In his first western novel, prolific detective and crime writer clones the Hawk and Spenser characters from his Spenser series, remodels them slightly as Cole and Hitch, and writes a pretty solid tale.

As in much of his work, Parker tells the story primarily through dialogue, a technique which he is adept at. Well worth a read, and more complex than the movie made of it, although far behind the best of Parker's work.

Note to admnin: This should be under Westerns, not Mysteries and Thrillers.

Again, like my review of the movie, it is really 3 and one-half stars. . .

This was the first Robert B. Parker book I've ever read cover to cover. Yes, despite all the Spenser books out there, I never read one, though I was a fan of the TV Show, Spenser for Hire. I obtained a used Hardback version.

The book gives you some background into the two main characters the movie doesn't offer, the inner working of Everett's vision of the events. Without distraction, the book is what I would call a "fast read," that is you move along at a good pace, so it doesn't really take long to read it. Most of the chapters are short, two or three pages in the hardcover book I have.

Being the first RBP book I've ever read (I will consider getting Gunman's Rhapsody from my local library sometime) I don't want to linger on the book, and his writing style too much. I'm actually still forming an opinion.

As a long time Parker fan AND a fan of the western genre I was a little disappointed in this book. Robert B. Parker has given us some great who-and-whydunnits with his Spenser, Jesse Stone, and Sunny Randall series. His crisp dialogue and top notch storytelling makes for good reading which ius why he's always at the top of my buying list. However, his plunge into the world of westerns needs a little work. Read The Tonto Woman or any of the early westerns by Elmore Leonard, the westerns of Loren Estlemen, Bill Brooks, Peter Brandvold, Johnny Boggs, Jory Sherman, Elmer Kelton, or Louis L'amour and you'll see what I mean.
Saying that, once Parker reaches his stride ( and I have no doubt that he will) with the genre he will undoubtably do well. I mean, come on! Does anyone write better banter than Parker?
What I find interesting here is that he seems to have introduced a number of new fans into the field of westerns; fans who may now view the 'Old West' in a new light. There are some good western stories out there, written by some very talented writers so branch out and try them.
As for the bottom line of this review, will I buy Parker's next western? Yep.

When a writer has forty or fifty titles to his credit you realize he has a fairly substantial reader base. I've only recently discovered him. I wasn't a big fan of the Spencer TV series but I do like the Jesse Stone adaptations. Parker writes with a crispness that brings you along at a pace you might not be accustomed to. Before you have a chance to decide if you like this style or not, you have a hundred pages invested. His stories are not overly embelished with unnecessary wordage - no glorious sunsets, no flowery gardens, just a constant, steady progression towards a non-judgmental conclusion. It's only when you've finished that you think, 'I really enjoyed that.' Appaloosa is a prime example. Characters carefully developed, plot clearly laid out, dialog curt and to the point. It may not be his best, but I don't think I've read his best quite yet. But I'll keep reading his stuff until I find it. And so will you.

I purchased the book after seeing the movie version expecting to enjoy an expanded story. Well, the movie pretty much followed the book, even down to the dialog, except the language was cleaner in the movie! Some folks have a knack of knowing when and how to cuss; Parker isn't one of them. I doubt men of the Old West were as impolite to prostitutes as the book characters, or that the "f" word was prevelant then.

I don't recommend the book. Waste of money and you'll have to hide it from the kids.

The follow-up title, 'Resolution', is far worse!

This book's awesome. These old West peacekeepers walk the same metaphorical mean streets as Parker's other tough guys, like Spenser, Hawk, and Jesse Stone, dusty as the streets in the town of Appaloosa may be. The familiar Parker themes are all here, the honor and friendship between men, the unflagging devotion to a woman loved (even when it's probably not deserved), the violent life lived according to a code...and all that stuff works perfectly in this milieu. Additionally, as Parker himself has aged, his treatment of these themes has deepened; there is more of a sense of human fallibility in his characters these days, and the codes they live by don't always serve them well.