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michaelbtice's review against another edition
3.0
It was ok. I think my main issues are really just because it was written in the 70s, and there's some stuff that just wouldn't fly these days. Being the first time Hak shows up, though? Loved that. When I first started reading the Spenser books, I also started watching the Spenser For Hire TV series, and did not even realize that this was the basis for the mini series that started the show until the gun sale was going to happen and then I thought, "Wait, I've seen that in an episode."
This is the only comparison I have to make between the tv show and the books, and that's that Avery Brooks completely captures the spirit of Hawk in every way possible.
Worth a read, just for the inclusion of Hawk and how it advances Spenser and Susan's relationship, but beyond that it was just an ok book overall.
This is the only comparison I have to make between the tv show and the books, and that's that Avery Brooks completely captures the spirit of Hawk in every way possible.
Worth a read, just for the inclusion of Hawk and how it advances Spenser and Susan's relationship, but beyond that it was just an ok book overall.
aelwood's review against another edition
5.0
I liked how they used the cases Spenser was working on to address the relationship Spenser has with Sarah Silverman, and answer many questions I have had about their arrangement. Four books in and this series seem to get better and better.
rojo25's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Spenser gets hired to track down a business man's missing wife. His search for the wife leads him to a group of militant feminists and he quickly discovers the husband is in debt to a local loan shark, King Powers. Can Spenser get the couple back together without being gunned down by the King?
This is the fourth Spenser book I've read and my favorite so far. Spenser's inner nature is explored, his relationship with Susan Silverman progresses, he passes up some easy tail for once, and he runs into Hawk, the bad ass black man against which all others should be measured. I'll admit, I'm barely old enough to remember Spenser for Hire but I sure remember Avery Brooks as Hawk.
The two different plots were well done and I was pleased at how Spenser made them intersect. Spenser's character continues to develop beyond the Philip Marlowe detective stereotype.
Any gripes? Not really. I don't really understand the appeal of Susan Silverman, though. Hawk is cleary Spenser's true soulmate.
Four easy stars. I'm eager to get a hold of the next one.
This is the fourth Spenser book I've read and my favorite so far. Spenser's inner nature is explored, his relationship with Susan Silverman progresses, he passes up some easy tail for once, and he runs into Hawk, the bad ass black man against which all others should be measured. I'll admit, I'm barely old enough to remember Spenser for Hire but I sure remember Avery Brooks as Hawk.
The two different plots were well done and I was pleased at how Spenser made them intersect. Spenser's character continues to develop beyond the Philip Marlowe detective stereotype.
Any gripes? Not really. I don't really understand the appeal of Susan Silverman, though. Hawk is cleary Spenser's true soulmate.
Four easy stars. I'm eager to get a hold of the next one.
gsatori's review against another edition
4.0
Second read. First Hawk appearance.
If you are a writer you should read Parker just for the dialogue. Yes, this is a bit dated, but Parker is riding easy at this point in the series and his dialog has a natural flow.
If you are a writer you should read Parker just for the dialogue. Yes, this is a bit dated, but Parker is riding easy at this point in the series and his dialog has a natural flow.
mj_j's review against another edition
4.0
I'm thoroughly entertained by Spenser and have really been enjoying this series. These books require a fair amount of allowance for the time period in which they were written though. (re: race, sexual orientation, and gender equality issues specifically)
bookhawk's review against another edition
3.0
The Promised Land is a high three star book. Parker wrote these early Spenser books in the mid to late 1970s and captured the mood of the country on feminism with a healthy dialogue with differing perspectives. Good detective series.
mferrante83's review against another edition
4.0
I’m from an generation for whom Avery Brooks is best known for playing Captain Sisco of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. For another generation, and a different set of genre fans, he is perhaps better known for his 65 episode run as Hawk, PI Spenser’s sometime companion (who even had his own short lived series A Man Called Hawk), in the TV’s Spenser for Hire. Hawk, though present in Promised Land, makes a fairly limited (and first) appearance; though it is an appearance the certainly leaves an impression.
Promised Land like many a detective story before it begins with a fairly simple missing persons case. PI Spenser is hired by a suburban businessman to find his missing wife. As things progress the plot takes a dramatic shift in two different directions when the missing wife gets entangled with some shady characters while her husband must fend off local toughs. The plot is fairly light on the actual mystery elements shifting away from the hermeneutic mode towards a greater emphasis on examining how Spenser reacts to the situation (thus creating apprehension and excitement via the proairetic code).
The Promised Land, in addition to having an engaging plot, spends a lot of time focusing on the character and identity of Spenser and his relationship to Susan Silverman. Indeed by throwing Spenser into a domestic case in which a wife is questioning the traditional gender roles she has been living and husband who is trying his hardest to live by his own predetermined gender roles Parker provides fruitful ground for examining Spenser’s own views on relationships.
This distracts from detective/crime novel aspects of Promised Land pushing those aspects to the background in favor of something more closely resembling a character study. In addition, I believe this marks the first introduction of Hawk into the series providing for a broadening of Spenser’s background and past; aiding in the creation of a more dynamic character and (one might hope) hooking readers into future volumes. While the plot was certainly exciting I found the examination of Spenser’s relationship and philosophy more fascinating then the novel’s main plot thread. Susan, and the secondary characters throughout the novel, serve as foils; means to both question and illuminate Spenser himself and, in the end, bring him into a more direct focus for the reader.
As mentioned the novel spends a great deal of time examining traditional gender roles and Spenser’s own opinions thereof. On the topic of marriage and people I think Spenser is fairly concise (though he elaborates later on) and clear when he first speaks to the MIA wife:
It is that last line I think that forms the foundation of Spenser’s actions throughout the course of Promised Land. It is a fairly noble purpose and one that doesn’t always earn Spenser a lot of friends. While the quote above marks the first time in the novel that I recall Spenser explicitly describing himself much of the novel is spend in dialogues that, while relevant to the novels plot, seem explicitly written to set the guidelines or template by which we can define Spenser. Mrs. Shepard points out Spenser’s innate character later in the novel:
A not-so-typical tough guy with heart, brains, and brawn. It’s a fairly concise and accurate definition but one that ignores many of the subtleties that are reflected in Spenser’s conversations with Susan. While these dialogues, and Spenser’s own musings, can occasionally come off as somewhat preachy they are by and large elegantly done and make for some compelling reading.
Promised Land is an excellent read well deserving of it 1977 Edgar Award win. Not only doesn’t it prevent a thrilling crime element it is a prim example of the subtly and nuance that is possible in detective fiction. The discussion of gender roles, marriage, and relationships were, especially for the seventies, topical given the prevalence of the Women’s Liberation Movement during that decade and even today remain fascinating. This was my Spenser novel and, if you’ve never tried a Spenser novel before, Promised Land might be a place to start.
Promised Land like many a detective story before it begins with a fairly simple missing persons case. PI Spenser is hired by a suburban businessman to find his missing wife. As things progress the plot takes a dramatic shift in two different directions when the missing wife gets entangled with some shady characters while her husband must fend off local toughs. The plot is fairly light on the actual mystery elements shifting away from the hermeneutic mode towards a greater emphasis on examining how Spenser reacts to the situation (thus creating apprehension and excitement via the proairetic code).
The Promised Land, in addition to having an engaging plot, spends a lot of time focusing on the character and identity of Spenser and his relationship to Susan Silverman. