I recently took a short vacation, so of course I had to take a couple of my guilty pleasure books along. Pony Soldiers by the ubiquitous Deathlands author James Axler was one.

Never disappointed by a Deathlands title. This go 'round we find the companions in the nuke-restructured Southwest. They encounter a traditional band of Mescalero Apache living/existing in a hidden canyon. Their nemesis? A group of Pony Soldiers led by who appears to be none-other than George Armstrong Custer himself. That is all the spoiler I'm going to give you. You'll have to read the book for how this came to be.

As usual ultra-violent, graphic content. The companions do what they do so well; kicking butt and not taking names. No one left to take a name from.

This is the sixth entry in the Deathlands series, early enough that the final troupe of warrior survivalists is not quite set. It is interesting to witness the evolution of the main character cast. The adventure and action was wild and wooly. A good mix of humor, rage, terror and humanity.

As always, violent escapist reading for the not so squeamish reader. Enjoy!

Mike