Zane Grey
Rangers of the Lone Star (1997)
Author: Zane Grey
Genre: Western (Traditional)
Plot Summary:
Based on an earlier story by Zane Grey entitled The Lone Star Rangers (1914). U.S. Marshal Russ Sittel is sent on an undercover assignment to assist Texas Ranger Vaughn Steele in cleaning up the town of Fairdale in the lawless West Texas region of Pecos County. On his way there, he meets the ineffectual mayor of Fairdale, Colonel Longstreth, and his daughter Ray and niece Ruth. Russ is hired by the statuesque and intelligent Ray to care for her horses and he quickly falls in love with the mischievous minx, Ruth. Once in Fairdale, he establishes his reputation as a hard-drinking rabble-rouser while secretly meeting with Steele and other law-abiding citizens. Russ spies on Longstreth and his slimy nephew Floyd Lawson, who Russ suspects are involved with the rustlers. Steele single handedly begins to clean up Fairdale, but doesn’t yet have proof of who the rustlers are. Meanwhile Ray and Steele fall in love which ignites Lawson’s jealousy. Several assassination attempts are made on the seemingly immortal Steele, and Russ finally gets proof that Longstreth and Lawson are the chief rustlers. Russ realizes that it will tear Steele and Ray apart if Steele has to kill her father and cousin, so Russ takes them on single-handedly, killing Lawson and convincing Longstreth to surrender and taking a near fatal chest wound as a result. He survives and asks Ruth to marry him and Steele asks Ray to marry him. The men retire from law enforcement and make plans to move to Louisiana which is Ray and Ruth’s home.
Geographical Setting: Pecos County, Texas
Time Period: early 18th century
Series: portions of this book were incorporated into an earlier novel entitled Lone Star Ranger (1913). This is the uncut version of Grey’s only novel told in the first person.
Appeal Characteristics:
Told in the first person, this book is rather slow paced as much of what happens is Russ’s musings on his relationships with Ruth and Steele, the noble aspects of the Texas Rangers and the conflict he feels between doing his job and his growing feelings for Ruth. Additionally, when there is action, it is frequently written as Russ telling the girls about it after the fact and it therefore loses some of its urgency. The use of dialect and colloquialisms make this book a very humorous read at times. It is set in West Texas, but does not describe the landscape much. Far greater appeal elements are the information about the Texas Rangers and the standard Western elements of a lone hero and frontier justice. The characters are stereotypical of the genre and very black and white which might appeal to readers who like it when the good guys win and the bad guys get punished. There is a lot of emphasis put on the manly, buddy relationship between Russ and Steele and this may cross over to people who like war stories of comrades-in-arms.
Read-alikes: Zane Grey is one of the classic authors of the genre. Try some other titles by him: Riders of the Purple Sage and its sequel The Rainbow Trail, Wanderer of the Waste Land, or The Vanishing American (click here for more). Other good read-alikes include books by classic western authors Louis L’Amour, Larry McMurtry, or Max Brand.
Red Flags: While there is a lot of death, it is not graphically described and there is no foul language or sex which might make it appealing to Gentle or Christian readers.
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