The Reckoning is the first in a series of western novels by Robert J. Thomas. The main character in the novel is a young boy, Jess Williams, whose family is brutally murdered. Forced to become a man overnight, he vows to avenge his family's savage deaths. He begins to practice with his Pa's Colt .45 and then a stroke of destiny arrives when he discovers a new pistol and holster that mysteriously appears. Jess practices with it relentlessly until he becomes so quick that he is unbeatable on the draw. He leaves home transformed from a boy to a highly skilled shootist with no reason to live...