Customer Reviews

Appaloosa

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Robert B. Parker has offered a western written in his usual fast paced, clipped writing style that is highly engaging and entertaining. While not a literary masterpiece, Parker does an excellent job of creating unique fascinating characters, providing subtle insights into them, and posing ethical dilemmas that his characters work out using their own internal moral structure.

Appaloosa introduces us to two marauding law men - Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The story is told in the first person from the point of view of Hitch, who plays second fiddle to Cole, a seasoned and dangerous gunman. Cole and Hitch are hired by the aldermen of Appaloosa, a town that is being terrorized by a nefarious rancher named Randall Bragg. Bragg and his men murder the previous Marshal and now take whatever they want from the town - be it whiskey, food, or women. Cole and Hitch are hired to put an end to town's suffering. They eventually arrest Bragg for the murder and once convicted help transport him to be hung. Not surprisingly, Bragg escapes with the help of some hired gunmen, two brothers who even Cole is apprehensive of. This leads to, of course, a gun fight between the two sides. Through all this, Cole has fallen for a deeply flawed and dangerous woman, Ms. French, who he refuses to leave despite her treacherous ways. This sets up more drama at the novel's conclusion.

While this western follows a similar plot line as many novels in its genre, and there is nothing really new or unique here, it does have some distinguishing characteristics. First, it's clear that Cole and Hitch walk a fine line between being law abiding citizens and simply assassins, and it's a line they may have crossed in the past, and seem to be in constant danger of crossing in the novel. First and foremost they are hired guns with the cloak of legality and they set their ethical parameters to meet whatever moral code they have constructed for themselves. Secondly, the character of Ms. French introduces a great dilemma in the novel for Cole - and for Hitch - which is very cleverly wrapped up in the novel's conclusion.

This was very entertaining and fast paced novel for a lazy afternoon of reading.

As I've written before, it's always good to get Parker off of autopilot, out of Boston and put him on a slight stretch. Under those conditions you see his real skills as a writer. In a different time and a different setting he is forced to develop a sense of place, a sense of language and a sense of character and he's always up to the task. There's no feeling of exaggeration, with heavyhanded indications that he's now in his 'western mode'. The people, places, language, and attentiveness to nuance are all spot on. As in all good genre writing there is a faithfulness to expectation. The plot is traditional--the nasty, tyrannical, lawless rancher vs. the hapless townfolk, who bring in the hired guns--and there are nice set pieces (a tracking scene across great distances, ruminations on gender relationships in the old west, some local color and historical authenticity with a Kiowa brave counting coup). My only reservation concerns the ending, which comes a little too quickly, a little too neatly, and is a tad short on blood, gore, and justice/vengeance. Nevertheless, this is a strong western, at least the equal of its predecessor and top summer reading.

"Appaloosa" is a quick, involving, but thoughtful reading experience. The characters and situations can be taken on their own terms as exciting story elements, but also as metaphors for old time America making way, for better or worse, for a new America.

It is also very interesting to see Mr. Parker put a new spin on his frequent theme of personal codes and how they make the man: namely, it examines what can happen when a violent but law-abiding sheriff (a guy who is an expert killer but who will kill only when the law says it is okay for him to do so), goes head to head with a rich sociopath who is able to buy the law and make it work to his own advantage.

In the end, one character makes a decision and a sacrifice that allows the old ways to go on a little longer, but it's clear that the victory is a temporary one, and that the slow encroachment of new America- a place of many comforts and benefits, but also a place where wealth often speaks louder than justice- was only temporarily slowed down.

Like "Gunman's Rhapsody" (another western) and "Double Play", this is another of the occasional novels Mr. Parker writes that do not feature any of his popular continuing detective characters. And like all Mr. Parker's novels- the ones that feature continuing characters and the ones that don't- this one is well worth your time.

