The Bold West: Edition 4 (audiobook) by Steve Frazee, Zane Grey and T.T. Flynn


Up and down quality.

So, here's the scoop on the audiobook The Bold West: Edition 4.
There are 3 unabridged stories read by three different readers. The stories are:

'Death Rides This Trail' by Steve Frazee. It is the longest and definitely the best of the three stories. It concerns a family of settlers and the struggles they have after the father is killed in a senseless gunfight. Good character development and an entertaining story. Often funny and often sad. It was originally published in 1953. I give this story 4 out of 5 stars.

Zane Grey (1872-1939)
'Yaqui' by Zane Grey. Originally published in 1920, this is the story of Yaqui, the young chief of the Yaqui Indians of Western Mexico. The Yaqui were hunted down and killed or moved to the Yucatan Peninsula to be enslaved in the Sisal plantations to make rope. This is the worst story of the three by far. The writing was stilted and overly formal and the reader was the worst of the three. The 'gotcha' moment at the end seemed more like a bad 'Twilight Zone' idea. to tell you the truth, it seemed like Mr. Grey had two short stories that he couldn't finish so he stuck them both together just to get them both finished. I give it 1 star out of 5.

'Back Trail' by T.T. Flynn. Originally published in 1949, this is the story of a love triangle involving a cowboy, a rancher and a young woman who manages the local hotel. It is also a story of personal redemption through a change of heart. This story had the most potential, but it was skimpily written so it was hard to fathom the relationship between all of the members of this love triangle. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

So, 4 stars + 1 star + 3 stars = 8 stars. Divide 8 stars over three stories and you get 2.66, or 3 stars.

 This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Bold West: Edition 4.

 Reviewed on December 16, 2005

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