…has moved to a new address. He kicks things off with his take on all the Robert B. Parker bashing in the blogosphere lately.
The consensus judgment seems to be that he wrote brilliantly early on,
that in fact he rescued the entire private eye genre from malaise and
cliche, and that he brought tens of thousands of new readers to the
form.I agree with all of that.
Where I have trouble is the funeral pyre so many of his critics seem to be building.
Ed thinks the Jesse Stone novels prove Parker is still at the top of his game. I don’t disasgree. I wish Parker would rest Spenser for awhile, abandon the Sunny Randall books, and ride with Jesse for awhile. Maybe if he took a break from the Spensers for a couple years he would rediscover the character…and maybe find a fresh take on a hero who is anything but fresh these days.
Parker has pretty much said he writes Spenser anymore because he wants to.
Ever notice the same people decrying Parker always rush right out to buy the latest Spenser-Susan-Hawk menage a trois?
But who is reading the Sunny Randall (Spenser-in-panties with a gay Hawk)?
The Sunny Randall novels take all the worst aspects of the Spenser books…and make them even worse. Can’t stand Spenser’s constant talk about his dog? Sunny’s relationship with her dog borders on psychotic. Can’t stand another scene between Spenser and Susan? Wait until you read the Sunny and Susan scenes… yeah, that’s right, Susan is in the Sunny books, too.
I wish Parker would stop writing Sunny Randall and give us extra Stone books instead…or more standalones like GUNMAN’S RHAPSODY and DOUBLE PLAY.
I think I like living in a world of my own making where the Spenser series ends, oh, around 1985 or so.
I’m one of those critics hauling Parker to the funeral pyre…He doesn’t even seem to try anymore. And that’s a damn shame.
I find the Stone series to be all but unreadable. At least the Spenser books have some nostalgia value.
My previous post sounds harsher than I intended… I don’t want to throw RBP on the fire. I do wish he’d try a little harder, though.
I actually kinda liked the first one or two Sunny “Spenser with breasts” Randall books.
Haven’t read the latter two. First two I liked.
Also just read MORTAL STAKES not that long ago. Hard to believe that, once upon a time, Susan Silverman was not like fingernails on a chalkboard. Ah, those were the days. Parker at the top of his game, the Big Red Machine, Watergate. What ever happened to the good ol’ days?