quips and clips

just finished reading another Parker novel by Richard Stark, The Seventh. for plotting, action sequences and punchline, this might be my favorite of the series, so far. Donald E. Westlake at his darkest and best.

Just finished reading another great Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake’s darkest nom de plume) novel, the one on which Point Blank was based, The Hunter. One of the all time great noirs.

Just finished reading another great Richard Stark novel, this one centered on a safe-cracker: The Jugger

just finished reading the next in Richard Stark’s Parker series, The Mourner. an art heist gets complicated. Donald E. Westlake at his pseudonymic darkest.

just finished reading, as part of my Richard Stark binge, the Parker novel, The Outfit. the mob tries to kill Parker, but he’s got smarter friends, and he makes big revenge trouble. briliiant.

after the marathon climb through The Abominable, i’m settling in for another binge-read of Richard Stark’s work, Donald E. Westlake’s pseudonym for his darker side, the hardman, Parker. it’s really more of a serial than a discreet set of two dozen novels. i’ve screwed up by reading a couple of them over the years, and…

just finished Dan Simmons’ epic Everest novel, The Abominable. takes a while to get going, but it’s worth the slog. i think his famous Arctic history, The Terror, is one of the most frightening books ever. this one certainly qualifies as the most exhilarating and exhausting novels ever. a masterpiece.

just finished reading another of Richard Stark’s (Donald E. Westlake’s dark-side pseudonym) novels in the anti-hero, Parker, series, Deadly Edge. a successful rock show receipts heist turns into a closing circle of murder of the crew involved. densely plotted, perfectly executed (an apt term)

ust finished reading my first ever Robert Parker Spenser novel, Sixkill, named for Zebulon Sixkill, the Native American ex-college fullback Spenser takes on to train and rehabilitate in the midst of a celebrity murder case. i really liked it. probably be back again, especially as the Dick-and-Jane-sized typeface, the haiku-length chapters and the snappy dialogue…

  just finished reading Butcher’s Moon, by the darkest of Donald E. Westlake’s nom-de-plumes, Richard Stark, starring his criminal mastermind and hardman, Parker. this one’s about Parker going for some stashed loot, and finding it already snatched, ends up with a whole posse of his former work-mates taking down a small city mob. no one…