I really loved the first four Spenser books. After that it was hit-and-miss. I haven't read his westerns, but I do like the Jesse Stone books.
RJR
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jeter <michael.damian.jeter@...> wrote:
>
> For me, _Early Autumn_ ranks as one of my favorite reads, perhaps
> because it reflects a great deal of my personal life: a son raised by
> a father who, for one reason or another, did not teach him the things
> that men know, what Raymond Carver described as "the places to fish."
>
> As a man who has always questioned and second guessed himself, I like
> the man who, sure of himself, can help others. Yes, that help might
> include solving a crime, but it goes to something deeper: a way to
> live, to look at the world, as the cold gutless place in which we
> live, and still see the slivers of light and warmth: friendship, love,
> honor.
>
>
> I realize these are just the things that irritate many, and I think
> that's fine - not that you are irritated, but that in the vast sea of
> detective fiction, no one author fits every reader. I have many fine
> novelists left to read, and I do not argue that Parker is the
> greatest, or anything of the sort. I do not pretend any authority
> except this: I know what I like.
>
> On 3/1/10, Stephen Burridge <stephen.burridge@...> wrote:
> > As a casual reader of Parker's work, I read several Spenser novels back in
> > the 1980s. The only one I really remember is the the one in which Spenser
> > acts as father to a boy, which recent discussion leads me to believe must
> > have been "Early Autumn". It struck me as unusual and interesting at the
> > time; however I didn't read any more Parker until fairly recently, when I
> > picked up "Hundred-Dollar Baby", as the best bet among a limited selection
> > of paperbacks in a drugstore. As I recall I enjoyed aspects of the book, it
> > seemed professional and smooth and I was initially pulled in to the story,
> > but in the end there was too much of the contrived and sentimental about
> > it. Most recently, I got a couple of the books for this Rara-Avis month,
> > "The Godwulf Manuscript" and another one whose title I forget and which I
> > have yet to read. (The blurb says it's the one in which Spenser's sidekick
> > Hawk is introduced.) I really liked the '70s period detail of "The Godwulf
> > Manuscript" (then contemporary, of course) and I thought the wisecracking
> > was at a pretty high level; it was an entertaining read. A comparison that
> > came to mind was "The Rockford Files", the first season of which I've been
> > watching and enjoying. Both of course are enthusiasms of Kevin Burton
> > Smith, of this list, and I wouldn't be watching Rockford if it weren't for
> > his advocacy, for which I thank him.
> >
> > So there it is, not much to it, more impressions of a relative newbie, as
> > are so many of my postings to this list. At this point my semi-informed
> > view of Parker is that he was a smart and capable pro whose stuff can
> > probably be counted upon to entertain, but not, for me, a
> > particularly exciting or interesting writer.
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Michael Damian Jeter
> New Orleans, LA
> Literacy, Music, and Democracy
>
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