Rating: 
Summary: Not Worth the Trouble to Read
Review: I have been a Robert Parker fan for years, and have enjoyed almost every book he has written. So, I eagerly anticipated the arrival of "Gunman's Rhapsody"...and I ended up sorely disappointed. I have been to Tombstone, read a number of books about the town and it's famous citizens and have always been interested in the full story behaind the incidents there that made the town famous. This did little to shed any new light on an old subject. And, I am fearful that people will read this and take it for actual history, which of course, it isn't...it's a novel. In addition, either Robert Parker based Wyatt Earp on Spenser or Spenser was based on Wyatt Earp. I tend to believe the former. Either way, the dialouge is so similar to a Spenser novel that I felt, at times, that I was reading the latest Spenser novel. I guess Parker has been writing the Spenser books so long he has forgotten what real dialouge is like. There is one good point to the book. It makes the story so easy to follow that anyone who wants to know about the story of the Earps and Tombstone can read this and get the basic story fairly quickly without having to read through some of the drier history books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Familiar Tale Retold with Manly Panache
Review: I like western movies but have never been big on the novels. Can't say why. Who knows why we like some things but not others? Nevertheless, I've recently become interested in reading western fiction, probably because of the work of Larry McMurtry. (I was bowled over by his Lonesome Dove and liked some of the others in that series, which followed it.) And so I picked up Parker's Gunman's Rhapsody as soon as I saw it.It was not only a western, it was about one of the quintessential western legends: the now mythic feud between the Earp brothers and the Clantons and McClaury's in 1880's Tombstone, Arizona. And so this was more than just a "shoot 'em up", to me, it was real history, based on actual historical records and the recollections of many of those who were there. (Josie Marcus, Wyatt's paramour, actually wrote . . . or dicated . . . her own record of these events toward the end of her life.) Parker's writing in this novel is tight and sharp. The characters are limned in subtle but clean strokes, through taut description and even tauter dialogue. The Wyatt Earp of this novel is not the goody-two-shoes lawman he's sometimes portrayed as. Indeed, he's not above gunning a man down in cold blood though, as he tells his high-strung buddy, Doc Holliday, after one such event, the difference between Holliday and him is that Doc'll shoot a man over a spilled drink whereas Wyatt, even when stepping outside the law, demands good cause. So, if he's a killer, at least he doesn't kill lightly is what he seems to be saying. And that's enough for the Wyatt of this tale, a man of supreme self assurance, unmoved by the need for approval, appreciation or the good opinion of others that seems to drive lesser men. Parker's tale pretty much captures the story as it has come down to us. If you've seen the movie Tombstone, you already know most of it, although here the "evil axis" of the cowboys (Curly Bill, Johnny Ringo, Ike Clanton, etc.) is not blown up into some kind of metaphysical thing, as the movie has it. And the basic series of events that unfold reflect less a mythic confrontation between good and evil than they do Wyatt's decision to pursue Josie Marcus and the subsequent anger and humiliation this causes Johnny Behan, Josie's discarded lover. In this novel, Behan is the real force behind the events, a weasel of a man who stirs up trouble from the shadows, while the cowboys seem to have been clumsily caught in the middle. Other differences with the film, Tombstone, include the handling of Doc Holliday who is rather thinly drawn here and does not rise to the dimensions Val Kilmer gave him in the movie. The end's a bit different too, more off-handed than the overblown dramatic scenes of Tombstone, the movie, and, because of this, somewhat less affecting. In fact I wished there had been more dimension to the rather familiar cast of characters, even if they were not the Tombstone personalities so vividly brought to life on the big screen. But on balance I liked this tale and thought it offered a very-down-to-earth look at the events leading up to, and following, the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. On the other hand, I didn't much like the interpsersed news items which were mainly distracting, not informative . . . and I missed the mythic interplay between Wyatt and Doc, whether THAT ever really was the case or not. (Surely, given the different life trajectories of these two men, and their very different temperaments, there must have been something that cemented their friendship. But we don't get a real sense of that here.) Bat Masterson's appearance, too, seemed gratuitous and rather too fleeting. But, in sum, this was a nicely told tale. I admired Parker's clean prose and his ability to say so much with dialogue. A good western, though not up to a great one like Lonesome Dove. SWM
Rating: 
Summary: Spencer Goes West
Review: I love Parker's writing, for the crispness of it as well as the simply drawn yet powerful characters he builds. This is why the Spencer books are so great. Here Parker tries his hand at another genre - the western historic fiction. And at first he really pulls it off. But over time, Wyatt Erp morphs more into an old west version of Spencer. He sounds and acts like our favorite detective. And this is the problem with the book. After a while I expected more of a divergence from his other writings, yet found it less and less. This is not to say that the book is bad. It's actually quite good, and would be refreshing if it were by another author. If you are not a huge Parker fan, then you are in for a real treat. The prose is concise, characters tight lipped and strong, and when there is action, it is crisp and fast paced. But it would have been nice if there was more of it. Parker's books are more about the characters than extensive plot. But for this genre, and the story he is writing, the actual action is small and far between. A very good read, I just was expecting a bit more.
