Saddle up for a wild ride through the dusty trails of the Old West with the Yakima Henry series, where a half-white, half-Cheyenne hero battles outlaws, prejudice, and his own restless heart. Peter Brandvold’s gritty Western saga hooks you with its raw action, complex characters, and a world where justice often comes at the end of a smoking barrel.
Yakima Henry, a loner with a golden heart and a deadly Arkansas toothpick, roams the untamed frontier, searching for a place to belong. His adventures blend pulse-pounding shootouts with poignant moments of compassion, making this series a must-read for Western fans craving authenticity and heart.
How Yakima Henry Began
Peter Brandvold, a North Dakota native with a passion for Westerns, created Yakima Henry under his pen name, Frank Leslie, in 2007. Inspired by the genre’s golden age and his own experiences in the American West, Brandvold wanted a hero who embodied the struggles of a divided identity. Yakima, a half-breed navigating a world that rejects him, was born from this vision, first appearing in The Lonely Breed. Brandvold’s love for fast-paced storytelling and flawed, relatable characters shaped the series into a gritty ode to the frontier.
The Heart of Yakima Henry
The Yakima Henry series spans 18 books, each a standalone adventure tied by its rugged hero and the unforgiving 1860s West. In The Lonely Breed (2007), Yakima protects a brothel worker from brutal attackers, sparking a chase that tests his survival skills and moral code. The Wild Breed (2008) sees him journey to Mexico to rescue a friend’s brother, facing Apaches and revolutionaries. Revenge at Hatchet Creek (2011) pits Yakima against a vengeful rancher, while Chiricahua Blues (2017) delivers intense battles with Apache warriors.
The series shines through its themes of identity, justice, and resilience. Yakima’s half-breed status makes him an outsider, yet his compassion drives him to protect the vulnerable, often at great personal cost. Brandvold’s vivid prose captures the West’s lawless beauty—think sun-scorched deserts and smoky saloons—while his unapologetic style embraces graphic violence, profanity, and romance, reflecting the era’s harsh realities. Fans praise the relentless action and Yakima’s bond with his horse, Wolf, though some critique the mature content as excessive.
Why Yakima Henry Resonates
Yakima Henry stands out in modern Western fiction for its bold take on a classic genre. Brandvold’s ability to weave historical grit with universal struggles—belonging, love, survival—has earned a dedicated global fanbase, with translations in Italian and Norwegian. The series revitalizes the Western for new readers, proving the genre’s timeless appeal. Its raw authenticity and Yakima’s flawed heroism inspire fans to root for an underdog who never backs down.
- First Book: The Lonely Breed (2007)
- Total Books: 18
- Author: Peter Brandvold (as Frank Leslie)
- Setting: 1860s American West
Ready to ride into the sunset? Grab The Lonely Breed and discover why Yakima Henry’s wild adventures are the perfect escape for Western lovers!