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The Border Legion
Jim Cleve has been deemed, "a good guy" all of his life and it agitates him to no end. Even his girlfriend, Joan Randle has scorned him for this "weakness" shouting, "You haven't it in you even to be BAD!" Dejected and hurt, Jim abandons the life he has known for the gold mining camps along Alder Gulch in southern Montana. It is here, among the thieves and murderers, that he must make a new name for himself.
Meanwhile, Joan realizes the danger that she has put Jim in and rushes off to save him. However, when she stumbles across the ruthless desperado gang leader, Jack Kells, it is soon Joan who is in need of rescue. When Kells tries to rape her, Joan grabs his gun and shoots him. But something keeps Joan from leaving him to die. In the face of Joan's loving spirit, Kells experiences his own change of heart. But it is too late, Kells outlaw gang arrives and keeps Joan hostage.
So begins the border legion adventures of roving bandits, lust and greed. With Jim's search for a new identity, Jack's moral dilemma and the fight for Joan's freedom, this thrilling story portrays the epic theme of man's continual struggle between good and evil.
Meanwhile, Joan realizes the danger that she has put Jim in and rushes off to save him. However, when she stumbles across the ruthless desperado gang leader, Jack Kells, it is soon Joan who is in need of rescue. When Kells tries to rape her, Joan grabs his gun and shoots him. But something keeps Joan from leaving him to die. In the face of Joan's loving spirit, Kells experiences his own change of heart. But it is too late, Kells outlaw gang arrives and keeps Joan hostage.
So begins the border legion adventures of roving bandits, lust and greed. With Jim's search for a new identity, Jack's moral dilemma and the fight for Joan's freedom, this thrilling story portrays the epic theme of man's continual struggle between good and evil.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 1916
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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 72 reviews
January 24, 2024
Book 2 of the
2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge
This was a blast from the past! I read a lot of Zane Grey when I was in high school and I vaguely remembered loving this title. When I saw it in my favourite used bookstore, I grabbed it. It's always a gamble, re-reading something you adored as a much younger person.
I couldn't help but notice how differently romance is written in 2024 than 1916! In the second chapter, Joan Randle has ridden out in search of the boyfriend that she's had a big fight with. She rides too far and is kidnapped by Jack Kells, an outlaw who makes is very clear that he is sexually interested in her. Joan pretends to be much younger than she is and tries to stay on his good side. When he eventually grabs her, she goes limp, grabs his gun, and shoots him in the side. Then, instead of escaping, she stays to nurse him back to health. Kells turns out to be a pretty chivalrous wanna-be-rapist. He protects Joan from the other outlaws and tries to convince her to marry him. Most unrealistic. And then Joan's boyfriend, Jim Cleve, shows up as part of the Border Legion, transformed into a hardened outlaw himself.
A modern author, writing a kidnapping, would likely bring Joan and Jack together as a couple, but life was different in 1916. Joan wants nothing to do with an outlaw but draws the line at murdering him. Kells finds the clothing of an outlaw, a small man, known as Dandy Dale, and insists that Joan wear it. Oh, the horror! He makes her wear trousers (and then tells her that she looks cute in them), so evil. But Joan is fixated on Jim and she continues to ward off Kells' advances. He seems to want her to care for him and give consent so he doesn't force her.
Now I truly wonder what is was that captured my imagination all those years ago? I remembered very little of the plot, but I think I was halfway rooting for Jack Kells to get the girl. Thankfully I don't think I'll be wanting to read it again, so it can go back to the used bookstore.
This was a blast from the past! I read a lot of Zane Grey when I was in high school and I vaguely remembered loving this title. When I saw it in my favourite used bookstore, I grabbed it. It's always a gamble, re-reading something you adored as a much younger person.
I couldn't help but notice how differently romance is written in 2024 than 1916! In the second chapter, Joan Randle has ridden out in search of the boyfriend that she's had a big fight with. She rides too far and is kidnapped by Jack Kells, an outlaw who makes is very clear that he is sexually interested in her. Joan pretends to be much younger than she is and tries to stay on his good side. When he eventually grabs her, she goes limp, grabs his gun, and shoots him in the side. Then, instead of escaping, she stays to nurse him back to health. Kells turns out to be a pretty chivalrous wanna-be-rapist. He protects Joan from the other outlaws and tries to convince her to marry him. Most unrealistic. And then Joan's boyfriend, Jim Cleve, shows up as part of the Border Legion, transformed into a hardened outlaw himself.
A modern author, writing a kidnapping, would likely bring Joan and Jack together as a couple, but life was different in 1916. Joan wants nothing to do with an outlaw but draws the line at murdering him. Kells finds the clothing of an outlaw, a small man, known as Dandy Dale, and insists that Joan wear it. Oh, the horror! He makes her wear trousers (and then tells her that she looks cute in them), so evil. But Joan is fixated on Jim and she continues to ward off Kells' advances. He seems to want her to care for him and give consent so he doesn't force her.
Now I truly wonder what is was that captured my imagination all those years ago? I remembered very little of the plot, but I think I was halfway rooting for Jack Kells to get the girl. Thankfully I don't think I'll be wanting to read it again, so it can go back to the used bookstore.
June 5, 2024
For a big chunk of this book I felt like I wasn’t enjoying it, but then in the end I kind of loved it. Overlong, melodramatic, somewhat plotless, but it has a great atmosphere and some really gripping set pieces.
September 9, 2025
A good solid read. Entertaining and it kept me moving through the chapters. A nice palete cleanser before going on to meatier books.
December 4, 2012
Resources for Adults Western Selection
I’m surprised at how much I liked this book. I really really liked this book. It was one of only a handful of audiobooks available for download from my local library. At about 10 hours, it was twice as long as any of the other choices, but the blurb on the back sounded interesting, and I figured I’d rather be entertained for 10 hours than bored for 5.
And entertained I was! Border Legion follows the story of Joan Randle, a woman orphaned on the Idaho frontier when her father had the misfortune of moving to “impede a bullet.” After her father’s death, Joan remains in Idaho, and is raised to adulthood by her uncle in a tiny frontier town called Hartley (?). A beautiful woman, Joan receives a lot of attention from would-be suitors. Among them is Jim Cleve, a “good guy,” undistinguished except by his love for Joan. One night, in a fit of impetuous passion, Jim sneaks up on Joan and declares his love with a stolen kiss. Joan rejects him, and brokenhearted, Jim leaves town to become a miner/criminal/road agent. Only after Jim leaves does Joan regret her refusal, and she hastily sets off after him with plans to catch up to him and bring him back by nightfall.
All does not go as planned, of course, and so begins a wild adventure for Joan. She is soon kidnapped by the outlaw Jack Kells, who is smitten with Joan and takes to calling her his “wife.” Eventually, Kells crosses paths with Cleve (and a delightful supporting cast of outlaws and miscreants). There is nothing particularly surprising in the storyline. It’s Grey’s characters and phrasing that makes this book such a pleasure to read. It reminded me a lot of Jane Austen in wit and style, and I think there’s a lot of potential for crossover appeal here.
There are classic Western elements: likable outlaws, the wild frontier, gold fever, and a damsel in distress. But there is also humor, romance, and .
Like other listeners, I do have minor complaints about the narration of the audio book – primarily that the falsetto voice the narrator used for Joan made her seem weak and flighty, traits that are not borne out by the written characterization. Also, the accent chosen for Jack Kells sounded almost British, which was fine, except that I spent half the book thinking that a single minor character was two different characters because of the way Kells pronounced the name. (The character’s name was “Red Pierce,” which in Kells’ voice sounded more like “Red Piss”-- an usual name, to be sure, but whatever (I figured) he’s an outlaw.)
Other than those minor complaints, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s too early to say if I’m completely converted to Westerns, but I’m pretty sure I’m converted to Zane Grey.
I’m surprised at how much I liked this book. I really really liked this book. It was one of only a handful of audiobooks available for download from my local library. At about 10 hours, it was twice as long as any of the other choices, but the blurb on the back sounded interesting, and I figured I’d rather be entertained for 10 hours than bored for 5.
And entertained I was! Border Legion follows the story of Joan Randle, a woman orphaned on the Idaho frontier when her father had the misfortune of moving to “impede a bullet.” After her father’s death, Joan remains in Idaho, and is raised to adulthood by her uncle in a tiny frontier town called Hartley (?). A beautiful woman, Joan receives a lot of attention from would-be suitors. Among them is Jim Cleve, a “good guy,” undistinguished except by his love for Joan. One night, in a fit of impetuous passion, Jim sneaks up on Joan and declares his love with a stolen kiss. Joan rejects him, and brokenhearted, Jim leaves town to become a miner/criminal/road agent. Only after Jim leaves does Joan regret her refusal, and she hastily sets off after him with plans to catch up to him and bring him back by nightfall.
All does not go as planned, of course, and so begins a wild adventure for Joan. She is soon kidnapped by the outlaw Jack Kells, who is smitten with Joan and takes to calling her his “wife.” Eventually, Kells crosses paths with Cleve (and a delightful supporting cast of outlaws and miscreants). There is nothing particularly surprising in the storyline. It’s Grey’s characters and phrasing that makes this book such a pleasure to read. It reminded me a lot of Jane Austen in wit and style, and I think there’s a lot of potential for crossover appeal here.
There are classic Western elements: likable outlaws, the wild frontier, gold fever, and a damsel in distress. But there is also humor, romance, and .
Like other listeners, I do have minor complaints about the narration of the audio book – primarily that the falsetto voice the narrator used for Joan made her seem weak and flighty, traits that are not borne out by the written characterization. Also, the accent chosen for Jack Kells sounded almost British, which was fine, except that I spent half the book thinking that a single minor character was two different characters because of the way Kells pronounced the name. (The character’s name was “Red Pierce,” which in Kells’ voice sounded more like “Red Piss”-- an usual name, to be sure, but whatever (I figured) he’s an outlaw.)
Other than those minor complaints, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s too early to say if I’m completely converted to Westerns, but I’m pretty sure I’m converted to Zane Grey.
February 10, 2022
This fast paced novel is unlike many of Grey's earlier works in that he is not so concerned about the description of the landscape as he is about the probing of man's nature, particularly when that nature is affected by outside influences such as peer pressure, possible affluence, and evil. The complex personalities of the various characters, especially those of Kells, Gulden, and Cleve is a fascinating study of how men can be influenced by their surroundings, and their past. The book also demonstrates that men, or women for that matter, are never predictable, and can be persuaded to perform valiant acts in horrible circumstances, or vice versa.
Probably the most interesting aspect of this novel relates to the impact an insentient, but valuable, substance can have on man's psyche. In this case, the substance was gold, but I believe Grey simply uses this as an example due to the time period and setting described. He could have used any valuable substance in any other time period to prove his assertion that greed, one of the seven deadly sins, can break man's spirit and change honorable men into villainous savages. And in order to be released from its hellish grip sometimes requires a staggering, or possibly fatal, once in a lifetime event.
I found that the book was remarkably absorbing for the day that it was written, and in some cases surprisingly violent. The last few scenes of the book were especially so, but even at the beginning the reader will want to continue with this captivating novel by this great western writer.
Probably the most interesting aspect of this novel relates to the impact an insentient, but valuable, substance can have on man's psyche. In this case, the substance was gold, but I believe Grey simply uses this as an example due to the time period and setting described. He could have used any valuable substance in any other time period to prove his assertion that greed, one of the seven deadly sins, can break man's spirit and change honorable men into villainous savages. And in order to be released from its hellish grip sometimes requires a staggering, or possibly fatal, once in a lifetime event.
I found that the book was remarkably absorbing for the day that it was written, and in some cases surprisingly violent. The last few scenes of the book were especially so, but even at the beginning the reader will want to continue with this captivating novel by this great western writer.
May 20, 2017
Predictable
July 18, 2021
Not perfect, but it did so many things right! It almost pains me not to give it 5 stars, but I'm too stubborn to.
The beginning was easily a solid 5 stars, focusing mainly on the uneasy dynamic between Joan and Jack Kells. I loved being in her head as she figured out ever-changing ways to handle him and his legion of bandits, and her equally fluid view of him. It was the middle with the return of Jim Cleve and time spent in Alder Creek really lost me - . The interactions between Joan and Kells petered off, replaced instead with something a little more milquetoast. I almost wrote off the book for going in a direction I didn't want to follow, but the ending proved surprisingly satisfying to me.
The author did not forget Joan and Kells, and what became of their relationship left me pleased, but longing. Between those two feelings, it averages out to a very pleasant 4 star read.
The beginning was easily a solid 5 stars, focusing mainly on the uneasy dynamic between Joan and Jack Kells. I loved being in her head as she figured out ever-changing ways to handle him and his legion of bandits, and her equally fluid view of him. It was the middle with the return of Jim Cleve and time spent in Alder Creek really lost me - . The interactions between Joan and Kells petered off, replaced instead with something a little more milquetoast. I almost wrote off the book for going in a direction I didn't want to follow, but the ending proved surprisingly satisfying to me.
The author did not forget Joan and Kells, and what became of their relationship left me pleased, but longing. Between those two feelings, it averages out to a very pleasant 4 star read.
February 3, 2016
Written in 1912, it reflects its time period. The heroine is spunky and virtuous, the villains are horrible but capable of redemption. It is a fun read, especially if you want to slip away to yesteryear.
May 26, 2018
Even consistently good authors have so-so books.
May 16, 2024
Only a good Western of a mindless romance can make me read until my eyes hurt.
This was great! I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into it (no back of the book to read), so from the get-go I didn’t know who Joan would end up with. Truthfully, I was disappointed that there wasn’t some incredible character development for Kells that lead to him becoming our hero. Although I really loved how Grey made Joan’s femininity basically a superpower, as it pushed Jim to become a man that he had potential to be, and made Kells a better man than he’d been before her.