This is simply great writing. You truely can see the tough guys in front of you, hear the gunsmoke and feel the wind and sand blow into your eyes and ears - woooow.
It's like a movie. And it doesn't disappoint that movies like that have been made before. Nobody writes scenes like Robert B.Parker. Probably never will.
The story is simple. Or so it seems at first sight. A town is being terrorized by a rich guy. The townfolks ask for help. In come Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. From then on the law is theirs. And nobody is going to change that.
The rich guy tries his best, sends in his gunslingers. They end up dead. Cole and Hitch collect the rich guy. Want a judge to put an end to the crimes that are being commited. That's when things start to get complicated for Cole. First there's Allie, a girl who's got Cole wrapped around her fingers. But then a bunch of shooters from Cole's past also enter the scene as do some 15 Kiowas.
You need to read the rest for yourself.
A great story to be read in one sitting, as I said, like the best of the Western movies. It's all about loyalty, trust and friendship.

**EDIT**
After watching the movie again (twice actually) and reading the book another time, I really rethought the review and the book in general. I have come to realize that this book has a lot going for it and it seems simple only on the surface. Once I reread this book I saw how amazing the story telling really was and I was shocked that I had missed the deep connection between Virgil and Everett through this type of dialogue.
The style I thought was "simplistic" was really akin to an old timer sitting down after the turn of the century and telling is great grandson of his old life. I have fond memories of my grandfather telling me his stories and that renewed my vigor for the book's style.
Now that I have rethought this book I would give it 4+ out of 5. It is just that good to me.
**EDIT**

I have read a lot of the reviews for this book and they range from outstanding, to nothing special. I have to agree with both sides.

I went and saw the movie when it came out and was extremely impressed. I had to buy the book to see where Ed Harris drew this amazing story. Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed.

This book is very, let me repeat that, VERY simplistic. It reads closely to what I would imagine a screenplay would. It does create an interesting flavor with the strong silent type of narrative in Everett Hitch's voice, but really if I didn't have the movie itself in mind it would have only been a mediocre novel at best.

Buy it only if you are a fan of the author or want another look at the movie.

Robert B. Parker has written almost 50 books now. The majority are the Spenser novels. Those novels started out fairly conventionally, but Parker evolved and soon, the series had several unique characteristics. For one thing, the author is very interested (perhaps even obsessed) with the dynamics of friendships between men, and even the relationship between those men who aren't friends, but respect each other anyway. For another, he's just about as interested in the way relationships between men and women work.

So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that his latest book, Appaloosa, has these themes as strong threads in what is a completely different genre for him--the Western. He did write one western, some time ago: Gunman's Rhapsody. The difference is that Rhapsody is a historical novel, a retelling of the OK Corral shootout. Appaloosa is, by contrast, a completely fictional story, with characters who are made up. The two main characters, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch (Hitch narrates the story) are lawmen who move from town to town, cleaning things up until they get boring, then moving on to the next town. Virgil's deadly with a gun, and Hitch is the perfect second for him, someone who's not afraid to carry a ridiculously large shotgun, and use it if need be. When they come to their latest town, it turns out that the last sherriff, and one of his deputies, were shot dead by a local rancher. Cole and HItch spend the rest of the book resolving the situation, with interesting results for the characters and their relationships.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. Hitch hints, in the opening of the book, that he may have more stories to tell. I certainly hope Parker feels the need to repeat them to us.

Apaloosa is a good read, even for someone who isn't a fan of westerns (me). I am not a huge fan of westerns, but I impulsively purchased this book, and i don't regret it. It is well written, action packed, and the scenery is great.

Parker's writing is clean cut, and to the point. This fares well through most of the story, as he never dwells on something long enough for you to tire of it. He describes the scenery well, and it's a decent story, one that will keep you hooked till the end.

While there is nothing original here, the story is not so cliche that you'll feel cheated. And the suspense is enough to keep you reading, but nothing will "blow you away". This is a very dialog heavy book also, most of it consisting of short run ons and one liners. You get to know the characters well.

