Utah!

Wagons West #12

by Dana Fuller Ross

Raw determination carried them across steep mountain trails to the lawless territory of Utah. Here brawny work gangs & rugged engineers blasted out rock-walled tunnels & laid countless miles of shining rails to link a vast continent from coast to distant coast. But soon rampaging Indians w/ rifles blazing joined unscrupulous ranchers in trying to stop the iron wheels of progress from entering this virgin, untamed land.

UTAH! From the west, Chinese coolies push the Central Pacific Railroad into this barren wilderness, from the East, rawboned Irishmen drive the rival Union Pacific closer to a historic meeting in the Mormon's land. But warpainted Shoshoni wait above the mountain passes, while below a ruthless landowner sabotages America's spectacular transcontinental plan. To Toby Holt, son of legendary wagon master Whip Holt, falls the challenge of keeping law & order. Beside him, his stalwart friend Rob Martin. Behind him, a sinister stranger who threatens lovely Clarissa Holt & tempestuous Beth Martin w/ a legacy of murder & shame...while amid the rainbow canyons & everlasting hills, brave pioneers make manifest a mighty nation's greatness.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Historical Romance

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Dana Fuller Ross is a pseudonym used by Noel B. Gerson and James M. Reasoner.

Noel Gearson specializes in historical military novels, westerns, and mysteries. He also writes under the pseudonyms, "Dana Fuller Ross.", Anne Marie Burgess; Michael Burgess; Nicholas Gorham; Paul Lewis; Leon Phillips; Donald Clayton Porter; Philip Vail; and Carter A. Vaughan. He has written more than 325 novels.

James Reasoner (pictured) is an American writer. He is the author of more than 150 books and many short stories in a career spanning more than thirty years. Reasoner has used at least nineteen pseudonyms, in addition to his own name: Jim Austin; Peter Danielson; Terrance Duncan; Tom Early; Wesley Ellis; Tabor Evans; Jake Foster; William Grant; Matthew Hart; Livia James; Mike Jameson; Justin Ladd; Jake Logan; Hank Mitchum; Lee Morgan; J.L. Reasoner (with his wife); Dana Fuller Ross; Adam Rutledge; and Jon Sharpe. Since most of Reasoner's books were written as part of various existing Western fiction series, many of his pseudonyms were publishing "house" names that may have been used by other authors who contributed to those series

Reviews

[Mgsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

May sound somewhat repetitive here but I got hooked on the first book and it was like an addiction.
The author shows how the westward movement affected families and individuals while placing them within history itself.

[Gene Heinrich · Rating 2 out of 5]

What can I say - a major character died... other then that, I can tell that the unnamed author (remember, there are 2 men writing this series) was the one that I dislike. Every time a character entered a scene we got a full description of their past - every time! Not just the first time to help establish who they were. That aspect was extremely annoying. History-wise it really showed that our country was totally built on the blood of slaves. This one concentrated on the Irish and Chinese slaves that were brought over as indentured servants in name only, but still just slaves. So far, in this series, I have learned that "white" America was the only thing that mattered... blacks, Chinese, Irish, and Indians were the true creators of this land we call free.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I picked it up from the free cart at the library (some of the best books have come off that cart. The title grabbed my attention, and I thought what the heck. I loved the time I spent living in Utah and I love trains. I didn't realize the story would focus on Ogden, where I lived, and the surrounding area. This is probably a very realistic portrayal of life in the old west. There is violence, unsavory activity, and dim view of women and foreigners. I was captivated from the start. I couldn't put it down. I now have to track down the other books in the series and see how the story started. A great book.

[Billye]

Excellent

[Donna Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the wagons west series when they were first published. It was a great series and each book has wonderful characters .

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, listen:

This whole series is a bunch of melodramatic cheese. The writing is sort of stilted and tell-don't-show and reads a little bit like western fanfiction on wattpad. It's definitely from the 1970's, with all the screwed-up racial and gender dynamics that go above and beyond historical accuracy. The way women are written as either prostitutes with hearts of gold, upstanding cis-white-straight-christian-married ladies who are upstanding and steadfast even when their husbands are boneheads (boys will be boys!), or spoiled brats...is the reason we know feminism is working, at least a little.

But I just love it. I can eat one of these books in a day, and frequently do. And the DRAMA! should have been evident with these exclamatory titles (UTAH! -- my husband and I routinely yell the title when I'm talking about it because !!!.), but this volume BROGHT THE DRAHMA!, y'all.

