Payback [Paperback]

Richard Stark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999

It's payback time! Now a major motion picture from Paramount Pictures starring Mel Gibson as master theif Parker, who appeared in a series of celebrated crime novels between 1962 and 1974 and returned after 23 years in "Comeback", which was named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times. Crime writer Richard Stark is the pseudonym of Mystery Writers of American Grand Master Donald E. Westlake.

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press; Mysterious press ed edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446674648
• ISBN-13: 978-0446674645
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #449,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent,Parker means business, March 18, 1999

By 

bibliophile "A.B" (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Payback (Paperback)

Parker's,the real thing.The book is a reprint of the original classic,"the hunter".It's true crime noir.If you re tired of the goody two shoes guys,with ethical dilemas,Parker is your man.He has no emotions,he is cold ruthless,totally focused.Knows what he does and why he is doing it.I've read all of Parker novels,since there were first published,some of them 2 and 3 times.Guess what, there are always a great read.Stark delivers.A must buy.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will root for the bad guy..., May 22, 2000

By 

Jeff Krouskop (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Payback (Paperback)

One tough, nasty little novel. Parker kills, maims and steals without second thought in his quest to avenge a double cross and recover his cut of a score gone bad. In the wake of this book, and its many sequels, there have been a lot of violent, remorseless heroes in popular fiction. But none of them come close to the cold, vicious cunning and machine-like detachment of Stark's Parker. This is crime fiction's dirtiest, and best, leading character, and The Hunter/Point Blank/Payback is the genre's ultimate yarn.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fans of Burke take notice!, May 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Payback (Paperback)

My first exposure to the character of Parker was the 1960's movie "Point Blank." Great film and the Mel Gibson version, "Payback" isn't bad either. (Tough as Mel is, he's still no Lee Marvin.) Having said that, neither of these movies correctly depicts Parker as the mean cat he truly is. There is a whole series of these books, and I have begun the task of collecting all of them, not easy since many are out of print. If you like hard boiled fiction like Andrew Vachss or Jim Thompson I highly reccomend the Parker series.