finish it. read it if you dare.

I couldn't put this book down. I stayed up all night reading.It starts out a little slow but boy watch out! Excellent reading material.Mr. Johnstone is very talented & I can't wait to read more.

IT WAS SLOW IN THE BEGINNING BUT AFTER I GOT INTO THE BOOK IT WAS HARD TO PUT DOWN. I AM GOING TO GET THE OTHERS.

The two main charaters (the Devil's Child and the Cat) who barely survived in the last book return in this sequel. Their roles are greatly reduced and only make a token appearance in the book and really have a more supportive role here then in the first book.

The story is somewhat fast paced with some light , humorous moments as the badly burned Devil's Child and the Cat are put on the side lines and mostly secondary agents are used to attempt to do the bidding of The Devil's Child, Cat and Satan himself.

The hero of the story is the son of the sheriff who died in battle with the Devil's Child and Cat in the last book (shades of Sam Balon here) as he attempts to battle the minions of the Devil's Child and the Cat as they try to regain their health and power.

The problem is the minions.....Well, you will have to read the book to find out if anyone survives this battle and/or IF the Devil's Child and Cat return for Round Three or not....?

The two main charaters who barely survived the last book return in this sequel. They only make a token appearance in the book and really have a more supportive role here then in the first book.

The story is somewhat fast paced as the badly burned main bad girls are put on the side lines and mostly secondary charaters are used to carry the story and attempt to bring about the destruction of mankind again.

I would only recommend this book to die-hard William W Johnstone fans as this is not up to his normal pare in his story telling.

I would just like to say i think all of these books are great.I love the way he writes about good and evil,I think Sam and Nydia are wonderful characters.I just wish their were more of these books to read.I would love to see Little Sam all grown up.

This book stays with you. I'll probably remember it forever. I wish I could say that was because it was so good. But it wins the prize for "The Worst Book I've Ever Read." Hands down. This book is unspeakably bad. Poorly written, contrived, awful characterizations, unintentional hilarity...this book has it all. It is a very easy read (it took me all of three hours from start to finish) so if you're looking for a laugh in the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" style, then this is your book. They don't get any worse than this.

Great Book! I'm sorry that it is out of print though. It shouldn't be. I have a copy of it and I waas scared so bad that I stuck it in my freezer! hehe

This was a great book. This was the first I read by this author and now I am hooked on his work. The details were very intense and it was a very creepy book.

As an avid reader of the Ben Rains and the "Ashes" series, this is the last book I will buy! It is a retread of an earlier book where an epidemic/plague was caused by fleas and the destruction of civilization. This time, fleas and mad scientists cause it. The last few books written in the "Ashes" series have not been up to the standards of earlier books. The writing has lost its zing and they have the feeling of being formula stories. It is my impression that Mr. Johnston has lost his compelling desires to write!

This book had huge inaccuracies. Has Mr. Johnstone ever heard of research? I personally work with some of the weapons used in this book by Ben Raines and his followers, and their were huge discrepicies on how to operate the weapons and deployment in the field. Other glaring mistakes such as the battles looked to me like this book was thought up by a five year old. It is in my opinion that this is waste of money and paper.

I have been a avid reader of the Ashes series since the early 80's and always look forward to a new release. This particular book though left me wanting. Ben Raines is getting awful soft in his old age. After the SUSA are bombed Ben does not retaliate in kind and after his men are betrayed by his old flame he lets her go? This is not the Raines I have come to expect. Mr. Johnstone has been hinting at a better Airforce for the Rebels and something of a Navy. Where is it?, in the combat passages there is no mention to the type of jets the Rebs are flying, this, like the last few books really glosses over the hardware and doesn't have the same type of detail the earlier books had. And I am still waiting for the forays into Asia and South America still to come. Mr. Johnstone, let the US alone for awhile so the Rebels can get back to kicking totalitarian behind. I for one, cannot believe the Democratic Socialists in the US have the kind of fight you keep giving them credit for, that they should keep coming back.

I have also read the devils kiss and the devils heart and found this book to lack the true intent of the writer.. based on his earlier books. The first two gave you characters to follow and an interesting dialogue.. while it seems the author kind of broke away.. and turned completely to sex, ghouls, and shock this time. What happened?? I think the author was most likely rushed to finish since the publishing is only a year apart.
My opinion.. just stick with the first two and leave this one out.

After the first two installation's of William W. Johnstone's horror series(The Devil's Kiss and the Devil's Heart), I was rather disappointed in the developments, or lack of, in The Devil's Touch... The story was very loosely put together, especially towards the end, where it seemed as if the author was just trying to finish the book.... In all honesty, if one were to read this series and leave this one out.. they wouldn't be missing much.... BOTTOM LINE: Serious drop off from "The Devil's Heart", which was by far the best of the first three books.

Johnstone has found a formula which works for him. He has written a series of books in which: 1. The Devil uses sex to take control of a community. 2. God's warrior (Sam Balon in various incarnations) fights the Devil. 3. Lots of people get killed, raped, tortured, turned into zombies, turned into vampires. 4. Big Battle.

