Robert Stone Books

Although I missed the very first edition of this book in 1980, its second edition has been among my favorite film books for a decade. This is despite the fact that most of the film-makers discussed within (especially Scorsese & Altman) had made numerous films since the last ones featured in that edition. Now I have the joyful experience of catching up on their films with one of the finest writers on the topic of American film ever and his third edition of one of the finest books on American film ever published.

Kolker has gone back to his earlier editions and used the newer films to both confirm and refute his earlier evaluations. Many fans of film in general (and some of these directors, in particular) will not agree with many of Kolker's points. What makes this book so wonderful, though, is that you don't have to agree to enjoy it. Kolker understands that film criticism is meant to be a lively art, rather than a process of emalming great works of art. I may not agree with his assessment of each Scorsese picture but his analysis of Scorsese's significance is right on the money. At the same time, his newly added discussion of Oliver Stone is the first writing about the controversial director that gave a fair picture of his artistic strengths (there are many) and weaknesses (fewer but still significant).

Deserving of special note is the book's section on the late Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick's passing makes him the only film-maker in the book whose body of work is completely finished, a matter which Kolkee addresses in a special epitaph. It is indicative of both the quality and bold approach of the book that the author uses Kubrick's final film, "Eyes Wide Shut" as a springboard to ponder how Kubrick's work will fit into the history of cinema in the years to come. He does not make pat, easy judgements but rather admits that the still vital medium is ever shifting and even old works can take on new meanings in hindsight. It's almost enough to make me eager for the fourth edition.

Kolker's lengthy opinions sometimes suffer from tunnel-vision -- ideas that support his over-arching theories are stressed while other influnces on/aspects of the films are ignored. But his over-arching theories are penetrating nevertheless, and a lot of light is shed on the filmmakers he discusses. His treatment of Kubrick, whose work lends itself so well to intelluctual deconstruction, is especially good. The discussion of Spielberg is interesting but a little too high-minded for the relatively simple pleasures of Spielberg's movies. Most interesting of all are the author's comparisons of the filmmakers with each other, the culture of their times, and various narrative forms and goals. (Kubrick fans should also check out Michael Herr's "Kubrick", which reveals a human side to the legendarily chilly and cerebral director).

I have been a Santa Barbara resident for over twenty years and my family and I have enjoyed many of the featured hikes in the book. The driving directions and hike descriptions are excellent. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is looking to enjoy the beauty of the Santa Barbara mountains.

Sven Klein - Santa Barbara, CA

I've traveled all over the world and the most beautiful natural setting I've seen is Santa Barbara. The ocean, the mountains, the vegetation, flowers and incomparable climate make this a unique paradise. Hiking here is a sublime experience and its possible to do it year-round since the temperatures rarely dip below 50 degrees. If you're a dedicated hiker and have missed Santa Barbara, please try and remedy this. You'll spend some of the best hours of your life hiking in this incredible place.

This book is one of the best hiking guides I've found for the Santa Barbara area. If you're a beginner, there are plenty of short treks for you, mostly clustered around the beach or city. There are also a dozen moderate hikes and quite a few trail descriptions for streunous jaunts, all of these in the mountain areas. The descriptions of each trail is quite good and the driving desriptions to the trailheads is adequate (I haven't gotten lost yet from following their directions). I recommend this guide for everyone fortunate to hike in this beautiful locale.

Like a modern-day Geoffrey de Monmouth, Robert Carter has crafted a detailed and thoroughly enjoyable re-imagining of British history. The myths, legends and artifacts of pre-Christian England are given new life through the story of Will, who must unravel his mysterious destiny and prevent the hidden powers of the Realm from inciting a terrible war. Elements of Mediaeval history and fantasy coalesce across a landscape that is both familiar and unfamiliar, and at times it's hard to say just where 'the real' ends and 'the unreal' begins. With a memorable cast of characters and an engaging story full of eldritch terrors and wonders, 'The Language of Stones' sits well alongside the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Evangeline Walton and Ursula Le Guin. Excellent!

Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Spied it quite by chance whilst browsing through a shop the other day with its catchy cover, bought it, sat down and read in two sessions. Quite a remarkable first novel.
Robert Carter's The Language of Stones is set in an alternative fifteenth century England. One where a thirteen year old lad named Willard has his world rudely turned upside down on Beltine when a gandalf-esque character looms out of the darkness to claim his protege. This sorceror/warlock/wizard (Will is not sure what he is) goes by a multitude of names down the generations but is recognisable under more familiar pseudonyms as Jack O'Lantern or Merlyn , though know n throughout the novel Gwydion. The legend of King Arthur is reborn.
A forced march to the Wychwood dumps poor Will in the hands of Lord Strange with his boar's head for six months where the rebellious streak in the lad means he learns some mild naming magic and promptly nearly gets killed by a marsh hag whilst waiting for Willow, a girl of equal age that he has confused feelings for. Just in time Merlyn reappears to take Will with him as the land prepares for a coming war. A trip to meet King Hal and a last minute escape from the overly boorish Duke Edgar lands Will and Gwydion off the Irish coast whence they learn what they must do. Namely discover the battlestones that sit on the lorc lines. What follows is a coming of age for Will as he continues to prove his inheritance before ending up at Fotheringham castle under the guardianship of Duke Richard, pretender to the throne, training as a squire to the overly thuggish firstborn, Edward. Schroolroom fights and taunting later he finds himself grown to a young man, learning from the Wortmaster and struggling to deal with his feelings for Willow who has reappeared.
Gywdion returns and has fallen out of favour with the Duke after passing the exquisite diamond they found at Leir's tomb to Queen Mag. War is coming and he takes Will in a desperate attempt to locate the Doomstone, that evil-harbouring piece of granite that is driving the Realm towards War. After finding the lesser Plague stone and discovering more about his inner self Gwydion and Will find themselves at Badon Hill as Duke Richard prepares to assault the town harbouring King Hal, Duke Edgar and the Queen. A short nasty fight finds many prophecies fulfilled and Will has his own sorcerous battle at the heart of the Sightless Ones with the Doomstone cover of St Swythyn's tomb before returning to his own Shire will he enemies defeated but not vanquished.
What is sparkling about Carter is that here is clearly an author well versed in English and Celtic myth as he transcribes many names, places and myths into his own versions that are immediately recognisable to the knowledgeable reader. His finest effort is Gwydion's reference to Iuliu the Seer (or Julius Caesar to the historian) but the novel is littered with altered names and celtic mythology that seeks to demonstrate how easy it is to twist the facts by word of mouth. The lengthy author's note at the end goes into some detail about the parallels he draws with British geography and the times that preclude the Wars of the Roses. Carter is a fine author and the sequel to this opener is one novel I'll definitely be shelling out the extra for the hardback version as soon as it is out in May.

I first read Blumetti's book on the web site, sicifiimperium.com, where it is posted for free. I was immediately captivated by the book. The book includes the first two parts of a six part saga entitled, The New Earth Odyessy. As a fan of Tolkien, I've read many books written in an attempt to minic Tolkien's The Lord of the Ring. Blumetti once wrote on scifiimperium.com that he was a fan of Tolkien and a "purist" who did not appreicate changes being made to the LOTR movie by Jackson. He said, "Instead of trying to improve what another author wrote -write your own tale!" and that's what Blumetti did. The Return of the White Stone (TRWS) is simply a great heroic adventure dealing with the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil, or the Light and the Darkness, for the domination of the world. The Manichean and neitzschian aspects of the story are abvious and well done, adding to the cosmic dimensions of the saga. His characters are well developed and real. I especially liked his ability to present strong and interesting female characters without being politically correct or coming across as feminist. His heroes are heroic, though complicated and three dimensional. His villians are despicable and the type you would just love to hate. There is the same love of nature and the anti-industrial sense that Tolkien injected in his LOTR. There is a Wagnerian theme of the glorification of wealth as a corrupting influence on the soul resulting in one's enslavement by materialism. Unlike Tolkien, Blumetti does not have a background in Philology, but in history, and he uses his background as a historian in the development of his saga. Blumetti is also an artist and he provides illustrations in the book, including portraits of his characters, cities as well as maps that can be used to follow the quest of his characters throughout the book. You can check out his maps as scifiimperium.com, as well as the portraits, which ar in color. Blumetti has successfully created a realistic and vivid world known as New Earth. He provides hints that the story takes place sometimes in our future, as well as in our past, without revealing which it is and thus lends to the mythological quality of the story. The one drawback is that it is only available on the Internet andnot available in bookstores. If you are a Tolkien fan and wished there was more of Tolkien to read because you can't get enough, you should check out The Return of the White Stone.

