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colinlusk's review against another edition
4.0
Embarrassed to admit I hadn't heard of this series even though there are about 10 films based on it or something. Proper big films too. Mel Gibson, Lee Marvin, Jason Statham, people like that.
The atmosphere is great - it's a tight little noir with toughs coming in and out threatening the anti-hero. It's set in the aftermath of decolonisation, so most of the rival factions are trying to take control of a newly formed african republic that is currently governed by a corrupt dictator. It's a good premise and gives you a sense of the power struggle being played out in the criminal underworld on the other side of the Atlantic. We get little glimpses of some of the backstory of some of the toughs (a former colonialist and an african revolutionary) to get a sense of what's at stake for them.
Of course it's the sixties so you are supposed to feel like the villains are muanced and morally grey because although they are murderers, thieves and kidnappers, they decide not to take the opportunity to rape the protagonist's woman. That's practically a redemption arc in 1968. And yes, he does talk about her like that: "my woman". The cover of this version pretty much tells you all you need to know about the relationship between them.
There isn't much detail of the actual heist or the plan or any of that. He's more interested in the tough guy confronting each other.
The atmosphere is great - it's a tight little noir with toughs coming in and out threatening the anti-hero. It's set in the aftermath of decolonisation, so most of the rival factions are trying to take control of a newly formed african republic that is currently governed by a corrupt dictator. It's a good premise and gives you a sense of the power struggle being played out in the criminal underworld on the other side of the Atlantic. We get little glimpses of some of the backstory of some of the toughs (a former colonialist and an african revolutionary) to get a sense of what's at stake for them.
Of course it's the sixties so you are supposed to feel like the villains are muanced and morally grey because although they are murderers, thieves and kidnappers, they decide not to take the opportunity to rape the protagonist's woman. That's practically a redemption arc in 1968. And yes, he does talk about her like that: "my woman". The cover of this version pretty much tells you all you need to know about the relationship between them.
There isn't much detail of the actual heist or the plan or any of that. He's more interested in the tough guy confronting each other.
patchie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
tfitoby's review against another edition
3.0
Random Parker adventure provided by the local library service, middling in quality that mostly feels like the rushed by the numbers pulp stuff that his contemporaries were churning out. There's some nonsense with a newly independent African nation and training diplomats to steal their national jewels back from an embezzling leader that I could barely raise enthusiasm for but in between there are some nice hardboiled Parker moments. The opening chapter was pretty great though I must say.
decretaro's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
saareman's review against another edition
3.0
Parker and the African Diamonds
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (August, 2010) of the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback (1968)
Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author [a:Donald E. Westlake|30953|Donald E. Westlake|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336863543p2/30953.jpg] (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed or ensnared in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge or escaping the circumstances.
The Black Ice Score is different from the other Parker novels in that Parker himself does not participate in the heist. He is instead recruited as a consultant by opposing political forces from a fictitious African nation to help them retrieve the diamonds with which their corrupt dictator has absconded from the country. Unfortunately there are other gangs on the same quest and the heist goes bad as it always does. Claire (Parker's love interest since [b:The Rare Coin Score|619067|The Rare Coin Score (Parker, #9)|Richard Stark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432283340l/619067._SY75_.jpg|3162084] (Parker #9) is kidnapped in an effort to manipulate Parker, so it becomes a rescue mission as well.
Narrator Stephen Thorne does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.
I had never previously read the Stark/Parker novels but became curious when they came up in my recent reading of [b:The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|49203398|The Writer's Library The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|Nancy Pearl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588038545l/49203398._SX50_.jpg|73236167] (Sept. 2020) by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager. Here is a (perhaps surprising) excerpt from their discussion with [a:Amor Towles|4536964|Amor Towles|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1472937967p2/4536964.jpg]:
The 24 Parker books are almost all available for free on Audible Plus, except for #21 & #22 which aren't available at all.
Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of The Black Ice Score and of all the Parker books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.
Like many of the 2010-2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook editions which share the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2009-2010 reprints, this audiobook DOES NOT include the Foreword by author [a:Dennis Lehane|10289|Dennis Lehane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1227580381p2/10289.jpg].
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (August, 2010) of the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback (1968)
Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of the prolific crime author [a:Donald E. Westlake|30953|Donald E. Westlake|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336863543p2/30953.jpg] (1933-2008), who wrote over 100 books. The Stark pseudonym was used primarily for the Parker novels, an antihero criminal who is usually betrayed or ensnared in some manner and who spends each book getting revenge or escaping the circumstances.
