Rating: 
Summary: Spenser takes another ill-fated attempt at being a bodyguard
Review: "A Savage Place," the eighth Spenser novel from Robert B. Parker, is very reminiscent of "Looking for Rachel Wallace." This is not only because Rachel calls up our hero to inform him she is sending him a client, but Spenser is again being hired to be a body guard for a feminist character. However, if you thought things went wrong went Spenser tried to protect Rachel Wallace, wait until you read what happens with Candy Sloan, a television reporter in Hollywood investigating corruption and racketeering in the movie industry. This is also another Spenser novel where he is away from Boston, this time dealing with the tawdry glory of Tinsletown (the author must have been out for an extended visit at some point), so do not expect to see Susan and Hawk, or for Spenser to spend a lot of time cooking. As a matter of fact, our hero does not spend a lot of time doing much for most of this book, mainly giving advice to the woman he is supposed to be protecting. Of course Candy is aggressive and ambitious, insisting that she has to break the case even if the smarter and safer thing to do would be to let the police do it. She is also very sexy, which leads to an interesting distinction from Spenser on various definitions of "cheating." The bad guys are your traditional stereotypical assortment of blustering idiots but Lieutenant Samuelson for LAPD is one of the better kindred spirits Spenser has run across outside of the environs of Boston and I enjoyed their discussions of the case much more than Spenser and Candy going head to head on feminist issues. This is an average Spenser novel, although I do appreciate the fact that Parker always makes a concerted effort not to double-back on what he has done previously. As always, the Spenser novels are easy brain candy for those of us living the commuter lifestyle or who have a couple of hours to kill on a lazy afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: Spenser takes another ill-fated attempt at being a bodyguard
Review: "A Savage Place," the eighth Spenser novel from Robert B. Parker, is very reminiscent of "Looking for Rachel Wallace." This is not only because Rachel calls up our hero to inform him she is sending him a client, but Spenser is again being hired to be a body guard for a feminist character. However, if you thought things went wrong went Spenser tried to protect Rachel Wallace, wait until you read what happens with Candy Sloan, a television reporter in Hollywood investigating corruption and racketeering in the movie industry. This is also another Spenser novel where he is away from Boston, this time dealing with the tawdry glory of Tinsletown (the author must have been out for an extended visit at some point), so do not expect to see Susan and Hawk, or for Spenser to spend a lot of time cooking. As a matter of fact, our hero does not spend a lot of time doing much for most of this book, mainly giving advice to the woman he is supposed to be protecting. Of course Candy is aggressive and ambitious, insisting that she has to break the case even if the smarter and safer thing to do would be to let the police do it. She is also very sexy, which leads to an interesting distinction from Spenser on various definitions of "cheating." The bad guys are your traditional stereotypical assortment of blustering idiots but Lieutenant Samuelson for LAPD is one of the better kindred spirits Spenser has run across outside of the environs of Boston and I enjoyed their discussions of the case much more than Spenser and Candy going head to head on feminist issues. This is an average Spenser novel, although I do appreciate the fact that Parker always makes a concerted effort not to double-back on what he has done previously. As always, the Spenser novels are easy brain candy for those of us living the commuter lifestyle or who have a couple of hours to kill on a lazy afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: Spenser takes another ill-fated attempt at being a bodyguard
Review: "A Savage Place," the eighth Spenser novel from Robert B. Parker, is very reminiscent of "Looking for Rachel Wallace." This is not only because Rachel calls up our hero to inform him she is sending him a client, but Spenser is again being hired to be a body guard for a feminist character. However, if you thought things went wrong went Spenser tried to protect Rachel Wallace, wait until you read what happens with Candy Sloan, a television reporter in Hollywood investigating corruption and racketeering in the movie industry. This is also another Spenser novel where he is away from Boston, this time dealing with the tawdry glory of Tinsletown (the author must have been out for an extended visit at some point), so do not expect to see Susan and Hawk, or for Spenser to spend a lot of time cooking. As a matter of fact, our hero does not spend a lot of time doing much for most of this book, mainly giving advice to the woman he is supposed to be protecting. Of course Candy is aggressive and ambitious, insisting that she has to break the case even if the smarter and safer thing to do would be to let the police do it. She is also very sexy, which leads to an interesting distinction from Spenser on various definitions of "cheating." The bad guys are your traditional stereotypical assortment of blustering idiots but Lieutenant Samuelson for LAPD is one of the better kindred spirits Spenser has run across outside of the environs of Boston and I enjoyed their discussions of the case much more than Spenser and Candy going head to head on feminist issues. This is an average Spenser novel, although I do appreciate the fact that Parker always makes a concerted effort not to double-back on what he has done previously. As always, the Spenser novels are easy brain candy for those of us living the commuter lifestyle or who have a couple of hours to kill on a lazy afternoon.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorites in the series...
