Customer Reviews

Classic Westerns: 18 Novels by Zane Grey in a single file, improved 8/12/2010

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It would have been helpful to know what I was buying before the purchase (index of titles was only available in the Kindle info page) but it turned out to be a GREAT buy! Here are the classic titles; among them are many of the Zane Grey 'must haves'.

1. The Last of the Plainsmen, 1908
2. The Last Trail, 1909
3. The Heritage of the Desert, 1910
4. The Young Forester, 1910
5. Riders of the Purple Sage, 1912
6. Desert Gold, 1913
7. The Light of Western Stars, 1914
8. The Lone Star Ranger, 1915
9. The Rainbow Trail, 1915
10. The Border Legion, 1916
11. Wildfire, 1917
12. The U. P. Trail, 1918
13. The Desert of Wheat, 1919
14. The Man of the Forest, 1920
15. The Mysterious Rider, 1921
16. To the Last Man, 1921
17. The Day of the Beast, 1922
18. Tales of Lonely Trails, 1922

Except for an ugly current of racism, a recurring preachiness and countless typographical errors, I enjoyed most of these stories. Though I tried to make allowances for the tenor of the times in which these books were written (1910 to 1922), when the literary expression of racism was socially acceptable in many places, it was still appalling to read the derogatory terms and descriptions and the stereotypes of various ethnic groups that dot these Zane Grey books.
The plots are exciting, with good characters (stalwart cowboys, virginal heroines, skulking villains) and vivid, colorful descriptions of Western landscapes. Long ago I read and loved Philip Jose Farmer's classic science fiction story, "Riders of the Purple Wage," and I'd wanted to read Grey's "Riders of the Purple Sage" for years.

My dad read Zane Grey but I find these novels are not what I expected from a Western writer. Not my favorite read.