The Black Ice Score is different from the other Parker novels in that Parker himself does not participate in the heist. He is instead recruited as a consultant by opposing political forces from a fictitious African nation to help them retrieve the diamonds with which their corrupt dictator has absconded from the country. Unfortunately there are other gangs on the same quest and the heist goes bad as it always does. Claire (Parker's love interest since [b:The Rare Coin Score|619067|The Rare Coin Score (Parker, #9)|Richard Stark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432283340l/619067._SY75_.jpg|3162084] (Parker #9) is kidnapped in an effort to manipulate Parker, so it becomes a rescue mission as well.
Narrator Stephen Thorne does a good job in all voices in this audiobook edition.
I had never previously read the Stark/Parker novels but became curious when they came up in my recent reading of [b:The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|49203398|The Writer's Library The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|Nancy Pearl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588038545l/49203398._SX50_.jpg|73236167] (Sept. 2020) by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager. Here is a (perhaps surprising) excerpt from their discussion with [a:Amor Towles|4536964|Amor Towles|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1472937967p2/4536964.jpg]:
Nancy: Do you read Lee Child?
Amor: I know Lee. I had never read his books until I met him, but now I read them whenever they come out. I think some of the decisions he makes are ingenious.
Jeff: Have you read the Parker books by Donald Westlake [writing as Richard Stark]?
Amor: I think the Parker books are an extraordinary series.
Jeff: They feel like a big influence on Reacher, right down to the name. Both Reacher and Parker have a singular focus on the task in front of them.
Amor: But Parker is amoral. Reacher is just dangerous.
Jeff: Right. Reacher doesn't have a conventional morality, but he has his own morality. Parker will do anything he has to do to achieve his goal.
Amor: But to your point, Westlake's staccato style with its great twists at the end of the paragraphs, and his mesmerizing central character - these attributes are clearly shared by the Reacher books.
The 24 Parker books are almost all available for free on Audible Plus, except for #21 & #22 which aren't available at all.
Trivia and Links
There is a brief plot summary of The Black Ice Score and of all the Parker books and adaptations at The Violent World of Parker website.
Like many of the 2010-2013 Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook editions which share the same cover art as the University of Chicago Press 2009-2010 reprints, this audiobook DOES NOT include the Foreword by author [a:Dennis Lehane|10289|Dennis Lehane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1227580381p2/10289.jpg].
glenncolerussell's review against another edition
The Black Ice Score is Parker novel #11 by Donald E. Westlake writing as Richard Stark.
Forever the creative literary artist, with Black Ice, Mr. Westlake puts a unique spin on his conventional four-part heist structure - and that's understatement.
I see many reviewers do not rate Black Ice as among the best Parker novels. I do not share this opinion. I read Black Ice for the first time last summer, my introduction to the Parker series after Slayground. I was intrigued from first page to last with all the many angles and plot twists. Also, I find crime noir with an international flare holds special appeal.
The novel's opening line: "Parker walked into his hotel room, and there was a guy in there going through his suitcase laid out on his bed."
Turns out, the guy speaks with some kind of foreign accent and two of his buddies (one holding a gun) assume Parker is working on a job. Parker doesn't have the slightest idea what they're talking about. They urge Parker to quit the job and then all three tromp out.
Huh? What the hell was that about? And to think, Parker and Claire came to New York so Claire could do some clothes shopping. Claire is frightened, suggests they go back to Miami. Parker says, no, they're staying.
Minutes later, Parker is in the hotel bar downstairs, meeting a guy by the name of Hoskins who called on the telephone. Similar to the three guys in his hotel room, Hoskins assumes Parker is involved, or at least has been approached, to work on a job. Parker plays it so he can extract some information from Hoskins.
Just then, the barman hands Parker the phone. It's Claire. Claire tells Parker he should return to their room since four gentlemen, all black, want to speak with him. When Parker returns, he can see four black men in red robes standing in his room "like a scene in a Negro version of Julius Caesar."
