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Pan Handle Smith Trilogy #1
The Lone Star Ranger
In Zane Grey's only Western told from the first person perspective, a U.S. Deputy Marshall helps legendary Texas Ranger Vaugn Steele to clean up the lawless town of Fairfield. Though the town's mayor is in cahoots with a band of outlaws, Steele falls in love with his daughter and the Marshall falls in love with his niece. An unusual psychological depth sets this tale apart from the majority of Westerns.
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1914
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About the author
Zane Grey
2,069 books590 followersPearl Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. As of June 2007, the Internet Movie Database credits Grey with 110 films, one TV episode, and a series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater based loosely on his novels and short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
June 10, 2021
During a recent visit to the Texas State Cemetery I viewed the Prayer of the Texas Rangers and several of their graves, one of which was of Captain John Hughes. A little investigation revealed that Zane Grey based 'Lone Star Ranger' on Hughes, and indeed when I picked up a copy, there is a dedication from Grey to Hughes and the Rangers.
No, I didn't expect an accurate historical biography. I did get a good ol' wild west shootem up, with purple prose passages describing the Texas country side, a true, though wronged hero, Buck Duane, a good horse, opponents in the most outlawy of outlaws, and a feel of how news, well rumors of news, and reputations traveled about the West.
As it was written in 1915, I knew movies based their cowboy heroes on books like this, but you could easily swear it was the other way around as it reads so much like the old westerns of Hollywood. In other words, yes corny at times, occasional plot devices that come out of no where, but the action keeps coming, and you wonder just how is Buck going to get out of this fix?
By time I was done reading, I found myself occasionally checking my imaginary holster on my hip, what would be thefastest way to draw? Would I be quicker than the remorseless, steely eyed Poggin ? And thinking about watching the western movie 'Unforgiven' again.
No, I didn't expect an accurate historical biography. I did get a good ol' wild west shootem up, with purple prose passages describing the Texas country side, a true, though wronged hero, Buck Duane, a good horse, opponents in the most outlawy of outlaws, and a feel of how news, well rumors of news, and reputations traveled about the West.
As it was written in 1915, I knew movies based their cowboy heroes on books like this, but you could easily swear it was the other way around as it reads so much like the old westerns of Hollywood. In other words, yes corny at times, occasional plot devices that come out of no where, but the action keeps coming, and you wonder just how is Buck going to get out of this fix?
By time I was done reading, I found myself occasionally checking my imaginary holster on my hip, what would be thefastest way to draw? Would I be quicker than the remorseless, steely eyed Poggin ? And thinking about watching the western movie 'Unforgiven' again.
April 28, 2018
Strange that the blurb for the book says that this is Zane Grey's only western written from a first-person perspective. It is not. I wonder if the blurb is for the wrong book.
Anyway, this is about Buck Duane, a basically good young man, who is forced into a gunfight and feels sure he has to run or face a noose.
He is a complicated character, a bit of a rare thing for a hero of the Western genre. He feels a strange impulse to violence, but tries hard to NOT fall into the pit of crime as he mingles with the dregs of society on the western Texas frontier. He mostly succeeds, killing only when necessary.
There is a love interest. He first falls for a young girl, whom he rescues, only to have her kidnapped. He never sees her again. Strange, that. I kept expecting to meet her again, but she appears and then disappears like a wisp of smoke.
He later falls for the bandit chief's daughter, Ray. This is a love affair that grows slowly and credibly. Nice touch of romance to go with all the gun-slinging.
Overall, I liked the book. It was heavy on narrative and what could be called purple prose. Zane caught the mood of the frontier pretty well, even though things dragged at times. The ending was entirely forgettable. Won't give any spoilers, but Zane fumbled the ball badly at the very last.
Anyway, this is about Buck Duane, a basically good young man, who is forced into a gunfight and feels sure he has to run or face a noose.
He is a complicated character, a bit of a rare thing for a hero of the Western genre. He feels a strange impulse to violence, but tries hard to NOT fall into the pit of crime as he mingles with the dregs of society on the western Texas frontier. He mostly succeeds, killing only when necessary.
There is a love interest. He first falls for a young girl, whom he rescues, only to have her kidnapped. He never sees her again. Strange, that. I kept expecting to meet her again, but she appears and then disappears like a wisp of smoke.
He later falls for the bandit chief's daughter, Ray. This is a love affair that grows slowly and credibly. Nice touch of romance to go with all the gun-slinging.
Overall, I liked the book. It was heavy on narrative and what could be called purple prose. Zane caught the mood of the frontier pretty well, even though things dragged at times. The ending was entirely forgettable. Won't give any spoilers, but Zane fumbled the ball badly at the very last.
December 11, 2024
The Lone star Ranger
Publicada en español como "La fuerza de la sangre" cuenta la vida de un joven pistolero que se convierte en proscrito después de haber matado a un hombre.
Como en otras novelas de Zane Grey donde se vale de hechos históricos para armar historias de aventuras, en esta se inspira en leyendas e historias que le llegaron sobre los primeros Rangers de Texas en su misión de poner orden a lo largo de la frontera en el río grande.
La vida de Buck Duane está llena de acción y de aventura sin fin lo que asegura buen entretenimiento. Su viaje por la frontera enfrentándose a todos los malos de la época hace que no tenga tregua la novela.
Si la historia es buena, quizás los diálogos y ciertas situaciones no lo son tanto. Muchas veces se arreglan o desarreglan sin motivo aparente o cuando un personaje es presentado como una persona solitaria viviendo en un lugar aislado a las pocas páginas resulta que tiene una gran vida social.
Parece que, aunque la historia esté bien ideada, en medio del desarrollo haya cierta improvisación. A pesar de esto, si te gusta el género, No impide pasar un buen rato leyendo porque además te puedes reír de ciertas "soluciones" imprevistas.
Publicada en español como "La fuerza de la sangre" cuenta la vida de un joven pistolero que se convierte en proscrito después de haber matado a un hombre.
Como en otras novelas de Zane Grey donde se vale de hechos históricos para armar historias de aventuras, en esta se inspira en leyendas e historias que le llegaron sobre los primeros Rangers de Texas en su misión de poner orden a lo largo de la frontera en el río grande.
