Customer Reviews

Whispering Sands: Stories of Gold Fever and the Western Desert

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I know it's out of print, but I gotta recommend this book and its sequel PAY DIRT, collections of Gardner's classic "Bob Zane" stories for the old pulp mag ARGOSY, written in the early thirties. Until the reprint comes, you can usually find these books at your local public library (at least here in the Southwest.)

Gardner truly loved the deserts of Cal, Az and Nevada. His descriptions of them are the best and most evocative I have ever found-- and yes, I HAVE read Edward Abbey's silly, Macho/environmental anti-ranching mantras. Forget that self-important windbag and read these old pulp mysteries instead. I guarantee your time will be better spent!

The 'Foreword' describes the Whispering Sands short stories as written for 'Argosy' magazine in the early 1930s. These nine stories are set in the southwest deserts of the United States and involve crime, gold, and romance (the usual ingredients for murder mysteries). Gardner often provided unusual information in his stories. His heroes are self-reliant and square-dealing in their personal lives [which met the standards of his days]. "Bob Zane" is an avuncular middle-aged prospector who serves to witness the events that occur in these stories. These stories provided entertainment before radio and TV. Zane is proud of the desert, a hot barren area that is avoided by those who can make a choice. Being able to survive there is a virtue. The stories of claim jumpers may reflect the middle-class fears of aggressive big corporations. [How many small businesses are around today?] There was more money in novels than short stories, so Gardner concentrated on the former and dropped the latter.

"Sand Blast" has the story of how Bob Zane takes his old partner's son into the desert to complete his education. "Law of the Rope" tells how Bob Zane solves a series of robberies and murders at a desert gold mine. "Gold Blindness" has Jim Flint's tale of how he lived with an Indian tribe then stole their gold. This is a truly fantastic story.

"Written in Sand" tells how Bob Zane followed an old track through the desert and found evidence to clear a convicted man. "Blood Red Gold" is a story about finding gold in the desert, murder, and the rescue of a young woman. "Carved in Sand" tells about finding new evidence in a murder case and presenting it in a dramatic courtroom scene.

"Fall Guy" is the story of a bandit gang that usually gets away by leaving a dead bandit to take the blame. There is an ironic ending. "Priestess of the Sun" is another fantastic tale about a young woman who searches for gold and goes missing. He boyfriend follows to find her. The narrator prevents another crime. "Golden Bullets" tells of the fabulous gold bullets of the Yaqui Indians, an heiress turned prospector, and thieves who get their justice. We learn more about Bob Zane's history.

The previous review which encourages readers to throw away Edward Abbey and read mystery novels to learn about the southwestern deserts is akin to telling readers to throw away L. van der Post and read Rider Haggard to learn about the Kalahari, or to watch the Sci Fi channel instead of Discovery to learn about space travel. While Mr. Gardner did love the deserts, his books (with the exception of some non-fiction he wrote which this gentleman probably has not read)are certainly not going to serve the same purpose, nor do they contain the same level of information on the natural processes in these areas as Mr. Abbeys do, neither would they typically appeal to the same readership (by a LONG shot).

Comparing any of these mystery novels to Desert Solitaire or any other of Mr. Abbeys essays is nonsense.