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A review by carriepond
The Last Ranger by Peter Heller
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The Last Ranger follows Ren, a Yellowstone park ranger, as he attempts to uncover who has been poaching wolves inside the park's boundaries and set up a trap that almost killed his close friend, a wolf biologist. The novel alternates between the present-day, as Ren follows clues and performs his duties at the park, and Ren's past, reflecting on his childhood and his strained relationship with his mom.
I liked this a lot. I had previously read The River, which I remember being relentlessly paced. This moves slower, but I didn't mind that because Heller does an excellent job fleshing out Ren's character and the novel is full of beautiful descriptions of wildlife and nature. I read somewhere that this may be the first of different novels with Ren as a main character and if that is the case, I think this novel did a great job setting up Ren as a character people will want to follow through a series. I read this for a book club, and it fit the bill nicely, as there is a lot to discuss with what makes a person "good" versus "bad" and whether people who do horrible things can be redeemed.
I liked this a lot. I had previously read The River, which I remember being relentlessly paced. This moves slower, but I didn't mind that because Heller does an excellent job fleshing out Ren's character and the novel is full of beautiful descriptions of wildlife and nature. I read somewhere that this may be the first of different novels with Ren as a main character and if that is the case, I think this novel did a great job setting up Ren as a character people will want to follow through a series. I read this for a book club, and it fit the bill nicely, as there is a lot to discuss with what makes a person "good" versus "bad" and whether people who do horrible things can be redeemed.