The Last Mountain Man

The Last Mountain Man #1

by William W. Johnstone

From his Missouri farm, the boy travels west. In his heart is vengeance. In his hand is a Navy Colt. By his side is the old mountain man named Preacher, who'll teach young Smoke Jensen everything he needs to know about fighting like the devil, and--when the time comes--dying like a man. Although his enemies have destroyed everything he's ever loved, they made one mistake.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Historical, Adventure, Action

205 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

William W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.

Reviews

[Shirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the past four months I have been reading the Mountain Man series by William W. Johnstone. They are a throwback to the old west and come complete with rugged turrain, outlaws, Indians, and heroes. I enjoyed these books for the simple reason that I feel transported back to a simpler time when right was right, wrong was wrong, and there wasn't nearly so much gray. The reader gets to learn alot about what it was like for the men and women who broke open the territory but especially we get to cheer on an old fashioned hero or two. You will enjoy this trip back to the mid 1800's and you'll willingly cheer for the good guys who are interesting and funny characters, and hate the villains. Enjoy!

[Wayne Barrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book read like an old western dime novel. I think it carried every cheesy cliche imaginable. For some, I suppose this might be entertaining. It certainly is an action packed adventure with plenty of shootem up scenes. I just couldn't take it seriously. If not for a couple of mild sex scenes I would say this was a YA novel. This would have been enjoyable when I was a youngster but nowadays I think I'm much more of a Cormack McCarthy western guy.

[Laur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hum… I’m a little confused - The cover and name of this book is the exact audio edition I listened to, but the book description details are different. I wonder if Audio edition is different from the printed page??….I don’t know….This Title and Edition pictured, features Smoke Jensen (not Preacher) that finds, raises, and teaches a young orphan boy named Matt, the ways of the true Mountain Man. (Of course it was Preacher who taught Smoke Jensen the ways of a mountain man as a boy and the book mentions that).

This starts out with the most savage and vicious of outlaws robbing and killing Matt’s family leaving him for dead when he was 9 yrs old. He spent 3 yrs in an abusive orphanage before he was able to run away and escape. Smoke Jensen found the boy in the mountains nearly frozen and starved to death, whereby Smoke, nursed him to health, and taught him life’s important lessons, and the ways of the Mountain Man. Those lessons included how to shoot, pan for gold, how to handle revenge, and get justice. Matt didn’t know it at the time, but all those lessons under Smoke’s guidance, would lead him to be a legend in his own right. The time has come for Matt’s independence as he turns into a man. Before Matt leaves at the age of 18, he asks Smoke Jensen for a very special favor…. and the legend continues.

5 Stars (This audio was narrated by Jack Garrett. Personal preference: I would have enjoyed even if having been narrated by J. Rodney Turner)

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm hooked. This rolls off the blocks at a steady speed and then charges to the end...which is more of a beginning as this series is still coming out after this initial book from 1984. Johnstone does an excellent job of portraying the area and time of the mid-west and west in the late 1800s. The characters are well drawn to the point of leaving you wanting more and thus wanting to buy more of the series. I will purchase more and I'm not even a fan of the western genre.

As I read, it struck me how the current PC generation would be offended by some in the book. The thing is that what happens in this book happens to us today, we just let it go, expect others (government) to protect us than actually attacking the problems. Johnstone in 1984 reflected how much of humanity has solved problems during the late 1800s and throughout the history of man. Most countries still solve such troubles the same way today.

Interesting to me are a few recent reviews of the book have that PC tinge. The idea that good and bad guys are old fashioned is a recent viewpoint by fellow Americans and certainly a new idea in the history of mankind. Johnstone's book brings one back to reality and that's something many Americans could use a good dose of.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good western series. The story of Smoke Jensen, trained by the last of the mountain men as a boy. If you like men's adventure and westerns then you will enjoy the series. Recommended

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up I read almost everything I could get my hands on. From my church library, I read all the Janette Oke Christian historical fiction titles and all of the Louis L'amour books from my public library. I guess Little House on the Prairie and Caddie Woodlawn (one of my Top Ten books ever) prepared me for a life of reading historical fiction.

