Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey - In the vein of the Greek Classics

When a gunman named Lassiter and a rich homesteader named Jane Withersteen join forces, no outlaw in the town is safe from their wrath. Reprint.

In the vein of the Greek Classics
Enthralling, with the almighty gun slinger having an inate sense of right and wrong, Riders of the Purple Sage endows the reader with the ideals instilled from the saga of Heracles' (in Roman Hurcules) trials. By not wasting time developing characters when the landscape serves as silent narrator, by allowing the light of Lassiter's justice to meddle into the darkness of a supressed woman, by using the soap-opera quality of irony to sweep the reader along from page to page... Zane Grey dispelled a critique of the LDS church as it was in the 19th century that far surpasses any 20th century writer could hope to achieve.
Lassiter is a ruthless yet pure hearted gunman- his quest for vengeance began out of love, for without love one can never truly feel hate. Jane Withersteen, trapped under her beliefs and confused as to what action she should take, mirrors closely the victimization that cult followers feel when you watch a History Channel documentary- knowing that escape is the only rightful choice, but fearful of the divine punishment to fall upon those excommunicated. It is in the antithesis of her doctrine (on it's surface that is) which ultimately leads to her redemption, and to her final, strong willed, moment's notice decision to allow herself and Lassiter sealed into a valley at the novel's end. It is perhaps the definitive moment of irony when a ruthless gunman condems the soul of a Bishop into a fiery afterlife before pulling the trigger...the simple, uneducated cowboy serving the Christlike role of Savior and Judge, with the man of the cloth no more earnest than the tax collectors that drove Christ into his only fit of rage.
By mixing Rambo-esque action, mystery, and above all entertainment, Zane Grey painted a picture of social criticism that could actually be enjoyed without wasting precious ink on avoiding so-called Literary sins. His landscape is Calvinistic in favoring the elect and damning the damned. Only said "good guys" draw from the descriptive imagery of "Nature's God". And frankly, his super human cowboys are far more believable than the outlandish epic of Beowulf (which is an epic poem I very much like and recommend).
A genuine classic.

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