Customer Reviews

Last of the Duanes

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3 star:		(1)
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I have read many Louis L'Amour westerns and although I love his books I have to say this book by Gray is better than anything I have read by L'Amour.

Buck Duane is an interesting character with a lot of depth and showed considerable development throughout the novel, unlike most westerns with generic characters who show little development. Duane is a dark, brooding and character who struggles with violent impulses - the emotional and mental battle portayed in Duane's head were very believable and not a litle disturbing.

The plot itself was interesting and had plenty of action. Highly reccommended.

Zane Grey, a prolific writer who actually spent years in the American West in the early 1900's, drew upon stories from the lips of men who knew Billy the Kid and other famous westerners. Owen Wister did too, but produced only one significant book of the early west, The Virginian. As a contrast, Z. Grey's love of the outdoors and his talent in writing meaningful action created a huge outpouring of books. Most are Western Gothics, powerful stories as vibrant with details of real life on the western frontiers as they are full of psychological depth. If you have a taste for romance and action, he merits a look-see. However, please note, he did not write Lorna Doone, set on England's northern border. Also, stolid John Ridd, Lorna's champion, is a different sort from the deadly gunfighters that Grey describes so well. However, like Lorna Doone, some of his heroines are brutalized by relatives and their evil hangers-on until being freed by a courageous outsider.

I really enjoyed the story of Buckley Duane, and of how his unmerited misfortune turned to his favor. Mr. Grey did a fantastic job making his main character come alive to the reader. I intend to read more books by this author.

I have read nearly everything Zane Grey ever wrote but this was a new one for me - Great!

This was a great book. I read a minimum of (1) western novel per month and have done so for years. I have read works from most of the well known writers. I have saved Zane Grey for last. Boy what I have missed. This book is fast paced and the character is so interesting that the pages just fly by. Don't miss this one.

The premise for this novel,the fact the desire to live by the gun and the blood lust to kill comes from the blood line of his father who was the same kind of man, says much about the period of time Zane Grey was born and lived in. Charles Darwin had a great effect on Zane Grey and much of the educational field during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th with his theories of natural selection and evolution. Today, we know Darwin was correct in some ideas and grossly wrong in others, but Zane Grey used these ideas and theories to his advantage in creating some of the best and worst characters in publishing history. Buck Duane is one of them. And as in what I call the companion novel with this one, Rangers of the Lone Star, this one is not one of Zane Grey's best, but it does make for an interesting read of how a man develops and either grows or regresses in his interaction with nature and society. Buck Duane undergoes tremendous such changes in this book, and for that alone this book is worth reading.