On the advice of one of our school's maintenance men, I interlibrary loaned this title. Ron said I would love it, and he was right! It's a quick, easy read, and a lot like every Western movie or book you've ever read. But I think that's why this author is a success. Sometimes we read to comfort ourselves. I love knowing that Smoke is going to get revenge. I love that he's the fastest draw in the West. And I love that when he loves a woman, he loves her completely and wholly.

How long has it been since you read a Western? If it's been awhile, try this series.

[Christopher Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like western books, the Mountain Man series is one of the best ever written. Smoke Jensen is the fastest gun in the west, and the last of a dying breed of men forged from the harshness of the mountains in the American west. Great series, that led to multiple other spin-off series from characters introduced within this series, such as Preacher the First Mountain Man, Matt Jensen the Last Mountain Man and Blood Bond

[Carlton Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Johnson writes great Western sagas.
This story begins with a father and son traveling west to find some outlaws who were in the Civil War with him.
They killed a fellow soldier, stole gold, and deserted the Army.
The boy was left with an old mountain man to raise and teach the mountain ways of doing things.
The father dies while away, and the old mountain man keeps the boy.
The boy has a natural talent for handling a handgun. He is a dead-eye shot with no remorse. And the stories about him travel fast across the West.
He takes a wife, and they have a child.
While he is away with the mountain man, something terrible happens to his family, and he is hunting for the men who have done the deed—the same men his father was hunting.
It's a great story with adventure, hate, love, and revenge.

[Sana Zameer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome western! I usually don't read westerns but after reading tons of UF and PNR I needed the change. Set in mid 1800s, it's full of action and lively characters. The setting is beautiful, rugged and unyielding as are the characters. Violent and tragic, this book introduces Kirby Jensen, who will become the legend known as Smoke Jensen, and his early years with Preacher, the last of the mountain man.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually read books in the western genre but really enjoyed this one. Especially enjoyed the characters Preacher and Smoke Jensen. As a 16 year old boy, Kirby Jensen who will eventually be called Smoke, is taken into the West after his father returns to their Missouri farm at the end of the Civil War. Kirby's father is set upon revenging the death of his older son Luke and goes west on the track of his son's killers. They meet up with an old legendary mountain man named Preacher and Kirby's father leaves him with Preacher to train in the ways of the wild. The rest of the book goes on to describe how Kirby earns the nickname of Smoke and goes out to become a legendary person in the West known for his lightning fast gun draw. Johnstone has masterfully created a portrayal of the way of life of the mountain men and traders who preceding settlers moving into the West. His character development was fascinating to me. Although I am not a big fan of shooting and killing, of which there is plenty in this novel, that part of the novel seemed secondary to the characters and life they represented in history.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definately a book for a specific type of individual. Lots of shoot 'em up action with a heavy dose of the revenge motif. The book seems historically accurate and presents a balanced view of the opening of the west and the tragic fates of the many peoples that populated the pre-contact west. Although the book is Euro-centric the it makes no excuses for the white settlers/soldiers actions towards the natives and each other.

[Martha Peebles · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always a great read from the Johnstone's. I love these books on Smoke, you always get an awesome read. Once you start reading you do not want to lay these books down. So I suggest you do not start one of these books close to bedtime. I look forward to these books, thank you William and Jo Johnston for an awesome read.

[Bryan457 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smoke Jensen learns to be a mountain man and a gunfighter. He gets revenge on those who have wronged him.

Warning graphic violence and rape.

[aMandalin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this plot, but man alive, the language was pretty bad in this book. Some very descriptive violence as well in Indian fights and self-defense episodes. The pioneer / wagon train days are some of my favorite time periods to read about. I always learn so much, too, regarding foraging and herbs, how people lived, and survival skills. Also it’s so refreshing to me to hear how simple life was then before electricity - simple in mental ways, and brutal in the physical ways. Preacher was an admirable character in a lot of ways; the masculine, protective, survivalist kind of man who knows all the ways to exist in nature alone. He was also a hardened man spiritually and mentally. Be prepared for a lot of bad language and sexual insinuations from the evil characters.

[Joe DeKock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book I ever read by Mr. Johnston. I believe it came recommended by way of Amazon Kindle unlimited. I’ve been a fan of Louis L’Amoure novels for decades now and have never read any other western by anyone else. I did some quick research on Mr. Johnston and thought I would start by reading this series. I was very glad I did and enjoyed the book very much!

