The Ohio River Valley Trilogy

By: Zane Grey, Raging Bull Publishing

Narrated by: J Rodney Turner

Length: 30 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

This Raging Bull Publishing Box Set contains three classic Western books by Zane Grey including:

Betty Zane

Inspired by the life and adventures of his own great-great grandmother, Betty Zane was Zane Grey's first novel and launched his career as a master writer of rousing frontier and Western adventures.

Betty Zane is the story of the events culminating in the last battle of the American Revolution, when 200 Redcoats from British-controlled Detroit along with 400 Shawnee Indian attacked the small, wood-palisaded Ford Henry on the western frontier. The heroine of the battle - a young, spunky, and beautiful frontier girl - was Betty Zane.

The Spirit of the Border

He was known as Deathwind to the Ohio Valley Indians, and now Lewis Wetzel must single-handedly save Fort Henry. Armed only with his long rifle and knife, he heads out on a one-man rampage to stop the bloody border wars, to face down Chief Wingenund and to avenge the brutal missionary massacre at Village of Peace.

The Last Trail

A woman is kidnapped from Fort Henry by a band of renegades and hostile Ohio Valley Indians. Now, Lewis Wetzel and Jonathan Zane take pursuit. With no hope of survival, they follow the trail into the unknown wilderness, vowing it to be their last venture. At trail's end, they will face their bloodiest battle.

©2017 Raging Bull Publishing (P)2017 Raging Bull Publishing

Good read/listen

The narrator takes you there visually . I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this trilogy, thanks

Fantastic

These are 3 of Zane Greys best novels, plus j Rodney turner is on hell of a narrator

When the frontier wasn’t so far west...

Betty Zane ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My new favorite Zane Grey novel. I’m passionate about early American frontier history and to find out that Grey wrote a whole trilogy of westerns when the “West” was only as far as the Ohio Valley excited me. The setting ended up as just one part of my enjoyment however. This book was filled with interesting characters, events, and a richness of prose that I’ve come to enjoy in all of Grey’s works. Betty was such a great character and her role in the Siege of the fort was almost too amazing to be true. Her romance with Clark was one of best I’ve seen in Grey’s books so far as well. It’s “old fashioned” compared to today, yet there’s a genuine feel to the characters that’s often missing in many love stories on the page and screen. The fact that this was his debut novel makes this all the more impressive, and based on his real life ancestors no less. Written in 1903 I’m just about as far removed from the publishing of this novel as he was from the actual events surrounding Betty Zane and the Siege of Fort Henry. Amazing how far the world has come since the 1780’s, the early 1900’s and now the 2020’s. It’s a great time capsule for both the era in which it’s set and the era which it was written.

Spirit of the Border ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed that in book two of the so called “Betty Zane Trilogy” Betty gets two scenes, one in which she speaks. It should be called the Wetzel trilogy since this story features him even more so than the first story. Overall I still enjoyed this tale though. The Christians “civilizing” the “poor savages” left a bad taste in my mouth honestly, but beyond that the love story of the aspiring frontiersman and his Indian wife was good and surprisingly tragic. Jim Girty was an excellent villain as well. I think Grey took some creative license with Simon Girty and Alexander Mckee however. Their ties to the indian nations of the Old Northwest in the actual history were more complex than depicted here. They didn’t join the Indians because they were evil souls or simply dishonorable traitors, they genuinely supported these nations in their resistance to American expansion. Certainly enemies of the US, but only from our point of view.

The Last Trail ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Diminishing returns with this trilogy. Book one was great for the focus on Betty and the unique feel of the setting and the period. By The Last Trail most of what made the previous book, and the first one especially, so appealing was lost. It focused on the supporting characters of Wetzel and Jonathan Zane in a more generic tale. It felt like Grey wasn’t pulling from history as he did for the other installments which disappointed me a bit.

Betty Zane, the Belle of the Border!

Betty Zane – What an amazing story! The romance of Myira and Issac brought a smile to my face and in some instances, a lump in my throat. On the other hand, Betty Zane was a contradiction to me. At times she made me angry, thinking she was nothing but a spoiled brat. At other times, her compassion, courageousness, and confidence make me like her and believe she would be a treasure for any man of the time. What an exciting and tumultuous time! I close my eyes and listen as J. Rodney Turner describes the beautiful wilderness and the people who tamed and settled it. As hard as that life must have been, I wish I had lived during that time. What a wild and wonderful experience it would have been. The times that tried men’s souls.

The Spirit of the Border – Prepare for a thrilling and gritty tale of Lewis Wetzel, legendary frontier scout and Indian fighter, called “Le Vent de la Mort”, which, translated from French is “Deathwind”, by the Wyandot (Huron) Indians. Some sources state his private war with the Indians took place between 1777-1788. Of the many wilderness locations involved is Fort Henry just off the Ohio River in what is now Wheeling, West Virginia. Later, Wetzel moved to the Marietta, Ohio area in 1789. Much of the story is historically accurate, the Siege of Fort Henry in 1782 in particular. The story includes other pioneer families such as the Zane’s, who according to Grey commanded Fort Henry. It’s a great tale, with much action and excitement. The woodcraft and skills described of Wetzel are extraordinary, although some of his actual exploits and later err…accomplishments are quite controversial. Records indicate Wetzel died in 1808 in Natchez, Mississippi.

The Last Trail (prior review posted)

One of Grey's Best

Wonderful stories about the west. Well narrated by J Rodney Turner. Well worth the credit.

Zane Grey

This trilogy took place only miles from my home! Fantastically detailed and expressively narrated, I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

O-H I Owe you a good review

Well, heck, this book is like seriously 30 hours long written by one of the most prolific and proficient writers of westerns that has ever lived, what more can you ask for?

I live in Ohio, and grew up on the Ohio River, so this story touched a lot of emotions as I listened. It was like looking backwards into the past seeing how things unfolded right where I stood.

This is well worth the time and it’s not something you will regret investing in generation is fun, and the story is excellent sit down by the fire and listen to the story unfold.

TOO MUCH ROMANTIC DRIVEL

ZG was a fine writer, with some great tales to tell, but his take on romance was so suffocatingly trite and formulaic that each of these three novels, for me, was spoiled by the addition of big and unnecessary helpings of the same lame romantic side-plots. Flashing eyes, coquettish smiles, powerful love, fainting spells, slim but rounded figures, blah blah blah with changing names for different characters but the same scenes again and again - and oddly contrasted with some of the most violent frontier incidents. I had to keep skipping ahead to avoid the turgid love scenes so that in the end I think i missed the main thread. I couldn't do that again. Strong stomach recommended.