Two of Zane Grey's Best Romances
The first time I started to read Desert Gold I only got as far as the prologue, and I quit. This was 40 years ago. Instead, I picked up another Zane Grey book and read it. Then I came back to this one. Boy or boy what I could have missed! by not reading this one! Once you get past the slow and dry prologue, the book takes off like a bullet and never slows down. The hero, Dick Gale, a transplanted Easterner, soon finds himself engaged in the border war between the US and Mexico. Set in contemporary times, at least when it was written, it detailed the troubles along the border at that time--events appearing in the newspapers on a daily basis. Along the way, you will meet one of ZG's greatest Indian heroes, Yacqi, and one of his vilest of villains,the Mexican Rojas. And the fight scene between the two is more than a classic; it's one never to be forgotten, nor repeated by any writer at any time. There is a secret which must be revealed as well, which affects the life of Nell Belding, and her relationship with Dick. The Light of Western Stars is one of my favorite Zane Grey romances. And when easterner Madeline Hammond gets off the train near midnight and things begin to happen right away, you know that this is going to be a good one. Gene Stewart, the other half of the romance is a man's man with the traditional western values but who has at first kind of lost his way because of drinking too much. But that gets straightened out through the love of a woman. The cast of characters includes some cowboys, old time cowboys, you will never forget. There's an animal, a magnificent horse, in the story; an automobile, driven by a cowboy who loves to go fast and scare his passengers, and this plays a vital role in the climax of the story as only ZG can describe and tell it. This is another of his books which take place in contemporary times, written when these events were playing themselves out along the US-Mexico border. This is another of his books which is told primarily from the woman's perspective and would indeed appeal to the female reader; it's NOT a bang, bang shoot'em up with street duels and impossible violence, but realistic characters and events. For sheer excitement and romance and history, buy this book for yourself and have an enjoyable time getting lost in Zane Grey's West.
