By Zane Grey
ISBN: 978-0-340-92287-3
First published 1913
298 pages
Publisher: http://www.hodder.co.uk
3.5/5 Stars
Slip into the world of cattle rustlers, mormons, cowboys and riders. The scene is breathtaking, beneath the mountains and valleys, plateaus, rivers, creeks and gorges of Utah. A tough existence is brought to life by Zane Grey.
The most memorable chapter is the horse chase, “Wrangler’s Race Run”, an exciting horse chase leading to a fall from a cliff into the abyss below.
Less exposition, less character introspection, would have increased the star rating. A better editor might have restricted the amount of self-reflection, and sought to fine-tune the plot.
That said, gun fights, shoot-outs, chases, widows, kidnapping is always exciting and always intriguing.
And there is always the sage, the purple sage. It grows outside the farmstead. It provides escape routes and warns of danger approaching. The sage is always present, hiding our heroes, revealing our enemies, trampled over by horses, and dreamed of by men. Past the sage is freedom, past the sage is escape, past the sage is a new life in cities and countries. If you can get past the sage.
The Eclectic Book Review 