Robert B. Parker is a force of nature.
Parker applies his customary vigor to this sequel to Appaloosa (2005), in a sparse, bullet-riddled rumination on law and order, friendship and honor. Narrator and hired gun Everitt Hitch takes a job as lookout in Amos Wolfson's Blackfoot Saloon and, in short order, guns down local upstart Koy Wickman and stands up for the town's beleaguered prostitutes. Without fully intending it, he creates a haven of orderliness amid the chaos of sheriff-less Resolution. But larger forces are at work as Eamon O'Malley, competing with Wolfson for control of Resolution, hires freelance thugs Cato and Rose to replace Wickman. Lest Everitt end up outnumbered, his old friend Virgil Cole turns up just as Wolfson and O'Malley amass armies for a decisive battle. Wolfson's army turns out to be the more unsavory and dishonorable, winning the day against O'Malley-but Virgil, Everitt, Cato and Rose are prepared to settle things the honorable way. Though the plot meanders its way to a too-fast climax, Parker's dialogue is snappy and his not-a-word-wasted scenes suit this Spartan western. (June)
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Parker's writing is a pure pleasure to read-terse and strong, it carries a good story and lays its messages between the lines. His latest Western picks up where Appaloosa left off with Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole together again working as hired guns for a nasty SOB named Wolfson. Wolfson wants to own the whole town of Resolution, but Eamon O'Malley, the local mine owner, stands in his way-Eamon with his gunslingers Cato and Rose. Wolfson is also squeezing the local farmers and small ranchers out of business. A range war is inevitable, and Cole and Hitch wind up champions of the little guys. This is more of a shoot-'em-up than Appaloosa was-plenty of action, not too much character development, fast and fun to read. Could this be the beginning of a new series? The film version of Appaloosa starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, and Renee Zellweger is set to be released later this year. Highly recommended for all Western collections.
Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole ride (separately) into the western town of Resolution and deal with the trouble that instantly springs up to greet them. Amos Wolfson, who owns the Blackfoot Saloon, has already lost several bouncers, one to a smartly placed bullet, when he offers the job to Everett Hitch. Hitch's approach to the position doesn't sound very ambitious. He sits night after night in the saloon with a shotgun, waiting to see what develops, and passing the time by adopting such a protective attitude toward local members of the oldest profession that Wolfson sneeringly calls him "Fucking Saint Everett of the Whores." For all of Hitch's sentimentality, his tactics are highly effective against Koy Wickman, the weaselly provocateur who works for copper-mine owner Eamon O'Malley. In no time at all Wickman's been retired, buried and replaced by the fearsome twosome of Cato Tillson and Frank Rose. When Virgil Cole arrives and decides to throw in with his old friend (Appaloosa, 2005) once more, the stage seems set for a showdown between the two legendary pairs of gunslingers as they eye each other from the saloons they've signed on to keep orderly. But Parker, in a pleasing twist, allows all four to sidestep the turf war between Wolfson and O'Malley for the land and limited wealth of Resolution, and to join forces against Wolfson's company store, which has been squeezing them dry. Cole calmly predicts that Wolfson will dismiss his inconveniently activist gunslingers only after he's found replacements prepared to stand against them, and that's exactly what happens. Jettisoning the increasingly feeble mysteries that have been the weakest part of his recent thrillers (Stranger in Paradise,2008, etc.), Parker focuses on what he does best-ritualistically clipped dialogue and manly posturing-and serves up a reminder of just how much hardboiled fiction owes the Western.
Take Parker's hero Spenser, rename him Everett Hitch, and relocate him to the Old West, and you have this tale of vigilante justice in the new town of Resolution. There's plenty of action and snappy dialogue as Hitch and three buddies help the local ranchers hold onto their land and the local ladies of the evening maintain their safety. Titus Welliver has a laidback approach to the narration, which is fine, and his mild characterizations are ok, too. The problem comes in the aforementioned dialogue, which is liberally peppered with attributions. These may be fine in print, but aurally they’re annoying. Otherwise, this is a good story decently read. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
NOVEMBER 2008 - AudioFile
