Slocum Westerns are the longest running series of Westerns ever written, encompassing over 400 books, all of which are published under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Jake Logan. The books have been written by a number of authors, and all feature John Slocum as the protagonist.

Main character

John Slocum is among the toughest of

gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...

s. He is a mostly decent man who will do whatever it takes to survive life in the

Western Frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the Geography of the United States, geography, History of the United States, history, Folklore of the United States, folklore, and Cultur ...

. A

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

soldier who lost his ancestral home to

carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical pejorative used by Southerners to describe allegedly opportunistic or disruptive Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War and were pe ...

s after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Slocum left the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, never to return. He has been a soldier, slave,

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

driver, shotgun guard, bank robber, lawman, pioneer, cowboy, shepherd, poor man, rich man, gambler, and drifter. His adventures occur in most of the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

Target demographic

The books are claimed to be adult oriented, due to the presence of three explicitly described sex scenes in each of the numerous books; they were first published by

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

Press.

Authors

* Robert E. Vardeman (''Dead Man's Spurs'') *

Martin Cruz Smith Martin Cruz Smith, born Martin William Smith (November 3, 1942), is an American writer of mystery and suspense fiction, mostly in an international or historical setting. He is best known for his series featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko ...

(''Ride for Revenge'') *

Ronald Kelly Ronald Kelly (born November 20, 1959) is best known as a speculative fiction and "southern-fried" horror writer. His tales are usually set in the Southern United States and feature language and actions that are associated with those regions ...

(''Slocum and the Nightriders'') and (''Slocum and the Gold Slaves'') * Robert Vaughan (''Cheyenne Bloodbath'') * Jory Sherman (''Sixguns at Silverado'') *

James Reasoner James Reasoner (born June 5, 1953) is an American writer. He is the author of more than 350 novels and many short stories in a career spanning more than thirty years. Reasoner has used at least nineteen pseudonyms, in addition to his own name: Jim ...

(''Slocum and the Texas Rose'') *Marcus Galloway (''Slocum and the Witch of Westlake'') *Matthew P. Mayo (''Slocum and the High-Rails Heiress'') ''Slocum and the High-Rails Heiress'' 2012, Jove Books – Slocum series number 398

References

{{reflist

External links

Books by Jake Logan
''fictiondb'' Western (genre) novels Novel series