The Shadow Appears
The War had taken everything he valued from him. He lost his home. His family. His cause. And his only reason for living now was vengeance. All he had left were his horses, his guns and his sense of honor. So, he pointed his horse toward war-torn Mexico. To find his old life. Or a new one. Or to die with neither. He didn’t care which of the three he found.
eBook ISBN: 979-8-31781-446-5
Print ISBN: 979-8-31781-445-8
November 15, 2025
Formats Available: Print and eBook
The Shadow Grows
After the war, vengeance gave Robert Hester a reason to keep moving.
Without it, he’s left to face something harder—himself.
In a land far from home, among strangers who owe him nothing, Hester begins to confront the question he’s avoided since the war ended: if a man is no longer driven by loss, what is he meant to become?
eBook ISBN: 979-8-31783-034-2
Print ISBN: 979-8-31783-033-5
April 25, 2026
Featured Interview: Burt Tyson
Emmy Award–winning broadcaster, Kate Delaney, recently interviewed Jim on his first two Western novels The Shadow Appears and The Shadow Grows, published under his pen name of Burt Tyson.
The Shadow Appears
The War had taken everything he valued from him. He lost his home. His family. His cause. And his only reason for living now was vengeance. All he had left were his horses, his guns and his sense of honor. So, he pointed his horse toward war-torn Mexico. To find his old life. Or a new one. Or to die with neither. He didn’t care which of the three he found.
Print ISBN: 979-8-31781-445-8 November 15, 2025
Formats Available: Print and eBook
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a 74-year-old man publishing books now?
In the remote small South Carolina town where Burt writes, there are lots of good men and women, but not too much adventure. He has to provide the adventure in his novels.
Why write Westerns? Haven’t they fallen out of favor?
Probably. But I find something so quintessentially “American” in the Western genre. Honor, courage, loyalty, respect, good vs. evil. I grew up with Westerns…on television, in movies and in books. They formed my sense of what a man should be.
Why did you choose a Confederate officer as your protagonist?
Well, as the son of a Dutch father from Michigan and a Scotch-Irish mother from South Carolina and Tennessee, I was always caught between the “Southern” side of my history and the “Northern” side. Identifying more with the Southern side, I felt a sympathy for the “Lost Cause.” None of my Southern ancestors fought for slavery. They fought for States’ Rights. Now, I know that is a historical theory that has fallen out of favor today, but what is most important to me is the history of my family. They were courageous men who fought for principle and fought steadfastly against all odds. In that regard, they were like the Scots and Irish before them. They all lost, suffered and found a way to survive. Loss and redemption seem like strong themes derived from their experiences.
Why use the pseudonym Burt Tyson?
The books I publish and plan on publishing as James Van Laan are more literary and contemporary in nature. The first book is a collection of poems. The next book, coming out in 2026, is a noir detective action thriller. I think it’s better to keep the genres separate. Burt was the name my mama’s daddy went by and Tyson was my mama’s mama’s first name. Burt Tyson seemed to me to be a good name for an author writing Westerns.
Your background is a little unusual for an author, isn’t it?
Well, life gets in the way of our dreams sometimes and we must adjust to survive. I was in public relations in an earlier life and owned an advertising agency. After that, I survived as a consulting creative director and freelance copywriter. I taught myself computer programming and became a computer programmer and systems analyst at Duke University Medical Center and the Medical University of South Carolina. Then I became a consulting custom programmer for hospitals around the US. And now, retired, I am writing the books I toyed with for all of those years before.
Now you live in a small town of about 3500 people in the western part of South Carolina, just a few miles below the North Carolina state line. Why did you choose that location?
I lived in Raleigh, NC and Cary, NC for about 20 years and then in Charleston, SC for 7 years. I was born out in the country near Manassas, VA when Manassas had a Western Auto Store, a grocery store, a bus station (with a wonderful hamburger stand), a few churches and a school. When I was 7, we moved to Maryland because of the relocation of the company where my father worked. We lived a few miles outside of a town with 350 people and 32 antique shops. Camp David and the Catoctin Mountains were about 30 miles away. I liked the look of the land in both cases. Rolling hills. Mountains just a little away. I also tired of “city life.” So, when the opportunity to move presented itself after a hurricane and mandatory evacuation of Charleston, my wife and I found this little town and, at least for me, a sense of peace.
Your protagonist joins General Jo Shelby and the Iron Brigade in Mexico. Why the interest in Shelby?
I read a good bit about the “Confederate Expatriate” movement when I was younger. Even considered writing a semi-intellectual book about it. We talk of “diasporas” quite a bit today. But, there was a Confederate diaspora, too. To Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, England, Russia and elsewhere. It just seemed like a reasonable “fit” to have my protagonist join that diaspora.
Why choose the post-Civil War period for your novel?
I think loss and failure are not things men are taught to deal with…at least not men of my age. For Confederate soldiers who lost the war, came home to the destruction of their homes or lost them for back taxes, those were the reality they were forced to face. Some managed and built new lives.
Others were different and became outlaws and renegades. I think, today, men even younger than me still try to cope with that same sense of loss and failure. Whether it’s the loss of a marriage or a relationship. Or the failure of a business. Or the loss of their job and the ability to care for their family. Or just the loss of purpose and hope. I thought that was a theme that deserved examination.
Word From the Trail
★★★★★
“I rode out to my horses and spent the night with them. They knew nothing of politics or diplomacy.”
