The Deer Stalker

by Zane Grey

Thad Eburne, a hard-working, dedicated ranger in the grand Buckskin Forest, is worn down by bitterness and greed to become a deer stalker, until a woman comes into his life and changes everything

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Action

261 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1925

About the author

Pearl 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.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is Zane Grey's depiction of an actual event, the Kaibab Deer Drive at the Grand Canyon in 1924. I had never heard of such a thing until I read It Happened at Grand Canyon recently. There was an essay there about the deer drive, and it mentioned that Grey witnessed the event, publishing this book about it the following year. I have a whole set of Zane Grey titles so of course I had to jump right into this one after reading the Grand Canyon book.

Even though I knew the results of the drive by reading the essay, there was still plenty of suspense here in the buildup to the event, and the frustrations Grey's ranger character deals with as he tries to both do his job a he sees it and satisfy the government muckety-mucks who are poking their noses everywhere. Not to mention those greedy ranchers who want the deer gone so they can put their cattle all over the place.

Our ranger also has to try to help the man who comes up with the idea for the drive, and this is not an easy task. McKay might as well have been a government man for all the help he was. A man who only has ideas but not the drive and intelligence to carry them out is not the type to be in charge of such a project!

And let's not forget the romance, Grey always gives us a nice healthy romance. Will our ranger meet the woman of his dreams? Will she recognize him as the man of hers? Sigh.

Few writers can describe the Canyon territory as well as Grey, even though he does sometimes get a bit lush with his words. No matter, whether you have been there or not, this book plops you right into the heart of Grand Canyon country. Settle in and enjoy!

[Wayland Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read everything by Louis L'Amour, but somehow not the other "king of westerns," Zane Grey. I decided to fix that and give this a whirl.

Deer Stalker is definitely a Western, but it's an unusual one. There are no gun fights, not a lot of attention to horses aside from them being a way to get somewhere, and it's set in the 1920's, so there are cars and trucks. On the plus side, the books lead female character, Patricia, gets a lot of screen time, which many Westerns don't do.

Thad Eburne (horrible name) is a man who left the East to come West and fell in love with the country. He works for the forestry service as a ranger, mostly attending to the huge deer herd in the Buckskin range. But mankind has meddled and killed off all the predators, so the deer population is out of control and starving to death. Thad agrees to go along with a desperate plan to try and save as many of the deer he's come to admire as possible.

Along the way he meets Patricia, another refugee from the East Coast, who came West to get away from a never-identified scandal. She seems to be a very honorable and admirable woman, so I'm not sure what she might have done to get in so much trouble out New York way. Naturally, she and Thad meet and fall in love over the course of the book.

The descriptions of the land, the spirit of the west, and the early theme of conservation are all great. A bit less so are many details we never get filled in. What happened to Pat back east? Who are the forces that oppose the attempt to save the deer, exactly, and why are they so against it? For that matter, what did they do, precisely?

It's an odd book in some regards, and seems to end on a cliffhanger of sorts, but there's no second book. I have to admit, based on an admittedly small sample size, so far I prefer L'Amour.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good book that ended kind of strange like. There was no gun play even there were hints of it throughout the story.
I did like the idea of conservation of our natural resources. I would recommend this book to all ages. Just know that it is not your ordinary western book.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shallow

Unusual for Zane Gray the plot was fairly thin. Details regarding the Grand Canyon area were interesting and he paints a beautiful picture of it. Fairly good read but not up to par with some of his other books of that type.

[Leighann Garber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well how sad all around. And we find that patricia is free to marry now, but it's still not clear too me what she actually did that was so dreadful. The involvement of her friend and friends husband makes no sense to me. I wish I could find some cliffs notes on this one

[Clayton Roach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Zane Grey. The way that he illustrates the scenery with his eloquent words is absolutely fascinating. Eburne Thad is someone that I strive to be when i’m older.

[Amy Barker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a good Zane Grey novel once in a while, but this one was flimsy with an absolutely non-sensical ending. Disappointed.

[Barbara Maddox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like a mysterious scandal was never explained and the main problem was never solved.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it was a simple read I preferred Sue and Nels relationship and personalities more than Patricia and Thad. I enjoyed it though

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

did not like reading this

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great as all of his books are but especially appropriate in these times. He talks about the deer over population because we killed off the cougars. Now we have the same problem because we killed off and/or moved the wolves. All things created by God in nature were created by him for a reason !!

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Takes place in the Grand Canyon region during the 1920s. Since it was written in 1925, the style is kind of like Little Women. Different kind of western, as the protagonist is fighting for conservation rather than against the Indians.... Predictable romance. Not bad, but not memorable.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of several Zane Grey westerns read several years ago.