RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE

The most famous of Zane Grey’s classic Western novels is presented here unembellished. It launched a career that saw more than 80 more over the years. The flat intonations of reader Pat Bottino remind this listener of actor Henry Fonda--the same middle-American voice without a large range of inflection or emotion. One can detect a tightening of the voice when the villains appear; but the women are not delineated, and very little distinguishes the characters. Nevertheless, the novel, set in the Mormon country of southern Utah, is so powerful that the package doesn’t disappoint. D.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 98]