Dead Bob

Daily Herald | 'Spenser' novelist Robert Parker dies at age 77

It is my unhappy task to report the death of Robert B Parker, author of the "Spenser" novels.

Parker also wrote the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall series.

I have followed Parker's novels since the late 1970's, and own 'most' of his books (with the exception of a few "oddball" publications, such as "Wilderness").

Parker was, himself, something of an "oddball", in the same sense as were Raymond Chandler, Dashiel Hammett and Ross MacDonald.

Between them, they defined the genre of the hard-boiled American Private Eye, and they did so in such inimitable style that it seems likely that they will be over-shadowed in this generation.

Or in the next generation.

Most of my PARKER books are out on loan this month, because I re-read the complete series (all 3 sets ... Spenser, Stone and Randall) last month.

Now it is my sad task to retrieve all of the 30+ books so that I can re-read them again, for the 4th or 5th or (sometimes) 5th time, and then put them on the Annual Reread list along with a chosen few of my favorite authors.

Because, you know, there won't be a lot of new books from R.B.Parker available, except for the few which are already in the Production Line.

And no, I'm not discounting his recent books of The Wild, Wild West such as "Appaloosa".

Go ahead, read the original article. I've already got most of the books, so you'll be the one haunting the shelves of the Used Book Store for the out-of-print books such as The Godwulf Manuscript.

Best book he ever wrote? "Early Autumn".

Don't argue with me. This is the guy who thought "The Old Man and The Boy" was arguably the best thing that Robert Ruark ever wrote.

Damn!

All of the best writers are dying.