Thunder Mountain

by Zane Grey

An action packed western by well known author Zane Grey.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

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

[Steven Shook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a considerable amount of place-based and regional history and became interested in Grey's Thunder Mountain after reading about the real Thunder Mountain located in Idaho County, Idaho - later Valley County when that county was carved out of Idaho County. Gold was discovered in the real Thunder Mountain region in 1894 and almost immediately a huge rush of prospectors came to hunt for mineral riches. Included in the rush were James H. Hawley, future governor of Idaho, S. W. Swift, of the Chicago meat packing family, and Marshall Field, the Chicago department store baron.

Thunder Mountain received its name not because of the sound of its mass wasting (i.e., landslides), as suggested by Grey, but because of the storms that often formed in this particular area that resulted in the echoing of the thunder in the valleys below.

Several mining towns immediately sprang up the the Thunder Mountain region, including one named Roosevelt along Mule Creek. The Boise Clipper, a newspaper, described Roosevelt as being protected by snow slides due to the dense timber along the steep canyon wall, but noted that if enough timber were harvested to build the community that "someday Roosevelt will be wiped from the face of the earth.”

On May 30, 1909, a mammoth slide of water-soaked earth slid down Thunder Mountain toward Roosevelt. Inhabitants of the community were able to escape, but about two days later the slide had completely blocked Monumental Creek with an earthen dam and created what is known today as Roosevelt Lake. Today, the mountain and lake are protected as designated Wilderness Area and timbers from the flooded-out buildings of the town can occasionally be seen breaching the lake's water line.

[Brent Bakken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how descriptive Zane Grey is with the scenery of his western novels. I know many will say that Louis L'Amour is a better story teller with faster action and that Grey's stories are too wordy, but that is exactly what I like about them. When I read a Grey novel I feel like I am actually there because it is described with such detail and feeling.

Thunder Mountain was another great novel with unexpected twists. I found the matching Zane Grey comic Thunder Mountain on ebay as well and will be reading that next to see how well the author and artist followed the original story. Looking forward to the visuals. Looking forward to my next Zane Grey read.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful all around.

[M. Shipley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been in my possession for more years than I can recall. It was my father’s book. Finally with nothing else to read, I picked it up and started reading. Attached slow at first, I became hooked. I was never much in the westerns, but this might be the start of a new interest. My father loves Zane Grey books, and now I see why. Definitely a fast read, And well worth the time.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read. A nice gold rush town story.

[Peterpeterman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've watched the TV show MASH my whole life. I love it, watch it twice a day if I can find it. What's that got to do with a book review. Well I'm a Col. Potter fan, he's a great character. In a few episodes he talks about Zane Gray. Talks about how he can't wait to get back to his tent to read "whatever" by Zane Gray, or in the final episode he couldn't decide which Zane Gray novel to donate to the time capsule.

I finally found a book in an old used bookshop, bought it, and finally 3 years later, I have just finished it.

It's alright. It was odd to read this old time, typical prospector type talk.
The story was all right, they find some gold, someone shows up and steals their claim, and then they try to take on the men that took it from them. I would say predictable, and for the most part, it is, but the love story in this had a turn that I never saw coming and have never seen in another book. So that took me by surprise, but other than that, it was just ok, I would never read another of his books.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Zane Grey book. It is more of a 3.5 star. It is a bit of a different western as it is set in a gold rush town. The hero Lee (Kalispel) Emerson spends his time defying the crooked men who run the town and romancing a local dance hall girl and a tenderfoot eastern gal. I will certainly red more of Grey's books.

[Richard Evely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book came to me as part of an inheritance from my grandfather. Reading how western justice was often violent and swift got me to ponder my own reactions to injustice both real and perceived. I enjoyed the wording and phrasing. I recommend you read Thunder Mountain with a dictionary from the early 20th century.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of Zane Grey's best that I have read. The guy gets the girl but not the one I expected and the bad guy got his comeuppance but not in the way I expected. A fun read for us old Westerns fans.

[Jason Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was a pretty generic Western novel. Nothing too spectacular or revolutionary in terms of Western genre. Zane Grey is one of my favorite books so compared to Riders of the Purple Sage, this book was a bit dull.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I’m familiar with the background of thunder mountain and the creation of Roosevelt lake, which made this book easy to envision.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible Audiobooks Library 📚

[qwerty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eureka! Ejaculated joe

[Harmon Mooty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story.

The tale itself is feasible but too much verbiage to hold ones attention. I kept skipping pages. Amen brother ben.,

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of three brothers who hear a tale of gold from an old native American, and go find it in a high mountain valley in Montana. The gold is practically lying on the ground to pick up, but there's a catch: its not only difficult to get up to the valley with supplies, but the mountain its self seems unstable and ready to avalanche.

First published in 1935, Thunder Mountain feels like a story from its time. The descriptions of the scenery and setting are gorgeous, the storytelling is solid, but its very melodramatic with "aw shucks" cowboys and "well I never!" virtuous ladies and sudden major decisions by characters to save time on plotting, the violence pretty sanitized, and so on.

Overall its fair enough but I did a lot of skimming in some sections, because I knew how it would turn out. Some significant plot details weren't ever really pursued and wrapped up in a summary at the end of the book, and there's a Hamlet-level "I better not act yet" that feels delayed simply to make the book continue longer. Its great in some ways and pretty weak in others.

[Don Voorhees · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after visiting Thunder Mountain, Idaho, site of a slow landslide that dammed the creek and flooded the town, as in the book. Grey visited the site also.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Zane Grey's best bang-bang shoot em' up's.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good story as usual

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable Grey story about mining and the conflicts between men and each other, and with nature.

[Tianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good classic western with amazing characters and a satisfying end. Great summer reading.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book of the old West.