Appaloosa

Well done. Hard to listen to at first. Only because I've seen the movie so many times I want to hear Vigo Mortensen' voice. It is what was in my head as I read this book as well as the others in the series. Got over it. Good job.

Titus Welliver delivers a fine performance. Well written characters. Exciting story, with a series of surprising plot twists. Very good, while being completely different than a Spenser novel. I recommend for any listeners who enjoy hard boiled noir story with unusual setting.

Tightly written. Fast paced. Interesting characters. You will immediately go buy the 3 other westerns in this series that Robert Parker wrote himself - if for no other reason than Titus Welliver's narration. He makes it real. You can see the landscape, the town, the people. You can smell the gun smoke after all the shooting is done - and there are a lot of gunfights.

Listen to these novels - don't read them. You will be glad you did.

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!

I downloaded this audible book for my kids to listen to. There was a rape scene in the first 5 minutes. Awkward.

First time author, one of the ways I find books is when I see a movie I like, theater or TV, I look to see who wrote the novel then i check audible to see what they have written, how they are rated, and if I feel I would like to listen to a book by the author. This is one of those. Robert B Parker is best known for the detective series Spenser, which was made into a TV series called Spenser for Hire, which I don't believe I ever saw. Further Parker wrote the Jesse Stone detective novels which were made into TV movies, which I did see and like and made me check out his books. He wrote a third series which was a classic western series called Hitch and Cole. This book was nothing but a classic western tale. It had everything, good guys, bad guys, a woman, some Kiowa's and set in a town called Appaloosa, which lies somewhere in the plains between the Mississippi River and Denver. This was a fairly short book and an easy read. If you like classic westerns that are entertaining, then you'll like this one.

The description of the west and the wonderful characters.

The story made you feel like you were there.

He sounded like a true westerner in the old west.

Everett.

I never thought I would like a listening to a western novel. But this one and ones in this series have changed my mind.

I've read and listen to hundreds of books, and whether they are entertaining, so-so or boring I can't remember any not having a definite theme and plot, even if a poor one--the "plot" being the literal step by step action in a story leading the reader/listener to some conclusion --- the "theme" the moral of the story, what the reader should take away as the main idea.

It's hard to say, but I would say the plot was the hiring of a Marshal and his Deputy to clean up the town ran by the bully who killed the previous Marshal and Deputy. The Marshal falling for a lady (but very little dialog between them) who wanted to be with the top man of the town (the Marshall until someone better came along). That was it!

They rode up in the hills and watched the Appaloosa stallion with his mares (thus the name of the "story"?), but didn't say why, never tied it into anything. I can guess, by the dialog of the Marshal and his Deputy and later when they took the lady with them that it was to drive home a point that a stallion (depicting men) had to be constantly vigilant to keep his mares together and fight other stallions to keep them, the top stallion would get the mares (depicting her). But I'm just guessing, they gave no reason for watching the wild horses.

There was no step by step action that led to a conclusion, no moral of the story that I could see. I listened to the end, and came away with NOTHING!

Titus Welliver has a good reading voice, but there was too many "he said", "she said". It was probably written that way in the book, because when he did talk for the different characters he did well.

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.

I really enjoyed this story and narrator. Good solid story telling with motivations as old as time. The sparseness of the language and the cadence created by "he said" repetitions evoke the western landscape and monotony of life. A good western is as basic as a good fable. I for one am thrilled that Robert B. Parker is writing in this genre. Take a listen to Titus Welliver's languid and thoughtful narration.