“The Golden Arrow” by Randy B. Batten

The Golden Arrow

Randy B. Batten
Independently Published (2024)
ISBN:  979-8227882240
Reviewed by Megan Weiss for Reader Views (02/2025)

“The Golden Arrow” by Randy B. Batten is a fast-paced adventure across the frontier of the Black Hills.  Amidst the backdrop of the Dakota gold rush, three men are bound by fate.  Chief Heretchaa, after watching the White Man burn his village and kill his father, vows to avenge the souls of his people by commencing a war of revenge.  The yellow metal the interlopers so desire has poisoned their hearts with greed, and Chief Heretchaa seeks to show them how their greed can lead to disaster. 

Daniel Moss is a bounty hunter roughened by years of living by his own needs and desires and nothing else.  Whether he is hunting criminals, facilitating black market deals selling guns to the Indians, or picking his own target to land a grand pay day, he is bound by few morals and no regrets.  When he hears of a savage warrior taking out white men with arrows made of gold, he knows he has found his most lucrative prey of all. 

Jim Braggart is an old man grieving his long-lost wife, who died years ago trying to bear him a child.  Traveling from his mountain home for the first time in years, he has two goals: track down and bring back the dangerous bounty hunter, Daniel Moss, and locate his late wife’s people and tell them of her fate. In a fight for survival, will the spirits guide the righteous to victory?  Or will greed win again?

“The Golden Arrow” is a perfect read for any fans of gold rush era literature or Wild West stories. The characters of Chief Heretchaa, Daniel Moss, and Jim Braggart are painted with vivid detail.  Even Moss, who is built to embody the worst of what frontier life has to offer, still enlists sympathy from readers as they learn of the tragic reason for his turn from an honest life.  The descriptions of raids on Chief Heretchaa’s people are gruesome yet authentic examples of the grievous wrongs perpetrated by White Men lusting for wealth against innocent men, women, and children.  The book holds a suspense that makes it hard to put down.  Though rather short in length, it pulls no punches.  It is just as action-packed and invigorating a saga.  The short page length, in fact, enhances the pull of the book as readers are constantly waiting for something new to happen on the next page. 

Wild-west stories and gold rush lore have not necessarily been books I have flocked to in the past, but the synopsis of “The Golden Arrow” by Randy B. Batten hooked me from the first sentence, and I am glad I broadened my horizons.  I encourage readers to likewise take a chance on this book and go beyond their own usual comfort zones.  Truthfully, some of the best books I have ever read have been the result of going down a new path.