Customer Reviews

Godwulf Manuscript

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love reading mysteries. I've torn through John Sanford, Michael Connelly, Jeffrey Deaver, Elmore Leonard, Ross MacDonald, and the like...and so, it's with a little shame that I admit I hadn't read a Spenser novel before now. My mother told me that the authors I was reading now, while good, were basically following the formula that Robert B. Parker had been perfecting for the last 25 years. So rather than picking up "Potshot", his newest book, I went to the used bookstore and found myself the first book in the series. Although a little out of my element with references to people and styles that were popular when I was three years old (the book was first published in 1973), the story crackles like any on the shelves today. I was reminded of the gritty violent world that Dennis Lehane portrays in his Boston mysteries starring Kenzie and Gennaro, and the wise-cracking wit of Robert Crais' Elvis Cole. Of course, now I realize that these PI's owe a great deal of their success to Spenser. The plot of the mystery in "The Godwulf Manuscript" was fair and interesting, but ultimately it is secondary to the captivating character of Spenser and the people surrounding him. I cared less about the unfolding of the mystery of where the Godwulf Manuscript went and who took it, than I did learning about the people who were involved in the deadly circumstances surrounding it. An excellent first book of a series. I'm thrilled to know that 27 more Spenser books are in my future!

This was Parker's first Spenser novel, and after having read most of those that follow, it was interesting and surprising to find that Spenser wasn't a terribly likeable character in the "early days." I like him much better in later books. He's a sleaze in this first book! But The Godwulf Manuscript has all the Spenser-style wise-cracking, irreverent, sarcastic wit that makes me laugh as I read. Interesting plot. If you've never read a Spenser novel, start with this one but read the later novels too. It gets better!

I'm a nut for reading series in order, so when I decided to tackle Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels, I started here. Now, I am definitely planning to continue making my way through the series, but if it weren't for Parker's sterling reputation, I don't know that I would have been inspired to pick up Book 2 after reading "The Godwulf Manuscript." For anyone who's read a lot of private eye novels, this is a fairly standard tale of a two-fisted gumshoe who's always drinking, fighting, irresistible to women, etc. Plus it's set against an early '70s backdrop of student rebellion which seems almost quaint now. Nevertheless, I like Spenser's sassy first-person voice, and I've already started "God Save the Child." Onward and upward!

I just recently returned to reading mysteries, and after reacquainting myself with Hammett & Chandler, and being introduced to Michael Connelly, I naturally decided on checking out the Spenser books. Like a couple of others here, I decided to start with the beginning.

First, I quite enjoyed the character, although he, in this first novel, is a bit extreme & non-discriminate in his skirt chasing. I understand that mellows out later in the series.

His show of intelligence and of advanced education fascinated me. This combined with the typical wise-cracking tough guy PI attitude makes Spenser (Note, everyone, his name is spelled with two S's) unique enough to continue following.

The mystery itself was less than challenging, but the main character and the taut writing kept me going.

Definitely a worthwhile read.

After re-reading Parker's first Spenser book for probably the 30th time, I am somewhat surprised at some of the reviews published in this space. Most critics agree that the first 4 or 5 books in the Spenser series are genre classics, after which the quality suffered a bit while Parker transitioned Spenser's character into an older, perhaps more mature and stable one (somewhat like when Philip Marlowe finally settled down and actually married). As an aside, everyone, including the NYT Book Review, agrees that in Parker's "Poodle Springs" in which he took the last 4 chapters that Chandler ever wrote of Marlowe and finished the novel, it is a seamless thread where Parker picks up and Chandler leaves off.

Therefor, if one likes Chandler (to my mind as true an American author as Hemingway), he will like Parker, especially early Parker. There is no romantic/relationship innuendi with Susan Silverman, their isn't the racially de-compressive commaradery with Hawk; no, this is too early in the series. Plus, it is the early 1970's after all: Spenser does sleep with both the wife and daughter of a client and is a bit rough-around-the edges. He has to in dealing with the likes of Mafia boss Joe Broz (who stayed through the series). Do people forget that Sam Spade shed barely a tear when his partner was bumped-off (and was indeed probably sleeping with his wife) - but vowed to avenge his murder. The principles and code of ethics that make Marlowe and Spenser unique men are still evident in "The Godwulf Manuscript": he can't be bought; he is rough yet attractive to women, yet respects them in a way that society doesn't - in short, gallant in a time when gallantry towards women was most definitely UN-P.C.; he is a loner and an individualist; a reader, a player of chess and a gourmet cook. He also works out, drinks hard, fights well yet can quote Yeats but can't help cracking wise.

