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) 

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.

One of the Best Old west tales

This was a great book. A great and realistic tale about two Old West Marshalls. It has everything Friendships, gunfights, mercenaries, Train robbberies, Murder, Indians; everything you would expect from old west fiction. If you are a fan of the Wyatt earp tales or enjoy old west sagas like the HBO show Deadwood. This book is highly recommended.

A Good Western

I never read or listened to any Robert Parker books that didn't have Spencer in them. He can sure write a good western. It was one of his best books that I had experienced so far. If you like a good western, you will love this book.

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.

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.

Wow... what a book.

I just finished listening to Appaloosa. If you like the western Genre then this is a great book. If you don't, it is still a great book. It flows well from beginning to end. It is a true Story of friendship.

Deeep plot.

It's been awhile since I've read a Western and I guess there's not always that much too them. This one was mediocre in my mind. The cowboy dialogue was funny and I like the way it was written in the first person (which worked well for the narrator). My main complaint was that the plot was pretty light and there weren't alot of details to supplement that fact.

Tough characters, tough talk, tough country

An engrossing (if rather short) story, with gritty non-nonsense characters and some clever dialogue. Mercifully free of the usual Western cliches and central-casting characters, the two lead figures are interesting and well described. A longer book would have allowed more development of their characters and the supporting cast, but its still satisfying. I'll definitely look for more like this.

Great western

Great audio book with wonderful characters.

well told, but classic western schlock.

The ok corral meets Liberty Valance at high noon, with some Paladin thrown in for good measure.

mean and moody

This story grabs you from the very start. The two main protagonists engage in quirky monosyllabic conversations, which are delivered excellently by a superb narrration. It is a buddy story about two lawmen who have their own rules they live by. The story bowls along at a good pace, with outlaws, shoot outs, indians and everything else you want in a wild west story.
I highly recommend this to all those who love a good story.

Brilliant western

This story is one of the best westerns ever. The narrator was perfect for the story. Now I'm gonna have to download the next book in the series.