The Lone Star Ranger [Paperback]

This review refers to the kindle edition of The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey

A wonderful tale of the west; of rustlers, of outlaws, of Texas and The Rangers and of redemption.

Buck Duane had his father's blood in him. That blood that boiled up, that had a killer instinct. The blood of a gunman. But he also had his mother's blood; the blood that calmed, blood of honor. When taunted into a shootout by another gunman, Cal Bain, with an evil reputation, his blood rose and his honor sent him searching out the other. Bain drew, but Duane was fast. It was his first kill.

The saga of Buck Duane leads him to the life of a loner, and outlaw. His adventures lead him through a life and loneliness and doing what he must to stay alive and hidden. His instinct and honor leading him into some dangerous situations. Saving lives, taking lives. his reputation growing by leaps and bounds as a tough, fast gunman, even as often happens getting murders pinned on him that he had nothing to do with. As the years pass, the guilt never lets him rest.

When offered the chance to become an undercover Ranger and redeem himself, most especially in his own eyes, he doesn't need to think twice. As the title of the book suggests, he does just that. The assignment is a tough one in more ways than one. His risks his life to accomplish the mission and also falls in love along the way.

Zane Grey is such a wonderful story teller. He puts you right into the hearts and minds of the very colorful characters he creates for us, right down to the Texas drawls.Heroes to cheer, villains to jeer. He paints a very vivid picture, transporting the reader back to the old west.

One of the things I love about a Grey novel is the beautifully written descriptions of the land. There were a few times, in this book, that there may have been just a bit too much. I think one entire chapter had Duane on the escape, and Grey describing just about every rock and tree on his route with no dialogue at all, other than Duane's occasional thoughts. I wanted to get back to the action. There was also one story-line I felt was not tied up. If not for those couple of minor things, I would have gone 5 stars on this story.

The Kindle edition - 5008 Locations. All in all a pretty smooth read, no major formatting problems, nothing to take away from the enjoyment of the book. A few typos. There is a Table of Contents, however it is cut short, which is no big deal as it only lists the chapter numbers(no chapter titles.) It is divided into Book I - The Outlaw (this one has all the chapter numbers listed) and Book II - The Ranger - then it cuts off, not listing the chapter numbers and the book starts on the very next page.

Saddle Up with Zane Grey and enjoy.....Laurie

What has traditionally been one of the best selling of Zane Grey's novels, and considered by some to be one of his best, I find far inferior to the two novels from which this book was created by the editors at Harper Brothers. The two novels, Last of the Duanes and Rangers of the Lone Star stand far above this book. There are too many missing events and characters in this version. The female love interest is completely missing in Part Two of the book and there are many other unanswered questions created by the melding of these two works. But, if one is to have a complete set of Zane Grey, then this book is collectable and readable; but NOT one of his best. It is however far superior to anything being published today. I'd say this book is average, or little below average.

This is the same story as Rustlers of Pecos County. The names are different and it starts with more of a history on the ranger but other than that the plot and most of the dialogue are exactly the same. Good thing it was free or I would be crying foul.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews  2.7 out of 5 stars