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Cash grab of publisher and estate just aren’t up to quality
Book Review
By Derryll White
Knott, Robert (2013). Robert B. Parker’s Ironhorse and Brandman, Michael (2011). Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues.
There is something very cynical and exploitative going on in book publishing today. Rather than developing new writers the industry is falling back on trusted old names such as James Patterson or Robert Ludlum, teaming them with virtual unknowns to push more content onto the market under known names and thereby turn giant profits.
Publishers buy the rights to produce books under a ‘brand’ name, usually from the estate of a recently demised known writer. This is what was done to Robert B. Parker’s work, turning the creation of a novel into the merchandising of a product.
Parker has written some 70 novels, which in the ‘Ironhorse’ the publisher happily lists just after the frontispiece. The novel under cover however is a first novel by Robert Knott. A similar story applies to ‘Killing the Blues’.
I have never thought of an author’s literary output and reputation as a franchise. So this is something new for me. Robert B. Parker’s novels were always a quick, fun read. Mostly written as dialogue the plot moved along quickly and character development occurred seamlessly. And Parker built some very strong characters such as Spenser, Susan Silverman, Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone.
Parker was unfailing witty and the chuckles and laughs came frequently in a Jess Stone novel. As my partner Shirley grew more ill she loved to listen to me read Parker out loud to her, and maintained that no male author got women down as well as Robert Parker did. So I picked up both of the above novels to see how well Robert Knott and the television writer Brandman filled Parker’s shoes.
As always, both were a quick night’s read. Both authors stayed faithful to the Parker brand, be it western or Jesse Stone. I don’t think there was as much dialogue and wit. Certainly I did not find as much joy and laughter. Parker’s body of work was large before his death in 2010. I would suggest to readers that they read some of his Sunny Randall, Spenser and Jesse Stone novels before trying these works, and then make their own evaluation. For myself, I will continue to read the back list of Parker novels but I am moving on to other authors for the rest of my reading. The cash grab of publisher and estate just aren’t up to quality.
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Excerpts from Killing the Blues:
MODERN EXCESS – Like all the new-wave fitness centres, Nordmann’s was gigantic, football-field sized, containing every imaginable kind of electronic exercise machine. Jesse figured that if hyperactivity didn’t pose the members a danger, the intensified electromagnetic field in which they exercised would more than likely neuter them.
NEW WORLD – The world has changed. Your options in this economy are limited. The stakes are incredibly high. Insecurity dogs you. Fear of failure haunts you. Welcome to the me generation.
PSYCHANALYSIS – “I can at least recognize when I’m not acting in my own best interests,” Jesse said. “Dix once told me I was involved in a conspiracy against myself. It made sense.”
MODERN WOMAN – “And you? Have you ever been married,” Jesse said.
“God, no. Married to a job perhaps. I’m not a good catch. I’m an anathema. Guys take one look at me and start clutching their balls.”
ECONOMY – I’m not trying to make excuses for myself. Upon reflection, I came to realize that over time my job had become different. With the economy faltering, my attentions were more focused on administrative concerns. Layoffs. Reductions in services. Making do with less. The demands on the job increased. Conditions changed. I changed. As a result, I lost sight of the very thing that should have been paramount…
PERSONAL GROWTH – “How did you feel about that?”
“I felt good. She was different. She seemed genuine,” Lisa said.
“Sometimes people lose sight of right and wrong.”
“You think Mrs. Nelson lost sight of right and wrong?”
“I do. But when she realized that she had, she took steps to rectify it. She deserves credit for that,” Jesse said.
– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.