I just happen to pick this book up because I liked the title. Boy was I happy with the content as well. It reads like a classic Saga. It was captivating and rich with its characters and their histories. I'm going to look for a few of Blometti's others works. An I can't wait for the second and third books of this trilogy.

The book has nice pen and ink illustrations throughout and includes the original Treasure Island map illustration from the original edition. The cover art is by a different artist who has clearly adapted the image from the very familiar publicity photo of Jim and Long John Silver from the Disney film--kind of humorous.

I missed this one as a boy though I had always loved adventure fiction. So years later, and no longer a boy, I picked it up and tried to read it. But I just couldn't get into it and so put it aside. More recently I picked it up again, this time determined to see it through.

Although it wasn't compelling at the start, with the appearance of an old pirate, Billy Bones, at the Admiral Benbow Inn run by young Jim Hawkins' father, it did start to pick up a head of steam as I pushed my way into it. I was pleasantly surprised to find it catching me up with the discovery of the map and the appearance of the pirates in hot pursuit of Billy Bones, and Jim's race to Dr. Livesy and Squire Trelawney to gain their protection. Intriguingly these upstanding English gentlemen, pillars of their community, decide to hunt the treasure for themselves though the squire, at least, lacks the good sense or discretion to keep the project secret. And so young Jim is swept along into the excursion, upon the death of his father, and soon finds himself aboard a suspect ship manned by an even more suspicious seeming crew on the way to a desert island in the Caribbean where old pirate Captain Flint's treasure is purportedly buried.

The most interesting character is, of course, the by now famous Long John Silver who has long since entered into the cultural zeitgeist. But Silver's not nearly as charming or charismatic in this book as he has come to seem in popular recollection. Young Jim Hawkins, for his part, is a mischievous fellow who manages to get himself into one scrape after another while always coming out alright, even when he is obliged to face down a treacherous mutineer or when he stumbles unthinkingly into the pirates' own nest.

In truth Treasure Island is not quite as exciting or as easy a read as one might expect for all its reputation. Still, it was nicely done and kept me reading to the end (though it did end with something of a letdown, leading me to think it somewhat overrated). It was a boy's book from the first, according to its author and I think it works well enough as that. Still, it's somewhat dated and lacks the excitement we've come to expect in our adventures today. Good but not among the best, in my view. I thought Stevenson's Master of Ballantrae much the better book.

SWM
author of The King of Vinland's Saga

This is a solid condensed version of the classic search for buried treasure in the late 1700's. Author Robert Louis Stevenson draws readers in early as the Captain arrives at the Benbow Inn in Britain, focused on incoming ships, and warning young Jim Hawkins of one-legged visitors. The story picks up as Billy Bones arrives, bringing danger and discovery of the treasure map, a discovery that leads Jim and his companions to risk the long trip in search of riches. I felt the suspense as Jim's group boards ship with a hardened sea crew that includes Long John Silver and other tough cookies. Then the ship finally arrives at the Island, where Jim and his companions must survive treachery and deadly struggles at the fort - before they even see the treasure.

I just taught this abridged version to English-literate students at a high school in Latin America; most liked it although some wanted even more action. This is a solid read for adventure fans, capable young readers, and those that desire a good story.