Review: Are you tired of the typical formula novel or tv series? Parker isn't afraid to give Spenser, and his readers, a kick in the gut with this plot twist. As Spenser visits L.A. (a savage place) and experiences its cold indifference, he finds his own savage side. Spenser is such a poised but quick P.I. We see his (rarely shown) visceral reaction to brutality. Candy Sloan, his reporter/client, is a woman making her path (any way that she can) in a man's world.
Rating:
Summary: the journey is more significant than the destination
Review: i disagree with the above reviews in that i believe that this was a very important book in the spencer series. i believe the entire premise behind the spencer character is not that different from the characters in "the bodyguard", "the last boyscout", "die hard", and "ronin" - they are all derivations of a solo samurai theme the characters travel through life alone with not much more than their convictions. how life tests these principles and how these characters choose and ultimately end up is the basic heart of the stories. spencer has proved himself in his comfortable settings in boston. a ronin (or samurai without a master) constantly wanders around searching...(for direction or a new master). see how spencer arrives with just a bag at the airport. this shows his lack of a settled lifestyle and such. this la trip was important in that it tests his relationship with friends he has left at home and people he has known there. the constant way in which he interacts with other ex-boxers and ex-strongmen displays a system of honor (or samurai, whatever) which is generally hard to grasp unless you see or read a lot of these stories. i admit that these stories are more male gender inclined but to see it in just that perspective, you lose what mr. parker is trying to convey about spencer and his world.
Rating:
Summary: best of a disappointing series
Review: Perhaps no other writer has had so pernicious an influence on modern detective fiction as Robert B. Parker. Paradoxically, having immersed himself in the writings of the genre while he was an academic, Parker proceeded to violate the conventions which made it great when he became an author. Now, I'm not saying that a writer has to slavishly follow the conventions of the genre, but if he's going to violate them, it should be for reasons that add something to his text. I believe that Parker, and his successors, have instead produced inferior work. The most important convention of the genre that Parker has tampered with is, "the hero as loner". Bad enough that Spenser has his ongoing relationship with the profoundly annoying Susan Silverman (supposedly their relationship is modeled on Parker's with his own wife; God help him), he also has a virtual child in Paul and his relationships with Hawk, Belsen, Quirk, etc. are so close, that people who hire Spenser, essentially get a whole team. One result is that Spenser ends up maintaining an emotional distance from his cases, at a couple points he has even told clients that he would protect Susan before them. Compare this with the quintessential private eye series, Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer novels. Archer was continually getting over involved with clients, their wives & children, as each case became the emotional focus of his otherwise empty life. This emotional vulnerability is a key element of the best novels of the genre. Likewise, Parker has eliminated the physical and legal risks that the hero faces. Spenser's friends are all so powerful that there's never a sense that Spenser is vulnerable. Of course, we know that he won't ever lose a fist fight or be beaten up. But we, and his opponents, also know that even if he gets in trouble, his cronies will bail him out--Hawk will shoot them, Quirk will arrest them or, at least, not arrest Spenser & even the Mob will come after them. The result of this genre busting is that the Spenser tales are largely devoid of dramatic tension. His emotional distance from cases and physical invulnerability have combined to make for stories that are rather flat and formulaic; an ironic result considering the attempt to escape the classic p.i. formula. A Savage Place demonstrates all of these points by removing Spenser from his familiar background and transplanting him to Southern California. Candy Sloan is an ambitious TV reporter who has stumbled onto a story about union corruption in the movie industry. When her life is threatened, the TV station hires Spenser to guard her. With Susan back home in Boston, Spenser is free to focus on the case and become involved with Candy. And, removed from the protection of Hawk and Quirk, he finds himself vulnerable to hoodlums and lawmen alike. These factors combine to provide us with the most satisfactory entry in the long running Spenser series and provide a bittersweet peak at what this series could have been.
