How to Read the Revenger Series
If you are ready to plunge into the dusty, blood-soaked trails of the American West, the Revenger series by Frank Leslie (a pen name for the prolific Western author Peter Brandvold) offers a gritty, action-packed saga. The series follows Mike Sartain, a Cajun outlaw and Confederate veteran who unleashes his LeMat revolver in search of justice and retribution in a lawless land.
Readers have two main pathways to experience Sartain's journey: the original individual novellas or the compiled omnibus editions. Below, we break down both formats to help you choose the best starting point.
1. The Original Novellas in Publication Order
The core narrative of Mike Sartain was initially published as a rapid-fire sequence of short novels and novellas between 2014 and 2015. Reading them in this order ensures you follow the chronological character development and narrative continuity:
- A Bullet for Sartain (2014) – Mike Sartain is lured into a deadly trap in West Texas, starting his vengeful quest after his best friend is killed in his place.
- Death and the Saloon Girl (2014) – Sartain heads to Colorado's Sangre de Cristo mountains to assist an old flame, only to walk into a gold-fueled conspiracy.
- The Bittersweet War (2014) – Sartain finds himself caught in a brutal family feud and town conspiracy in West Texas.
- Gold Dust Woman (2014) – Sartain matches wits and bullets with dangerous adversaries over stolen wealth.
- Savage Barranca (2014) – Surrounded by enemies in a treacherous canyon, Sartain must use all his Cajun resourcefulness to survive.
- San Juan Bushwhackers (2014) – Sartain is ambushed in a ghost town and forced to wage a one-man war against mysterious bushwhackers.
- Silver City Wolfpack (2014) – Confronting a vicious gang of outlaws terrorizing a silver mining community.
- No Mercy (2014) – The stakes get higher as Sartain hunts down ruthless predators who show no quarter.
- Wild Night at the Sundance Saloon (2015) – A high-tension standoff in a remote saloon where allies and enemies collide.
- Fatal Woman (2015) – The tenth book in the sequence, wrapping up Sartain’s primary saga with a deadly confrontation involving a dangerous woman.
2. The Omnibus and Collection Order
For readers who prefer longer, unified volumes, the series has been compiled into omnibus collections. The publication order of these major collections is as follows:
- Revenger (2017) – The first omnibus collection that gathers several of the early adventures to introduce readers to Mike Sartain's brutal world.
- Six in the Wheel (2018) – A Western duo collection that compiles the first two original novellas: A Bullet for Sartain and Death and the Saloon Girl.
- Death Wields a Henry .44 (2019) – A Western duo compilation that groups later stories (including Savage Barranca) to showcase Sartain's run-ins with outlaws and the U.S. Cavalry.
What to Know Before You Start
The Revenger series stands apart from traditional Westerns due to several unique elements that author Peter Brandvold brought to the table under the Frank Leslie pseudonym:
- The Protagonist’s Roots: Unlike standard Western heroes, Mike Sartain is a Cajun raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans. This heritage influences his language, food preferences, and outlook on the frontier.
- A Distinctive Weapon: Sartain famously carries a LeMat revolver, a unique Civil War-era percussion weapon featuring a nine-shot cylinder and a secondary smoothbore shotgun barrel underneath.
- Spaghetti Western Tone: Brandvold modeled these books after the "adult Westerns" of the late 20th century (such as the Longarm and Slocum series). Expect fast pacing, gritty violence, romantic entanglements, and morally gray characters rather than standard black-and-white morality.