My dad and I are reading this book, and we think it's totally awesome! If you are 11 or 12, you may want to read this book with an adult, but you'll love the adventure and pirates, the treasure map and the Hispanola. I think I am going to start learning pirate lingo now, so I'll be ready if Long John shows up at my door! If you read this book you'll have to rate it a five star because of the adventure. Kids, hope you can get YOUR dad to read it with you!!

Cracking good pirate tale hits all the high points of treachery, adventure, narrow escapes, and treasure hunting, usually misfiled in the Juvenile section.

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"

See my review of the new novel Silver: My Own Tale As Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder that tells more of the story behind Long John Silver.

I had never read the book but reading it I remembered seeing the movie. The book is riviting, insightful and scary. There is so much said in so few pages. I can see where discussion of the book could be never ending.

Re-reading this book, it actually seems better than when I first read it a few years ago. Graham Greene was probably the best-ever writer of certain kinds of book about disaffected characters in actual historical and geographical situations. Many have written about the fact that the lead character, Thomas Fowler, embodied many characteristics of Greene himself, and the amazing thing about this is that Greene makes the character so unpleasant.
The writing is magnificent. Greene was a supremely economical writer who could create a mood or an impression in fewer words than anyone else I know. He was also a master of irony, and makes much of the fact that Pyle, the quiet American of the title, was actually more dangerous because of his innocence and basic goodness.
The Quiet American also fills a prophetic role, as we can look back on the many noisy Americans who arrived in Vietnam after the time of this fictional quiet one and amply justified Greene's feeling that they would make a great mess of things.
The other thing that struck me was the faithfulness of Philip Noyce's movie to the text. Many things that I thought the movie had created or changed completely were simply changes of emphasis or dramatisations of things that were too vague or abstract for the screen. Even the changes in Pyle's character were simply attempted clarifications of aspects that were ambiguous in the book - which ironically had the effect of making his character even more ambiguous.

I was in Vietnam for Vacation, and I came across this novel in a market store in Saigon. I remember there was a movie, but I had never seen it. I will have to say for a small little simplistic novel there was much to be enjoyed. The novel is narrated by Fowler, the British "OLDER" reporter who loves the space and madness occurring in 1950' Vietnam. Fowler is met by Pyle, an American on humanitarian mission to feed the war ravaged citizens of Vietnam. Pyle admits that he is in love with Fowler's Asian Girl friend and would like to steal her away. From this point on Greene continues the playful bantering back and forth between these two characters, but the novel soon becomes dark and more sinister as we learn these characters' deep dark secrets, they are not what they seem. Graham Greene has created an enjoyable novel that amounted to a love story, adventure story and Mystery all in this nicely written novel. I liked The Quiet American.

I recently read THE QUIET AMERICAN directly after having read Greene's THE COMEDIANS. It is striking how similar the two novels are, although they were written about ten years apart. They both deal with political intrigue in a "third world" country (Vietnam in "Quiet American", Haiti in "Comedians"); they both are critical of American intervention (although it is much more front and center in "Quiet American"); they both feature somewhat skewed love triangles; and they both are narrated by a worldly, shrewd, selfish, and almost repugnant narrator who it is easy to see (perhaps unfairly) as the alter ego of the author. Both novels are easy to read and wear well, but I give the nod to THE QUIET AMERICAN.

Written around 1955, it is remarkable for its foresight of America's misguided venture in Southeast Asia. The "quiet" American is Pyle. He is a fresh-out-of-school, supremely self-assured member of the Eastern-establishment on a somewhat nebulous mission for an American secret service, the "OSS" or whatever the current initials might be (Graham perhaps did not know that its new incarnation was the "CIA"). "Innocent" might be a more fitting adjective for Pyle than "quiet". In any event, Greene presents a scathing picture of Pyle and the United States as purblind crusaders for democracy, innocent but oh-so-dangerous in their determined self-righteous zeal. The worldly and jaded British narrator (Fowler) comments to himself about Pyle: "he'll always be innocent, you can't blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity."

Meanwhile the recipients of the undercover U.S. political activism and intrigue don't appreciate the efforts on their behalf. Instead, "They want enough rice. * * * They don't want to be shot at. They want one day to be much the same as another. They don't want our white skins around telling them what they want." When dozens of civilians are killed or maimed in a bombing set by subversive forces sponsored and provisioned with explosives by Pyle, he justifies the bloodshed to Fowler with the comment that the victims "were only war casualties. * * * It was a pity, but you can't always hit your target. Anyway, they died in the right cause. * * * In a way you could say they died for democracy." Fowler's response: "I wouldn't know how to translate that into Vietnamese."

The parallels with the current military mission in Iraq hardly need mention.

Another prominent theme of THE QUIET AMERICANS, later reprised and developed further in "The Comedians", is the impossibiity (or if possible, the immorality) of a neutral, un-involved stance when cruely, death, and destruction are going on all around one.

THE QUIET AMERICAN is worth reading, or re-reading, both as literate entertainment and as a sobering reminder of how little our national hubris and zeal for democracy have been moderated by wisdom and experience.

My name is Graham Greene but you can call me Mr. Grumpy. Greene suffered his entire life from depression and his cynical and dispirited worldview permeates and defines his take on Indochina in the early 50's. In short: there are no winners, only losers. The Quiet American is a short novel with three main characters and only a few minor characters. To call The Quiet American anti-American is not so much inaccurate as incomplete. Americans reading this book should not feel particularly aggrieved. The British, French, North & South Vietnamese are all treated to unflattering or deliberately dismissive portrayals. Graham Greene wants us to dislike the American (Pyle) and the Brit (Fowler) and feel a certain condescending sympathy for the beleagured third worlder (Phong). Communist and other belligerent forces are simplified into a vague indistinguishable "them".

Fowler is the cynical middle aged Brit who has sought refuge from the mess he's made of his life in a faraway land, opium and a low maitenance mistress. Self medication and escape. He is a one man relic of an exhausted empire. He claims nuetrality but betrays it with his open disdain. He is a pundit. He claims the high road without leaving the house, so to speak. Greene presents him in the first person so as to present an aspect of Greene's own outlook.

Pyle is the young, idealistic, overeducated and underinformed American who presumes to involve himself in affairs he does not understand. He is filled with other people's ideas and none of his own. He arrogantly assumes righteousness and assigns himself the so-called white man's burden. The white (adult) superior must show the Asian (child) inferiors the way. His is a smug, well-meaning racism but racism nonetheless. As one can tell, Greene was not fond of Americans.

Phong is a young beautiful South Vietnamese former prostitute turned mistress who must choose between a benevolent user (Fowler's European colonialism) or a well meaning but paternal provider (Pyle's New World Imperialism.) At no point is there any serious consideration that she may choose a third course: her own.

Inevitably, Greene cannot avoid oversimplifying extremely complex forces and motivations, not to mention history. In a mere 200+ pages, Greene presumes to present & comment on a situation involving several countries over several decades. Greene renders a compelling sketch but makes no real effort to provide details. He, like Fowler, is a cynical pundit.

I know this book is considered a classic loved by most but i found it to be a big let down. its not that i consider it just a kids book or have a low opinion of stevenson, i think treasure island is one of the best adventure stories ever written. kidnapped falls somewhat flat in comparison. the story is simple and gets repetitive with david balfour essentially running through the highlands with Alan (whom i found it be a very annoying character) for half the book. at times it looked like i was reading a bad version of the count of monte cristo (a much better book)but instead of adversity creating a cunning mature man hell-bent on a meticulously planned revenge we get a snot nosed little kid who has a very low opion of 'highland savages'. the only part of the book i found exciting was when he was held captive on the ship and that was too much a of repeat of treasure island for comfort. also stevenson always seemed to be writing something that was geared for popular cosumption and while this works in his other works it didnt seem to work for me here. of course he was no charles dickens but i thought books like dr j and hyde to be far more in depth look at society, greed, and desire in general.

Oh, what a great book! Robert Louis Stevenson strikes a perfect balance between action and description.

