Sunset Pass

by Zane Grey

Trueman Rock returns to the town of Wagontongue, where he once killed a man, but this time as its defender

Genres: Westerns, Audiobook, Fiction, Classics, Romance, Historical, Adventure

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

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

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

A decent story. I will certainly be reading more of Gray’s work, but this was not up to what I have read in his the past writing.

[Perry Whitford · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cowpuncher with the incomparably cliched name of Trueman Rock returns to the town of Wagontongue after six years away. He has a history of gunfights there, but has since gone straight.

The town has "grown some" since he was last there, but some of Trueman's old friends have suffered economically, while a recently arrived ranching clan, the Prestons, have somehow been able to undercut the market and thrive out at Sunset Pass.

It doesn't take Trueman long to bump into the Prestons, most notably their pretty yet sad eldest daughter Thiry, with whom he falls instantly in love, and their mean, wild eldest son Ash, who seems to have an uncommonly intense regard for his sister, scaring off each of her many suitors' in turn.

As Trueman starts to work for the family and get closer to Thiry, he discovers the secret of their success and a showdown with Ash becomes increasingly inevitable...

Sunset Pass offers a classic cowboy set up of rustlin' and romance out on the range, told in the authentic vernacular ("Reckon I am", "powerful fond", "hoss" for horse etc) by one of the first gentlemen of the genre, but it's let down by a shallowness of story and the lameness of the romance, e.g. 'She was the girl. All his life he had been dreaming of her. To realize she actually lived!'

The bad guy is a little more like it, a drunken bully with a bad attitude, or as one of the support characters muses, "did you ever see a slick, cold, shiny rattlesnake, just after sheddin' his skin, come slippin' out, no more afraid of you than hell, sure of himself, an' ready to sting you deep? Well, that's Ash Preston".

That said, overall Sunset Pass is more Bonanza than The Big Country.

p.s. I read the book online at Gutenberg Press website which mentions that their version was a magazine abridgment, so maybe all the best writing was sacrificed to streamline the story? I will read another of Grey's books in the future just to see if this was the case.

[Murrel Lowry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zane Grey has been my favorite author of the old western novels since I was a child. I remember reading his works at about 12 years old. He has always been very descriptive and allows we, the readers to see places we've never been through the lens of his eyes and for me that is a definite positive for this author. Sunset Pass has always been one of my favorites. The author blends cattle ranching, cattle rustling, in the form of butchering and selling the fresh meat to unaware buyers, and also the very great love of a man and a woman to overcome the evils surrounding them. Again, for me a wonderful read taking me to another place and time where I can watch and see the action as it happens. I'll probably go back and forth from the authors I read today to the ones like Zane Grey, as long as my Heavenly Father grants me the ability to read with my eyes and see with my mind.

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zane Grey fills a weird space in the writing world. Sunset Pass is listed as a Western, and by rights it is set in a Western theme. But there is more romance and far less action then has been seen in books actually marketed as chic lit. This novel read super fast. A very light, easy read that was comfortable and slowly tugged you towards the ending. The language includes a little bit of archaic verbiage and the blanked out cuss words is an entertaining throw back. If made a movie, this would definitely be PG with the exception of one violent gun battle. Finally, as books go, this Skyhorse paperback didn't have the best print quality. There were artifacts of the print process over some letters, and some words had characters missing entirely.

[Norman Gerren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunset Pass was the first Zane Grey novel I have read were as I have seen many of his stories on the screen.

This novel was not as I expected based on all the presentations of his stories that I have seen. All in all, even though it was well written, this particular book left me feeling as if a good part was left untold. That is the reason I gave it only three stars. Perhaps one of the other of his novels that I have purchased will be more to my liking.

[JENNIFER A. OKIN · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sappy love story more than anything....

If you are looking for an action packed western this IS NOT it. Page after page of flowery prose about the protagonists courtship. UGH. Book could be half as long if that was trimmed down. Had to force my way through it. Zane Grey has much better to chose from.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A romantic Western from the early 1900s when explicit sex and profanity were not the writer's crutch like modern Westerns. This a Romeo and Juliet type story after the hero returns home after a six year absence.

[Richard L Colemere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zane Grey... The standard

I know that without the western truth this story brings us a great example of what it must have been. Go ahead try for yourself to understand that good does triumph over evil.

[Yahya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Western stories.
This was enjoyable; not complicated, and good narrative. I loved how Zane describes the landscape and the characters in his story. He reminds me of Wilbur Smith stories in Africa.