Rating:
Summary: Gunman's rhapsody
Review: I thought when I heard that Robert Parker was writing a western I was thinking maybe he would show a similarity to the PI and the cowboy of the old west. WRONG! This is another Wyatt Earp, Johnnie Ringo, Bat Masterson etc......book. There is a simiarity between the conversations of Wyatt & Josie and Spenser & Susan but I was thinking that just Parker's style. Let's get back to Spenser.
Rating: 
Summary: Read It In One Day - Loved It!
Review: I was expecting a new Spenser novel. Imagine my surprise when this reserved book turned out to be a "Western!" However, knowing that I've loved all of Parker's novels, I took it home to read. I could not (nor did I want to) put it down. I read it in one day and was sad when the end came. I recommend this book to all readers, whether they are fans of the western genre or not.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing book
Review: I was thoroughly disappointed with this lazy, "sound bite" book. It takes a story re-told hundreds of time in print and film, one ripe for a new twist or two, and adds absolutely nothing. In fact, it appears that Mr. Parker just watched the movie Tombstone and tried to abbreviate the story. If this book were made into a movie it would last all of 30 minutes including commercials. Rare is the case that a book has underdeveloped characters when compared to a movie but in this instance that is truly the case. And what was with the bizarre gray boxed "Chronicles" intermittently sprinkled throughout the book? They were inane. I especially enjoyed this Chronicle on page 242: "Base Ball Grounds, Friday Oct. 27th Bostons vs. Dr. Pope's Picked Nine." That's it! It is ludicrous. Save your money and rent Tombstone, even though it is historically inaccurate also, at least it is entertaining. This book is not. Mr. Parker sure disappointed his legion of fans with this languidly written "book."
Rating:
Summary: A Different Robert Parker
Review: I will read anything Robert Parker writes but this was a delightful turn into a new genre. Parker has spent virtually his entire career writing mysteries about Boston and New England. In one break, years ago, he wrote Love and Glory, a heart wrenching novel about love, alcoholism, pain and endurance and one of the most moving novels I have ever read. Now he has moved in a totally different direction. Gunman's Rhapsody is a western and a love story. The love story is a little stilted but still powerful. The western is about one of the genuine historic moments in American history, Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the OK Corral. This is a practical no nonsense purposeful Earp who cautiously but determinedly gets his own way. It argues in essence that Wyatt fell for a woman who was living with Sheriff Behan and in stealing her he created a bitter enemy and the rest was history. The tale is well told, interesting both as a look at the Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday and interesting as an imagining of what motivates men to kill and die in situations that on the surface seem irrational but under the surface go to the core of being human. This is a different Robert Parker but he is still well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: it only whets the appetite
Review: I'm writing in strong support of one of the recommendations below. While "Gunman's Rhapsody" is entertaining, the nonfiction account "And Die in the West" by Paula Mitchell Marks is far superior. I am very glad that the review below ("Spenser Saddles Up") suggested this alternate book. "And Die in the West" compiles all of the various accounts from the time and tries to resolve them as objectively as possible. Though the stories disagree to some extent, the consensus is much less favorable to Wyatt Earp and his clan than almost any of the popular treatments of the subject, including "Gunman's Rhapsody", suggest. As is often the case, the true story is a little disillusioning after years of believing the myth.
Rating:
Summary: it only whets the appetite
Review: I'm writing in strong support of one of the recommendations below. While "Gunman's Rhapsody" is entertaining, the nonfiction account "And Die in the West" by Paula Mitchell Marks is far superior. I am very glad that the review below ("Spenser Saddles Up") suggested this alternate book. "And Die in the West" compiles all of the various accounts from the time and tries to resolve them as objectively as possible. Though the stories disagree to some extent, the consensus is much less favorable to Wyatt Earp and his clan than almost any of the popular treatments of the subject, including "Gunman's Rhapsody", suggest. As is often the case, the true story is a little disillusioning after years of believing the myth.
Rating:
Summary: Not Parker's Best, But Worth Reading
Review: I've read a great deal about Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the events surrounding the shoot out at the O.K. Corral. I've also enjoyed some fictional accounts of the event. Here, Parker does a decent job of recreating the event, but like a lot of fictional accounts, it lacks depth. The best aspect of Parker's effort is that it looks at the events from an entirely different, and plausible angle. Josie Marcus becomes an even more central figure here, and the tale Parker spins about the love affair between Wyatt and Josie and its impact on events is certainly credible and an interesting new twist to an old tale. The problem is, that for anyone who has read Parker's Spenser novels, it reads very much like a Spenser novel. It's not new, it's not unique, and characters other than Wyatt, Josie, and Johnny Behan, his antagonist, come out shallow and undeveloped. I think I would have enjoyed it more had it been the first Parker novel I'd ever read, instead of about the 30th. Nevertheless, I give it a qualified thumbs up. It's definitely worth reading.
| 