La vida de Buck Duane está llena de acción y de aventura sin fin lo que asegura buen entretenimiento. Su viaje por la frontera enfrentándose a todos los malos de la época hace que no tenga tregua la novela.
Si la historia es buena, quizás los diálogos y ciertas situaciones no lo son tanto. Muchas veces se arreglan o desarreglan sin motivo aparente o cuando un personaje es presentado como una persona solitaria viviendo en un lugar aislado a las pocas páginas resulta que tiene una gran vida social.
Parece que, aunque la historia esté bien ideada, en medio del desarrollo haya cierta improvisación. A pesar de esto, si te gusta el género, No impide pasar un buen rato leyendo porque además te puedes reír de ciertas "soluciones" imprevistas.
March 25, 2015
Dear ladies,
When a cowboy says this, he is trying to say that you are one good lookin' lady:
"She looked tired, quiet, even melancholy. A finely chiseled oval face; clear, olive-tinted skin, long eyes set wide apart and black as coal, beautiful to look into; a slender straight nose that had something nervous and delicate about it which made Duane think of a thoroughbred;" page 223
Yep, why are you wasting your money on Estee Lauder when you just need a nervous nose that makes you look like a horse?
Although I sometimes felt like the writing was switching gears and a bit all over the place, the nobleness of Buck Duane really drew me in and I found the ending very suspenseful. I loved how he was just a tough guy but yet wouldn't hurt a lady, stood up for them and still was able to fall in love. (Sigh, a real manly man.) If we met in real life we would be instant friends.
One last thing: The utter absence of foul language. You still got the idea that people swore but I loved how he didn't use the swear words but you still got the picture. So appreciative.
When a cowboy says this, he is trying to say that you are one good lookin' lady:
"She looked tired, quiet, even melancholy. A finely chiseled oval face; clear, olive-tinted skin, long eyes set wide apart and black as coal, beautiful to look into; a slender straight nose that had something nervous and delicate about it which made Duane think of a thoroughbred;" page 223
Yep, why are you wasting your money on Estee Lauder when you just need a nervous nose that makes you look like a horse?
Although I sometimes felt like the writing was switching gears and a bit all over the place, the nobleness of Buck Duane really drew me in and I found the ending very suspenseful. I loved how he was just a tough guy but yet wouldn't hurt a lady, stood up for them and still was able to fall in love. (Sigh, a real manly man.) If we met in real life we would be instant friends.
One last thing: The utter absence of foul language. You still got the idea that people swore but I loved how he didn't use the swear words but you still got the picture. So appreciative.
October 23, 2014
This isn't cassettes, but a downloadable audio book from Recorded Books via my library & listened to on my MP3 player. Ed Sala is the narrator & at first I didn't think I was going to like his voice. It's kind of scratchy, old & often drops too low, but it really fits the story, except for when he tries to do the female voices. Luckily, there are very few. Seriously, he's awful at them.
I pretty much quit reading most formulaic westerns years ago. They were cliches run rampant with plots laid out in the first few paragraphs. Grey is the reason. He was one of the first authors to become a millionaire & molded many of the violent, romantic myths of the old west. His success launched a host of imitators, many of whom used his version of the west as their own. So, I wasn't expecting a fresh western from Grey. After all, he first published this novel in 1914. He's old school & the last time I tried reading one of his novels, I wasn't too thrilled.
What really surprises & delights me about this story is just how well the cliched young, quick-draw, gone-down-the-wrong-road-but-good-at-heart-anyway kid is drawn. After looking at the back end of those cliches all these years, seeing it from the front end is surprisingly refreshing. How can that be? I don't really know, just that it is. I think part of that comes from the laconic, gravelly drawl of Sala, but no reader can make a poorly written story into a delight. There's an economy & down-home fun to Grey's prose that just makes it fun to listen to.
The story started out well for the first 9 chapters when I wrote the above. Chapter 10 suddenly bogs down with a loooong description of our hero's mental state. It was incredibly verbose & boring, pounding the same ideas into me until I was ready to surrender. Then the pace picked up & was good again for next 4 chapters until we reach the end of book 1. Unfortunately, there was some time travel going on. We skipped ahead a few years & then looked back, completely out of keeping with the story to this point, which had all been in the present tense. I'll give it 3 stars.
Chapter 15 is a new book & chapter in Buck's life & it breaks much of the previous mood. It starts out quite refreshingly, totally expected, but not terrible. I was glad to see the book get back on track & listened through chapter 16 with delight. Chapter 17 started out with a lot of promise & then suddenly the book becomes a complete train wreck. Stupid, gaping plot holes, horrible dialog, & so much less that it is not worth listening to, although I did. At the end, there is one slight, redeeming moment, but it was too little, too late, & really didn't help at all. One star rating.
All in all, it wasn't a complete waste of time. I may listen to Riders of the Purple Sage, one of his most famous books at some point, but I'll need some recovery time.
I pretty much quit reading most formulaic westerns years ago. They were cliches run rampant with plots laid out in the first few paragraphs. Grey is the reason. He was one of the first authors to become a millionaire & molded many of the violent, romantic myths of the old west. His success launched a host of imitators, many of whom used his version of the west as their own. So, I wasn't expecting a fresh western from Grey. After all, he first published this novel in 1914. He's old school & the last time I tried reading one of his novels, I wasn't too thrilled.
What really surprises & delights me about this story is just how well the cliched young, quick-draw, gone-down-the-wrong-road-but-good-at-heart-anyway kid is drawn. After looking at the back end of those cliches all these years, seeing it from the front end is surprisingly refreshing. How can that be? I don't really know, just that it is. I think part of that comes from the laconic, gravelly drawl of Sala, but no reader can make a poorly written story into a delight. There's an economy & down-home fun to Grey's prose that just makes it fun to listen to.
The story started out well for the first 9 chapters when I wrote the above. Chapter 10 suddenly bogs down with a loooong description of our hero's mental state. It was incredibly verbose & boring, pounding the same ideas into me until I was ready to surrender. Then the pace picked up & was good again for next 4 chapters until we reach the end of book 1. Unfortunately, there was some time travel going on. We skipped ahead a few years & then looked back, completely out of keeping with the story to this point, which had all been in the present tense. I'll give it 3 stars.