Spoiler warning, though you could see it coming from ten thousand miles away if you've ever watched a soap opera ever:

The final scene, when Toby's wife's incorrectly-reported-as-dead and then reappearing-to-kill-Toby-to-steal-his-money first husband shows up and is definitely NOT dead, and Toby lets him fa off a thousand foot cliff, only to find out he was blackmailing Clarissa to invalidate Toby's son? You'd think that'd be enough cheese, but, in TRUE soap opera style, there's the guy waking up in a hotel room, covered in bandages, plotting his revenge, because TREES stopped him from dying on a thousand foot fall, and oooh, Toby's in for it now, boyhowdy, since he's the new governor of Idaho (conveniently the next book: IDAHO!).

I'd say you can't make this stuff up, but DANA FULLER ROSS DID.

RESSURECTION VILLAINS IN BANDAGES, Y'ALL.

If that doesn't make you want the whole series (and suffer through the racist/sexist tropes and bad writing), then I don't know what would.

This is still my best ebay purchase all year.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. That’s about it. As I’ve noted in previous reviews of the books in the Wagon’s West series, they tend to come in two flavors. There’re the ones that bring interesting new characters and plot lines and there’re the ones that just grind the existing story lines forward.

This ones a grinder and felt a little phoned in...our main characters are still fighting the same villains from earlier books, and the driving plot line is still the building of the transcontinental railroad. Which of course is beset on all sides with various perils. And the first 70% of the book is bogged down with very contrived and awkward story lines....it seems everyone married in this book is committing adultery or has some other heinous secret ruining their marriage.

The last 30% rallies a bit, which pulls this out if the 2 star dumpster into a 3. The introduction of Jughead the mule certainly didn’t hurt, either.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically Hollyoaks.

In this installment, we have a high class courtesan seduce the husband of her friend to teach the husband a lesson about marriage and adultery. And of course, it was the best sex the courtesan has ever had and she falls in love with the husband. And then the wife is conveniently killed off and begs her friend to take of her husband.

When told of her son's adultery, Eulilia says she isn't going to excuse him, and promptly does by basically saying the Holt men cannot turn down Native American women for reasons.

Oh boy. Hollyoaks. Bad but strangely addicting.

Though to be fair to Hollyoaks, the British soap does address issues as opposed to these books.

Also Utah and no mention of Mormons. And Toby and Rob who are rich even though they never seem to work on the land that brings them money, tell a rancher to give up his land because of the railroad. The same dudes who a few books ago were like, "try to take my land and I'll shoot you".

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The spread of Americans across the untamed west is illustrated. There was violence, romance, legendary figures and all the dreams of those who went out west in search of homes and opportunities. This was a good read. It is a continuation of the story of Wagons West, now moving into the second and third generations of the original pioneers. I'm looking forward to reading more of this great series soon.

[Amanda Eiden · Rating 2 out of 5]

WAY too much stuff about the railroad and fights in this one. repetitive. i hope the next is better and offers something fresh.

the characters seem to get over the others’ deaths pretty fast. as in, i’m still upset and they no longer acknowledge their existence, but i find that about 50 pages of one of these books can equate to months.

as for the cover of this one, again NO CLUE 😔 Millicent or Kale as the woman? the man is a complete mystery.

[Amanda-Has-A-Bookcase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utha! while dealing with the building of the trains, Toby and Rob fight land owners and Chinese mob bosses all the while managing their respective wives. Clarissa Holt's ex shows up and blackmails her (also trying to kill her husband! omg!) and Beth is in the family way. This book has some shocking parts that will forever change some of the characters.

[Magda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diverting, slightly campy fiction with an historical Far West basis. Thankfully chaste. I found my copy at a library giveaway in Pueblo, Colorado, and had no idea what it would be. Makes me want to read the others in the series.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good.

[Mlb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Soap opera.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am surprised on how much i enjoyed reading this! on to the next one!

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history lessons to be learned.
A bit too much romance.

[Lisa Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another dangerous assignment for Toby Holt and his friends. Another senseless tragedy. Excitement and danger as one would expect from the Wagons West series. Very enjoyable!

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utah is the 12th novel in the Wagons West Series. It continues the soap opera style atmosphere of the Holt family and their many friends and relatives, which have somehow managed to hit every western state during their experiences. The big attraction of Utah is the meeting of the trans-continental railway at Promintory Point, after first getting past a defensive rancher who feels it is his land and not the governments to take away. There is quite a bit of action and even some intrigue to keep the pages turning. The novel goes a little deeper then most in the series in that the characters are a little more three-dimensional. There is still some predicatability which is why I gave it only 4 stars but it was an enjoyable read all in all. There are a lot of references to prior books and events in the series so it's best to read them in order. But since they are out of print now, that may be difficult (although I found all of mine in various used book stores around town). The shear volume of books in this series (over 20) makes it like returning to old friends every time. I suggest you try them.

[David A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 12 in the series, everyone as good as the last.
If you like history give these a try.

[Michael Garreffa` · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Series: Reading it for the second time.

[Partridge Public]

Ross, Dana Fuller PB

[Cws]

W Ros