Wanderer of the Wasteland

By: Zane Grey

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

From the master of the Western comes a novel full of romance and adventure.

Adam Laret - big, young, and headstrong - ran from Ehrenberg to the banks of the Rio Colorado. He was blindly fleeing his scheming, gambling brother and the woman Guerd stole from him. But Adam’s escape wasn’t complete until Guerd, in the company of a sheriff, hunted him down. Then Adam committed the ultimate crime. With the mark of Cain upon him - he traveled into the desert to atone for his sins.

In a vast, harsh world of heat and beauty, of stealthy creatures and gnawing starvation, Adam faced death and madmen, Indians and strangers who lived where life was impossible. But nothing he did - no act of courage, righteousness, or violence - washed Adam clean. Until he met a woman and made a choice: to fight his way back to civilization, the most dangerous place of all.

Public Domain (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Slow beginning but gets better as it goes.

The story is not an action western but really a philosophical study. The story begins with an incident that propels the main character out into a lonely life where his story arc really begins as he deals with himself and the southwest desert. It is a slow read with just a bit of action here and there between his inner struggle being the main focus. I stuck it out, even though there seemed to be too much repetition in description, which I think was the author’s attempt to help the reader get into the mind set of the character.

Great book!

Excellent. I could feel the desert. Loved the language and eloquence. Such beautiful images it conjured!

deep story

the writer exposed some profound truths and moral principles in this story that are lacking today. I feel like he could have ended the story with more of a "happily ever after" ending. overall I loved the story

Escape from a troubled youth!

Adam Loret is a disillusioned, young man traveling across the country from the East to join his brother in California. The story describes his travel, the countryside, and the people he met along the way. The story reminds me of Boulder Dam, also by Zane Grey, as Adak’s trail takes him along the red Colorado River. Adam was a tenderfoot, to say the least, in many ways. His childhood with his older brother, Guerd was a constant conflict. Yet, Adam could not hate him, but nothing had changed. Enter the parable of Cain and Abel. Adam fled the gold camp. Due to his unfamiliarity with the country, Adam headed into the desert. Luck was on his side. This is quite the flowery and descriptive tale of the territory, the men that lived there, and the long-time issues of Adam’s childhood. It is interesting and beautiful in its prose but a bit slow for my taste.

Oh, Desolation!

Perhaps my favorite audio book of any genre thus far. Zane Grey’s prose and irresistible, delicious, beautiful detail of landscape & flora are as compelling as they are unforgettable. The story goes on and on, revealing characters as memorable and personal as the land they inhabit—the land is itself a character, or rather an ensemble of characters. I could not get enough. Stefan Rudnicki’s sonorous baritone and engaging performance alone is worth the price of admission here. Beautiful words, wonderful narration, and moving philosophical meditation journey along through the years to an utterly unexpected twist of an ending. I loved this work! Thank you Zane Grey, and thank you Stefan Rudnicki!

biblical story with a western teist

great character development. one of the best books i have 'read' in a long long time.

Great moral

Great story great moral to the story , a man who was able to have the courage to face reality instead of running away …

Great

Gets better every time I listen to the Wander of the wasteland. I hope there’s a follow up. Thank goodness for Zane Grey.

Touches the wanderer trapped inside of me.

What a story! Oh how I yearn to wander. This has to be a one of a kind story!

boring. I kept waiting for the book to get better

waste of time. such a long book to tell about nothing.
it never got exciting. not like most zane grey books.
I consider this the worst of his books.