Chapter 15 is a new book & chapter in Buck's life & it breaks much of the previous mood. It starts out quite refreshingly, totally expected, but not terrible. I was glad to see the book get back on track & listened through chapter 16 with delight. Chapter 17 started out with a lot of promise & then suddenly the book becomes a complete train wreck. Stupid, gaping plot holes, horrible dialog, & so much less that it is not worth listening to, although I did. At the end, there is one slight, redeeming moment, but it was too little, too late, & really didn't help at all. One star rating.
All in all, it wasn't a complete waste of time. I may listen to Riders of the Purple Sage, one of his most famous books at some point, but I'll need some recovery time.
September 30, 2013
Zane Grey, without a doubt, makes the western genre come to life. Regardless of his lack of realism in many cases (i.e. can anyone really shoot a six shooter that accurately and swiftly?, can a horse really take that much punishment?, etc), many of his scenes will be long remembered after the reader has finished the book. As an example, and without revealing too much of the book, the event of Buck hiding out in the willows, was one the reader won't soon forget. If nothing else, Mr.
Grey's books are hard to put down, and every time they are picked up, it is a joy to read them and forget about the hectic pace of today for awhile.
It is also refreshing to read about a character that is a true hero and not one of today's anti-heroes. I love reading the statement, "Duane had intelligence and keenness enough to see his peril - the danger threatening his character as a man, just as much as that which threatened his life. He cared vastly more, he discovered, for what he considered honor and integrity than he did for life." Oh take me back to the wild west of yesteryear, with a good horse and the open sky!
Grey's books are hard to put down, and every time they are picked up, it is a joy to read them and forget about the hectic pace of today for awhile.
It is also refreshing to read about a character that is a true hero and not one of today's anti-heroes. I love reading the statement, "Duane had intelligence and keenness enough to see his peril - the danger threatening his character as a man, just as much as that which threatened his life. He cared vastly more, he discovered, for what he considered honor and integrity than he did for life." Oh take me back to the wild west of yesteryear, with a good horse and the open sky!
February 4, 2020
Buck Duane, becomes an outlaw when he is forced into shooting a bloodthirsty gunman intent on killing him. He goes through many internal struggles as he strives so hard not to become the infamous gunman his completely fabricated reputation precedes him to be. This is a story about how easily a person might lose their way in life. It focuses heavily on loss, self sacrifice, and finally redemption. It was a great experience being inside Buck's head. He's such an interesting, intelligent character.
The main character does come alive as you follow his redemption story from outlaw to lawman as a Texas Ranger. Being a fast gun helps. I did enjoy the book and I am a fan of old westerns. The romance in them is less then desirable for me because the women seem helpless and need saving. Even if they have strength they still seem weak in the eye of the male hero. I like the gun slinging battling the bad guys part of it better than the romance side of westerns.
The main character does come alive as you follow his redemption story from outlaw to lawman as a Texas Ranger. Being a fast gun helps. I did enjoy the book and I am a fan of old westerns. The romance in them is less then desirable for me because the women seem helpless and need saving. Even if they have strength they still seem weak in the eye of the male hero. I like the gun slinging battling the bad guys part of it better than the romance side of westerns.
June 10, 2023
This reads just like what it is, a Frankenstein mashup of two unrelated stories. The first half of the book reads like a collection of short stories and has a mean, desperate quality to it while the second half feels like a full single story and has a different more generic western tone.
February 21, 2012
Zane Grey’s Lone Star Ranger has only rated two stars from me. This isn’t very common as I tend to like and highly rate almost everything I read. This book was published in 1915 when Grey was already an established writer of ever increasing repute. I found the story naïve in conception and full of spurious assumptions and bogus facts. One example of this is Duane’s hasty assumption that he would be hunted down as a criminal and desperate outlaw after killing a man in a witnessed gun fight. This story takes place in post war Texas (1870’s) where life was often dictated by violence and the six shooter. His life as an outlaw takes him west but for some unexplained reason he refuses to leave Texas. Halfway through the novel he is offered a deal and becomes a Texas Ranger and uses his many talents to apprehend cattle rustlers and outlaws in general around the El Paso/ Big Bend area. As in most of his stories, women and love are a major part. The naïve approach and immature descriptions and exchanges between the sexes often brought a smile to my lips or a laugh to my voice. The overall impression, however, is one of disbelief, skepticism and cynicism. I generally pass over faults and do my utmost to look for and enjoy any story. The blatant and manifest errors in this spoof proved too much to overlook. Anyone that is considering reading this book should keep in mind that I consider it one of the lesser works of an otherwise good author.
June 12, 2023
Cheesy as hell a lot of the time, but often incredibly exciting.
May 22, 2017
Not my favorite Zane Grey novel. The first part, where he was hiding from the law (for killing someone in self-defense!) was much better than the second. The romance was not very believable, But it still kept my attention, and was beautifully read by a talented reader in a free audio download from LibriVox.org. (The summary of this book given in GoodReads names the wrong characters, and gives inaccurate information for this particular novel.) First published in 1914.
April 12, 2024
Both of my grandmothers and my maternal great-grandmother loved to read Westerns. For my great-grandmother who saw the end of some of the wild West and came West in a wagon train as a young girl, she would laugh at some of the ridiculous notions in some of the Western novels we read. Reading these reminds me of my childhood sitting on the couch on Sunday afternoon reading with my grandmothers before Sunday supper.
January 2, 2022
I had a hard time putting this book down, especially because Buck Duane has so many trials in his way. Classic Zane Grey style, but I can't get enough of it!
January 7, 2010
Buck Duane's transformation is described as he goes from a kid to an outlaw to a redeemed man. The gunfights, the action, the motives are all superbly described. While there may not be outlaws of the same brand today, there are men who are ruled by the same motives and haunted by the same deeds. It was interesting that the author was able to delineate between shades of gray in men who have committed crimes. This gives the reader the ability vicariously to ponder the humanity in all men as only God can see. In the end the author posits that the only power strong enough to fight the blood-lust is love. You'll have to decide if he's right. In the meantime enjoy the ride.
