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Weell , for those who dont know, the Spenser series deals with the adventures of Boston's toughest and most literate private eye, the afore-mentioned Spenser("with an 's' like the poet"), often aided and abetted by both long time buddy,(DONT call him side-kick), Hawk, the best hitman on the East Coast, and Spenser's love interest, psychiatrist Dr. Susan Silverman. The series is written by English professor Robert B. Parker, and has seen a new entry every year since the early seventies.
The Spenser series is renowned for its interesting emotionally engaging plots, ridiculously funny one-liners, incredibly cool characters (Hawk and Spenser and friends have spawned a legion of imitators) and simply excellent writing by Mr. Parker. (Ran out of gushing adjectives 
Many people will remember the tv series of the 80's with Robert Urich, which to Spenser purists like myself is merely a bland imitation, barring Avery Brooks excellent rendition of Hawk. The 3 tv movies of the 90's were, if anything, worse. A good Spenser movie or tv adaption is something the fatbeard in me continues to long for.
For anyone interested in reading the series I recommend starting with "Promised Land", with Hawk's 1st appearance and working forward from there. Probably the best period to concentate on is the series of novel written from 1980 onward, including "Early Autumn" and concluding with "a Catskill Eagle". These novels contain the very best of Mr. Paker's work, though as a died-in-the-wool fan boy i continue to read and enjoy the series.
In all honesty i must admit that it has seemed as if recently Mr. Parker has gotten a little bit bored with Spenser, and seems to be concentrating on his newer characters, including the Sunny Randall series, which i feel to be as good as any of the equally excellent V.I. Warshawski and other female detective series being published.
Lastly, sorry for the tardiness of my post. Internet access is an infrequent thing for me. |
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