Open Range by Zane Grey is a very romantic western story–a particularly cheesy one.  The opening scenes of the novel come across as corny, but minimally are informational and give the reader some background on the characters.  However, the scenes where the main character and his true love profess their love for each other are unbearable.  Fortunately, there are only a few of these, and the rest of the novel is told well enough to make up for it.  There are several well-done classic fight scenes and the pacing of the story (beyond the beginning and love scenes) is good with a turn in the plot that caught me by surprise.  Unfortunately, Open Range doesn’t make up enough for its short comings to be considered the same quality as Louis L’Amour westerns, but Grey still provides a classic and thrilling ride.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  9 mild obscenities

Violence/Gore:  Several characters are threatened; there are several fights involving fists and guns resulting in mild injury and death; a character is stabbed to death; several characters are injured in various ways; a house is burned down.

Sex/Nudity:  Characters kiss twice.

Mature Subject Matter:

Violence, crime, marriage.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Some characters drink and smoke.