August 23, 2019
Buck Duane- son of a gunslinger. Buck an outlaw turned Texas Ranger. Gets the bad guy and wins the girl. I haven't read much by Zane Grey but I can see why he is so popular. Good characters, good description and good plot. I'll read more by him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2021
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
(Print: 1915 | 8/10/2020; 978-9354044311; Alpha editions; 298 pages )
(Digital: Yes.)
Audio: 1/21/2010; 9781449877262; Recorded Books; Duration 10:25:55 (10 parts); Unabridged.
(Film: multiple times).
CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Buck (Buckley or Dodge) Duane – (more commonly referred to by his name, Duane, in the narration) A fellow, fast with a gun, excommunicated from his home when he shot someone in self-defense, forcing him to go “on the dodge” which is a Nomad status that generally put one in company with Outlaws.
Luke Stevens – The first fellow Buck befriends after going “on the dodge”.
Bland – an outlaw
Kate Bland – Bland’s wife
Jenny – A captive of the Blands held in servitude under the constant threat/fear of sexual abuse.
Euchre - An outlaw Buck befriends
MacNelly – A Texas Ranger who wants to recruit Buck
Bullet – Buck’s large black horse
DEDICATION:
This book was dedicated to Texas Ranger Captain John R. Hughes who it is believed inspired the protagonist. Hughes is also believed to be the inspiration for the radio and tv series, “The Lone Ranger”. There are many similarities, but the reason in the series for the name “Lone” was apparently because the character lost all of his fellow Rangers including his Ranger brother, leaving him the only Ranger left. Whereas, with this book it is because Texas is “The Lone Star State”.
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
I never got attached to any Western themed movies or books, but several years ago I woke with the name Zane Grey in my consciousness. I didn’t realize, until several days later when I saw a biography about him in a used book sale, that this was actually a person. Seeing that he’d been the author of Western books, I didn’t purchase the biography at the time, but was still curious why I had the name on my mind when I woke up. I didn’t think of it again until one of the recent Connelly books I listened to mentioned a hotel on Catalina Island named Zane Grey. That re-ignited my curiosity enough to decide to listen to at least one of his books, so this was one of the few that was available on LAPL’s Overload.
It made me realize that what I don’t like about Westerns is that they romanticize and promote violence. Gunplay is always involved and the stereotypes of the characters were never appealing. The horses were the only attraction.
This was originally written in 1915 and things were much different then, but I still can’t help but find the many racial slurs distasteful.
BUT, if you LIKE Westerns, no doubt you’ll like this one.
I did enjoy it for its historical value.
Something I found mildly annoying was that a more current decade was mentioned. I believe it was 1970’s—there seemed to be no need to update the time period and it was incongruous. It also made me wonder what other edits had occurred.
AUTHOR:
Zane Grey (1/31/1872 – 10/23/1929). From Amazon-dot-com: “Zane Grey, the greatest and most prolific storyteller of the American West, was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on January 31, 1872. In his youth, Zane was a semi-professional Zane Greybaseball player and a half-hearted dentist, having studied dentistry to appease his father while on a baseball scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. He wanted above all to write and taught himself to do so with stern discipline to free his innate and immense storytelling capacity. Many a lean year came and went as he searched for a publisher, but Zane soon became the best-selling Western author of all time as well as the best selling author of non-fiction fishing novels. For most of the teens, 20s, and 30s, Zane had at least one novel in the top ten every year. His marriage in 1905 to Lina Roth, whom he called Dolly, was a triumph of the old-fashioned, “complimentary” model of matrimony, wherein the husband ranges freely to sustain the inspiration for his calling and the wife tends to the family, edits the manuscripts and makes deals with the publishers. It is fair to say that Dolly’s belief in Zane’s literaZane Greyry works was the single factor most responsible for the success of his lengthy career. Zane and Dolly had three children, Romer, Betty and Loren. Zane’s breakthrough success of Heritage of the Desert in 1910 enabled him to establish a home in Altadena, California and a hunting lodge on the Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona. A lifelong passion for angling and the rich rewards of his writing also allowed him to roam the world’s premier game-fishing grounds in his own schooners where he set thirteen deep-sea angling records, most of which stood for decades. Zane would develop and invent tackle still being used today and his exploits in fishing would gain him recognition as the “Father of Modern Big Game Fishing”.
NARRATOR(S):
Ed Sala. From Tantor-dot-com, “Ed Sala, an actor and a writer, has appeared at Carnegie Hall and both on and off Broadway. His plays have been performed in regional theaters across the country. He has won numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook narrations, including one for Finn by Jon Clinch, and Best Books for Young Adults Awards from the American Library Association. His performance of White Doves at Morning by James Lee Burke was selected by AudioFile as one of the fifteen best audiobooks of the year.”
GENRE:
Western
LOCATIONS:
Texas
TIME FRAME:
Early 1900’s
SUBJECTS:
Texas, Outlaws, Rangers, Cattle Rustling, outlaw gangs, posse
SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1:
“So it was in him, then—an inherited fighting instinct, a driving intensity to kill. He was the last of the Duanes, that old fighting stock of Texas. But not the memory of his dead father, nor the pleading of his soft-voiced mother, nor the warning of this uncle who stood before him now, had brought Buck Duane so much realization of the dark passionate strain in his blood. It was the recurrence, a hundred-fold increased in power, of a strange emotion that for the last three years had arisen in him.
‘Yes, Cal Bain’s in town, full of bad whiskey an’ huntin’ for you,’ repeated the elder man, gravely.
‘It’s the second time,’ muttered Duane, as if to himself.
‘Son, you can’t avoid a meetin’. Leave town till Cal sobers up. He ain’t got it in for you when he’s not drinkin’’
‘But what’s he want me for?’ demanded Duane. ‘To insult me again? I won’t stand that twice.’
‘He’s got a fever that’s rampant in Texas these days, my boy. He wants gun-play. If he meets you he’ll try to kill you.’
Here it stirred in Duane again, that bursting gush of blood, like a wind of flame shaking all his inner being and subsiding to leave him strangely chilled.