If I ever write a letter to Mr. Parker, it would be to write one final Spenser book from when Spenser was a little rougher around the edges: pre-Susan, pre-Pearl, pre-Hawk and pre-Paul Giacomin, the boy he so lovingly basically adopted in "Early Autumn" - another one of my favorites. I want to know more of what Spenser was doing in the early 1970s and why he got kicked off the Suffolk DA's office. I want to know him before he had his support network of loyal friends; he will always consider himself alone (except maybe for Susan), but this is when Spenser was TRULY alone....

A friend lent me this book and I was skeptical back in 1985 - I picked it up on the day I was supposed to return it to him and read it in one sitting. I have read and re-read Parker's evolution of Spenser ever since. It is a constant source of enjoyment, even if one doesn't like the genre (witness it's/his popularity with women). Don't listen to some of the half-baked reviews I was disappointed to see here - pick up Spenser and he will be a friend for life...

I remember once at the Museum of Modern Art seeing an Edward Hopper exhibit with his early sketches. There were glimpses of greatness amid a lot of pedestrian stuff. Ditto this book. Spenser's sharp dialogue is there, but not honed as it is in later books. But the plot is pedestrian, college and the rebellion scene, and there's no Hawk and no Susan to help broaden the interest and spice up the dialogue. Parker makes a quantum leap in God Save the Child, putting it almost all together at his current level in Book 2. I had read many Spencers before I located this beginning novel. Like the Hopper sketches, its greatest interest is in the glimpses of the genius to come. But if this had been my first Spencer read, I might never have gone on to the pleasure of the rest of them.

I first picked up a Spenser novel in 1988. Since then, I've read all the Spenser novels every year as my own annual "rite of passage".

I agree with others - Spenser wasn't exactly my idea of a man's man in this book. But don't give up ... his randiness dissipates, and he develops into a loyal, devoted, caring, sensitive thug.

Start here, and don't stop. You'll wish you knew someone like Spenser before too long ...

I am new to Robert B. Parker, and have never tried the Spencer books. In fact, I thought the westerns (Appaloosa, Resolution, and Brimstone) were so good, that I wanted to give the Spencer books a try. It is always great to start a series, knowing that if it is good, there are many, many books to follow. The Godwulf Manuscript was a brisk and interesting read. Spencer is an intriguing character. He reminds me of Robert Crais's excellent Elvis Cole series. What is ironic, is that Spencer was clearly a precursor to Cole. In the world of private eyes with a quick and sardonic wit, Spencer is the tops. I look forward to reading the subsequent novels. For those that have not read Parker's westerns, I highly recommend those as well.

This first Spenser novel does an excellent job introducing our hero. Most introductory stories drag - but this one moved at a fast-pace with lots of thrills and plot twists. I highly recommend this to any fan of the PI / Mystery genre.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting for the first time a tough-talking, wise-cracking Boston P.I. named Spencer. Spencer (who is also a better than average cook) is hired by a local university to find a stolen 14th-Century manuscript. His search leads him down a very slippery path filled with drug dealers, the mob, and of course, murder.

When I start any series, I usually begin with the first book and read them in order. This time I started with "Early Autumn," the seventh book in the series. Going to the first book next, I was able to see how the character was going to evolve through the first several books. While Parker seems to be putting the finishing touches on Spencer, this first case is a good solid adventure. Things are somewhat slow at times in this first outing, but not too much. Spencer's moral code of doing the right thing is not altogether clearly locked in yet. Some of the supporting characters are not quite as colorful or animated as they will become later, but as a whole, Spencer's first adventure gives new readers a good, interesting adventure.