Resolution | 
| Author: Robert B. Parker
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $11.75
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Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 2438
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 039915504X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780399155048
ASIN: 039915504X
Publication Date: June 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The New York Timesbestselling authors richly imagined work of historical fiction: a powerful tale of the Old West from the acknowledged master of crime fiction.
I had an eight-gauge shotgun that Id taken with me when I left Wells Fargo. It didnt take too long for things to develop. I sat in the tall lookout chair in the back of the saloon with the shotgun in my lap for two peaceful nights. On my third night it was different. I could almost smell trouble beginning to cook . . . .
After the bloody confrontation in Appaloosa, Everett Hitch heads into the afternoon sun and ends up in Resolution, an Old West town so new the dust has yet to settle. Its the kind of town that doesnt have much in the way of commerce, except for a handful of saloons and some houses of ill repute. Hitch takes a job as lookout at Amos Wolfsons Blackfoot Saloon and quickly establishes his position as protector of the ladies who work the backroomsas well as a man unafraid to stand up to the enforcer sent down from the OMalley copper mine.
Though Hitch makes short work of hired gun Koy Wickman, tensions continue to mount, so that even the self-assured Hitch is relieved by the arrival in town of his friend Virgil Cole. When greedy mine owner Eamon OMalley threatens the loose coalition of local ranchers and starts buying up Resolutions few businesses, Hitch and Cole find themselves in the middle of a makeshift war between OMalleys men and the ranchers. In a place where law and order dont exist, Hitch and Cole must make their own, guided by their sense of duty, honor, and friendship.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 Wstern light. July 26, 2008
This is the second in this new Western series. Parker, as always, keeps the story moving along and and his writing is crisp. However there is little to this story. The bigest problem for Parker fans is that they will recognize that the dialogue between the two main characters, (and even the lesser ones) is identical in cadence and even words used by Spenser and Hawk. All men do not talk as if they are caught in a second rate John Wayne movie. Still this is worth the afternoon or so it takes to read.
 Comfortable as an old shoe July 13, 2008
I am not going to give you another synopsis of the story. People much more talented
than I have already done so. I love Hitch and Cole. Reading about them is
like coming home on a cold winters day and slipping into warm slippers and
curling up on the sofa with an old friend telling me a story. It just does
not get any better than this. Yes there were several things Parker could have
done different but I got my money's worth and I am glad I bought the book.
resolution July 10, 2008
Another outstanding book by Robert Parker. His unique writing style is fun to read. I look forward to every book.
Parker is a master of dialog July 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Imagine ten or twelve characters defined almost entirely by what they say. Robert B. Parker does precisely that in "Resolution", a sequel of sorts to "Appaloosa". It is sequel in the sense that the two main characters, Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole appear - and, happily, they haven't changed a bit. Both are the kind of men you can believe roamed the American West in the latter 19th Century. They are rough men, perfectly willing to kill others, but they are not barbarians. In fact, both are intelligent and sensitive, trying unconciously to resolve the issue of where they and all humanity stand in the cosmos. It may sound deep, but it isn't. Virgil and Everett are just trying to get through life one day at a time.
Everett rides into the town of Resolution, a town that is still being built. Wolfson owns the Blackfoot saloon, the emporium, the hotel and bank. He is also the local cattle broker, delivering the cows from the the local ranchers, who are economically distressed, to market - and retaining a big chunk of the proceeds. The other economic heavyweights in the town are O'Malley, the owner of a copper mine and Fritz Stark, owner of a lumber business.
Wolfson isn't satisfied with owning most of the town and controlling most of its economy. He wants it all. When Everett Hitch rides into this rough town, Wolfson hires him as a "lookout" in the Blackfoot, a bouncer really.
Everett, a former army officer and graduate of West Point is rootless.
So is his friend Virgil Cole, who shows up in Resolution. Cole recently killed a man who was involved with the woman Cole is fond of. He resigned as the lawman in Apaloosa because he no longer felt he was a law abiding citizen himself.
Cole is laconic and speaks sparsely. So is Everett. Rose and Cato, two shooters hired by O'Malley speak the same way. Others such as Wolfson and the ill-fated Koy Wickham (not a spoiler - it's on the dustjacket) are more talkative.
The mix of characters is wonderful. Virgil Cole, Everett Hitch, Rose and Cato could be fairly called professionl killers, which doesn't mean they are always on the wrong side of the law. Sometimes they are the law. Wolfson represents greed that may not have any other objective than personal enrichment by whatever means possible. O'Malley, Stark, Bob Redmond and the other minor ranchers and businessmen represent ordinary people who are just getting on with their lives and really don't want trouble or violence. Billie is the whore with a heart of gold that Everett protects as he does Beth Redmond, the abused wife of a rancher. There are assorted other characters, some of whom meet violent ends.
Several dynamics are at work here. The conflict between Wolfson, O'Malley, Stark and the ranchers. The conflict between Wolfson, the employer, and Everett Hitch, the employee who does what he wants, not what he is told to do. The friendship between Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The relationship between Rose and Cato, two other gunmen hired by Wolfson.
There's a lot going on here - and the wonder of it all is that Parker handles almsot the entire story through dialog! No need for flashbacks, flashforwards, backstories or the other detritus so often used. Rather, Parker lets the dialog alone carry nearly all the story, except for some stagesetting here and there.
Even though there are ten or twelve significant characters, there is never a moment of confusion as to who is saying what. Parker is simply a master of the art of telling a story through what its characters say. Quite an accomplishment, I think.
And the characters are rich and deep. Both Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole come across as intelligent, thoughtful, even sensitive men who will kill you when they alone think it necessary. Judge, jury and executioner - and sympathetic and noble as well. Wolfson through his words comes across as utter sleaze, mostly through his words.
This is a quick read. An afternoon or evening. The book is padded to an extent with large type, lots of leading to bulk it up.
The story is of morals, of truth and justice. It may or may not be a taste of how things were done and said in the American West. Whatever, it is great story made truly remarkable by Parker's incredible skill at writing dialog. Even if you think you have no interest in "westerns", but appreciate seeing a master of dialog at work, read this. It is teriffic.
Jerry
Nobody is like Parker! July 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I will always pick up a Parker book - regardless of the price (don't get any ideas Parker publishers!)
Parker's dialogue is so entertaining - that even though the action isn't "James Bond" level - there is always the sharing of morals and high prioritization of the value of empathy and listening to the heart as well as the brain, concluding in doing the "right" thing.
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