A jolly good read?

[Wolf Hunting]

Anyone ever read any of the 'Parker' series?
Written by Richard Stark (Alias Donald Westlake) they all had a silver front cover with a bullet hole in them. Inside the bullet hole was the title in a different colour.
Fantastic set around 12 of them from around 1970's.

Last time I looked some of them could be bought for around £250!!!
Now I see they're being reissued for around a tenner.

Absolutely cracking books.
Very sparsely written, plenty of action, no romance fucking up the plot, Parker was always a very bad man, best kind of anti hero.

Anyone ever read them?

 

[So Long Architect]

Just finished watching the excellent trilogy from Sweden, starting with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Terrific films, whic surprised me as I didn't fancy the books and the books are often better than the filmed versions, So those three books must be fantastic!
Anyone read them?

I read the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and I thought it was awful. Absolutely nothing happens for 200 pages and they you're hit with a really unpleasant rape scene (possibly a gang rape). The rest is then tedious detail interspersed with horrible sexual violence. I have no problem at all with hard hitting material, and I rarely get offended, but I can't for the life of me work out why this boring misogynistic shit has been so well received.

 

[nimrod]

Rather than a titchy little $#@! who's about as suited to that role as Nick Griffin is to a biopic about Nelson Mandela?

i've not read the books but saw the film with the missus who has read a fair few.

she also didn't think it worked with him from the character perspective.

film was enjoyable, silly ending, which may have been true to the book for all i know.

 

[nimrod]

Anyone ever read any of the 'Parker' series?
Written by Richard Stark (Alias Donald Westlake) they all had a silver front cover with a bullet hole in them. Inside the bullet hole was the title in a different colour.
Fantastic set around 12 of them from around 1970's.

Last time I looked some of them could be bought for around £250!!!
Now I see they're being reissued for around a tenner.

Absolutely cracking books.
Very sparsely written, plenty of action, no romance $#@!ing up the plot, Parker was always a very bad man, best kind of anti hero.

Anyone ever read them?

not read them, but thought he was great in thunderbirds.

 

[Wolf Hunting]

I read the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and I thought it was awful. Absolutely nothing happens for 200 pages and they you're hit with a really unpleasant rape scene (possibly a gang rape). The rest is then tedious detail interspersed with horrible sexual violence. I have no problem at all with hard hitting material, and I rarely get offended, but I can't for the life of me work out why this boring misogynistic shit has been so well received.

Did you see the films SLA?
Dragon Tattoo
The Girl who kicked the Hornets Nest
And the middle one The Girl Who Played With Fire', where she set fire to her Dad, who had abused his wife etc...

 

[Wolf Hunting]

As soon as I've finished reading Desmond Morris: Emotional Intelligence, I'm going to lapse back into fiction and start another of my all time favourite authors (Whole set again) Nelson De Mille.
Another of his John Corey NY Detective, apparently this time out in Vietnam or somewhere out there...

 

[So Long Architect]

Did you see the films SLA?
Dragon Tattoo
The Girl who kicked the Hornets Nest
And the middle one The Girl Who Played With Fire', where she set fire to her Dad, who had abused his wife etc...

No, I haven't see the films yet, though I would actually quite like to, as I imagine they would be better than the books. And I like Noomi Rapace. I recorded the first one over Christmas so will watch that soon.

 

[Wolf Hunting]

She's not attractive at all in these films but she plays a good role in all three.

She looks far better when she scrubs up than she does in the films.
We only spotted the first one so recorded that then wifey saw the other two.

I didn't realise they all lead on to the next.
So it's actually 1 story broken down into 3 films all well over 2 hours each. Great viewing!

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Just finished watching the excellent trilogy from Sweden, starting with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Terrific films, whic surprised me as I didn't fancy the books and the books are often better than the filmed versions, So those three books must be fantastic!
Anyone read them?

In contrast to SLA I really enjoyed the books. I haven't seen any of the films though. I though the 1st one was far better than the last 2 though, it was more of a crime novel whereas the other two were more about the girl. They got me into about 5 other Scandinavian crime & horror authors too, one of which I am currently reading now - John Ajvide Lindqvist.

 

[Wolf Hunting]

They got me into about 5 other Scandinavian crime & horror authors too, one of which I am currently reading now - John Ajvide Lindqvist.

Any good Dan?
I read all the Jones Bo (Harry Hole) books but wifey is reading the 1st one (Batman) but isn't gripped by it at all.

 

[Johnny75]

Also in contrast to SLA I thought the books were brilliant and the first two Swedish films also (I haven't seen the third yet). The first book is very slow to start and the sexual violence is a bit harrowing as it is in the films but it is not misogynistic at all, quite the opposite in fact as highlighted within the other two books and by the end of the first film. If you've got the patience for the scene setting in the first then all 3 books are well worth the time and effort.

Langers, I'll try the 'Creasy' books after I'm done with Reacher. Tried Jo Nesbo and found him hard work, mind you I'm wrestling with E=mc2 at the moment and it is a wrestle. Proper mind bending stuff for me. I'd like to try 'a brief history of time'. Does it have much particle physics in it, if it does then I'm fucked.

 

[Johnny75]

Any good Dan?
I read all the Jones Bo (Harry Hole) books but wifey is reading the 1st one (Batman) but isn't gripped by it at all.

Yeah that's the one I tried, couldn't get on with it at all.

 

[Wolf Hunting]

It seems like (looking at the copywright date inside 1997 then this copy 2012) that the books all took off so they decided to publish the 1st one..

Might explain why it's not good...

The author of those 3 books is dead isn't he?
But if that's correct, I think I read that he had other books done but not finished so someone else has finished them... not sure that works very well..

 

[Johnny75]

Larsson died after the third one was published I think. His wife has finished one of his unfinished works, don't know how good it'll be.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Any good Dan?
I read all the Jones Bo (Harry Hole) books but wifey is reading the 1st one (Batman) but isn't gripped by it at all.

I really like the John Ajvide Lindqvist books. Let the Right One In (also a film) is probably his best but I have enjoyed several of his others too. I would describe it as Swedish horror but it's not particularly scary just an enjoyable read.

I have read a few of the Jo Nesbo ones and I think his books get better as the series goes on, Batman is the 1st one so I'm not surprised it's not as good. Jan Costin Wagner is another good one (he is German but his books are set in Finland) as is Arnaldur Indriðason (Icelandic crime) they are a bit slower paced but I enjoyed them.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Just about to read The Godfather for the 1st time. Very much looking forward to it.

 

[Lord Knows]

http://www.esquire.com/print-this/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313?page=all

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

http://www.esquire.com/print-this/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313?page=all

Step aside Andy McNabb...

 

[FrankMunro-371]

The Battle of Bosworth by Michael Bennett.

Splendid account of the final days of King Richard 111

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Just about to read The Godfather for the 1st time. Very much looking forward to it.

Almost finished it now and it is a great read. I'm going to have to read a few more books like it - I think either 'The Sicilian' or Nicholas Pileggi's 'Wiseguy' next.