The Lone Star Ranger is a Western novel published by Zane Grey in 1915. The book takes place in Texas, the Lone Star State, and several main characters are Texan outlaws. It follows the life of Buck Duane, a man who becomes an outlaw and then redeems himself in the eyes of the law. The novel was dedicated to Texas Ranger John Hughes.

Plot introduction

Buck Duane is the son of a famous outlaw. Though an outlaw is not always a criminal, if the Rangers say he is an outlaw, it's just as bad – he's a hunted man. After killing a man in self-defense, Duane is forced to 'go on the dodge'. Duane turns up at an outlaw's hideout, still revolting at the idea of outlawry. Worse still, all the men he kills haunt him, for years. At the outlaw hideout, he meets a kidnapped, beautiful young woman and wants to see her free. In the second part of the book, Duane joins the Rangers. They offer to get a governor's pardon for his illegal deeds if he will help to clear the frontier of major cattle rustlers and bank robbers.

Characters

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel has been adapted at least four times to film:

Comic book

In 1949, Dell Comics published a comic book adaptation called "The Ranger" in Four Color #255, written by Gaylord Du Bois.