As previous reviews have said much about the plot and the worth of reading this wonderful book, I will add just a bit. Buy a copy of this tale for any child aged ten or older, and they'll have a story of adventure to read over and over again as they grow up! I guarantee it will be a work they'll remember with great fondness. And do yourself a favor and read a tale of intrigue that only Stevenson could have written. This is definitely not just a book for children and teens!

For those who have difficulty with the Scottish terms, in the Scholastic Classics paperback edition there is a full glossary in back, and I found not one word missing from it.

Kidnapped (Scholastic Classics)




i am very satisfied with the quality and speedy shipping of this product.

I am a big fan of Robert Louis Stevenson as opposed to Charles Dickens or something like that. His books have a reasonable length and they are full of adventure and easy to follow.

This book had a fairly simple premise and was not as exciting or memorable as Treasure Island and not as fascinating as the Dr. Jekyll ad Mr Hyde narrative, but it was good and simple. I remember this book as a kid, maybe in fourth grade that when he was in the brig and shipwrecked, and headed for slavery I stopped reading because I thought it was all to dark.
But this time around I found the tale a bit more amusing. I guess a lot of this story is a story about finding maturity through hardship. Its hard for me to say that it's a coming of age story as I read somewhere. The moral of the story is not so clear, since the character doesn't really mature too much in terms of voice or role relative to Uncle or Alan. Instead his hardship, sort of grants him some reasonable part of his inheritance, but nothing to great, just something to live a normal life by.
I liked this book. It took me only about 5 or six hours to read the entire book. It never got overbearing and it realised what it was for.

This is a very wonderful book. When David Balfours father dies his his greedy uncle tries to get all the money of his fathers. So he plots to kill David. His uncle has him on a boat to the American Colonies to have David be a slave. On the way the boat is shipwrecked. He becomes friends with the only survivor a rugged Highlander from Scottland named Alan Breck Stewart. They plan a rebellion to claim Davids fortune from his greedy uncle.

Readable is how I would phrase this book. I watched the TV movie version of this and picked up the book. It establishes the characters for the series and gets you interested in them. The plot is rather see through, not much in the way of mystery. But it has good action and it is interesting to see how Jesse thinks and works. You do get a little tired of hearing about his ex and his drinking.

This author is rather simplistic and easy to read. I think this took me about two days to read in my off time.

Night Passage is vintage Parker. This novel is fast, witty, suspenseful, and engaging. Told in short, crisp chapters, it's the story of Jesse Stone, a 34-year-old ex-cop who just lost his L.A. policeman's job and his marriage due to a drinking problem. The book opens as Stone leaves California for his new job as chief of police in the picturesque town of Paradise, Massachusetts.
But Paradise isn't as placid as it seems--in fact, it's a festering mass of petty corruption, right-wing militia, sexual scandal, and bad guys who favor strong-arm tactics. Jesse is the lone lawman, new in town, must make his stand to clean the place up. Stone has been picked for the job because the town fathers figured he'd be weak and malleable; as he gradually pulls himself together, it turns out they have a surprise in store.

I like the character of Jesse. He gets people to cooperate through a non-judgmental and caring attitude. He is strong, quiet and a little messed up. I like the atmosphere of the small town. The prose is crisp and clear. The style is sparse. The relationship between Jesse and his ex-wife is confusing, but that is ok. Sex to most people in this novel seems to be a recreational activity. Parker gives Jesse a moral code, but it is a little hard to discern, but that's ok. The food seems anachronistic unless this novel is set in the 80s.

My main problem is the plot with the militia. It doesn't seem feasible to me. I don't want to reveal too much, but I suggest the Parker has read or watch too many westerns.

In summary, the novel was short, entertaining and I enjoyed the new characters.

