Rating: 
Summary: Time Travel for Spencer
Review: Have you ever put aside a Parker book, too bored to continue? This one was a first for me. Parker's protagonist, Wyatt Earp, sounds surprisingly like Spencer, and various other characters remind me strongly of Susan, Hawk, etc. The dialogue that delights when spoken in Parker's Spencer series, sounds flat here. Sadly, I don't think this Western book works, but I'll be eagerly awaiting his next mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Of course he's a good writer, BUT ...
Review: this is not an original story here. We all know the characters and the places; there is no real depth of character or any new spin on the Earp story. This book is like any other western story ever told but without detailed description of the setting or the characters. Only the Earp brothers get much character description and except for Wyatt, its pretty sparse. The chapters are really short and don't flow smoothly. There is nothing new here. If you want to read a good western about Wyatt Earp and Tombstone look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Gunman's rhapsody
Review: I thought when I heard that Robert Parker was writing a western I was thinking maybe he would show a similarity to the PI and the cowboy of the old west. WRONG! This is another Wyatt Earp, Johnnie Ringo, Bat Masterson etc......book. There is a simiarity between the conversations of Wyatt & Josie and Spenser & Susan but I was thinking that just Parker's style. Let's get back to Spenser.
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Summary: Parker finally writes his western and its about Wyatt Earp
Review: When the Custer Battlefield was renamed for the battle of the Little Big Horn and sealed history's final verdict on that vainglorious Indian killer, Wyatt Earp assumed the mantle of the most ambiguous "hero" of the Old West. Robert B. Parker enters into the debate on whether or not Earp was anything more than a thug wearing a badge with "Gunman's Rhapsody." Carefully crafted and sparsely written, this is one of Parker's best novels in years, refreshing in its style even though its subject matter is one of the most often told tales of the West. Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp have moved their families to Tombstone, Arizona where the boys because involved in not only law enforcement but gambling and other profitable enterprises. However, when Wyatt meets Josie Marcus, the girl of Johnny Behan, everything changes. Behan is a Democrat and Sheriff of Tombstone, while the Earps are Republicans and Virgil the City Marshall, so when Wyatt wins Josie, there are going to be consequences. Just because Behan is too much the politician/coward to come at Wyatt straight on, does not mean the Earps are safe. History has recorded the details on who did what to whom, and now Parker provides his take on the whys and wherefores. This is Parker's first "western" novel, although it has been clear from his last couple of Spenser and Stone novels that he has become enamored of the genre: "Potshots" is basically the Spenser crew doing "The Magnificent Seven." However, there is only a faint echo of Parker's Spenser novels: when Bat Masterson shows up, his relationship and banter with Wyatt is reminiscent of Spenser and Hawk, and there are a couple of moments where Doc Holliday shoots off his mouth in a familiar fashion. What Parker's heroes share in common is their "code," and although Wyatt's primary motivations are his love for Josie and the feud it causes with Behan, along with his closeness with his brothers, it becomes clear there are rules he lives by and things he will or will not do. Ultimately, I am not so much curious about why Parker chose to write a western as I am about the fact that he picked historical figures in the most celebrated gun fight in American (and American cinematic) history. Parker puts the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and what follows in the context of Wyatt's relationship with Josie. In Parker's retelling of the tale, that affair becomes the primary causal factor for everyone who is killed or wounded throughout the novel and a defining element for presenting Wyatt as a heroic figure. The Wyatt Earp I know from history was prone to violence, partial to pistol-whipping people and lucky enough to have peddled his side of the story to the Eastern Press. As drawn by Parker, the character is much more of a noble figure with his ruthless pragmatism and fierce family loyalty. If Parker is trying to do more than find a historical antecedent to Spenser, the point is either not at all obvious or just totally lost on me. Finally we are left with wondering why Parker did not just write a western with original characters. Given the fresh start he has given his writing career with "Gunman's Rhapsody," I have to hope that is his next move instead of going back to dressing up westerns in his detective novels.
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Summary: Spenser Goes west
Review: First Robert B. Parker turned his series detective hero Spenser into a woman (for the Sunny Randall series), now he has Spenser travel back in time to the old west to play Wyatt Earp -- with Doc Holliday as a kind of low budget Hawk. All the familiar Spenser ideals of love and honor are there, and there's some anachronism (did they really talk about "securing the perimeter" in the old west?) which makes it easy to make fun of Gunman's Rhapsody. But the story zips along, and it's a well imagined version of the familiar OK Corrall legend. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed it almost despite myself.
