Each day we spend in this life has a profound influence on souls around us. Book three is the collection of souls on the highway of life.
One of the main characters, Bald Jo Kline (aka Black Hawk and Don Jo Verde, to mention only a few of the aliases he had), was born in freedom in Africa, sold into slavery in America, sold to a don in Mexico, traded for whisky to the Apache, and finally became a feared leader in the Indian nation. Jo found himself in the fight of his life. Does he live or die?
Dr. Erlinda McAllen, is a victim of Black Hawk’s raids on her grandfather’s land. 13 years later, she is faced with her hatred for him and all Indians because of the atrocities dealt to her. However, how does a savage change his life? How did he change her life?
Miller was a drover who found himself in several situations linked together that took him from one close call to another. Finally, on a rain-soaked night, he gets it, and life changes for him. His only companion to share his joy is old Bob. A mutt that was at best worthless, a flea-bitten hound of no value. Just an animal to share a meal with.
William Murphy found himself in the worst possible situation. He was too young to stand against the evil wind that blew in his life. He found himself alone in a world where no one who would have cared knew he was still alive.
Jericho Dawson wandered the wilderness. He knew the wilderness was like a lovely woman. One minute she loved you, and the next, you were running for your life. Generally stripped of all you valued.
Most of the characters of the first two books are trudging through their lives in book three, as well as other books this author has written. They reached a point when they had done all they could do, so they took a stand hoping for the best. Looking back in retrospect along their highway of life, they realized their lives held little or no significance. In Book Three, each character had moments of great remorse, despair, and for some, great hope. A good novel should end the way the readers want it to end. In this BROKEN world, there are just too many guys that do not realize they are standing close to the edge. They know no one who can fix their brokenness.
I hope you enjoy BROKEN. Many characters you read about in my other books are here in BROKEN. It is a work of the heart, and I include it in my unspoken prayers from start to finish. God Bless all who read Kathy’s and my novel called BROKEN.
Miller walked along in the cold rain. It had been hours since he had heard the explosion that shook the ground. The river he was following had given him a glimpse of the fire through the woods. He had heard the gunshots and war cries before the explosion, and he changed directions. Crossing the river, he had climbed the side of a hill to get some distance from whatever had happened. Hours later, and just about to drop, he crawled in below some thick cedar branches and went to sleep.
A few hours later, soaking wet, he crawled from under the cedar and stood in the cold rain. He scanned the direction he was headed each time lightning flashed. On the side of a mountain, there was a dark spot. It could be a cave or overhanging rock formation. Once again, he trudged along, making his way higher up, hoping to find a dry place to get out of the frigid wind.
Sighing deeply, Miller sat on the windward side of a boulder that partially blocked the wind. Resting there for a minute, he waited in the dark for a lightning flash. The lightning flashes had been his way of keeping himself on course through the night. A strong bolt of lightning to the north assured him he was closer to a point over the prairie where he might see the herd. Trudging along, he grumbled to himself, “I got to get out of this rain!” As if by divine direction, he suddenly stood before a dark hole in the sheer face of a rolling hill. ‘Well, it may be a hole full of Indians, bears, or wolves, but if I don’t get out of this cold rain, I will die anyway,’ he thought.
Stepping into the dark cave, he instantly realized he was not alone. A strong smoke odor stung his nose, and he eased his pistol out of its holster. Backing against the wall, he stood very still. He could hear the quiet breathing of more than one human.
Broken…what a trilogy for the person who is interested in the Old West. The Christian values of the born again and the Hope of Redemption! James Ferrell has written a sweeping trilogy of the West and interfaced it well with the values of life as well as the values of the Christian life. The books are like grabbing a bad bull by the tail, how do you let go?
I could not! Almost at once I became a settler, a survivor, a desperate fugitive, and several other personas as I was pulled into the tragedies and victories of the various characters in his broad story of life and death from the towns, plains, rivers, and mountains of the character’s experiences.
To anyone who enjoys a mixture of twists and turns and subplots galore, welcome to a shoot ‘em up full fisted read!
To be in any sense critical, my only problem is tracking the number of characters. This is James Ferrell at his best though, mixing and meandering storylines of a plethora of people into a mega story or stories of their lives and faults and successes of life by sharing the impact and power of how Christ can and does affect the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people!
Way to go James!
Robert Nichols, II
Pastor, Cook Springs Baptist Church
Nita M.
Broken is a rootin’, tootin’, western adventure trilogy of life in the new West spun up by a fine pair of storytellers, James Ferrell and Kathy Clair. You will not want to quit turning the pages. Get all three of these books lined up so you do not have to stop until the end.
It has everything! The characters are filled with the despair of broken families caused by the hardships and the renewal of faith as they struggle through putting their lives back together. This is a collection of rousing action and adventures during the development of the western parts of our country in the mid-1800s. Tales of cowboys and Indians, settlers, mountain men, and returning civil war veterans as they all moved West with most seeking new, prosperous, and happy lives while the Indians, owlhoots and outlaws with their dastardly deeds seek them out as prey. The West was rough country with murderous Indian and Comancheros raids, attacks on wagon trains, settlers, fledgling communities, and the kidnapping and brutalization of survivors. This tough new breed of American pioneers struggled mightily to bring civilization to this rough land.
They brought their hopes and dreams of a new life and most importantly, the "Faith of Our Fathers" to guide and see them through their struggles and hardship in the new territory. They trusted that this faith would guide them through those things beyond their control in the trials ahead of them. All these stories and characters are skillfully intertwined throughout the series and fold together along the way bringing the resolution from their choices in their lives and how the results of their choices have affected others. Characters are pressured by circumstance and wander from decency and goodness to lives of crime and despotism. Surprises abound as these people, both good and bad, discover what decency lives within even the worst of them and that their eternal life can be assured.
James and Kathy also show throughout Broken that those that were exposed to the teachings of the Bible at any time during their lives from childhood forward even though they might have grown to be thoroughly despicable still carried the flicker of that flame of Christianity. It returns to burn brighter than ever once the breath of the God brings it back to life. These are stories of human failings, sorrow and heartache, and the joy of the reunification of families, and redemption sprinkled with a delightful humor throughout that will warm your heart. I cannot wait for the next ones!
J. Stevens
Broken is a trilogy of compelling stories of war, life on the trail and how it affected the lives of those who endured and survived. It warmed my heart to see the lasting friendships that were made and their dependence on each other. Each book left me wanting to read more.
Lynda B.