Well, no, not exactly (sorry, Bish). But it is a new book about Spenser, the late Robert B. Parker's most famous detective hero. Edited by frequent mystery anthology editor Otto Penzler (who also runs the incredible Mysterious Bookshop in New York City), In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the creation of an American Hero will be out on April 3, 2012.
Contributors to the book include Ace Atkins, Lawrence Block, Max Allan Collins, Matthew Clemens, Loren D. Estleman, Dennis Lehane, S.J. Rozan, and other notable mystery writers. Ace Atkins, of course, is the writer who's been selected by the Parker estate to continue Spenser's adventures.
It'll be interesting to see what Max Allan Collins has to say about Spenser, as his past observations about Robert B. Parker's writing pretty clearly indicates that he isn't much of a fan, except in a kind of "rising tides lift all boats" kind of way. Specifically, Collins has always acknowledged that Parker did a lot to popularize detective fiction with the public at large, which helped all mystery writers. Maybe his essay is an amplification of that idea.
Anyway, In Pursuit of Spenser sounds like an interesting book, and I'll look forward to getting it in April. A Kindle version hasn't yet been announced, but I bet that will soon change.
Oh, and if I remember correctly, Ace Atkins' first Spenser book should be out in May or June, just shortly after this book. So, this spring will weirdly feature two Robert B. Parker-centric releases that aren't actually by Robert B. Parker.
But, as they say, let's just take what we can get, right?
Cool. This wasn't on my radar yet, so I appreciate the update. You know I'll be there for this. I have a great respect for Max Allan Collins, and some of his insights on Parker are worthwhile because it gets us away from simply lauding the man . . . Collins doesn't exactly say the emperor has no clothes, but instead tries to put Parker's influence in a different perspective...
ReplyDeleteYes, I have no real problem with Collins' views on Parker, either, for exactly the reasons you state. It just makes me curious about what he's contributing. There's the potential for other compelling essays, too, as the book has a nice array of writers chiming in.
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