Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thunder Moon | 1970 | Max Brand | Buy |
| 2 | Thunder Moon’s Challenge | 1982 | Max Brand | Buy |
| 3 | Thunder Moon Strikes | 1982 | Max Brand | Buy |
| 4 | Farewell, Thunder Moon | 1996 | Max Brand | Buy |
| 5 | The Legend of Thunder Moon | 1996 | Max Brand | Buy |
The Thunder Moon series shares its basic premise with Brand’s Rusty Sabin Saga: a white man raised by the Cheyenne who must navigate between two worlds. Thunder Moon, however, is a more fully realized version of the idea, spread across five novels that trace the character’s life from warrior to a man confronting the society of his birth. The first book appeared in 1970, with additional volumes published through 1996, all from Brand’s posthumous manuscripts.
Brand clearly found the “man between cultures” premise worth revisiting, and the Thunder Moon books are generally considered the stronger treatment. Thunder Moon himself is a memorable character, defined by his fierce loyalty to the people who raised him and his confusion when forced to deal with a white world he does not understand. The series has enough action to satisfy Western fans, but the cultural conflict at its core gives it more to chew on than a standard frontier adventure.