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Sundance Books in Order

Part ofBen Haas Books in Order

This page lists the Sundance books by Ben Haas, written as John Benteen, in order, with quick summaries, series background, and reading help.

Last updated: July 8, 2026

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Sundance books in publication order

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20 books

1

Death in the Lava

by Ben Haas

1971

Sundance crosses a harsh lava country where the landscape is as deadly as the men hunting him. The setting gives this adventure a grim survival edge alongside the usual gunplay, pursuit, and frontier tension.

2

Dakota Territory

by Ben Haas

1972

Sundance moves through a raw, contested frontier where the law is thin and every alliance feels temporary. Haas uses the Dakota setting for a hard western of pursuit, suspicion, and sudden eruptions of violence.

3

Dead Man's Canyon

by Ben Haas

1972

Jim Sundance rides into a brutal frontier trap where rough country, hard men, and divided loyalties turn a routine job into a fight for survival. It is a lean western built on pursuit, ambush, and close-range violence.

4

Overkill

by Ben Haas

1972

Half-Cheyenne gunman Jim Sundance is hired to recover a rich man's daughter and the gold taken with her. The job sends him into violent country, where Army officers, outlaws, and frontier politics all collide.

5

The Pistoleros

by Ben Haas

1972

Sundance runs into professional gunmen and a job that turns deadly fast. It is a stripped-down western about quick draws, shifting loyalties, and a hero who knows exactly how ugly the frontier can get.

6

Bring Me His Scalp!

by Ben Haas

1973

Sundance is pulled into a vicious revenge hunt where the title promise tells you exactly how ugly things may get. The book is fast, hard, and driven by pursuit through unforgiving country.

7

Ride the Man Down

by Ben Haas

1973

A pursuit story stripped to essentials, this one sends Sundance after a target who will not come quietly. Haas keeps the focus on pressure, terrain, and the grim effort of bringing a dangerous man in.

8

Taps at Little Big Horn

by Ben Haas

1973

Sundance rides into the shadow of Little Big Horn, where the coming collision between the Army and Native nations hangs over every move. It mixes frontier action with the tension of a famous historical moment.

9

The Bronco Trail

by Ben Haas

1973

A trail job and a string of dangerous encounters push Sundance deeper into rough country and rougher company. It is a classic Haas western, lean on padding and strong on motion, pressure, and fights that hurt.

10

The Ghost Dancers

by Ben Haas

1973

Fear and unrest spread across the plains as Sundance gets pulled into violence surrounding the Ghost Dance movement. It is a hard western about desperation, belief, and the danger of men who want control.

11

The Wild Stallions

by Ben Haas

1973

Wild horse country becomes the center of another dangerous Sundance job. Haas mixes speed, open-country action, and stubborn frontier personalities in a story where freedom, profit, and survival keep colliding.

12

War Party

by Ben Haas

1974

Sundance is drawn into a spreading conflict where war fever, mistrust, and revenge threaten everyone in the line of fire. It is a rough, fast western that keeps its focus on survival and divided loyalties.

13

Bounty Killer

by Ben Haas

1975

Sundance faces the kind of man the frontier keeps producing, someone who turns killing into paid work and pride into bloodshed. The novel builds around pursuit, betrayal, and the grim math of who reaches the target first.

14

Blood on the Prairie

by Ben Haas

1976

Violence spills wide across open country as Sundance gets caught in another escalating fight. The prairie setting gives the story room for pursuit, ambush, and the kind of sudden brutality Haas wrote so well.

15

Manhunt

by Ben Haas

1976

Sundance is pushed into a relentless pursuit where every mile adds pressure and every delay costs lives. It is a straight chase story sharpened by danger, suspicion, and frontier grit.

16

Run for Cover

by Ben Haas

1976

A bad situation gets worse fast, forcing Sundance to fight, retreat, and improvise in equal measure. The book keeps moving, balancing gunfire, harsh country, and the constant sense that safety will not last.

17

War Trail

by Ben Haas

1976

Sundance follows a trail already marked by fear, vengeance, and the threat of wider conflict. It is a spare, hard western focused on movement, survival, and the people trapped between rival forces.

18

Gunbelt

by Ben Haas

1977

A struggle over guns, power, and survival pulls Sundance into another bloody frontier showdown. It is lean, fast, and full of close-range fights, with the tools of the West at the heart of the conflict.

19

Riding Shotgun

by Ben Haas

1977

Sundance takes a dangerous escort job that puts him between desperate men and open country with nowhere to hide. Fast ambushes and divided loyalties keep the pressure on all the way through.