Lowkey think Kells was kinda bipolar though, he could’ve benefited from some medication. The drastic shifts in his personality and behavior were a bit overwhelming to read, and I certainly wouldn’t have been as calm as Joan was (loved her as a heroine, truly).
Only gave it 4 stars because I feel I’ve been too liberal with my 5-star reviews. I would’ve changed almost nothing, and it was a thrill. Makes me want to hold up a stagecoach.🤠
This was great! I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into it (no back of the book to read), so from the get-go I didn’t know who Joan would end up with. Truthfully, I was disappointed that there wasn’t some incredible character development for Kells that lead to him becoming our hero. Although I really loved how Grey made Joan’s femininity basically a superpower, as it pushed Jim to become a man that he had potential to be, and made Kells a better man than he’d been before her.
Lowkey think Kells was kinda bipolar though, he could’ve benefited from some medication. The drastic shifts in his personality and behavior were a bit overwhelming to read, and I certainly wouldn’t have been as calm as Joan was (loved her as a heroine, truly).
Only gave it 4 stars because I feel I’ve been too liberal with my 5-star reviews. I would’ve changed almost nothing, and it was a thrill. Makes me want to hold up a stagecoach.🤠
June 4, 2018
By the end of this book, I was rooting like crazy for Joan Randle. Grey made her very real. As always, his descriptions of the western landscape were wonderful. This is a story of the world famous Alden Creek gold rush, and I recommend it to anyone who likes westerns.
April 29, 2015
Having grown up in the 1950's and 60's when the western genre was so popular on television - Rawhide, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Maverick to name just a few of the many extremely successful television programs of that time, I had often heard about Zane Grey as the author of wonderful western stories. Well, it's now 2015, and I finally got around to reading one! The Border Legion is a terrific adventure story; it attracted me in the summary on Amazon because it was told from a woman's perspective. Joan Randle is a girl on the cusp of becoming a woman; she's kind of in love with a young man named Jim Cleve, but she gives him the brush off when he tries to embrace her and he heads for the hills. This simplistic premise at the beginning of the book thrusts Joan into a quest to find Jim and to save him from the bandits and desperadoes who roam the canyons and gulches along the Idaho border. Written in 1916 when Grey was beginning to churn out one bestseller after another, the premise sounds perfect for a silent movie where the young woman is kidnapped and rescued and kidnapped again - one can almost picture the stylistic silent movie style of the damsel in distress. But, in actual fact, the novel is pretty gripping. Grey's descriptions of the landscapes are breathtaking and his characterizations are marvelous, and although there are long stretches where Joan's captivity seems to be interminable, her intelligence and observations of the wild and desperate men around her make her likable and believable. Some of the scenes that take place in the gold-mining town of Alder Creek are so vivid that it confirms Zane Grey's powers as a craftsman to bring the west and the lure of gold and what it did to men, both good and bad, to life. And, Joan's love story is not so simple either - in the end she is somewhat torn by her feelings for the older, charismatic bandit leader Jack Kells, and her young, but wiser and eager lover, Jim Cleve.
March 14, 2013
After having recently finished “30,000 on the Hoof,” this one was a little bit of a disappointment. Still 3 stars because it is Zane Grey, and the writing is terrific (for the period.)
Here we have the “damsel-in-distress” who is taken in by a bandit. But he’s not so bad. Or is he? Oh, he’s really bad, and I’m scared. Yes, but today he seems pretty clean; he didn’t take advantage of me, like he wanted to. But the other guy over there is REALLY bad. My captor? Not so much. All right, today he’s mean and I want to escape. Oh look! Here’s my hometown sweetheart! It is he whom I followed in the first place; and this brilliant idea got me into this mess. All right, I’ll hide out for a while, then we’ll get married and we can escape. Except the bad guys are really kind of nice in a way and my sweetheart is in with them, so we have to be careful....
One does not get gratuitous blood and violence with Zane Grey. Although the later scenes are a little intense, I think this is one of those books where he could have skimped a little on the hostage theme and ended it with a bit more hot lead and cordite. But it does not take away from the fact that this was a very good story, well told, and a decent read.
Just not my favorite.
Here we have the “damsel-in-distress” who is taken in by a bandit. But he’s not so bad. Or is he? Oh, he’s really bad, and I’m scared. Yes, but today he seems pretty clean; he didn’t take advantage of me, like he wanted to. But the other guy over there is REALLY bad. My captor? Not so much. All right, today he’s mean and I want to escape. Oh look! Here’s my hometown sweetheart! It is he whom I followed in the first place; and this brilliant idea got me into this mess. All right, I’ll hide out for a while, then we’ll get married and we can escape. Except the bad guys are really kind of nice in a way and my sweetheart is in with them, so we have to be careful....