No, horses know nothing about these things, and as illustrated in The Shadow Appears, Book 1 in The Devil’s Shadow Series by Burt Tyson, they know little of hate either. The year is 1865, and the Confederacy is collapsing as Captain Hester recovers in Richmond hospital after almost being killed by Union forces. With the Yankees approaching, Captain Hester and his long-time friend and aide, Sergeant Turley, receive a new assignment to escort President Davis as he attempts to evade hostile forces. As the two men prepare for their mission, they ride out to Captain Hester’s home, only to arrive in time to watch the family being killed by irregular forces under General George Stoneman. Enraged by the brutality he witnessed, Captain Hester vows revenge and seeks to continue the war regardless of what the Confederacy does, only to discover that when you wage battle against the world, you are ultimately fighting yourself.
Action-packed, brutal, yet poignant, The Shadow Appears by Burt Tyson is a throwback to classic Western tales with a distinct Southern flavor. The plot centers on a man whose mind is breaking under the stress of war and the loss of everyone he has ever cared for, as he seeks revenge against all odds. Themes of friendship and faith are carefully balanced by obsession, darkness, and revenge as a man exists on the edge of sanity, haunted by his own nightmares. Strong character development is highlighted by a large cast of individuals one can easily become attached to, making the story pack a greater emotional punch. While the book itself is long, the pace is fast and the narrative engaging enough so that I was sad to see it end and look forward to a sequel. Overall, The Shadow Appears is an excellent read for fans of Westerns and tales from the South.
Gaius Konstantine
Book · The Shadow Appears
★★★★★
The Shadow Appears by Burt Tyson sees Bob Hester, a Confederate, leaving a Richmond hospital under orders to help move the collapsing Confederate government. Assigned through Mosby and Lee, he rides with Sergeant Josiah Turley as rail lines fail, commands vanish, and armed bands spread across Virginia. When raiders destroy Bob’s family farm and kill his kin, Bob continues his mission while settling accounts on the road. As Jefferson Davis flees and Lee surrenders, Bob and Turley move through the Carolinas and Texas against bounty hunters, rustlers, and self-appointed guards, adding allies and supplies by trade or force. In Mexico, Bob joins Joseph Shelby’s command, forming a mounted scouting unit and fighting border forces tied to the imperial war. Cut loose from formal authority, Bob rides on, bound to duty and vengeance.
The Shadow Appears by Burt Tyson is a brilliant trip through the final months in Hester’s Confederate service, and the lawless aftermath of surrender. Tyson covers a ton of geography, and readers are given armchair tours of burned farms, back roads, border towns, and 19th-century Mexico, all proving that armed authority passes to whoever can hold the ground. Tyson’s writing style is simple and straightforward, with just the right amount of flourish to keep it appealing to those who expect more literary polish. Tyson’s secondary figures are perfection, the standouts being Josiah Turley, Jim Travis, Joseph Shelby, and Maria, who all enter as practical partners with loyalty that shifts with conditions. Violence appears routine, which is as it should be, with roaming bands and provisional justice. Overall, this is a great first book in The Devil’s Shadow series, and I’m here for whatever comes next.
Asher Syed
Book · The Shadow Appears
★★★★★
In The Shadow Appears by Burt Tyson, as the Confederacy collapses in the spring of 1865, wounded cavalryman Bob Hester is released from a Richmond hospital and ordered to help move government assets south. When the command breaks down, Bob assumes responsibility for trains, supplies, and men, carrying written authority into a countryside sliding into violence. His mission is overtaken when raiders destroy his family’s farm, forcing him onto a longer road through Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Along the way, Bob protects refugees, dismantles outlaw bands, confronts profiteers posing as lawmen, and attaches himself to Colonel Joseph Shelby’s exiled command in Mexico, where he forms a small reconnaissance unit. As empires shift and armies dissolve, Bob continues west, acting under orders that grow thinner with every mile.
The Shadow Appears by Burt Tyson follows the valiant Bob through a litany of bedlam and violence. Bob is made to feel perfectly human with the attention to detail Tyson gives him: dressing wounds, feeding horses, writing papers, guarding wagons, and cooking meals. These details make the story feel real and grounded. The cast matters as much as the fighting. Turley’s loyalty, Pompey’s plans for freedom, Travis’s blunt skills, and Padre Jose’s quiet faith all shape Bob’s choices. The book moves from Virginia to Texas and Mexico, showing how cruelty shifts but never disappears. Some sections move a little bit slowly, especially during travel, but the action picks up and is immersive, and easy to picture. Overall, the book offers a stark look at duty, loss, and survival in a broken world for ordinary people everywhere today.
Jamie Michele
Book · The Shadow Appears
★★★★★
An impressive writer and a master storyteller
Jamie Michele
Book · The Shadow Appears
★★★★★
Blends historical detail with excellent character development, dialogue, and plot development.
Jamie Michele
Book · The Shadow Appears
★★★★★
A story that quickly draws the reader in and holds their attention
Jamie Michele
Book · The Shadow Appears
★★★★★
It’s a “can’t put it down” page turner
Jamie Michele
Book · The Shadow Appears
Word From the Trail
★★★★★
A gripping and emotionally weighty Civil War novel that focuses less on battlefield heroics and more on the devastating personal cost of war.
Erin Dean
Goodreads · The Shadow Appears
★★★★★
Even better than the first. I read it in 18 hours straight through — it was enthralling. The characters come alive for you.
Glows in the Dark
Amazon · The Shadow Grows
★★★★★
A Western like no other. This is a can’t-miss read.
Laura Dempsey
Amazon · The Shadow Appears
★★★★★
Blends historical detail with excellent character development, dialogue, and plot development
★★★★★
A story that quickly draws the reader in and holds their attention
★★★★★
It’s a “can’t put it down” page turner