It’s a fast read that is easy and full of adventure that is typical of old west gun fights and good guys vs. bad guys. The character development could be stronger, but perhaps that will come with the other books in the series. I would say compared to a Louis L’Amoure western there is more graphic violence with Mr. Johnstons writing which i suppose makes it more modern to the 1980’s, and it adds to the gravity of the story when it comes to the violence against women.

I look forward to many years of exploring more of Mr. Johnson’s novels and series’.

[Stacey's All Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in the mood for a western after watching some old John Wayne movies. This was a lot better than I expected. Although it was short, I found myself invested and I plan to continue with the series. It does start a little slow, but picks up quickly after about 20% in. I imagine the next installments will be even faster paced since this first novel needed to build up the characters and backstory. Also, this book is dark. I think trigger warnings are spoilers, but I will give a general warning that there are some gruesome scenes.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

The same revenge plot that Johnstone would rehash endlessly. But if you read Johnstone you're probably not looking for originality, you're looking for violent, pulpy, gunslinging action and you will certainly find it here.

[papasteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bittersweet beginning to this series. Lots of good snarky dialogue. Witnessing a boy become a man. Lots of bullets flying, ending the lives of some very bad men.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hoot! Loved it! Looking forward to the other 49 books in the series!

[Timmy Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding western. I really liked the narrator Jack Fox. He did awesome job narrating this western. Over all great read.

[Ru · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Western novel I may have ever read did not disappoint at all, and was exciting with every turn of the page. I originally wanted to read William W. Johnstone's "A Lone Star Christmas" right around Christmas, but got sidetracked and never got a chance to. It worked out better for me to read the first in the Matt Jensen series, which introduces Smoke Jensen's protege in dramatic fashion, which I assume a Christmas story would not have done as effectively.

This is not the most-unpredictable book ever written, but that's not why you would elect to pick it up in the first place. The book does a great job of establishing those basic Western tenets of honor and justice above all else. The two themes constantly arise from the biggest gunfights (and, there are a lot of impressive gunfights!) to the smallest moments between Matt and the people he meets, most notably, with the women in this story.

Naturally, you almost cannot have a great Western tale without a third tenet, of sorts, that being revenge. Matt has a reason to live, and Smoke gives him the tools to seek out that reason. The setup between good and evil is also written really well, because the villains are not just buffoons essentially waiting to get shot; they are cunning and desperate and you aren't ever entirely sure how they are going to react. The element of the unknown in that respect added a lot to Matt's journey, I thought.

Looking forward to reading another Western novel soon. Perhaps it will be the next book in the series. I loved the simplicity of the setting, where technology is not a giant crutch in advancing the story. In a Western, you have your voice, your word, your gun, a few dollars, a horse, and your mission. That's about it. And that's all you really need to tell a good story.

[Tamika Koehn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone recommended so I gave it a try... typical western novel characters, old grizzly mountain man- tall, good looking main character with a cold glint in his eye- against every two bit low down good fer nuthin “hand gun” west of the Mississippi. Basically everyone in the book dies in a violent manner ( but of course they had it comin) only giving it one star cause it did hold my attention enough that I wanted to see how it ended

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your typical western book. Gunfights, horses, Indians, and the wild wild west. The book starts rather slow, but builds throughout and finishes with some good action. Overall the storyline and character development is rather weak. Its worth the read, but not a book I'd ever read again.

[Steven Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love William Johnstone books

[Colin Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Mountain Man by William W. Johnstone is an almost quintessential stereotypical western novel. The story follows young Kirby Jensen as he embarks west with his father and a mountain man they meet named Preacher, to build a better life for themselves after the elder Jensen returns from fighting in the civil war ("the war of the states" as explained by the author for those who fought for the Confederacy). 

The book starts off very tame and gets into the feel of a western as young Kirby and his elders encounter a batch of Native Americans and the young man ends up killing his first "buck." As you may be able to guess, the language used in this book is accurate to the time period, for better or for worse. Young Kirby is then dubbed 'Smoke' by Preacher due to the gun smoke swirling around him after the scuffle from his Colt .38 which was given to him by chance by none other than Jesse James a few years earlier. 

The book is set between 1865-72 and is fairly immersive in that regard. It mostly takes place in the southwestern Colorado territory and a lot of the locations are compared to modern towns such as Walsenburg, Buena Vista, Pagosa Springs, and Telluride. 

