- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Mysterious Press (Nov 1 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446678244
- ISBN-13: 978-0446678247
- Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 2.2 x 20.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 263 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,321,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Penzler Pick, December 2001: You'd have to hammer apart an armored tank to find a surface harder than that of Richard Stark's antihero Parker. A thief and a killer, Parker is the protagonist of a contemporary series that has the legendary status of vintage noir. The films Point Blank (with Lee Marvin) and Payback (with Mel Gibson) were both made from the first Parker novel, The Hunter. After an absence from print of over two decades, Parker began breaking all the commandments again in 1997's Comeback.
However, since Stark is, as the dust jacket informs readers, also at times the mystery Grand Master Donald E. Westlake, there's a curious phenomenon worth noting in the pages of this, the 21st Parker novel. Larry Lloyd, a crook by virtue of his (bad) temper if not his temperament, seems to be a second-banana character who's strolled out of a Westlake comic caper into a Stark scenario and can't quite figure out what he's doing here. Practically a textbook definition of a loose cannon, he comes on board the team planning to rob a billionaire techno-geek's remote mountain hideaway because of his own electronics expertise. OK, so he has a violent streak and is willing to put a bullet through a guy's eyeball, but he's still more Walter Mitty than James Cagney.
As he's about to help get the heist back on track at the last minute, Parker asks him if he thinks he's 007. "Are you kidding?" he says. "The last few weeks, I've been scaling cliffs, shooting people, getting rid of bodies, stealing ambulances, I am James Bond."
Since this comes from the hugely fertile mind of Westlake/Stark, this is not the story's only plotline. There is another, more twisty one running on a track parallel to the one with Parker and his robbery-minded pals on it. Revenge may be a dish best eaten cold, but when it's a matter of kill or be killed, Parker is not likely to be one of the leftovers.
Sometimes, a series loses some of its freshness and originality after it reaches a certain number. Amazingly, after 39 years and 21 books, this novel is as good as any in the series, which should be taken as the highest praise it's possible to give without seeming to be sycophantic. --Otto Penzler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Parker and crew have their eyes on the contents of a secret vault in a billionaire's hunting lodge in this typically taut thriller written by Donald E. Westlake under his nom de noir, but first the tough antihero must deal, roughly, with some people trying to whack him. A Russian hit man provides the overture action as Parker attracts the attention of enemies from the past and meets the killer mercilessly. Parker spends much of the rest of the book seeking out the source of the contract, gradually learning that his current job has brought his name and whereabouts to the surface. The job is one his old partners, Elkins and Wiss, have put on the table: a stash of paintings by Old Masters stolen from museums around the world and kept in dot-com mogul Paxton Marino's Montana lodge for his personal pleasure. To get past Marino's sophisticated electronic safeguards, they need help from a computer-nerd-gone-bad, really bad, named Lloyd. The author delivers this novel with the economy of a 1950s paperback original ("Twelve thousand dollars in twenties and fifties was rolled into an orange juice concentrate can in the freezer"), but slips in enough plot twists and surprises to satisfy the most modern audience (no heist ever written by Stark/Westlake comes off without lots of hitches). That Parker, on general principles, doesn't bump off Lloyd at first sight almost seems like a sign of weakness, but it's the only one in this deliciously nasty read. (Nov. 14)Forecast: Coming on the heels of Flashfire (2000), the last Parker novel, this one promises to be just as big a hit for MWA Grand Master and three-time Edgar-winner Westlake.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A popular noir series,
By
This review is from: Firebreak (Paperback)
Parker is a thief. That is the basis for this very popular noir series. He goes on a different caper with each book. In most cases the plots are straightforward. Parker is approached by some unsavory characters about a job. He usually accepts. They plan the job, something goes wrong. It is corrected and Parker moves on. The books are all short and quick to the point. They are also quite insightful concerning the human character of greed and what it can do to the individual and those around them.In FLASHFIRE, our antihero is faced with the problem that somebody wants him dead. He must try to find out who and eliminate the threat. At the same time, he is asked to help out on a job stealing paintings from a remote house. As usual, things go wrong and Parker must overcome them on the way to the usual satisfying conclusion. The Parker series is one of my favorites. The books might be a bit repetitive and I wouldn't suggest reading several of them one after the other. However, they are a lot of fun. Besides the clever plots, one of the major strengths of this work are the characters. They are each so unique and full of their own personal failures, that meeting each one of them makes this series especially worthwhile. Start with any book of the series. Just start.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great fun,
This review is from: Firebreak: A Parker Novel (Hardcover)
To a casual observer, Parker should be a thoroughly unenjoyable character: he is a thief with no qualms about killing, he doesn't have any real depth or past, and he doesn't even have a first name. But those familiar with this series know that Parker is one of the great characters in crime fiction; through Richard Stark's (Donald Westlake's) writing, Parker is a cool, methodical criminal whose adventures never cease to entertain.From the very first line of this story, we are drawn in to this latest caper. Parker is recruited to participate in stealing some art from an internet billionaire. Having botched the theft previously, his recruiters are eager for a second chance, even with heightened security. The art in question is very valuable and already stolen material, so there are legal authorities involved also. Meanwhile, some old adversaries of Parker's from an earlier book, are out for revenge and have hired killers to dispose of the thief. Parker's recruiters also have ex-partners to deal with. This makes for a complex but never overly-complicated story that is fun from beginning to end. Who lives? Who dies? Will Parker get the loot? Fans of previous novels know that nothing is certain in one of these books; Parker doesn't win them all. As a reader, however, you can continue a winning streak of great books by reading this one.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vintage Parker,
By A Customer
This review is from: Firebreak: A Parker Novel (Hardcover)
Vintage Parker.Crime noir at its best.No feelings no emotions just the job to be done.That is Parker.Trouble with capital T.I will not bore you repeating what all the other reviewers so obviously mentioned(i.e what an excellent read,highly recommended,a must buy-all self explanatory).I d rather see Richard Stark reviving characters of the good old boys,Grofield the actor,Salsa the gigolo(whom he killed so unfairly in the masterpiece novel "the handle"), Handy who always wanted to retire etc.After all Stark's novels is all about character analysis.The capers are nice and interesting but what it always boils down to, is the internal problems Parker faces with his associates during the capers.Quoting Stark from the book the man with the getaway face "there will always be an Alma,there will always be a guy retiring everytime the heist is over....."
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