GRADE: A
Rating:
Summary: best of a disappointing series
Review: Perhaps no other writer has had so pernicious an influence on modern detective fiction as Robert B. Parker. Paradoxically, having immersed himself in the writings of the genre while he was an academic, Parker proceeded to violate the conventions which made it great when he became an author. Now, I'm not saying that a writer has to slavishly follow the conventions of the genre, but if he's going to violate them, it should be for reasons that add something to his text. I believe that Parker, and his successors, have instead produced inferior work. The most important convention of the genre that Parker has tampered with is, "the hero as loner". Bad enough that Spenser has his ongoing relationship with the profoundly annoying Susan Silverman (supposedly their relationship is modeled on Parker's with his own wife; God help him), he also has a virtual child in Paul and his relationships with Hawk, Belsen, Quirk, etc. are so close, that people who hire Spenser, essentially get a whole team. One result is that Spenser ends up maintaining an emotional distance from his cases, at a couple points he has even told clients that he would protect Susan before them. Compare this with the quintessential private eye series, Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer novels. Archer was continually getting over involved with clients, their wives & children, as each case became the emotional focus of his otherwise empty life. This emotional vulnerability is a key element of the best novels of the genre. Likewise, Parker has eliminated the physical and legal risks that the hero faces. Spenser's friends are all so powerful that there's never a sense that Spenser is vulnerable. Of course, we know that he won't ever lose a fist fight or be beaten up. But we, and his opponents, also know that even if he gets in trouble, his cronies will bail him out--Hawk will shoot them, Quirk will arrest them or, at least, not arrest Spenser & even the Mob will come after them. The result of this genre busting is that the Spenser tales are largely devoid of dramatic tension. His emotional distance from cases and physical invulnerability have combined to make for stories that are rather flat and formulaic; an ironic result considering the attempt to escape the classic p.i. formula. A Savage Place demonstrates all of these points by removing Spenser from his familiar background and transplanting him to Southern California. Candy Sloan is an ambitious TV reporter who has stumbled onto a story about union corruption in the movie industry. When her life is threatened, the TV station hires Spenser to guard her. With Susan back home in Boston, Spenser is free to focus on the case and become involved with Candy. And, removed from the protection of Hawk and Quirk, he finds himself vulnerable to hoodlums and lawmen alike. These factors combine to provide us with the most satisfactory entry in the long running Spenser series and provide a bittersweet peak at what this series could have been.
GRADE: A
Rating:
Summary: Average for Parker
Review: This book is set mainly in California. Spenser is strongest when he stays in the Boston area, but this book is very good and should be read by all Spenser fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Spenser is tarnished
Review: This could have been a good story. Instead, it was a conglomeration of events and choices that made no sense and was horribly mired by Spenser's plummet from hero status. The image of Spenser dancing, slow and tight, with his client was disturbing enough. (This story comes after his commitment to Susan Silverman. A _slow_ dance with another woman on the balcony of her hotel room should be against Spenser's honorable "system" for living.) But it doesn't end there. He strips her and himself, carries her to bed, and spends the night. The next morning he explains that, since he doesn't have a relationship with this woman, having sex with her was alright and wouldn't bother Susan _much_. Bothering Susan _at all_ by sleeping with another woman should be against his system. He later reveals his stunning logic that sleeping with this woman a second time _would_ be cheating on Susan. Spenser's shining armor is bashed to bits in this story. Also, the client (her name is "Candy" for heaven's sake) is an investigative reporter for a television station who is trying to prove that she is more than a pretty face and a swaying backside: she is good at her job. How does she go about proving this? By sleeping with men for information! She enhances this image of intelligence by zombe-like chanting of "I want it all, I want it all." As a result, instead of going to the police with information regarding very dangerous people, she meets dire consequences. Quite an intelligent lady. Spenser dreams of Susan on his flight home to Boston. How wonderful of him. This is the eighth entry in the Spenser series and is very disappointing. The 10th, 11th and 12th stories (_The Widening Gyre_, _Valediction_, and _A Catskill Eagle_) help restore some of Spenser's honor.
Rating:
Summary: A Little Different
Review: This one is a little different, because of what happens to his latest client. But it seems to fit. This was a good story, and Spenser's descriptions and reactions to Los Angeles and Hollywood are priceless. The ending was pretty unrealistic though.
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