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Ask the Parrot Audiobook by Richard Stark
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Title: Ask the Parrot
Author: Richard Stark
Narrator: Jeff Harding
Format: Unabridged
Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
Language: English
Release date: 05-28-08
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher's Summary:
Racing through the backwoods of Massachusetts and on the verge of being taken down for one of the biggest and most disastrous bank heists the state has ever seen, Parker runs right into the barrel of a gun pointed from the "wrong" side of the law. A quiet but angry recluse - with only a silent parrot for company - saves Parker from the police dogs, but enmeshes him in a dubious, highly dangerous, but potentially profitable scheme.
©2006 Richard Stark; (P)2008 Soundings
Critic Reviews:
"Whatever Stark writes, I read." (Elmore Leonard)
"Richard Stark is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century - his Parker books form a genre all their own." (John Banville)
"Stark has an uncanny ability to create complex subsidiary characters...superior entertainment." (Daily Mirror, Book of the Week)
Members Reviews:
Suffers from Parker Mach II Syndrome
When Conan Doyle resurrected Sherlock Holmes the new Holmes never had the same moxy as the first one. Westlake never killed Parker but always claimed Parker's voice deserted him and, after 12 years and 16 books, Richard Stark's ultra-hip heist series ended. I started reading Parker in 1966 (The Split) and collected each new one as it came out. Over the next 30 years as I read and reread the first 16 books, Parker became one of my favorite literary creations.
23 years later when Westark decided to have Parker redux, that ol' Sherlock Mach II syndrome set in. Parker had returned as a pale imitation of his former self, a kinder and gentler Parker stood in his place; the new guy was almost politically correct for cryin' out loud. And ASK THE PARROT is the weakest of all the Mach II books. Compared to the original series, Parker Mach II was bound to disappoint me. Regardless, I bought and read these final eight Parker novels but never liked them half as much as the original.
By design Parker and Stark were a terse and to-the-point team, that was the sizzle that sold the books in the first place. The original volumes are tight and suspenseful, some of them almost short enough to be novellas (but even some of those are dragged out). All eight of the Parker Mach II books are twice as long as their precursors, thatâs the whole problem in a nutshell. Some are better than others, for example BACKFLASH is superior to ASK THE PARROT.
I hate to give any Parker book two stars but Iâve seen Westlake do better too many times to cut him much slack. Letting the film industry make some of the crappiest movies ever produced of his books reveals the depth of Westlakeâs integrity. And he didnât care, just like when he wrote ASK THE PARROT, a novel drawn out to aggravatingly Dortmunderish proportions. For me, the Mach II stories were always a chore to read, like some of the Dortmunder series.
Most readers think Westark's piling complication on top of complication is great storytelling and, moreover, character stupidity is hilarious. I don't think itâs very funny and I have a healthy sense of humor (never thought SNL or Monty Python were funny either). I reread THE HANDLE yesterday and laughed till my sides hurt from Starkâs description of Crystalâs monologue style of conversation. It reaffirmed to me a time did exist when Westark was cutting edge.
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Title: Ask the Parrot
Author: Richard Stark
Narrator: Jeff Harding
Format: Unabridged
Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
Language: English
Release date: 05-28-08
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher's Summary:
Racing through the backwoods of Massachusetts and on the verge of being taken down for one of the biggest and most disastrous bank heists the state has ever seen, Parker runs right into the barrel of a gun pointed from the "wrong" side of the law. A quiet but angry recluse - with only a silent parrot for company - saves Parker from the police dogs, but enmeshes him in a dubious, highly dangerous, but potentially profitable scheme.
©2006 Richard Stark; (P)2008 Soundings
Critic Reviews:
"Whatever Stark writes, I read." (Elmore Leonard)
"Richard Stark is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century - his Parker books form a genre all their own." (John Banville)
"Stark has an uncanny ability to create complex subsidiary characters...superior entertainment." (Daily Mirror, Book of the Week)
Members Reviews:
Suffers from Parker Mach II Syndrome
When Conan Doyle resurrected Sherlock Holmes the new Holmes never had the same moxy as the first one. Westlake never killed Parker but always claimed Parker's voice deserted him and, after 12 years and 16 books, Richard Stark's ultra-hip heist series ended. I started reading Parker in 1966 (The Split) and collected each new one as it came out. Over the next 30 years as I read and reread the first 16 books, Parker became one of my favorite literary creations.
23 years later when Westark decided to have Parker redux, that ol' Sherlock Mach II syndrome set in. Parker had returned as a pale imitation of his former self, a kinder and gentler Parker stood in his place; the new guy was almost politically correct for cryin' out loud. And ASK THE PARROT is the weakest of all the Mach II books. Compared to the original series, Parker Mach II was bound to disappoint me. Regardless, I bought and read these final eight Parker novels but never liked them half as much as the original.
By design Parker and Stark were a terse and to-the-point team, that was the sizzle that sold the books in the first place. The original volumes are tight and suspenseful, some of them almost short enough to be novellas (but even some of those are dragged out). All eight of the Parker Mach II books are twice as long as their precursors, thatâs the whole problem in a nutshell. Some are better than others, for example BACKFLASH is superior to ASK THE PARROT.
I hate to give any Parker book two stars but Iâve seen Westlake do better too many times to cut him much slack. Letting the film industry make some of the crappiest movies ever produced of his books reveals the depth of Westlakeâs integrity. And he didnât care, just like when he wrote ASK THE PARROT, a novel drawn out to aggravatingly Dortmunderish proportions. For me, the Mach II stories were always a chore to read, like some of the Dortmunder series.
Most readers think Westark's piling complication on top of complication is great storytelling and, moreover, character stupidity is hilarious. I don't think itâs very funny and I have a healthy sense of humor (never thought SNL or Monty Python were funny either). I reread THE HANDLE yesterday and laughed till my sides hurt from Starkâs description of Crystalâs monologue style of conversation. It reaffirmed to me a time did exist when Westark was cutting edge.