The Horseclans have been nomads of the post-apocalyptic North Americal plains since their founding 600 years prior. No one knew what caused the failed crops, the plagues, the earthquakes or whether they were related or coincidental. But they and the limited nuclear skirmishes took a massive toll on humanity. Milo the "undying", a human with a mutation giving him an exceptional healing capacity, saved two dozen refugees from Los Angeles by teaching them how to live as nomads on the Great Plains. After a fruitless 200 year quest to find a population of similar mutants, Milo is returning to the Clans to guide them through Mercenaries, "Dirtmen" (i.e. farmers), and the descendants of Greek invaders to their fabled home by the sea, Elhai.
Adams has created an interesting world for the Horseclans to live within. He never says what starts the catastrophes in the 1980's-1990's but he says that the nuclear exchanges are as a result of them, not the cause. The Eastern seaboard was devastated by tidal waves, permanently changing the coastline. Florida is essentially a swamp. Prariecats inhabit the plains, descendants of genetically recreated sabertooth tigers that escaped captivity after the disasters. In addition to Milo's "undying" mutation, significant numbers of the Clans can "mindspeak" and can communicate directly with each other, their horses and the prariecats.
I last read this book/series about 20 years ago. I was looking to read an adventure story and pulled it down again. (What can I say, I'm cheap and have more SF books by more authors than any three libraries near me combined.) While I like the Horseclans universe and enjoyed the overall story, there is a significant amount of graphic material (mainly violence) that I hadn't remembered. Adams's day-job was as a porn writer and he apparently had axes to grind when we wrote this series. There are some truly great characters in the series but Adams died before finishing the story.
This would definitely receive my recommendation for a Mature rating.