As Smoke Jensen matures, his Father leaves to go get revenge on some traitor rebels who killed Smoke's older brother, Luke, during the war and made off with a lot of Confederate gold to the Idaho (Ideeho) territory. Preacher takes over as a father figure for young Smoke and the two spend time wintering in the Colorado mountains, setting up a homestead near the Utah border, and getting into fights with local outlaws. Smoke shows off his skills with his twin Colts defending himself and quickly word spreads that he is one of the fastest draws in the west. 

Emmett Jensen eventually returns and dies from some wounds he sustains fighting the three big names of the treacherous rebels, Potter, Richards, and Stratton. Knowing he took back a lot of the gold, these men send some bounty hunters after Jensen to retrieve it and kill Emmett's remaining son, Smoke. 

Preacher and Smoke keep on living their secluded and peaceful life and eventually stumble upon a desecrated wagon train heading west. They discover that it was attacked and plundered by Indians and most had died or been taken except for one young woman named Nicole. Smoke and Preacher take her in and she assimilates herself into their way of life, even earning herself the nickname 'little lightning' when she turns out to be a crack shot with a rifle. Preacher eventually makes up some BS reason to leave for a few months to give Smoke and Nicole some alone time. He returns to find them married and Nicole is pregnant. 

Some time later, Preacher heads off again to go get some supplies from Del Norte and finds that there are a lot of bounty hunters in town looking for Smoke, whose bounty keeps raising itself by $1000 every time it is mentioned. Preacher humbles a young gunslinger and leaves town while trying to cover his tracks as to not lead the bounty hunters to their homestead. He's ambushed however and badly wounded but bravely makes his way back while concealing his trail. 

Preacher returns and warns the couple about the bounty hunters and then leaves to go die alone in the wilderness. Smoke and Nicole's son is born and they name him after Preacher's given name. 

Some time later a large storm scatters the livestock that Smoke owns as they are trying to pack up and leave so that they cannot be found by the bounty hunters. Smoke leaves to find the horses and cattle while Nicole stays back with the child. 

Johnstone then very graphically describes how Nicole and the baby are brutally murdered and, in Nicole's case, violated by the pack of bounty hunters. I'll spare those details as it was a drastic change of tone from even some of the more graphic parts of the book earlier. 

Smoke returns to a horrid scene and most of the bounty hunters are waiting for him. He kills most, injures some, and then tracks the ones who flee to a nearby mining camp. The miners side with Smoke but do not assist him much as he goes toe to toe with the remaining villains plus 10 additional men who have arrived as reinforcements from Idaho. 

The book ends with a recovering Smoke vowing to hunt down the men who initiated all this and get revenge on them for his brother, father, wife, and son. 


I would give this book a 3.75 out of 5 stars. It's a fun read, if at times hard to stomach with the crass dehumanization of Native Americans, even if it was the way they spoke in the time period the book is set in. The tone of the novel is at times very lighthearted and at times very graphically descriptive. Smoke is also put on a pedestal where he is, of course, unbeatable in a quick draw and seemingly has no flaws of character. Don't expect much from this book beyond a fun story about the old West with a classic hero character who a lot of bad things happen to. That is also exactly what I expect from the other 52 books in this series, which I do plan on reading one by one, if I can find them in second hand bookstores. 

