Appaloosa

By: Robert B. Parker

Narrated by: Titus Welliver

Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

When it comes to writing, Robert B. Parker knows no boundaries. From the iconic Spenser detective series and the novels featuring Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone, to the groundbreaking historical novel Double Play, Parker's imagination has taken readers from Boston to Brooklyn and back again. In Appaloosa, fans are taken on another trip, to the untamed territories of the West during the 1800s.

When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch arrive in Appaloosa, they find a small, dusty town suffering at the hands of renegade rancher Randall Bragg, a man who has so little regard for the law that he has taken supplies, horses, and women for his own and left the city marshal and one of his deputies for dead. Cole and Hitch, itinerant lawmen, are used to cleaning up after opportunistic thieves, but in Bragg they find an unusually wily adversary, one who raises the stakes by playing not with the rules, but with emotions.

This is Robert B. Parker at his storytelling best.

©2005 Robert B. Parker (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Like the Spenser books, it’s a study of Parker’s enduring themes: buddy relationships, the weight that honor and responsibility put on a man, the consequences of violence, the way good can shade into bad and vice versa…a melancholy and sometimes moving tale of a lost but fascinating era.” (The Seattle Times)

“Dryly amusing…a conclusion that had to make Parker smile as much as his readers will.” (Los Angles Times)

“[Parker] takes total command of the genre, telling a galloping tale…[a] classic western… magnificent. As always, the writing is bone clean. One of Parker’s finest.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Great!

Good to read a western with some cussing and flawed protagonists. I enjoyed this one

I am over 60 but ...

Maybe because most of my Saturday afternoons were spent at the local theater where the tickets were $.25 cents and popcorn was $.10 and every third movie was a western, but I loved this audible book. I liked the characters, I liked the plot, I really liked the reading. It was one of those books that stayed with me for days after and made picking up the next listen difficult. You do not have to be a guy with a Zane Gray collection to appreciate this novel.

An easy read.

I you like Parker's writing , and have an afternoon , and don't want to do any heavy brain work this is your book. True buddies to the death . Very loosely based on The OK Corral gun fight. Ended in the middle of the story so the next book is a must.

Appaloosa is sensational!!

Titus Welliver is perfect as the narrator for this fantastic book Appoloosa. And as usual Robt. B. Parker hit another homerun with this western series about Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole. I am a HUGE RBP FAN and have read most if his books except the westerns. The story line is great, the dialogue is tight , spare. I loved it and highly recommend this book!! I can't wait to hear the next book in the series which is Resolution!

Western with a realistic feel

Short Review:
Good, realistic western with believable characters and effective narration. Kind of on the short side, but definitely worth the read.

Longer Review:

Story:
One of the better westerns I've read. Parker does a great job constructing a realistic story (at least I think so - it's hard to verify that without being 150 years old or a well-studied historian). There's no ridiculous gunfights or chases. No superhuman feats of combat or marksmanship with period weapons. It has some wonderful complexities without being at all hard to follow. In short, I can see this happening.

Characters:
He fills his story with believable characters that are exceptionally well-tuned for and by the story. Hitch's narration is down-to-earth and has a kind of clipped efficiency that is consistent with his character. Cole's actions and decisions give him depth that many gunfighters in western lore tend to lack. Most men (and women) probably know someone in real life like Allie. The list goes on.

Narration:
Titus Welliver does a good job on the narration. His voice feels true to the Hitch's character. I was glad to see that he has done the narration for all the Cole and Hitch stories that are actually written by Parker. This will give the series (which I have yet to finish) a sense of consistency.

Other:
Appaloosa is relatively short by my standards (usually books I listen to average to 9 or 11 hours and change). I'm torn because on one hand the books lacks useless filler, which makes it efficient and therefore more effective. On the other, I want the story to go on longer.

Overall, if you like westerns, I definitely say to give this one a read. Because of the shorter length, if you're weighing the best use of your credits, you might purchase this one at the audible discounted rate so you can use your credit on something longer/more expensive.

good read or listen

The mythical western hero is totally encapsulated in this novel. Virgil and Hitch present the noble and savage melded yet separate.

excellent

The story, the relaxed pace, the characters are all classic western genre. I listened to this on a 9 hr. drive and the time melted away. I was transported to the world of Parker's creation. Each chapter (and there's a lot of them) is short and moves the story forward. I kept wondering, how is this going to resolve itself - and that part is so simple but elegant I laughed; yet the sentiment of the resolution left me emotionally satisfied in a way few books ever do. Fanfriggintastic.

read this one twice

It's a fast-moving story, and believable to yours truly, who spends a lot of time on horseback. after reading, don't miss Rene Zellweger's film portrayal of a main character.

Great movie - Book is basically the screenplay

Entertaining story - very short. I really enjoyed the movie, but the book didn’t add anything new. Still enjoyed it.

Great story. Great Voice.

I love Parker's prose. Great story. Great characters. Can't wait to get the next book.