One does not get gratuitous blood and violence with Zane Grey. Although the later scenes are a little intense, I think this is one of those books where he could have skimped a little on the hostage theme and ended it with a bit more hot lead and cordite. But it does not take away from the fact that this was a very good story, well told, and a decent read.
Just not my favorite.
August 13, 2016
This is an old book (copyright 1916) and I have read a lot of Zane Grey but I don't think I've read this one before. The beginning is rather dumb - a girl spurns her fella and he rides off to be an outlaw - and later she rides out after him, all by herself. Well you can imagine how the story goes then. She meets an old fella who knows of her and he decides to accompany her; he gets killed and she is kidnapped .... but most of the story goes into the complex character of her kidnapper, Kells, and his outlaw relationships. Coincidentally, her beau shows up among the gang and everything works out in the end. A great tale if you like stories of the old west.
November 9, 2014
Seems more complex than the few recent Westerns that I've read, starting with a headstrong young lady. Romance with deception. I got a kick out of the heroine being forced to wear a deceased gunman's dandy black outfit, replete with mask, and noticing the looks she got from the men. I'm picturing something like Catwoman in Batman. The bad guy in this one seems pretty smart throughout, probably smarter than the good guy. I hadn't seen that before in my limited Western experiences. I also noticed the hero gambles at the very end regarding the gold's rightful owner. If he guessed wrong, he'd be the same as the bad guys. We don't get to see that moral dilemma, though.
February 19, 2016
A kidnapped girl is forced into following the group of gold robbers until her old flame shows up.
March 12, 2021
Imagine “The Wizard of Oz” as an Idaho Gold Rush story and you're getting near to what “The Border Legion” is.
Before I explain myself, I'd like to talk a little about how I wound up in possession of this book. I'd meant to get into Zane Grey and westerns but did not actually start buying any until a day in May 2017. I was driving with a friend down Washington Highway 8, headed for Capitol State Forest for hiking, when I learned he hadn't brought water or food or anything. The car was also overheating off an on, so we stopped at a little gas station. The station was run by an old man and he had a lot of this Pocket Books series of 60s Zane Grey printings (with the photographic covers) on one of those metal spinning displays, the kind the book might well have originally been sold off of. The man felt the need to point out that the books were old when I took an interest, and I wound up taking two of them, I think the other was “To The Last Man”.
Never mind why it took me so long to get to this book (I buy way too many books), but this certainly worked out for a gas station purchase!
No sooner has Joan thought about Jim Cleve than does he appear and roughly kiss her. She's incensed and, in her fury, tells him he doesn't even have the guts to be bad. This touches a nerve with Jim, who declares he will run off and become an outlaw along the border with the likes of the infamous Kells and Gulden. As soon as he's out of sight, she regrets what she said and goes after him, only to wind up abducted by none other than the infamous Jack Kells!
In my retelling this, it comes off sounding like a quickie western flick, like something Republic Picures would have hammered out to fill in a matinee. In the book, however, this actually plays out with a kind of gradual psychology, dwelling a lot on Joan's state of mind, since we stay with Joan and not Jim. Kells is an enigma, a complicated man, an educated man who changed his name and ran away to a life of crime, escape the noose and becoming more infamous as he went. Even in the short time we're with him in the book, we see the trail of bodies left behind him, and yet he is not all bad.
The reason I bring up “The Wizard of Oz” is that this book, while employing a lot of realism and believable period detail, exists very much in the mind of Joan, which transforms this into a kind of parable, almost into a dream. The border outlaws are mentioned, and shortly thereafter they become real. Joan tosses off the term “Border Legion” to Kells, and he brings it into being. No sooner has she realized the duality of Kells, than does a truly evil person emerge, his sometime partner, Gulden.
It seems to me that Zane Grey may have been ahead of his time in some sense, since this book, while heavily reliant on dramatized romance, plays like the kind of western tropes that were more popular in the 1950s. It's not fast paced action/adventure, but rather built more around the changing relationships of the characters. It might well have been something like an Edgar Rice Burroughs story, were it not for the fact that the focus remains with Joan and not with Jim.
So, what do we get with “The Border Legion”? We get: three off-screen murderers for lust, hidden intentions, a filthy bustling boomtown, two bandit cabins (one with a small window for secret meetings), a masked vigilante court, lynchings, a secret wedding, a spy among the Border Legion, gambling and drawn pistols, lots of old west grizzled types, one gigantic gold nugget, a lady in disguise complete with mask, multiple noble self-sacrifices, extensive feminine perspective, stage robbery, frontier surgery, and a cannibal psychopath in the form of the hulking Gulden.
Zane Grey's “The Border Legion” is verbose, feels very complete, and is carried through as much by the romance as it is by the weirdness in which fearful things materialize when mentioned and where gold has the power to destroy the best of us.