[Rick Farlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

CHIRP AUDIOBOOK

Written nearly a century ago, Zane Grey was a true westerner, composing another novel that reveals the western frontier character of those on the frontier… Its no wonder why so many movies have been adapted from his novels.
RECOMMENDED

[Thomas G. Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining book with a good story line. As in most Zane Grey books dragged in spots. Good character development.

[MYRNA C. BENNETT · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderfull!!!

I actually lived the story as I read it!!!!
I hope to be able to find many more as wonderfully written
as this one!

[Michael Oakes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

I love Zane Grey, but this sappy melodramatic tripe should have never been been published. It is almost sophomoric in its composition and tedious to a fault.

[Faith Burnside · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Zane Grey. I enjoyed it. He has an interesting way of writing.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why are Grey's books always between 250-275 pages. I always wish they were longer because the endings are so abrupt.

[George Dobson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just kind of.....bad.

To be fair this was published in 1930 and I really don't think it has aged well

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow but I did eventually get hooked.

[George Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zane Grey at his best.

Now I have to go catch up on the things that I haven't done because I couldn't put this book down.

[Hunter McAvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Zane G. book to read, he’s great! It’s no wonder he’s loved as a classic western author. I highly recommend.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story and characters—even the bad guys are good at being bad. Narrator is best when audio is sped up (3 to 6). He’s clear and the story has a clean romantic sections. 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Sarah9370 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very slow start but it ended up pretty good.

[Sephine Lauze · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Zane Grey book. Not sure it lived up to the hype but it seems like I just didn’t start with the right one. All things considered it was a good story, looking forward to the next one.

[Kevin Hinebaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like every Zane Grey book I've read. this one was enthralling, beautifully descriptive, heartfelt, and just a dang fine story!

[Kelsey Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A western GWTW.

[RJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

After six years of wandering down Texas way, Trueman Rock decided to return home to Wagontongue. Six years was a long time and many things had changed. The old hands that used to cause trouble were gone but they have been replaced by the Preston family. They were a hard bunch, and the worst of them was Ash Preston. Rock was helping out at the general store when young, pretty Thiry Preston came in. Rock was smitten and planed on courting Thiry but Thiry was Ash’s sister and wouldn’t stand anyone dating her. Townsfolk said they had an unnatural relationship, which Rock was unsure of the meaning. Several suitors found themselves on the receiving end of Ash’s wrath. The Preston’s controlled the town of Sunset Pass and it looked like Wagontongue was next in their sights. Rock didn’t come home to see his town taken over by the Prestons. Then there was Thiry too. Rock lost his mind over this girl. The Preston’s were doing quite well. As opposed to normal cattle rustling, Rock figured they were butchering cattle, selling the meat to suppliers. What I don’t get is how were they refrigerating the meat for travel? This was around the 1860s wasn’t it? BTW, what’s with that voice of Ash’s? He’s supposed to be a big bruiser and he sounds like a five-year-old. Too funny. This is one long, drawn-out story. Honestly, I was getting tired of staying with it. My curiosity over the outcome with Rock and Thiry is the one thing that kept me listening. I had to bump the narration speed up a notch to remove the lag between words; truly a mediocre narrator.

[Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more enjoyable than the first time I read this book 25 or 30 years ago. The plot has more complexity than Grey's usual rustlers vs. ranchers stories, and the suggestion of incest that lurks throughout the book is something I either overlooked or didn't fully appreciate the first time around. The usual melodramatic twists at the end were expected and wouldn't have brought down the rating except that they were so completely unnecessary. The book would have been better if the author hadn't felt compelled to mop up the mess at the end.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite stories by Grey. It's been twenty years since I read it, which in my case was a hc 1930's edition. I've looked for years, off and on, to find this book in a later edition, and haven't. It appears by this cover it was reissued in PB form at one time. To me the story was classic because it was simple, and didn't spend a lot of time on a trail but at a specific place where every element of the human condition could be explored.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I really liked about this book was how the first chapter gave the reader the same sensation they'd have if they were to return to their hometown after a number of years. Read this book. If you stay away from your home town for a number of months or years and return, you will likely recall the opening of this novel. While certainly not one of Grey's masterpieces in terms of plot, I genuinely felt like I WAS Trueman Rock.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining, if predictable and formulaic, western adventure romance. The names of the characters in this book cracked me up: Trueman Rock (the hero, of course), Clink Peeples (the villain) and the little town of Wagontongue.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time I have read a western and loved it! Read it in no time.