Plenty of people will be commenting on Parker's passing, and I'm no different. I'm one of those who sort-of, kind-of quit reading him, but only a year or so back, so I've read most of his books. I enjoyed all of those I read and think I probably laughed out loud at least once in reading each one of them. I discovered Parker's work when the first paperback edition of THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT came out. I was working in the book department of a department store in downtown Fort Worth, and we carried it. I was already a big fan of Hammett, Chandler, Ross Macdonald, and many other private eye writers, and when I read THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT, I knew it was the real stuff. I think we're only beginning to appreciate just what a huge influence Parker's work was on the genre.
There are some stand-alone novels of his I never got around to reading. I really need to.
Aged 77, probably a heart attack. That's a good life, though we've become used to people living so much longer. II hadn't realized how much he revitalized the genre with "The Godwulf Manuscript" I just thought it was damned good. In later years I got a little tired super-man Hawk but he was good.
ReplyDeleteParker's death was unexpected news--he's been one of those writers I've thought of as always there, typing away and sending out solid books year after year. I'll miss him.
ReplyDelete-Matt
His westerns were great. Sad news. Rest in peace, sir.
ReplyDeleteVery sad. As a reader, I came to Parker's work through the "Chandler connection" and the Spenser books. Coincidentally, I used some ill-founded comment on the movie of Appaloosa and, by extension, the western genre, as the peg for an article that will be appearing in the Black Horse Extra next month.
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