Before I explain myself, I'd like to talk a little about how I wound up in possession of this book. I'd meant to get into Zane Grey and westerns but did not actually start buying any until a day in May 2017. I was driving with a friend down Washington Highway 8, headed for Capitol State Forest for hiking, when I learned he hadn't brought water or food or anything. The car was also overheating off an on, so we stopped at a little gas station. The station was run by an old man and he had a lot of this Pocket Books series of 60s Zane Grey printings (with the photographic covers) on one of those metal spinning displays, the kind the book might well have originally been sold off of. The man felt the need to point out that the books were old when I took an interest, and I wound up taking two of them, I think the other was “To The Last Man”.
Never mind why it took me so long to get to this book (I buy way too many books), but this certainly worked out for a gas station purchase!
No sooner has Joan thought about Jim Cleve than does he appear and roughly kiss her. She's incensed and, in her fury, tells him he doesn't even have the guts to be bad. This touches a nerve with Jim, who declares he will run off and become an outlaw along the border with the likes of the infamous Kells and Gulden. As soon as he's out of sight, she regrets what she said and goes after him, only to wind up abducted by none other than the infamous Jack Kells!
In my retelling this, it comes off sounding like a quickie western flick, like something Republic Picures would have hammered out to fill in a matinee. In the book, however, this actually plays out with a kind of gradual psychology, dwelling a lot on Joan's state of mind, since we stay with Joan and not Jim. Kells is an enigma, a complicated man, an educated man who changed his name and ran away to a life of crime, escape the noose and becoming more infamous as he went. Even in the short time we're with him in the book, we see the trail of bodies left behind him, and yet he is not all bad.
The reason I bring up “The Wizard of Oz” is that this book, while employing a lot of realism and believable period detail, exists very much in the mind of Joan, which transforms this into a kind of parable, almost into a dream. The border outlaws are mentioned, and shortly thereafter they become real. Joan tosses off the term “Border Legion” to Kells, and he brings it into being. No sooner has she realized the duality of Kells, than does a truly evil person emerge, his sometime partner, Gulden.
It seems to me that Zane Grey may have been ahead of his time in some sense, since this book, while heavily reliant on dramatized romance, plays like the kind of western tropes that were more popular in the 1950s. It's not fast paced action/adventure, but rather built more around the changing relationships of the characters. It might well have been something like an Edgar Rice Burroughs story, were it not for the fact that the focus remains with Joan and not with Jim.
So, what do we get with “The Border Legion”? We get: three off-screen murderers for lust, hidden intentions, a filthy bustling boomtown, two bandit cabins (one with a small window for secret meetings), a masked vigilante court, lynchings, a secret wedding, a spy among the Border Legion, gambling and drawn pistols, lots of old west grizzled types, one gigantic gold nugget, a lady in disguise complete with mask, multiple noble self-sacrifices, extensive feminine perspective, stage robbery, frontier surgery, and a cannibal psychopath in the form of the hulking Gulden.
Zane Grey's “The Border Legion” is verbose, feels very complete, and is carried through as much by the romance as it is by the weirdness in which fearful things materialize when mentioned and where gold has the power to destroy the best of us.
April 23, 2018
The story takes place in the mid 1800's in the Idaho/Montana area. Young and attractive Joan Randall has a spat with her boyfriend, Jim Cleve. The next day she realizes that she was too harsh with him and learns he has left the area. She decides to go after him.
Alone in the rough West, she happens upon an older fellow from town and he decides to help her track Jim. Unfortunately, they encounter outlaws who are lecherous and ruthless. Joan is taken captive by Jack Kells who takes her deep into a secluded canyon where his gang of bandits frequently gather. Kells keeps Joan safely away from the men for which Joan is thankful especially since the mountain of a man, Gulden has a particularly cruel reputation. Also showing up in the canyon is a young man unknown to any of the outlaws but he fits in easily with them. The man is Joan's boyfriend, Jim Cleve. Joan and Jim keep their connection secret. Each of them aware of the danger if they are found out.
Word of the discovery of gold reaches the gang and Kells begins to plan a way to acquire gold without working for it. By establishing themselves as prospectors in the town, keeping separate from each other, and robbing the other miners they will have all the riches they will need.
Greed brings out differences, lies, and upheaval occurs in the gang as some are caught in the act of .
robbing other miners. The other gang members make their way out of town as best they can, including Joan and Jim. The remaiing members reconvene in the canyon and circumstances prohibit Joan and Jim from slipping away.
Entertaining but not one of my top Zane Grey picks. Joan has enough grit to strike out on her own to follow Jim after their spat but not enough grit to get herself away from Kells and his gang. While the book centers around the woman, she is a rather dull character.