One complaint I have that cost this a star, is the action. "Cole drew his pistol and shot him" is not exactly descriptive, or exciting. Some times you never know where or how they were shot, and the giant showdown near the end is anticlimatic at best. You feel like you are reading a shoddy newspaper article about the fight.

Overall, the book is well worth a read, and satisfying in the end. The writing is clean, crisp, and exciting, as long as we aren't talking about the shootouts.

THE HORSE - A gray leopard APPALOOOSA stallion, the leader of a herd that lived in the hills just beyond Randall Bragg's ranch, who symbolizes what Virgil Cole likes about about wild horses. "He's free. He's alive. He does what he wants. He goes where he wants. He's got what he wants. And all he got to do is fight for it."

THE TOWN - Also APPALOOSA, a frontier mining town in the old West where the violent scene which opens this novel begins at The Boston House Saloon, the best in town. The die of fate is soon irreversibly cast as a result of the event which occurs at the Circle RB, Randall Bragg's ranch just outside the town limits.

THREE MEN - Everett Hitch, the first person narrator, a West Point graduate (like his father) who decided after five years of soldiering in the Indian Wars that it "didn't allow too much expansion of the soul" and so turned in his commision and roamed the western territories doing whatever job was available to keep from starving to death. Hitch is one of the best men Virgil Cole has ever seen with an eight-guage shotgun. Virgil Cole was the Marshall in Trinidad when Hitch first met him outside the Rattlesnake Saloon fifteen years ago. The memory of that first time Hitch had seen Cole shoot had stayed clear despite the many gunfights that had followed. "Time slowed down for him. He fought with an odd stateliness. Always steady and never fast, but always faster than the man he was fighting." It was there he immediately learned one of Cole's many rules for maintaining order and staying alive - reload as soon as the shooting is over. That day in Trinidad, Hitch becomes Cole's deputy and they are still lawmen for hire fifteen years later when they enter Appaloosa and tell the Aldermen that Cole's and Hitch's rules have to be the law or they will simply ride on. Trouble erupts to force the Aldermen's hand and Cole and Hitch sign on and immediately and face down Randall Bragg, whose men have run roughshod over the town citizens. Before leaving Bragg declares "this town belongs to me. I was here first." By the end of these first few chapters, the reader fully expects that the conflict between the lawman Cole and the villain Bragg will comprise the central theme of this story.

THE WOMAN - However, in the very next chapter, just when the elements of the traditional morality play about frontier justice all seem to be in place, Allison (Allie) French arrives in town. "A little travel-worn but still good-looking", she is a widow with only a dollar remaining after breakfast; Cole has Hitch arrange for her to stay at the Boston House and gain employment in the saloon by utilizing her limited skills as a very loud piano player.

This a typical Robert Parker story, short concise chapters, spare dialogue, and a plot with enough interesting twists to keep the reader involved. As Parker's writing style has evolved, he seems to have gradually distilled his books to the essence of the characters and the story. My strong suggestion is that this book should not be skimmed, while such a reading would easily follow the plot, it would eliminate the most enjoyable aspect of the book, the details regarding these interesting characters and their relationships. In any event there is no need to skim it, since in comparison with many modern authors who seem to believe that readers buy their books by the pound and so pad their novels, Appaloosa (as is invarably the case with Parker's novels) is an extremely fast read. The only change for inveterate Parker fans will be their unfamiliarity with these characters. The relationship of Cole and Hitch does bear a strong similarity to that of Spenser and Hawk. At times even the laconic dialogue seems strangely reminiscent of their conversations with the unsaid often more important than the spoken word. However, it is more like the character traits of the heroes of that series have been jumbled and then the pieces reassembled into two very different individuals.

As the story proceeds, many additional characters are introduced; my favorites are the Shelton Brothers and Hitch's sometime companion and instructor in all aspects of female behavior, Katie Goode. Of course, to complete this story of the Old West some Kiowa Indians play a brief but crucial role. (In fact, if you miss the later explanation of the significance of one of the Indian braves "counting coup' on Hitch during their encounter, it's probably an indication that you're just skimming over the details.) We also are treated to many surprising informational tidbits; the reader will probably be as amazed as Hitch when Cole suddenly quotes some advice that we should all remember.from the nineteenth century German strategist Clausewitz regarding the art of war and preparation for your enemies.

