Utah! (Wagons West, Vol. 12 )

Utah! makes for an interesting comparison betwee then and now. The antagonist in this story is a man named Granger, who is dedicated to preventing the Transcontinental railroad from bisecting his land and is willing to do ANYTHING to keep it so. This is perhaps the only antagonist in all of Dana Fuller Ross' books that can actually be sympathized with.The two side stories deal with Kale Salton being unable to fulfill her love of the married Rob Martin, and Clarissa Holt discovering that her long-thought-dead first husband, Otto, is still alive. While the deuk ex machina that the second does to the first is rather obvious, it still set the stages for the events in the next book, Idaho.This book is recommended mostly for those who love novels concerning railroads.

Utah is the 12th novel in the Wagons West Series. It continues the soap opera style atmosphere of the Holt family and their many friends and relatives, which have somehow managed to hit every western state during their experiences. The big attraction of Utah is the meeting of the trans-continental railway at Promintory Point, after first getting past a defensive rancher who feels it is his land and not the governments to take away. there is quite a bit of action and even some intrigue to keep the pages turning. The novel goes a little deeper then most in the series in that the characters are a little more three-dimensional. There is still some predicatability which is why I gave it only 4 stars but it was an enjoyable read all in all. There are a lot of references to prior books and events in the series so it's best to read them in order. But since they are out of print now, that may be difficult (although I found all of mine in various used book stores around town). The shear volume of books in this series (over 20) makes it like returning to old friends every time. I suggest you try them.