Johnstone's discriptions of "arguments" between God and the Archangel Michael may irritate thoghtful Christian readers. If you like lots of violence and some graphic sex, you will give the book a fairly high rating. If you are a stickler for logic and theological consistency, you will give it one or two stars.

Have you ever seen one of those action movies where you have pretty much figured out what's going to happen after about ten minutes: who will die and how, who's going to be in trouble, etc.? This book reads like that. It's like a rejected Ah-nold movie script, completely lacking any joy, imagination, originality, etc. In about half an hour, I had pretty much guessed how the book would turn out and I got it all right except for one guess.
[SPOLIERS AHEAD]
The main character is a mercenary, but don't let that make you uncomfortable. He was a GOOD mercenary: made a lot of money, killed bad people only. He goes back to his boyhood hometown after thirty years or so only to find everyone has made a pact with the devil except for a few key characters like the plucky teenage girl / sidekick (I'm sure the character had a name, but it doesn't really matter). Luckily, Our Hero is a military expert (not much of a tactician, more of a "let's just shoot people and blow stuff up real good" sort of action hero). Still, even though he is warned that he is fighting the Supernatural Forces of Evil and that guns will not be the answer, it turns out that guns and explosives really do a pretty good job.
There are no surprises, no suspense, things pretty much work the way the characters think they will, they don't seem to be surprised by anything, scared of anything. I know that actors in a movie can look like they're sleepwalking through a role, I didn't think it was possible for characters in a book to do the same thing.
You may have seen the cover of the book, with the skeletal guy playing a piano. There is a possessed piano that we are introduced to early in the book. In a Stephen King book, there would be some doubt to the ultimate outcome. The piano would seem possessed to only one person or that person would have other problems that would make them question what they are seeing. After all, a haunted piano that plays by itself, rolls around the room and tries to kill people is pretty out of the ordinary. But in this book, you are told right off the bat that the piano is possessed. No question about it. It doesn't really figure in the plot except as a conversation piece to anyone who comes over and it does play songs with foreshadowing titles which leads me to believe that the authors scoured at least several albums looking for record titles that would fit. Probably the only original bit of thought in the entire book.

This is the first and hopefully only book that Mr. Johnstone writes with a co-author. The story is fast pace and very scary for the reader. It has some humourous moments and at other times seems a bit disconnected but overall the story leaves the reader wishing that the sequel would be written and released soon.
The story deals with a old mercenary returning home to retire and relax. The problem is a old friend of his is having a problem with a old upright piano he bought. The hero agrees to investage the history of the piano and the horror ride starts for the reader.
I hope that if they ever rerelease this book they won't change the cover. That skeleton dressed up in a tux peering at you (the reader) over his right shoulder promises you a wild and scary ride in the book. If you can find a copy of this book I would recommend that you read it in a well lit room because it will give you nightmares.

"Betrayal" is less strident than Mr. Johnstone's work, but it is still difficult to read. Rather than draw interesting characters, Mr. Johnstone resorts to trite stereotypes. The protaganist, Ben Raines, offers the only shred of interest in the book. Apparently, he is a brilliant military leader who enjoys risking his life in commando-style warfare behind enemy lines. Anyone who has actual combat experience knows that even the most skilled soldier can have an unluckly day (and greatly shortened life). Given the number of "Ashes" books on the shelf, Mr. Raines has a career only found in comic books. Overall, "Betrayal" was a bit better than "Hunted" or "Breakdown." My only thought is that Mr. Johnstone has found a group of people who will buy his books... no matter what he writes. If so, he is a good salesman, but I cannot possibly describe him as a good writer.

This is yet another installment of the well witten, but not always well-edited (not the author's fault) of the Ashes series. I personally think that Mr. Johnstone has developed some of the best characters in recent fiction. Bear in mind that there are now 20+ titile in the series and I wait on pins and needles for each one. Not many authors can keep a series going this long. Till Martians wipe out the Rebels, Make mine Ashes!

The back cover of a book usually tells what a book is about, but not it this case. It is about a man who is over 700 years old and cannot be killed. He can turn from a man into a wolf and back into a man again when ever he wants. Many, many people are sent to find him, to many people to keep up with--very confusing. The main thrust of the book is the screw up of the federal government in the way the affair is handled. This may happen quite a bit but I don't need Johnstone to tell be about it in a book that is supposed to be about something else. I quite reading the Mountain Man series and The Last Gunfighter Series because each book was about half filled with what had happened in a previous book. Think I will quit reading Johnston all together. He will never know it and will continue to publish many, many books and make mucho dinero. I would not advise anyone to buy any of the Johnstone books except the early Mountain Man books or the Preacher books. They were so good.

The storyline of Hunted is terrific and the characters are fascinating. The book was bogged down though over and over by the author's views of government and politics. While we all have our opinions and concerns of today's government and the restrictions being put on us as citizens, Johnstone just crammed his down our throats. The story actually became secondary to the author's political views.

A GOOD BOOK WITH A REALISTIC DESCIPTION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ANYONE WHO DOES NOT AGREE, HAS NEVER HEARD OF RUBY RIDGE AND THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS IN WACO. TO THIS DAY THERE HAS BEEN A COVER UP BY THOSE IN THE GOVERNMENT ABOUT THOSE INCIDENTS JUST TO NAME TWO.