Rating:
Summary: A Robert Parker Novel that's a Terrible Waste
Review: I am such a fan of Robert Parker, particularly the Spenser novels, that I preorder them in anticipation long before their publication date. This book, Gunman's Rapsody, was an enormous disappointment. I love Robert Parker and I love western lore, so this was a double whammy as far as I'm concerned. Basically, this book is a scene by scene recap of Kevin Costner's film, Wyatt Earp. That's it. There was no real exploration of character and no real story. It was almost a novel based on a screen play. What a pity. And what a waste of time and effort. I can't believe I read the whole thing. Up until the last page, I hoped for it to get better. I am so disappointed. I will wait until publication before buying future Parker books. I feel I've been had.
Rating: 
Summary: Gunman's Rhapsody: Spenser travels time to the Old West
Review: Gunman's Rhapsody, I was pleased to find, is up to Parker's usual page-turning standards. It's a fictional retelling of the Wyatt Earp saga "with the full weight of American history behind it," according to the publisher. If that be so, then Kevin Costner's recent film portrayal of Earp is closer to history than the earlier versions by Burt Lancaster and Henry Fonda. And Parker's insights both deepen and widen the Earp reputation. Parker's pen brings to life a host of storied characters, including Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson, friends of Wyatt and the other Earp brothers, as well as foes such as Clay Allison, John Ringo and Curley Bill Brocius. And Parker puts real flesh on the bones of the oft-told story of the feud between Sheriff Johnny Behan and Wyatt over showgirl Josie Marcus, which led to the famous shootout at the O.K. Corral. Josie was the love of Wyatt's life, but in hindsight one almost wonders if all the blood spilled over that romance was worth it. If for none other, it's almost reason enough just for the joy of reading Parker's retelling of this cornerstone saga of the wild and wooly old American West.
Rating:
Summary: Hard To Put Down
Review: In 1879 thirty-one-year-old Wyatt Earp, his spouse Mattie, several of his brothers, and their wives leave Dodge City to relocate in Tombstone. Three days pass in their new town when Wyatt sees traveling actress Josie Marcus for the first time. He cannot help but compare the vibrant, beautiful woman to his own wife. He realizes that Mattie, who was fun as an alcoholic whore, is a pathetic domestic. Wyatt did not desire Mattie long before his eyes feasted on Josie.
Josie is not only beyond Wyatt's reach, he sees her with Johnny Behan. Worse to come is when Behan introduces Josie to Wyatt as his fiancee. Johnny tells Wyatt that Pina County will probably split in two. He wants to become sheriff of the newly formed Cochise County when it is formed. He needs Wyatt to resign his current position as under sheriff so that he can accept it as a stepping stone when the split happens. Regardless of Wyatt's decision the woman and the job forces a dangerous feud to form. Mixing history with his legendary story telling abilities, Robert B. Parker effortlessly switches genres to provide readers with a powerful tale of the old west. The exciting story line centers on Wyatt, turning him into more than just a dime store character. The plot allows the cast to appear real and the rivalry to develop without slowing down the plot for even a moment. GUNMAN'S RHAPSODY shows that Mr. Parker has the talent to become a superstar in a second genre. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Read It In One Day - Loved It!
Review: I was expecting a new Spenser novel. Imagine my surprise when this reserved book turned out to be a "Western!" However, knowing that I've loved all of Parker's novels, I took it home to read. I could not (nor did I want to) put it down. I read it in one day and was sad when the end came. I recommend this book to all readers, whether they are fans of the western genre or not.
Rating:
Summary: A winner - mostly.
Review: This is a well-written book, with effective pacing and artfully, though sparingly, crafted characterizations. As fictionalized Earps go, Parker's version of Wyatt and brothers is solidly realistic. To this amateur student of frontier history who has read most of the historical and fictional accounts of Tombstone over the last forty years, his take on the political/economic/social currents of 1880's Tombstone seems about right. The relationships between the protagonists and antagonists seem authentic, not overdrawn or stereotypic. He presents interesting and believable interpretations of some of the "unexplained" events from this period, such as the mysterious death of Johnny Ringo. My one quibble is that Parker gets the guns wrong. Colt peacemakers do not have swing-out cylinders; Winchester rifles were not available in .45 Colt caliber until the modern era, apparently due to the case wall design and thinner rims permitting blowback of gasses through the rear of the action with the blackpowder loads of the day. (Modern reproductions are made in that caliber for Cowboy Action shooters, some of whom occasionally experience the blowback problem with some loads). For the average reader I suppose these anachronisms would have no impact, but for me it made an otherwise first-rate piece of western fiction feel just a bit off-key. However, I would still recommend this book for its well-crafted prose and well-drawn sketch of life and death in 1883 Arizona.
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