I'm a fan of Burke's also. His New Orleans and Iberia Parish
sizzle. I
think Hollywood did him a disservice by casting Baldwin in
the Robicheaux
role. I would have figured somebody tougher like Tommy Lee
Jones. Yes, I
think he's hardboiled, but very complex. Who else has
visitations from a
late wife or a Confederate general? I'm undecided about
whether those make
him harder or softer (even if the general's visit was the
result of a
spiked drink.)
>
>yuppie) attitude. But the first three or four books
were and are really
>good, and the man can write, no question about it. The
decline of the
>Spenser series may be due to "market conditions", as
they say.
>
I divide the Spenser books into BCE (Before Catskill Eagle)
and ACE (After
Catskill Eagle). I liked all of the BCE books and none of the
ACE ones.
Catskill Eagle seemed like a breakthrough into bestsellerdom
and I agree
that the decline may be due to "market conditions." I
understand that
Parker was an avid fan of Chandler and wrote a master's
thesis on him. I
think it is easy to see Chandler's influence on the early
Spenser books and
I wish he had done "Poodle Springs" and "Perchance to Dream"
early in his
career. I like the two stories, but can't help thinking they
are Parker
trying to imitate Chandler.
Mark
Mark E. Troy
Measurement and Research Services
Texas A&M University
(409) 862-7373
fax: (409 )847-8666
E-mail:metroy@tamu.edu
URL: http://marsquadra.tamu.edu/staff_pages/Mark.html
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