‘Kill me! What for?’ he asked.
‘Lord knows there ain’t any reason. But what’s that to do with most of the shootin’ these days? Didn’t five cowboys over to Everall’s kill one another dead all because they got to jerkin’ at a quirt among themselves? An’ Cal has no reason to love you. His girl was sweet on you.’
‘I quit when I found out she was his girl.’
‘I reckon she ain’t quit. But never mind her or reasons. Cal’s here, just drunk enough to be ugly. He’s achin’ to kill somebody. He’s one of them four-flush gun-fighters. He’d like to be thought bad. There’s a lot of wild cowboys who’re ambitious for a reputation. They talk about how quick they are on the draw. They ape Bland an’ King Fisher an’ Hardin an’ all the big outlaws. They make threats about joinin’ gangs along the Rio Grande. They laugh at the sheriffs an’ brag about how they’d fix the rangers. Cal’s sure not much for you to bother with, if you only keep out of his way.’”
RATING: 2.5 stars. (It finally occurred to me that while I am limited to a non-fractional number of stars by Goodreads, I don’t have to be in my reviews. )
I think this was a great story for its genre and its day, just not for me.
STARTED-FINISHED 5/10/21-5/21/21
(Print: 1915 | 8/10/2020; 978-9354044311; Alpha editions; 298 pages )
(Digital: Yes.)
Audio: 1/21/2010; 9781449877262; Recorded Books; Duration 10:25:55 (10 parts); Unabridged.
(Film: multiple times).
CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Buck (Buckley or Dodge) Duane – (more commonly referred to by his name, Duane, in the narration) A fellow, fast with a gun, excommunicated from his home when he shot someone in self-defense, forcing him to go “on the dodge” which is a Nomad status that generally put one in company with Outlaws.
Luke Stevens – The first fellow Buck befriends after going “on the dodge”.
Bland – an outlaw
Kate Bland – Bland’s wife
Jenny – A captive of the Blands held in servitude under the constant threat/fear of sexual abuse.
Euchre - An outlaw Buck befriends
MacNelly – A Texas Ranger who wants to recruit Buck
Bullet – Buck’s large black horse
DEDICATION:
This book was dedicated to Texas Ranger Captain John R. Hughes who it is believed inspired the protagonist. Hughes is also believed to be the inspiration for the radio and tv series, “The Lone Ranger”. There are many similarities, but the reason in the series for the name “Lone” was apparently because the character lost all of his fellow Rangers including his Ranger brother, leaving him the only Ranger left. Whereas, with this book it is because Texas is “The Lone Star State”.
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
I never got attached to any Western themed movies or books, but several years ago I woke with the name Zane Grey in my consciousness. I didn’t realize, until several days later when I saw a biography about him in a used book sale, that this was actually a person. Seeing that he’d been the author of Western books, I didn’t purchase the biography at the time, but was still curious why I had the name on my mind when I woke up. I didn’t think of it again until one of the recent Connelly books I listened to mentioned a hotel on Catalina Island named Zane Grey. That re-ignited my curiosity enough to decide to listen to at least one of his books, so this was one of the few that was available on LAPL’s Overload.
It made me realize that what I don’t like about Westerns is that they romanticize and promote violence. Gunplay is always involved and the stereotypes of the characters were never appealing. The horses were the only attraction.
This was originally written in 1915 and things were much different then, but I still can’t help but find the many racial slurs distasteful.
BUT, if you LIKE Westerns, no doubt you’ll like this one.
I did enjoy it for its historical value.
Something I found mildly annoying was that a more current decade was mentioned. I believe it was 1970’s—there seemed to be no need to update the time period and it was incongruous. It also made me wonder what other edits had occurred.
AUTHOR:
Zane Grey (1/31/1872 – 10/23/1929). From Amazon-dot-com: “Zane Grey, the greatest and most prolific storyteller of the American West, was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on January 31, 1872. In his youth, Zane was a semi-professional Zane Greybaseball player and a half-hearted dentist, having studied dentistry to appease his father while on a baseball scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. He wanted above all to write and taught himself to do so with stern discipline to free his innate and immense storytelling capacity. Many a lean year came and went as he searched for a publisher, but Zane soon became the best-selling Western author of all time as well as the best selling author of non-fiction fishing novels. For most of the teens, 20s, and 30s, Zane had at least one novel in the top ten every year. His marriage in 1905 to Lina Roth, whom he called Dolly, was a triumph of the old-fashioned, “complimentary” model of matrimony, wherein the husband ranges freely to sustain the inspiration for his calling and the wife tends to the family, edits the manuscripts and makes deals with the publishers. It is fair to say that Dolly’s belief in Zane’s literaZane Greyry works was the single factor most responsible for the success of his lengthy career. Zane and Dolly had three children, Romer, Betty and Loren. Zane’s breakthrough success of Heritage of the Desert in 1910 enabled him to establish a home in Altadena, California and a hunting lodge on the Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona. A lifelong passion for angling and the rich rewards of his writing also allowed him to roam the world’s premier game-fishing grounds in his own schooners where he set thirteen deep-sea angling records, most of which stood for decades. Zane would develop and invent tackle still being used today and his exploits in fishing would gain him recognition as the “Father of Modern Big Game Fishing”.
NARRATOR(S):
Ed Sala. From Tantor-dot-com, “Ed Sala, an actor and a writer, has appeared at Carnegie Hall and both on and off Broadway. His plays have been performed in regional theaters across the country. He has won numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook narrations, including one for Finn by Jon Clinch, and Best Books for Young Adults Awards from the American Library Association. His performance of White Doves at Morning by James Lee Burke was selected by AudioFile as one of the fifteen best audiobooks of the year.”
GENRE:
Western
LOCATIONS:
Texas
TIME FRAME:
Early 1900’s
SUBJECTS:
Texas, Outlaws, Rangers, Cattle Rustling, outlaw gangs, posse
SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1:
“So it was in him, then—an inherited fighting instinct, a driving intensity to kill. He was the last of the Duanes, that old fighting stock of Texas. But not the memory of his dead father, nor the pleading of his soft-voiced mother, nor the warning of this uncle who stood before him now, had brought Buck Duane so much realization of the dark passionate strain in his blood. It was the recurrence, a hundred-fold increased in power, of a strange emotion that for the last three years had arisen in him.