After Parker listens to their leader, a Mr. Gonor, explain their plan, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together. Quick synopsis: Gonor and the others are from the small, newly independent African nation of Dhaba. The nation's current leader, a corrupt Colonel, ultimately wants to abscond with diamonds worth millions, diamonds critical to Dhaba's economic well-being, diamonds currently held by his family members in a museum dedicated to African art on East Thirty-eighth Street in Manhattan. As a first step to establishing stability in Dhaba, Gonor needs to reclaim the diamonds. And he needs Parker's help: Gonor asks Parker if he'll devise a plan so they, the men from Dhaba, can sneak into the building and take away the diamonds.
Diamonds worth millions, you say? The plot thickens. Gonor first approached Hoskins to plan the heist but quickly discovered Hoskins wasn't qualified, he wasn't that caliber of crook. But Hoskins isn't about to walk away from such a large booty. And those white guys who came to Parker's hotel room? All three are from wealthy families in Dhaba who lost their land and wealth when the newly formed government took over. They also want the diamonds.
So that's the basic framework. Several highlights/themes/philosophic reflections:
Loyal Fans of the Parker Series
Parker is a hard, tough outlaw, wolf on the inside, man on the outside. Understandably, a large percentage of Parker fans back in the 1960s were African-Americans. Writing a Parker novel revolving around intelligent, quick-witted, resourceful, courageous black Africans working for a good cause made abundant sense, particularly in light of current affairs in Africa. Also, Mr. Westlake could pick up on the reader frenzy for James Bond-style international intrigue. We can hardly blame the author for wishing to increase his fan base.
Parker and Race
Here's what one literary critic and avid Westlake/Stark fan has to say about Parker:
"And we realize, with a start, that race is nothing to him. That he really is colorblind. It would never occur to him to say, à la Stephen Colbert, “I don’t see race.” Of course he sees skin color. He just can’t understand the significance the rest of us place upon it. He happened to be born into the body of a white man, but that’s all it is to him – a vessel. It isn’t who or what he is, down inside. He truly is a minority of one.
And we can only envy him for that all-encompassing sense of self – he doesn’t need some arbitrary collective identity. He’s content to be as he is. Is that the secret of racial harmony, that has eluded us all these millennia? To just be happy with ourselves the way we are? To not need a group to belong to? A ceremonial mask of human skin to hide behind? As Parker, the wolf, hides behind his – but never makes the mistake of believing in the masquerade. That way lies madness."
In this way, Parker can serve as a lesson for all of us - to know ourselves, truly know ourselves, independent of group think or superficial categories.
Claire Chimes In
At one point Claire suggests to Parker that he take the job since it is a good cause. Parker's reply: He doesn't work for causes. In point of fact, Parker doesn't have the slightest interest in politics, US politics or the politics of any other country. And he tells one of the Dhaba men just that. This point gets back to Parker knowing who he is and what he is.
Eager Students
One of the more intriguing and enjoyable sections of Black Ice is watching how Gonor and the other Dhaba men learn from Parker. This is especially true of Formutesca, the man who heads up the diamond heist. Formutesca looks up to Parker, takes Parker as a role model for how to perform an operation. And when circumstances force Parker to ask Formutesca for help, the African is more than willing to offer his services.
The Black Ice Score rocks. Read it.
American author Donald E. Westlake, 1933-2008
heather_g's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
3.5
another solid heist story! this one was not nearly as violent, nail biting or wild, but was still a fun caper. Parker is such a badass and loveable too lol!
jmfjump's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I really enjoyed the dynamic of Parker’s role in the first part, but the latter half where he has to go recover after things go south was less interesting this time around.
posies23's review against another edition
4.0
Another strong entry in the Parker series. I've heard some people say that this one of the weaker entries, but I liked it quite a bit. Westlake/Stark uses some intersting narrative and structural choices that make it a fun read.
As usual, complications ensue as Parker is asked to help some foreign nationals steal some diamonds. Parker becomes a little more personally involved than usual, and it leads to a compelling denoument. There are a few rough spots here and there, particularly when it steers a little close to MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and MAN FROM UNCLE territory, which is not a comfortable fit for Parker.
Well worth your time, as usual.
As usual, complications ensue as Parker is asked to help some foreign nationals steal some diamonds. Parker becomes a little more personally involved than usual, and it leads to a compelling denoument. There are a few rough spots here and there, particularly when it steers a little close to MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and MAN FROM UNCLE territory, which is not a comfortable fit for Parker.
Well worth your time, as usual.
jeansbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0