This is the first in a series of books by Robert Parker that introduces Jesse Stone. Many times you hear....ah, the book was better then the movie, etc. Well...in this case the TV Movie was even Better...then this book! For maybe two reasons....Tom Selleck plays Jesse Stone and the Screenplay adapter made the book even Better...for the movie. I really LOVE this character Jesse Stone and I love all the Office staff he works with. I love Paradise, Massachusettes. I am a big fan of the way Robert Parker writes. He is just very honest and lays it all out there for you. Does not fill his books full of unnecessary facts and frills and does not go on and on like Steven King's books. (although I like many of his books too). And his rich character of Jesse Stone is easy for me to envision and read about.(makes me wish I knew them in real life.) And even more wonderful for me to see in Tom Selleck on the tv movies.(he's one of my very favorite actors). So for the book introduction of Jesse Stone and all the rich characters he meets and deals with on a daily basis....I say...Thank You....Robert Parker...for "Night Passage" and hope you write many, many more with Jesse Stone.

Jesse Stone, an alcoholic fired from his police job in L.A., is hired by the town selectman of Paradise, MA to be their new Chief of Police. Hasty Hathaway, who runs the town and a militia with the secret mission of wiping out everyone who is not a white Christian, thinks Jesse will be a pushover to control since he's a drunk. Besides drinking, Jesse is pulling the pieces of his life together after divorce, dealing with the town bully and wondering how a town, that should be a quiet haven, has three murders that seem related to his new job. Excitement builds as three men jockey for position in a town that only has room for one of them.

Though Robert B Parker goes all over the place with point-of-view, this book is a page turner with short chapters, loads of character in Chief Jesse Stone, a colorful dirty town and the reader always wondering how he'll handle the next set of trouble that lands at his feet. Excellent. I can't wait to get started on the next one in the series.

Turns out I had already read this book. I read it cover to cover anyway.
As my former boss (Ted Ahlgren) always told me, "Cremin, you really only need three books." That is, if you have a memory like Ted and me.

I have long been a huge Spenser fan. I always thought that Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall were far lesser lights in Parker's galaxy. In Blue Screen they team up, professionally and personally. The combination is far better than any of their solo excursions.

Both characters are extremely likeable and working through their relationships with exes (which prompts the brief appearances of Dr. Susan Silverman) when the P.I. and the Chief of Police meet over a corpse.

The corpse is that of the sister to a talentless, yet athletic, actress who Sunny was hired to protect. She then hires Sunny to find the killer of her sister. The actress is also planning to be the first female major league baseball player, playing on the team owned by a very deliciously smarmy producer. The batting practice scenes are near hilarious.

The sisters have a past, of course, and that leads Sunny and Jesse to the west coast and back to solve the crime. Along they way they stagger into their new relationship. The plot wends and weaves and the actress is often a suspect. The ending caps a good mystery.

Like all of Parker's best, the plot is a good one with interesting characters all along the way. Also, Parker's trademark of humor and warmth between his main characters is sprinkled liberally throughout.

This is highly recommended for a good fun light read, especially for those who thought these two characters often fell short of Spenser and Hawk. It is hoped that the next iterations of these two will keep them together.

A note on the audio book. Kate Burton does a great job. Many female readers have difficulty doing men's voices it seems, but she did the several males seamlessly.

The "blue screen" of the title is a reference to a movie-making technique of filming the actors in front of a blue screen. Later the background action is added, making it look like the actors and the background are all one authentic seamless scene. Erin Flint has created her own blue screen and now some one is dead.

This book isn't awful it just never drew me in. Both the main characters are regulars from other Parker books. After this I have no desire to try either of them again. I like Parker but these two were both too bland. I read it on a working vacation to Europe and I can't even say this was good "killing time" type reading.

I've never read Robert B. Parker before and I settled on Blue Screen because it was available at the library on short notice, and I needed an audio book for a trip the next day. As a reader, I'm always weary of jumping into the middle of a series. Will I be lost because I haven't read the previous books? Will I care about or understand the main characters? In Blue Screen, Sunny Randall is hired by Buddy Bollen to watch over and protect Erin Flint. Buddy is a mega rich dotcom millionairre who owns the fictional Connecticut Nutmegs, a major league baseball team. Erin Flint is a beautiful woman. Every one agrees on that. She is Buddy's girlfriend and has starred in many B-movies that he's produced. Erin is also a pretty good athelete and a first class jerk to be around.

