I've read the three Cole/Hitch Westerns, and they have the same ease of reading, skilled with dialogue-centric storytelling, and terrific characters as do the rest of his writing.
>
>From: "rrandisi@sbcglobal.net" <rrandisi@sbcglobal.net>
>To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
>Sent: Mon, March 1, 2010 1:43:07 PM
>Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: Parker's Procedurals, Westerns, and Their Film Adaptations
>
> >
>>
>
>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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