‘Yes, Cal Bain’s in town, full of bad whiskey an’ huntin’ for you,’ repeated the elder man, gravely.
‘It’s the second time,’ muttered Duane, as if to himself.
‘Son, you can’t avoid a meetin’. Leave town till Cal sobers up. He ain’t got it in for you when he’s not drinkin’’
‘But what’s he want me for?’ demanded Duane. ‘To insult me again? I won’t stand that twice.’
‘He’s got a fever that’s rampant in Texas these days, my boy. He wants gun-play. If he meets you he’ll try to kill you.’
Here it stirred in Duane again, that bursting gush of blood, like a wind of flame shaking all his inner being and subsiding to leave him strangely chilled.
‘Kill me! What for?’ he asked.
‘Lord knows there ain’t any reason. But what’s that to do with most of the shootin’ these days? Didn’t five cowboys over to Everall’s kill one another dead all because they got to jerkin’ at a quirt among themselves? An’ Cal has no reason to love you. His girl was sweet on you.’
‘I quit when I found out she was his girl.’
‘I reckon she ain’t quit. But never mind her or reasons. Cal’s here, just drunk enough to be ugly. He’s achin’ to kill somebody. He’s one of them four-flush gun-fighters. He’d like to be thought bad. There’s a lot of wild cowboys who’re ambitious for a reputation. They talk about how quick they are on the draw. They ape Bland an’ King Fisher an’ Hardin an’ all the big outlaws. They make threats about joinin’ gangs along the Rio Grande. They laugh at the sheriffs an’ brag about how they’d fix the rangers. Cal’s sure not much for you to bother with, if you only keep out of his way.’”
RATING: 2.5 stars. (It finally occurred to me that while I am limited to a non-fractional number of stars by Goodreads, I don’t have to be in my reviews. )
I think this was a great story for its genre and its day, just not for me.
STARTED-FINISHED 5/10/21-5/21/21
February 26, 2014
Curse me for reading Riders of the Purple Sage first. While this book is a fine output by Zane Grey, it is by no means his best. However, that does not mean it is not a worthwhile read. Grey’s books are far deeper and have more psychological and emotional impact than other Western authors; here we have an outlaw/bandit who is not a shallow, one-sided criminal. Rather, Buck Duane is a human being, and human beings settled the west. The transformation of Duane from outlaw to Ranger was well-written.
Of course there is a love interest. It’s been said that ZG’s books are romances dressed as westerns, but I go back to my first assessment, and state it differently: They are books about the human condition in an era that shaped much of what our country is today. And so, with the lurid descriptions of the landscape, we are treated to detailed and in-depth examination of the creatures that crawled across that land.
This book is missing some oomph, in my opinion. When Duane was listening to the outlaws, I had thought perhaps they heard/saw him, and that we’d have some sort of twist or betrayal or something. Not that the ending was bad, it’s just my jaded 21st-century mind expected a few dirty tricks.
Recommended.
Of course there is a love interest. It’s been said that ZG’s books are romances dressed as westerns, but I go back to my first assessment, and state it differently: They are books about the human condition in an era that shaped much of what our country is today. And so, with the lurid descriptions of the landscape, we are treated to detailed and in-depth examination of the creatures that crawled across that land.
This book is missing some oomph, in my opinion. When Duane was listening to the outlaws, I had thought perhaps they heard/saw him, and that we’d have some sort of twist or betrayal or something. Not that the ending was bad, it’s just my jaded 21st-century mind expected a few dirty tricks.
Recommended.
August 28, 2013
I think that this book catches the eyes of many young gals as well as older women. I love the way the author expressed the love and feelings for the characters towards each other and that it will affect them in the long run but that he placed his book very well and i cant say anything bad about it except for the fact that it had to end. That was just such a tragedy that i had to read this book over a second time. I love it and I am reading it again and I think that it is just as great as it was the first time. And, this is coming from a fifteen year old freshmen in high school and i love to read.
May 16, 2018
Wonderful!
Zane Grey is a great author! His books contain all the emotions of the human psyche. I love them also because they have good grammar and editing as well. It is so refreshing to read books which are not cheapened by profanity.
Zane Grey is a great author! His books contain all the emotions of the human psyche. I love them also because they have good grammar and editing as well. It is so refreshing to read books which are not cheapened by profanity.
October 26, 2018
A great tale of the Texas borderlands. Read when I was a kid, junior high age, more or less. I remember it as awesome.
Read
April 12, 2020This book had everything you wold expect in a western!
June 28, 2025
I decided to pick up a Zane Grey book as he’s a big name in the classical Western pulp canon. So, I picked this one up at the used bookstore, which has a healthy Western fiction section. Well, I really enjoyed the first section of the book, which is divided into two halves. The second half? Well, I’ll get to that.
The first half was excellent in my estimation; it flowed against certain Western fiction stereotypes, such as the primary love interest (Jennie) being what is essentially a sex-slave for the primary villain and having a brace on a leg due to the injuries she’d suffered. When on the run, she proves she’s resourceful and nurses the hero (Buck Duane) back to health after he’s been shot up. It’s great following Duane navigating the outlaw camp and its gangs and the vicious individuals that range from friendly to outright hostile, even though they are supposed to be in the same gang (on the same side). The “love” triangle drama that ensues between the gang boss’s habitually unfaithful wife and Jennie’s cruel keeper is great. The theme in this first section is the struggle of Duane against a society that visits the “sin of the father” on the son; it is trying to force him into the mold of an outlaw, no matter what he does, because of his family name. This was also great. It was also a surprise when poor Jennie is snatched up by a group of mysterious horsemen while Duane was still unable to help her. I was hoping this would continue into the second half; however, he’s captured by the Texas Rangers and then secretly badged a ranger and given a mission–yadda, yadda, yadda.