Buddy wants Sunny to protect Erin because he feels Erin may be in danger because Buddy plans on having her be the center fielder for his major league team. Okay. I need to stop right there. This is a pretty big plot point. I've read a lot of fiction and most have outrageous and unrealistc plots that the author never the less makes believable because of his writing talent. The idea of a movie star jumping in and playing in the majors is one of the most laughable, ridiculous things I've ever read in a novel. What's sad is that Parker believes it could happen. Sunny and other characters continuously ask those who supposedly know, including Jesse Stone, if Erin could make it. They all seem to say, sure, but it would be difficult. This whole plot point, a 35 year old actress suddenly playing in the majors totally ruined the novel for me. This isn't mentioned in the summary on the back of the book, or I wouldn't have even started reading it. Baseball is one sport where even the best college players have to work their way up through the minors. Most players hit their prime in their 20s. Thirty-five is over the hill. Baseball isn't a sport you can just pick up by spending a few months in a batting cage hitting against college kids.

Okay, enough of that rant. How is the rest of the book? Well, the plot is typical thriller stuff that includes pimps, murder, thugs and the mob. In fact, the plot, aside from the baseball angle, is comepletely underwhelming. There is no hook here. Nothing to compel you to turn the page. Sunny hooks up with Jesse Stone and they begin a relationship. Sunny is still attached to her ex-husband Richie and seems to think in her deluded mind that she has a chance with him although he is married and expecting a child. For such a short book, there was way too much relationship with Stone and Sunny. The dog Rosie and its biscuits drove me crazy, and the chat with the psychiatrist during the last fifth of the book about sex was absolutely pointless. Parker sets up an interesting character in Erin during the first half of the book, then seems more interested in having Stone and Sunny talk about sex for the latter half.

I probably won't read any more Parker books. The entire 35 year old actress as a major league center fielder soured me early on on the book. Then the bad parts of the rest of the novel seemed to stick out all the more and my dislike seemed to snowball. I'm sorry, but this is one series I can't recommend. Novels featuring his other characters may be different, so I may try one of those out again in the future.

This is the fourth novel in the Jesse Stone series and by far the most pschological. This trip to Paradise finds Jesse the troubled cop tackling three problems: to capture the pair of serial killers who are murdering random victims in small-town Paradise, Mass., where Stone is chief of police; to bring to justice the three high-school students who gang-raped a younger schoolmate; and to come to terms with his love of both alcohol and his ex-wife, Jenn. Told in third-person prose that's a model of economy, with sharp action sequences, and deep yet unobtrusive character exploration. No wonder Parker was named a Grand Master at the 2002 Edgar Awards.

I was disappointed. This was by far the least of the Parker novels I have read. The humor was weak and this is usually a strong point. The characters were super-thin, not that they ever have much depth. The plot is straight forward but not very exciting. Pretty dull stuff for Parker.

Excellent Book. Typical intriguing Robert Parket mystery. Sex, murder and mystery. In this there is an emotional subplot and a main plot with occurrences very close to Jesse's vest. This is another detective murder mystery filled with intelligent clues, emotional moments and the reader is left wondering what's next between Jenn and Jesse?

When people start showing up dead with two bullet holes to the chest with no rhyme or reason, Jesse Stone is on the case. It appears there is a serial killer or killers in Paradise and it is up to Jesse to find them - before they find him; because it seems Jesse is next on their list.

A subplot involving the rape of a teenage girl by three boys adds a bit of depth to the plot.

As mentioned - this was a very quick read. I actually read half of Trouble in Paradise (Jesse Stone) and all of Death in Paradise (Jesse Stone), all of "Stone Cold" and a good bit of Sea Change (Jesse Stone) yesterday. These are very quick reads and difficult to put down once started. Not to be missed for the fans of Robert Parker and police procedurals!

A plot that's good enough to captivate, and a book that's short enough to satisfy. A very entertaining mystery.