Zane Grey is a loner in literature, and one will search in vain for signs of influence from among his literary peers. In some ways his novels are descendants of the novels of James Fenimore Cooper, which he enjoyed reading as a boy. Both Cooper and Grey blend history and fiction, with greater emphasis placed upon the fiction. They both had a good eye for the landscape, describing it in accurate, vivid detail and making it an important aspect of their novels. They both depict the people living in the wilderness as more noble than is realistic. Cooper and Grey have a poor ear for dialogue and vernacular, and as a result their characters speak awkwardly and out of character. Grey has a much better sense of plot than Cooper, and his novels contain unified series of events that are full of action.

The dime novels...