Alone in the rough West, she happens upon an older fellow from town and he decides to help her track Jim. Unfortunately, they encounter outlaws who are lecherous and ruthless. Joan is taken captive by Jack Kells who takes her deep into a secluded canyon where his gang of bandits frequently gather. Kells keeps Joan safely away from the men for which Joan is thankful especially since the mountain of a man, Gulden has a particularly cruel reputation. Also showing up in the canyon is a young man unknown to any of the outlaws but he fits in easily with them. The man is Joan's boyfriend, Jim Cleve. Joan and Jim keep their connection secret. Each of them aware of the danger if they are found out.
Word of the discovery of gold reaches the gang and Kells begins to plan a way to acquire gold without working for it. By establishing themselves as prospectors in the town, keeping separate from each other, and robbing the other miners they will have all the riches they will need.
Greed brings out differences, lies, and upheaval occurs in the gang as some are caught in the act of .
robbing other miners. The other gang members make their way out of town as best they can, including Joan and Jim. The remaiing members reconvene in the canyon and circumstances prohibit Joan and Jim from slipping away.
Entertaining but not one of my top Zane Grey picks. Joan has enough grit to strike out on her own to follow Jim after their spat but not enough grit to get herself away from Kells and his gang. While the book centers around the woman, she is a rather dull character.
September 21, 2022
Zane Grey, I had not read any of his work for at least a decade. It was time. I went through a list of titles and found The Border Legion. I had not read it. Written in 1916, it is the story of a young girl, Joan, and Kells, a killer who kidnaps and holds her in captivity. All the action takes place in the mountains of Utah, when that state experienced a silver rush in the latter years of the 19th century.
The theme is the triumph of good over evil, with subplots—good and evil.
Grey’s ability to create characters the reader grows to hate, love, or accept is phenomenal. His plot is laden with twists and full of danger. As you begin to think you know a character, you are surprised by his or her actions.
One of Kells’ accomplices is evil personified. Reading about this dark character, I constantly thought of the Judge in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.
Another set of characters results from Grey’s settings. He encourages his readers to step into settings, be there, and experience the intense conflict and interplay of the characters firsthand. Modern-day author Michael A. Black came to mind throughout the novel as scenes and settings developed. Both Black and Grey have a flair for creating an environment in much the same manner as the other.
Grey’s writing is extraordinary. The Border Legion is a must-read for all but cozy fans. The darkness can be overwhelming.
The theme is the triumph of good over evil, with subplots—good and evil.
Grey’s ability to create characters the reader grows to hate, love, or accept is phenomenal. His plot is laden with twists and full of danger. As you begin to think you know a character, you are surprised by his or her actions.
One of Kells’ accomplices is evil personified. Reading about this dark character, I constantly thought of the Judge in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.
Another set of characters results from Grey’s settings. He encourages his readers to step into settings, be there, and experience the intense conflict and interplay of the characters firsthand. Modern-day author Michael A. Black came to mind throughout the novel as scenes and settings developed. Both Black and Grey have a flair for creating an environment in much the same manner as the other.
Grey’s writing is extraordinary. The Border Legion is a must-read for all but cozy fans. The darkness can be overwhelming.
June 24, 2019
I read this book as part of the 2019 Pop Sugar reading challenge - the prompt was a book that makes me nostalgic. The copy I read belonged to my grandfather. It's a very old book and he and I are likely the only two who read this copy. Can I fairly review this? Nope.
The book was published more than 100 years ago. Things have changed. I'm not familiar enough with life out there, then or now for that matter. I can't tell how likely any of it would be, but I can tell you the woman was strong enough to survive using the tools she had available to her. My grandfather always did admire strength in a woman. Do I think the happily ever after was true to life? Nope. But then again, I don't feel it in most books when that happens.
Given what I've said so far, why did I only give 3 stars? Well, I'm not a fan of this type of book. I think the idea that a woman can win over the good in a man, is not accurate. I think the heroes in the book were pretty juvenile in how they both acted. But see, this was the book I randomly chose from my grandfather's collection after he died. It was a little like going back in time and reading along with him.
The book was published more than 100 years ago. Things have changed. I'm not familiar enough with life out there, then or now for that matter. I can't tell how likely any of it would be, but I can tell you the woman was strong enough to survive using the tools she had available to her. My grandfather always did admire strength in a woman. Do I think the happily ever after was true to life? Nope. But then again, I don't feel it in most books when that happens.
Given what I've said so far, why did I only give 3 stars? Well, I'm not a fan of this type of book. I think the idea that a woman can win over the good in a man, is not accurate. I think the heroes in the book were pretty juvenile in how they both acted. But see, this was the book I randomly chose from my grandfather's collection after he died. It was a little like going back in time and reading along with him.