As this tale progressed, I not only came to know Cole and Hitch, but also could also taste the dust in the streets of Appaloosa, listen to Allie's piano playing, and hear the sudden explosion of gunfire during the many shootouts which occurred. My only warning in this five star recommendation is that the characters of Allie and Katie (while undoubtedly typical of the frontier during that period), may offend some ardent feminists. However, I actualy think that this is a misreading of the story, Hitch regards Katie as a friend despite the nature of their relationship; his comments near the end of the book regarding the analogy which he draws between the Appaloosa and Cole (and Allie) implicitly acknowledges the complexity of their actions and emotions.

In conclusion, I found the ending to be wonderfully appropriate as well as incredibly bittersweet. (If this were a movie, the concluding scene would be extremely emotional and in some ways reminiscent of SHANE.) With four pages remaining, I still couldn't guess what the outcome would be for the Three Men and a Woman of my review title, with Cole seemingly unable to extricate himself from the internal conflict resulting from his character trait of never backing down being in conflict with his scrupulous adherence to the law as the defining element of his being. Suddenly, we see the true meaning of friendship and indeed love defined and are both heartened and saddened by the knowledge that even as life proceeds the relationships of the individuals remaining alive have been irretrievably altered.

Tucker Andersen

APPALOOSA's Marshall Virgil Cole & his deputy Everett Hitch are as great together as Gus McCrae & Woodrow Call Texas Rangers partners in LONESOME DOVE. I loved this book & have recommended it to everyone! Also helps that Robert B Parker is my FAV! I love his Spencer, Jesse Stone & Sunny Randall books too!

Clean and tight, this fast-paced yet rather spare tale of two "lawmen", Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, come to the rowdy mining town of Appaloosa to clean out a gang of thugs who have been terrorizing the good citizens, carries the reader all the way.

But its motifs are all fairly ordinary by now: the tough guy gunslinging lawman, the overbearing, arrogant rancher/oppressor, the timid townfolk ready to turn their loyalties on a dime, the slightly dangerous and troublesome gal who tempts the gun hand hero . . . and the plot points were also fairly formulaic, from shootouts to the stealthy capture of the main bad guy, to his breakout and the chase across wild terrain, complete with an Indian war party, that must follow. All the usual stuff, indeed, done quite well to be sure, but nevertheless, one can't escape the sense of having 'been there, seen that.'

The one interesting aspect of the tale lies in the matter of the appaloosa stallion and his herd which appear periodically in the wild country beyond Randall Bragg's ranch, an image to which our heroes are strangely drawn. Both Cole, the cold, calculating killer marshal, and Hitch, his tough, reliable deputy, understand the message of the stallion and his mares but only Hitch grasps it enough to act in the end, when Cole is set to be overtaken by the changing times.

In a surprising, but somewhat rushed denouement, Hitch cuts the gordian knot to save Cole from his own approaching obsolescence in a move that reaffirms the affection the deputy has for his partner and long time friend. The villain, Bragg, never rises above type and it's hard to worry overmuch about him and what he might be getting set to do. But as Hitch finally sees, it's Cole who must lose in the end, unable to smell the shift in the winds or alter his path when the predators besetting him are changing theirs.

Parker is a very crisp writer and his narrative style entirely suits this very trim tale of gunmen and Indians and wild horses. But the image of the appaloosa and his mares seemed a mite heavy handed by the tale's end and too obvious to have been missed by Cole who, nevertheless, seems unable to fully get the point until the last moment. Or perhaps, as Hitch guesses, he is just unable to change?

This is a solid, and solidly written, western, well suited for those who like the genre and well-written enough for those who enjoy a master's hand at work. If the tale is not large or earth shaking in other ways, well they can't all be.

SWM
author of The King of Vinland's Saga