Robert B. Parker is Alive and Well

144758592Ace Atkin has pulled off a miracle. With LULLABY, he has managed not only to pitch-perfectly capture Robert B. Parker's voice and narrative pace, but also his story-telling structure, without once slipping into pastiche or parody. LULLABY rings absolutely true to Parker, and you only have to look at the first few pages of Michael Brandman's excreble Jesse Stone novel to see just how hard that is to pull off.

Moreover, LULLABY is even better than the last few of Parker's own Spenser novels. While LULLABY isn't as good as the early Spensers, it certainly fits right in with the mid-stream stuff, the period roughly between STARDUST and POTSHOT, which still makes it a wonderfully entertaining and satisfying read. It's as if Parker, not far from the top of his game, is still with us. It makes me wish Atkins would take on Jesse Stone, too.

2 thoughts on “Robert B. Parker is Alive and Well”

  1. Wow. Thanks for the write up, Lee. I struggle to imagine anyone pulling off a Robert B. Parker “voice and narrative pace” — well said on that by the way. But if it’s even close, then it’s definitely worth reading.
    And I, too, hope he takes on Jesse Stone. I prefer those over the Spenser books.

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