20

Silent Enemy

by Ben Haas

1977

Sundance faces a threat that is harder to track because it rarely shows itself openly and never fights fair. The result is a tense frontier story built on suspicion, patience, and sudden violence.

Sundance books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Overkill"

    Overkill

    by Ben Haas

    1972Sundance, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Dead Man's Canyon"

    Dead Man's Canyon

    by Ben Haas

    1972Sundance, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Dakota Territory"

    Dakota Territory

    by Ben Haas

    1972Sundance, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Death in the Lava"

    Death in the Lava

    by Ben Haas

    1971Sundance, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "The Pistoleros"

    The Pistoleros

    by Ben Haas

    1972Sundance, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "The Wild Stallions"

    The Wild Stallions

    by Ben Haas

    1973Sundance, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Taps at Little Big Horn"

    Taps at Little Big Horn

    by Ben Haas

    1973Sundance, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "The Ghost Dancers"

    The Ghost Dancers

    by Ben Haas

    1973Sundance, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Bring Me His Scalp!"

    Bring Me His Scalp!

    by Ben Haas

    1973Sundance, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "The Bronco Trail"

    The Bronco Trail

    by Ben Haas

    1973Sundance, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "War Party"

    War Party

    by Ben Haas

    1974Sundance, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Bounty Killer"

    Bounty Killer

    by Ben Haas

    1975Sundance, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Run for Cover"

    Run for Cover

    by Ben Haas

    1976Sundance, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Manhunt"

    Manhunt

    by Ben Haas

    1976Sundance, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Blood on the Prairie"

    Blood on the Prairie

    by Ben Haas

    1976Sundance, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "War Trail"

    War Trail

    by Ben Haas

    1976Sundance, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Riding Shotgun"

    Riding Shotgun

    by Ben Haas

    1977Sundance, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "Silent Enemy"

    Silent Enemy

    by Ben Haas

    1977Sundance, Book 18
  19. Book cover for "Ride the Man Down"

    Ride the Man Down

    by Ben Haas

    1973Sundance, Book 19
  20. Book cover for "Gunbelt"

    Gunbelt

    by Ben Haas

    1977Sundance, Book 20

Series background & context

The Sundance books follow Jim Sundance, one of Ben Haas's best series characters and one of his most interesting western heroes. Sundance is half white and half Cheyenne, and that split identity is not just decoration. It shapes the way he moves through the world, the people he trusts, and the kinds of jobs he takes. He belongs fully to neither side, which makes him useful, dangerous, and often hard to read.

That tension is the engine of the series.

When the books begin, Sundance is already an experienced frontier fighter. He has lived among the Cheyenne and moved through the white world too, and he knows the weapons, languages, and codes of both. Unlike a simple drifter hero, he is tied to a larger cause. A recurring thread in the series is his effort to raise money to fight the corrupt Indian Ring back in Washington, the network of officials and profiteers feeding off Native suffering. That gives even the most straight-ahead adventure plots an extra edge. Sundance is not just working for himself.

The setting matters a great deal here. These books live in the years after the Civil War, when the Plains are under enormous pressure and every meeting between cavalry, settlers, speculators, tribes, and outlaws can turn ugly fast. Haas uses forts, badlands, trail towns, mountain country, lava fields, and open prairie not just as scenery but as sources of danger. The land is often as punishing as the people on it.

The tone is hard, but not empty. Sundance can fight with pistols, rifles, and knives, and he is more than willing to do what the job requires. At the same time, the series usually gives more weight to Native perspectives than many western paperbacks of the period did. Sundance sees how policy, greed, and military power grind people down. That does not turn the books into solemn history lessons, but it does give them a different moral center from a standard shoot-'em-up.

Most of the books can be read on their own, though starting early helps. Overkill is a good introduction because it shows Sundance moving between worlds while handling a violent rescue job. Dead Man's Canyon and Dakota Territory deepen that frontier setting and show how easily a paid mission can slide into something larger. Later books such as Taps at Little Big Horn and The Ghost Dancers make it even clearer that Haas was willing to place Sundance near big historical pressures, not just isolated town feuds.

Sundance is also a good example of how Haas could vary a formula without losing momentum. If Fargo is the pure mercenary adventurer, Sundance is the more haunted and politically exposed figure. He still rides into danger, still meets killers and outlaws and cavalry officers, and still solves problems with force when he must. But the series keeps reminding you that the frontier is not neutral ground. Somebody is always paying for the way the country is changing.

That gives the books real bite.

If you want westerns with fast action, a strong recurring lead, and a sharper sense of historical tension than usual, Sundance is well worth your time. The books move quickly, but they carry more weight than their page count first suggests.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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