March 22, 2020
An old Grosset & Dunlap 1916 hard cover yellow paged book was my vehicle to wild west adventure. Browsing a long neglected used book store, it was hidden in a musty pile of tattered remnants. The characters long asleep were slowly awakened as I began to revive their long silenced tale, Zane Grey style. The abduction of a young women by a ruthless border outlaws and their journey had to have been a departure from many of Zane's previous western pieces. He handled the female persona fairly well and touched on what is now called the "Stockholm syndrome". Needless to say her champion was soon evident and helped her persevere through the tough spots. The story takes many twists and turns throughout the adventure, and does keep ones interest, mostly. I liked it and my 2nd Zane Grey novel. Certainly not his best, but adequate for a $2.00 investment.
February 28, 2025
One of the worst novels I've read in a while. The premise is flimsy, and from that flimsy base, we get an atrociously slow-moving plot. This plot is as slow as a drunk mule. The outlaws are 2-dimensional and cardboard-like. You never really get to know any of them. The main female character is not likeable, and totally non-sensical. I would say that this novel should have been a short story, but I think even then it wouldn't hold much value due to the aforementioned plot flaws. I'm usually pretty tolerant of some flaws, but only when it's at least an entertaining novel. This one is not entertaining in the least and simply couldn't hold my attention. This is coming from someone who's read plenty of long novels. Luckily, I only paid a dollar for it at a garage sale.
May 19, 2022
The woman, Joan Randle spoke out of anger rather than common sense, insulting and angering her friend, Jim Cleve. Frustrated and unthinking, Jim rode off to prove his courage and refute Joan’s accusations. Repentant, Joan rode to find Jim but came across someone much worse, Jack Kells. Eventually, Joan realized her predicament. The story is rather odd, it chronicles Joan’s experiences and feelings while being held captive at an outlaw camp. She seems quite confused between Kells and Cleve. I think this young woman is mentally disturbed. Cleve is not far behind her. The melodrama is overbearing. A bizarre story.
February 17, 2018
(c) 1916,1944 Main character Joan Randal gets kidnapped and ends up surviving among desperadoes. This is about a gang of outlaws holed up way out in nowhere to avoid the law and finding ways to attain whatever they can get. This hardcover book was definitely a great find as I see other readers can now find it on digital. I would tell you whether or not Joan escapes but that would be giving it away.Its Zane Grey so it makes for some interesting read.
September 17, 2018
This novel of the old west takes place during the golf rush in California. At the center is a love story that motivates many of the actions that keep this complicated story moving. Love, greed, and gold fever all play a role in developing the characters who often are not totally honest with one another. While the book was rather long, the story moved quickly as it kept my interest in seeing what was going to happen next. Grey is very descriptive in setting the scene whether it is in the hills and valleys of the wilderness or in the squalid conditions of a gold rush town. This was one of Zane Grey’s best novels.
December 22, 2018
This story labored to much over feelings and emotions, and dialogue that was flowery that it got bogged down. You can't tell me that Kells, a hardened killer, would have left the woman in the story alone and not had his way her, but her Disney Cinderella personality stops him again and again. The morals in this story are pretty unbelievable. "Give me Louis L'Amour any day over too much emotion from old Zane Grey."
April 7, 2020
I did enjoy this book, maybe the 4 rating is a bit strong, but it kept my interest up enough to read it straight through. Zane Grey's has the ability to describe amazing scenery and create rough rugged believable characters. This book was written 100 years ago of the gold rush 50 years before that, of an innocent young girl, Joan Randle who is abducted by a ruthless outlaw and his gang of roughyans.
April 24, 2024
The Border Legion revolves around a well contrived plot and a small number of primary characters. The story does not drag and there is action enough to hold interest along with a number of plot twists.
The characters, however, are overdrawn in a exaggerated stereotypical way, rendering them unconvincing (although the effect of "gold fever" on the mind rings true).
Grey does a good job, in the opinion of this male reviewer, of rendering the work from a female perspective.
October 25, 2025
This book was not intended for today’s sensibilities. Still, I kind of loved it. Every time I picked it up I felt like I was in an old cabin by the lake, with wood-paneled walls and not a working tv in sight, just spending my evening reading for pleasure. It just evokes another time when reading was the only real drama to be had. Is it over the top? Yes. But I really liked all the main characters and most of the secondary characters, too, and it felt like watching a really good, classic movie.
October 25, 2018
A great tale of the old West, whose main character is a young woman, Joan Randle. Joan has a fight with her boyfriend who has headed off and disappeared into the mining camps. She follows after him and ends up captured by outlaws. Did I say it's a great romantic tale? Read when I was a kid, junior high age, more or less.
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