Thunder Moon Books In Order

Publication Order of Thunder Moon Books

The “Thunder Moon” series by the very prolific author Frederick Faust (published under his favorite pseudonym Max Brand) is a series of pulp fiction western and adventure novels. The first novel in the series, “Thunder Moon” would not see novel publication until the year 1970, almost thirty years after Faust had died; meaning that all five of the novels were published after Max Brand had died. And the fifth and final novel in the series, “The Legend of Thunder Moon” was released in 1996, which was over fifty years after the death of Brand.

It focuses on a man named Thunder Moon who is a Cheyenne Native American warrior as he deals with the white man moving into Native territory. He was adopted by a great warrior as a child, and did not know that his father was a white man. This Cheyenne needed a son, and Thunder Moon was it and he was taught in all of the ways of the Cheyenne people. Thunder Moon, while young, sought honor from the man he calls his father by hunting and fighting to try and be accepted and get past the stigma of his lighter skin color. He goes on raids and gets horses from it and whatever else he can manage to grab. Thunder Moon grew up to be bigger in size than all of the other Native boys, and no one accepted him as one of their own.

He decides however, that he will not participate in torturing himself as part of the Sun Dance, that will provide a major rite of passage amongst his people. Because he will not do this, he must do something else to prove himself but keep true to himself and his own standards.

The series is some of Brand’s best, most celebrated and acclaimed work and was published between 1927 and the following year that were interlocking short stories. When he put out the stories, originally, they were not in the order that he wanted, just the order that he wrote them.

“Thunder Moon” by Max Brand is the first novel in the “Thunder Moon” series that came out in the year 1970. Unaccepted by either the Natives or the whites, is Thunder Moon. That is, until he was bitten by a water snake and would send him on an adventure that would make him the thing of legend. Amongst both the white and the Native population alike.

Fans of the novel found this to be a fascinating read that kept them reading through the morning hours to finish it. The characters that populate Brand’s world are alive, and feel like they are your friend, or your enemy, whatever the case may be. Some felt that this novel was a great history lesson, and showed some things that happened back in the old west way back when.

Some did not like the way the novel drug things out, and their feelings did not get better. There were weak characters throughout and no story or plot, say some. There were some complaints about the language that was used that was offensive and felt dated to them, that should not be used anymore by anyone.

“Red Wind and Thunder Moon” by Max Brand is a novel in the “Thunder Moon” series that was released in the year 1996. Walking Horse is a war chief in the Omissi band of Cheyennes and he goes to the Suhati band in mysterious fashion. There head chief is Big Hard Face who shows Thunder Moon’s recently captured herd of horses. Thunder Moon got them in raids of the Comanches, the Cheyenne’s enemy. Walking Horse is able to strike a bargain, against Thunder Moon’s wishes, with Big Hard Face so that the young warrior can have an unknown gift. Thunder Moon awaits his new gift with foreboding as to what it is and Big Hard Face finds himself celebrating the good price he got for the herd of horses.

Fans of the novel found the novel to be very enjoyable to read, and that the novel just kept thrilling them throughout. Fans could not wait to see how the novel ended or wait to get their hands on another novel in the series. There are fans who cannot wait to read more of these very wonderful novels. The novels are harsh, but that is a result of the time perioed being depicted in the novel, and are not for the squeamish or easily offended.Even though some things are very offensive in the novel, it shows how wrong the things that happened long ago were and hopefully people will learn from them.

Some did not like the novel and found that it moved too slow for them. The characters felt flat and the novel just had nothing interesting going on for some. Some readers did not like how offensive and harsh this novel was, finding that the author did not have to illustrate so thoroughly the poor treatment of the Natives at this time in United States history. Some felt that the novel should not be taken as strictly history, but also history.

“Thunder Moon and the Sky People” by Max Brand is a novel in the “Thunder Moon” series that came out in the year 2000. This story sees Thunder Moon looking for his home. His real home. The one that he was taken from all those years ago by Big Hard Face, the chief of the Suhati band of the Cheyennes. Only Standing Antelope goes with Thunder Moon on this quest because all of the people that followed him into war and grew up with have betrayed, abandoned, and alienated Thunder Moon. He finds more than he thought he would among the white people; but the white people that see him are very anxious and nervous about him coming there and seeing him after so long of him being gone. There is an Indian named Red Wind, a beautiful and enigmatic woman, who, despite everything that Thunder Moon has ever seen, is able to cast a spell on him that runs deep. So deep that Thunder Moon is helpless to escape it’s clutches.