Pale Kings and Princes

By: Robert B. Parker

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

“Ebullient entertainment.”—Time

A hotshot reporter is dead. He'd gone to take a look-see at “Miami North”—little Wheaton, Massachusetts—the biggest cocaine distribution center above the Mason-Dixon line.

Did the kid die for getting too close to the truth . . . or to a sweet lady with a jealous husband?

Spenser will stop at nothing to find out.

Praise for Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels

“Like Philip Marlowe, Spenser is a man of honor in a dishonorable world. When he says he will do something, it is done. The dialogues zings, and there is plenty of action . . . but it is the moral element that sets them above most detective fiction.”—Newsweek

“Crackling dialogue, plenty of action and expert writing . . . Unexpectedly literate—[Spenser is] in many respects the very exemplar of the species.”—The New York Times

“They just don’t make private eyes tougher or funnier.”—People

“Parker has a recorder’s ear for dialogue, an agile wit . . . and, strangely enough, a soupçon of compassion hidden under that sardonic, flip exterior.”—Los Angeles Times

“A deft storyteller, a master of pace.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Spenser probably had more to do with changing the private eye from a coffin-chaser to a full-bodied human being than any other detective hero.”—The Chicago Sun-Times

“[Spenser is] tough, intelligent, wisecracking, principled, and brave.”—The New Yorker©1988 Robert B. Parker; (P)2009 Random House

Like Popeye; the same story never gets old

The narration is perfect, even at 1.2x. My two-cents for future authors: “said” needs a synonym to keep down the monotonous “He said; He said; He said…”. This need is amplified in audio books.

ANOTHER GREAT SPENSER STORY

If you could sum up Pale Kings and Princes in three words, what would they be?

SPENSER, COCAINE, INVESTIGATE

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. Robert Parker's writing style was such that he kept the reader spell-bound through any story.

Which scene was your favorite?

Spenser convincing Susan to join him in Wheaton. He won't admit he's lonely there so he makes up all kinds of inane reasons she should be there with him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did.

Pritchard's reading leaves much to be desired

Where does Pale Kings and Princes rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I rank it pretty high. It was exciting and had a good story line and plot.

What didn’t you like about Michael Prichard’s performance?

Pritchard is just a deep MONOTONE voice that simply does not portray the underlying humor that Parker intended for his Spencer novels... and painfully struggles when talking for Hawk! Usually when I listen to a Spencer novel I am smiling throughout the book because of the quips of Spencer, Hawk and others. With Prichard, I had to listen carefully to even catch a hint of a joke or quip. Bring back JOE M. "We be fools not to..."

I love Robert Parker's Spencer series.

Pale Kings and Princes, the 14th in the series, is a traditional Spencer" format (Hawk and Susan are present). The residents in the small town Spencer visits are not very likeable people -the bad guys are really BAD. Drugs are rampant. Spencer has a tough time finding anything to eat that pleases him. People try to kill him and Spencer has to take some pretty drastic measures (including highjacking)- all very entertaining. I like the state tooper Spencer meets and hope he appears in future books.

The very best of all Spencer readers, in my opinion, is David Dukes, but it appears he only read Spencer books for cassette tapes. However Joe Montegna and Michael Prichard are very good. I highly recommend Prichard's reading of Pale Kings and Princes.

Spencer fans will love this book. If you are unfamiliar with Spencer, I suggest that you dive in. I would not recommend that you start with the first audible book (Godwulf Manuscript), if Burt Reynolds is the reader because he is terible! Read that one yourself. I grew to love Spencer when I started with later books where Spencer's personality, and also the personalities of Susan, Hawk and Pearl, are fully developed. Then I backtracked to learn how they developed. Of the later books, Early Autumn is my favorite (even though Susan is not yet fully developed). Some other good later novels are Bad Business, Cold Service, Thin Air, and Paper Doll. A negative of starting with later books is that there are many repeat characters. If you start with the first book, you get introduced to them as they are "born".

Some listeners are turned off by the "he saids" which follow many sentences - but you get used to it - that is just the Robert Parker style. I don't even notice it.

He's my go to guy!!!!

I just love his books. I love the humor, the tongue and cheek take me back to The Thin Man, forties black and white. I especially love Spencer's independent and somewhat radical but true morality. I like to be entertained and this does it all for me. Good writing within the context. His books are not pretentious, which really bores me. I can listen to his books while I am going to sleep and not be "disturbed" by exploitive violence, brutality, abuse etc. It reminds me of a really good cheeseburger. It would not be in keeping to present it on a china plate with Waterford crystal. The writing style, the story line, the narrator, and length all come together to form a complementary form. I guess what I am saying is that the writing style compliments the content. The writing style is the personality of Spencer. It doesn't get more integrated than that. I am not a particularly good writer, but I am a good reader, and I am very particular about what i read. I love these for easy fun listening. Like I said, it is like a great cheeseburger.