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Parker #17, #19
Comeback / Flashfire
1st Omnibus edition paperback, vg++
Paperback
Published January 1, 2009
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 28, 2014
I've had the hardest time tracking down Richard Stark/Parker novels. I've read some of the first few and enjoyed them. I was curious to see how Parker held up in the 2000s.
Comeback wasn't a terribly interesting story. It just seemed pretty standard. Parker is involved in a job. Somebody tries to rip Parker off. Parker gets even.
I guess, now that I think about it, it is the plot to every Parker novel. They were entertaining bits of pulp fiction.
There isn't a whole lot else to say, I guess. They were Parker novels. What more can you expect or ask for?
Comeback wasn't a terribly interesting story. It just seemed pretty standard. Parker is involved in a job. Somebody tries to rip Parker off. Parker gets even.
I guess, now that I think about it, it is the plot to every Parker novel. They were entertaining bits of pulp fiction.
There isn't a whole lot else to say, I guess. They were Parker novels. What more can you expect or ask for?
October 7, 2012
Two novels in a single volume that cost me the princely sum of £1 in a well-known chain of shops where everything costs that amount - what's not to like?
As it turned out, there were aspects not to like, but to balance the scales there were some things to like. I liked the pace of the novels -the plot clipped along at a steady pace, chapters were short making me want to read just one more before putting the book down. The heists were clever, the crooks cunning.
On the more negative side, I felt that the books were all plot and no characterisation - even after reading two books about him I didn't really know anything about Parker. I also wasn't hugely keen on the fact that all the female characters are very much subordinate to the men and wasn't a fan of the leve of violence.
However, I think these criticisms are probably more of the pulp genre than of Stark's writing. I found Comeback and Flashfire quick, involving reads, but I don't feel the need to read any more of his work.
As it turned out, there were aspects not to like, but to balance the scales there were some things to like. I liked the pace of the novels -the plot clipped along at a steady pace, chapters were short making me want to read just one more before putting the book down. The heists were clever, the crooks cunning.
On the more negative side, I felt that the books were all plot and no characterisation - even after reading two books about him I didn't really know anything about Parker. I also wasn't hugely keen on the fact that all the female characters are very much subordinate to the men and wasn't a fan of the leve of violence.
However, I think these criticisms are probably more of the pulp genre than of Stark's writing. I found Comeback and Flashfire quick, involving reads, but I don't feel the need to read any more of his work.
May 25, 2013
Westlake had a way of writing that was just too good, and even in lesser works, still could be fun. This is one. Parker novels are really about the sixties, and it was hard having him do his heists and crimes in 2000. The book had some strong problems, the criminals that crossed Parker are so stupid, their plan would have failed, even without Parker's interference. And for a while, Parker was out of the story, and the supporting cast were featured, and that's a mistake because a Parker novel is really about only thing, Parker. With all that, still love Parker books
June 17, 2017
Two books in one pretty interesting...thumbs up for Richard he did a good job on this book. The flow was great and the plots were greatly planned. I think I need more of Parker
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews