something about "Riders of the Purple Sage" by Zane Grey

I started reading Zane Grey's Western novella "Riders of the Purple Sage," but I could not stand the unworldly prose. Bits of it were salted goodness; most of it was sour. For example, the good:

The life of his eyes dulled to the gloom with which men of his fear saw the approach of death. But death, while it hovered over him, did not descend, for the rider waited for the twitching fingers, the downward flash of hand that did not come.

But the sour dialog included this:

"Oh! Don't whip him! It would be dastardly!" implored Jane with slow certainty of her failing courage.

And prose like this:

Jane's subtle woman's intuition, even in that brief instant, felt a sadness, a hungering, a secret.

There have been many Western-genre works that I have enjoyed. But, I decided, as I sometimes do, that I did not want to spend my time trying to push through this one. There are many other works worth the time.

Notes:
I had just started chapter three.
The word "sage" (and "purple") was overused and worked into the prose unnecessarily. 

something about "The Hellbound Heart" by Clive Barker

Horror novella "The Hellbound Heart," published in 1986, was the basis for the 1987 film, "Hellraiser," which became something of a horror franchise. The novella, written by Clive Barker, opens with a devoted hedonist solving a puzzle box that introduces him to the Cenobites, a religious order dedicated to extreme sensual experiences. The Cenobites immediately own Frank, the filthy bastard, and doom him to an eternity of unfathomable pain and misery--which, I guess, gives them pleasure. That event sets up a silly story about how Frank's sister-in-law, who became infatuated with Frank upon marrying his brother, discovers and almost rescues Frank, so to speak, by murdering a couple of guys. The writing style, plot, and characters were ridiculous. This is a twisted story, really, but aside from coming across a few good phrases describing some intense sensations, I felt silly reading "The Hellbound Heart."