[Barbara Lee Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

THEY MURDERED HIS FAMILY

Preacher has taken his last ride in his beloved mountains, later they find what's left of Preacher and Kirby/Smoke buries him and etched his name on a boulder in the mountains. Nicole gives birth to a man child naming him "Arthur" after Preacher whose birth name was Arthur. Before Preacher took his last ride he told Smoke what he had heard about him. There were bounty hunters and Smoke had a poster on "Wanted Dead or Alive" the bounty was three thousand raised to five thousand. Somehow these bounty hunters found where Smoke and Nicole lived by asking Indians who wouldn't tell them anything, but the whites certainly didn't hold back and were quite willing to give directions to their homestead. Well doggone-It if those vile bounty hunters found Smoke's cabin . Well those men commenced to rapping and they smothered baby Arthur. One of the bounty hunters Canning, who loved raping, just a justified psychopath, cut Nicole's throat and butchered her body by removing one of her breast which he would tan and use it as a pouch for tobacco. The frontier was horrendously horrifying, these men had np perimeters. Evil vile men who had no morals, probably didn't know what the word meant. Life itself was mean less to them, they lived for the moment, but that moment was coming quicker than they can think. Smoke Jensen hunted down those bounty hunters and killed everyone of them. One man he staked to an ant hill and poured honey all over him, the ants did the rest..Now he's heading to Wyoming to settle with three men who murdered his brother and made Smoke an outlaw. DEATH is on his way and no matter how many men are sent by these deserters to kill Smoke and retrieve the gold his father took from them, they'll NEVER know when he's behind them with forty four stuck in their backs..
Life is hard on the frontier, but you have to take car of business and not be afraid to die..like they say "Momma said knock you out."

[Sean Cozart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirby Jenson is sixteen years old when his father returns from the Civil War. With his mother and brother dead, his sister running off with some man, there's nothing left in Missouri for the father and son. They head west in search of a new life, though his father has other plans in mind. They run into an old mountain man going under the name Preacher, who vows to teach the boy about living in the Western frontier. Going under a new name, Smoke Jensen has one of the fastest draws in the West and vengeance is on his mind.

Might be wrong to do this but whenever I read a Western, I usually compare it to Louis L'Amour who was author that started my interest in the genre. That means the downsides to this book was language, a mild sex scene and rape scene. Even though I'm an adult, I don't particularly care for books that elaborate on adult scenes. At least these scenes were mild so it's not like The Trailsman series or something like that.

Overall the book was ok, I guess, not sure of what to say. It didn't end happily like most Westerns but the ending is setting up a series that I'm interested in continuing. This is not the first Johnstone book I've read and it was a spinoff series combining his iconic characters. Out of them all, I decided to read Smoke's journey as he was only character I enjoyed because he has a moral compass. He isn't like Preacher who would slept with any woman and pay no mind to the children he left behind. And for that alone makes me like him more as a character.

[David Phipps · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is book 1 of a very long Western series that seems to mainly focus on the character Smoke Jensen, touted as the last of the Mountain Men.  This book covers the very beginning of this character as he trains under a mountain man, becomes a famous figure, and starts on his path of revenge.

This book is super short and should really only be considered a novella.  It also does not feel complete in that more revenge is saved for book 2. Overall It feels like a Cliff Notes version of a western story since it moves fast and nothing seems to get covered in much detail.  It definitely has cliches common to this genre and I was a little disappointed how quickly Smoke became such a fast draw.  I did not like certain tragic events that push Smoke further. Smoke still makes for an interesting enough protagonist.

This series has 50+ books that all seem to mention Mountain Men in the title and Smoke may or may not be the protagonist in all of them.  I decided to read at least one more book in the series since this first book does not feel complete.

[RJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dual story of Matt Cavanaugh, a young boy orphaned at nine years old, and the generosity of Smoke Jensen who found and took him in. Matt was constricted to an orphanage for three years until finally escaping. Smoke found him in the middle of winter under an overhang, taking him to his cabin and nursing him to health. Matt told Smoke of his Father, mother, and sister killed by bandits. He managed to escape into the rocks with his father’s rifle killing two of the raiders. After a year with Smoke, Matt decided to head out looking for the men that killed his family. The town was called Gehennah, a robber’s roost with no law. A very good story. I like William W. Johnstone the more I hear from him. His narrator, J. Rodney Turner is excellent. Some of the best westerns I’ve listened to.

[John Reis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kirby Jensen is managing the family farm alone. His mother has passed and his father and brother are fighting for the Confederacy. His father returns, his brother does not. They decide to sell the farm and head west. They meet a man called Preacher, an old mountain man, who teaches them the lore of the west. One night, the are attacked by Indians. Kirby kills all for with his pistols were quickly.

The years go by. Emmett Jensen goes off to avenge his other son’s life, killed by fellow soldiers. Kirby develops a reputation after killing two assailants in a saloon.

Kirby and Preacher come upon a wagon train. All are dead, except for a young woman.

Things go badly from there.

The story is ok. However, the writing is awful. The dialogue is atrocious. Unfortunately, I picked several more of the author’s books at a thrift shop when I picked this one up.