Talons of Eagles

This latest installment in Johnstone's series about frontiersman Jamie MacCallister (Eyes of Eagles, etc.) finds the former gunfighter, now 50, leading a serene life of retirement in Colorado even as his sons are fighting on both sides of the Civil War. Summoned to Washington, Jamie is offered the position of chief scout for the Union by Lincoln himself. But though the rugged Westerner loathes slavery, he loves states' rights more, and, after a meeting with Robert E. Lee, he signs up with the Confederacy as commander of a guerrilla band. Following the Confederate defeat, Jamie returns to Colorado, where his hopes for a peaceful existence are shattered by his old war foe, Aaron Layfield, who, in the war's waning days, had announced his plans to stamp out any lingering rebels and exterminate the Indians. Top on his hit list is Jamie, whose family he considers a ``hotbed of insurrection.'' Despite some interesting period lore, the narrative is padded with lengthy historical discussions and further weakened by lackluster prose. (Apr.)