The second half of the book is a completely separate story, save for the happy ending, which lifts the outlaw moniker from Duane, clearing his name forever more (ho-hum). The second half even gifts him a “proper” love interest as stereotypical as can be (blech). The only real surprise in this last half of the book is when the new main threat (not necessarily the main villain in Westerns) gets the drop on him and is faster to the draw, shooting him down (he's healed by the end, rebirth metaphor I guess), then the Texas Rangers gun that guy down.
I give the first half a solid four-star rating – the second half two stars. The second part isn’t bad, just very predictable and a little boring, so it feels much longer than the first half. The average is why I gave it the score I did. Do I recommend this one? I would absolutely recommend the first half, not so much the rest. The sole concern of the story becomes Buck Duane in its second half, but he’s only interesting as a character when he’s the virtuous outlaw at odds with society. I will try to read one or two more Zane Grey books to give the author a fair shake; hopefully, they have more in common with the first half of this one than the second.
November 28, 2020
The blurb is referencing the wrong novel, it describes Rangers of the Lone Star, a different book in this series.
Lone Star Ranger on the other hand is the first of this trilogy of formula novels and is largely the same as the other lesser stories Grey wrote by the dozen after finally making good as an author. Like other books by Grey, the hero's actions in the final showdown are directed by his interest in a girl. This one girl will be a sparkling angel in the hero's life. A girl too good for the corruption and violence about her. He will rescue her. What sets this book apart is that Grey spends considerable prose on the inner struggle of the lead character to reconcile his uncontrollable murderous urges (inherited from his notorious father) with his equally urgent bourgeois desires for home and family. Like any good boy of 1915, Buck Duane cries at the thought of his mother, and worships and protects good girls. This clues the attentive reader in on how Buck will eventually prove to be a hero, and predictably win her too. The ending of this novel is as contrived and absurd as Grey's other novels, but that's part of the charm of these books. Good always wins.
The true gem of this book though was the biographical sketch at the front, which was very poorly written and emphasized a number of minor details in Grey's life to a remarkable degree. As an example, the biographer really wanted to highlight the editorial malpractice of Ripley Hitchcock of Harper and Brothers, who rejected several of Grey's early works. The biographer presented him repeatedly as an adversary that Grey eventually humiliated by getting a more senior editor at Harper to accept Riders of the Purple Sage. I was considerably amused by this detail, and wondered why Grey never tried another publishing house.
So the novel's pulp, but it's good pulp, and very readable. I guess I like a book that insists on being charming even as it plods along a silly plot line toward an entirely predictable ending.
Lone Star Ranger on the other hand is the first of this trilogy of formula novels and is largely the same as the other lesser stories Grey wrote by the dozen after finally making good as an author. Like other books by Grey, the hero's actions in the final showdown are directed by his interest in a girl. This one girl will be a sparkling angel in the hero's life. A girl too good for the corruption and violence about her. He will rescue her. What sets this book apart is that Grey spends considerable prose on the inner struggle of the lead character to reconcile his uncontrollable murderous urges (inherited from his notorious father) with his equally urgent bourgeois desires for home and family. Like any good boy of 1915, Buck Duane cries at the thought of his mother, and worships and protects good girls. This clues the attentive reader in on how Buck will eventually prove to be a hero, and predictably win her too. The ending of this novel is as contrived and absurd as Grey's other novels, but that's part of the charm of these books. Good always wins.
The true gem of this book though was the biographical sketch at the front, which was very poorly written and emphasized a number of minor details in Grey's life to a remarkable degree. As an example, the biographer really wanted to highlight the editorial malpractice of Ripley Hitchcock of Harper and Brothers, who rejected several of Grey's early works. The biographer presented him repeatedly as an adversary that Grey eventually humiliated by getting a more senior editor at Harper to accept Riders of the Purple Sage. I was considerably amused by this detail, and wondered why Grey never tried another publishing house.
So the novel's pulp, but it's good pulp, and very readable. I guess I like a book that insists on being charming even as it plods along a silly plot line toward an entirely predictable ending.
January 4, 2022
Buck Duane was destined to get into trouble, gun trouble. Duane’s father was an infamous gunfighter who met his end at the end of a rope. Although Duane stayed out of trouble for the twenty-three years of his life, he had practiced a great deal and was a fast hand with a .45 caliber Colt. It had to happen someday. The town loud-mouth called him out and died with two holes above his heart. The year is unknown, and it is Texas, but Duane and his uncle feared the law. That confused me. It was clearly self-defense and half the town witnessed it but perhaps the Rangers had outlawed gunfighting. Anyway, Duane left town, winding up in something like the hole-in-the-wall, determined to live with the outlaws. Almost immediately, he had to display his gun skill. Continuing, the story gives the account of Duane’s time with the Brand Gang, more so, some of the people who lived there with the outlaws; one such, a young captive girl named Jenny. Duane was constantly troubled with his situation and more, the people he was forced to kill to survive. Book two of the tale highlighted a turn of events one would have never expected. Duane rode west toward the Big Bend territory. An outlaw “on the dodge” for the past three years, Duane now merged with the Chesldine Gang. As before, we’ll follow along as Duane gets acquainted with his new compadres. The account of this gang and all the events surrounding it consume the remainder of the story. I enjoyed the tale and can recommend it to western fans.
March 10, 2024
Here we have a story of the son of a quick gun who follows in his dad’s footsteps whether he wants to or not. His quick draw has dealt death to a couple of outlaws and consequently he has to flee to the Rio Grand River area which is a safe haven for outlaws. Typical for Grey, the new outlaw (really a decent person with a conscience) is able to rescue a girl kidnapped and held by a notorious gang. In getting away he kills the leader and is on the run with the girl but his intention is to return her to her family. The second part of the story is where Duane is nearly killed but is able to hide away from a posse and recuperate. He finally decides to turn to the Texas Rangers who take him in. They give him a nearly impossible assignment to clean up a large cattle rustling gang along the Rio Grande. Duane is able to infiltrate the area unknown and make contact with both good and bad forces. He sneaks his way around and is able to subdue to gang leader and his family. Here he wins the heart of the gang leader’s daughter and captures the leader with a promise to have the Rangers go easy on him if he cooperates. The gang leader helps to capture the gunslingers who do the real dirty work since he was actually blackmailed into being their puppet leader. Duane succeeds not only in capturing the leader but sets up an ambush and kills the worst gunslingers. So in the end Duane goes off into the sunset with the daughter of the ex-leader and hopefully has cleared his name as the fastest gun in Texas. A typical Zane Grey ending.
March 13, 2019
While it might be exciting, intriguing even, this book will probably leave you disappointed. The main character, Buck Duane, is almost portrayed as some sort of ideal, you like THE one and only Buck Duane, to feared and respected, sort of thing. The plot was bad. It really was. You think there is going to be so sort of love affair then the girl disappears, and Zane Grey really doesn't do a very good job of making it at all clear that she was dead or why she died at all. Then he meets another girl and falls in love with her......no mention of the other girl at all. The middle of the second half is probably the best part. The ending was terrible. I know it's supposed to portray the whole thing with hotblooded Texans where they can't control the blood and thirst to kill, but yeah.....it was bad.
You'll probably be better off not reading it. It's not worth your time. Particularly if you think objectively about good vs. bad plots. Cause then it will REALLY annoy you.
You'll probably be better off not reading it. It's not worth your time. Particularly if you think objectively about good vs. bad plots. Cause then it will REALLY annoy you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2020
This book started very well. Then it got more and more bogged down in narrative and prolonged dialogue. A good editor could have cut a good 25 pages out of this and made it far stronger.
Seems to me Grey initially had a vision of a story following a very confused young fellow through life to a point of becoming a Texas Ranger. Seems Grey got confused and really creates 4 books and attaches two at a part and the two others as another part. if that sounds confusing, I'm perplexed, too. The the first half of each part is better than the second halves. Making half the book worth reading.
Adding to this is that the character changes. Well it would over so many years. But the changes are multiple and inconsistent and illogical. The changes seem to fit each turn in the tale. Almost as if Grey had really intended the 4 stories with different characters.
Best to skip the whole thing.
Bottom line: i don't recommend this book. 3 out of 10 stars.
Seems to me Grey initially had a vision of a story following a very confused young fellow through life to a point of becoming a Texas Ranger. Seems Grey got confused and really creates 4 books and attaches two at a part and the two others as another part. if that sounds confusing, I'm perplexed, too. The the first half of each part is better than the second halves. Making half the book worth reading.
Adding to this is that the character changes. Well it would over so many years. But the changes are multiple and inconsistent and illogical. The changes seem to fit each turn in the tale. Almost as if Grey had really intended the 4 stories with different characters.
Best to skip the whole thing.
Bottom line: i don't recommend this book. 3 out of 10 stars.
July 30, 2022
Zane Grey was among other things a dentist and the writer of 89 books. This one begins with a shoot-out on main street that sends Buck Duane fleeing into the Texas Border country as an outlaw. A reputation as a fast gun hand was often a rep that drew rivals anxious to prove they were a faster draw. The author is at pains to show that killing a man, no matter the circumstance, marks the gunman’s soul and has the ghostly remains haunt Duane’s lonely campfires. Watching the light of life die in a man’s eyes knowing you were the cause is not a pleasant experience. You may remember that each episode of Gunsmoke began with the Marshall standing on Boot Hill brooding over the graves of the men he’d sent there.
As with most westerns there are women involved in the tale. The version I’m marking as read appears to differ from that I’m reading and involves one Panhandle Smith. My version also has editing errors.
As with most westerns there are women involved in the tale. The version I’m marking as read appears to differ from that I’m reading and involves one Panhandle Smith. My version also has editing errors.
November 26, 2025
The Lone Star Ranger is a thought-provoking western, with terrible pacing, which examines frontier justice vs civilized justice.
TLSR thrives in its moral greys. Buck Duane's Outlaw status is understandable, from a legal perspective, but we're forced to reckon with whether its fair-- as Duane is hunted like an animal, for a crime many of us might ourselves commit in the same scenario. And Duane's story effectively demonstrates the difference between frontier justice and the legal principles of a civilized society. He's a fascinating protagonist because he always rides the line between bad and good, with frequent thoughts of the former and more actions to the later.
This book additionally crafts many a tense and exciting scene, with a morally diverse supporting cast! But its pacing frequently grinds, and Zane Grey's descriptions of places and things eventually feels repetitive.
The Lone Star Ranger is best enjoyed if you Read Passively.
TLSR thrives in its moral greys. Buck Duane's Outlaw status is understandable, from a legal perspective, but we're forced to reckon with whether its fair-- as Duane is hunted like an animal, for a crime many of us might ourselves commit in the same scenario. And Duane's story effectively demonstrates the difference between frontier justice and the legal principles of a civilized society. He's a fascinating protagonist because he always rides the line between bad and good, with frequent thoughts of the former and more actions to the later.
This book additionally crafts many a tense and exciting scene, with a morally diverse supporting cast! But its pacing frequently grinds, and Zane Grey's descriptions of places and things eventually feels repetitive.
The Lone Star Ranger is best enjoyed if you Read Passively.
February 3, 2018
I have had the opportunity to read many books by Mr. Zane Grey, but I believe this one is probably the best I have read. The story is believable.
Well deserving of the five stars I awarded the story, as the story touches even the hardest hearts. The storylines and characters depicts the real old west and there is enough exiting escapades to fill the needs of any reader.
I have always enjoyed stories of the Texas Rangers and their accomplishments, this story is so in depth that my attention never varied throughout the entire book. There is adventure, a great love story and plenty of shootouts to satisfy the desire of anyone.
I sincerely recommend this book to all of you lovers of great Western excitement, as well as romance, and the storylines and characters will fill your greatest desire.
Well deserving of the five stars I awarded the story, as the story touches even the hardest hearts. The storylines and characters depicts the real old west and there is enough exiting escapades to fill the needs of any reader.
I have always enjoyed stories of the Texas Rangers and their accomplishments, this story is so in depth that my attention never varied throughout the entire book. There is adventure, a great love story and plenty of shootouts to satisfy the desire of anyone.
I sincerely recommend this book to all of you lovers of great Western excitement, as well as romance, and the storylines and characters will fill your greatest desire.
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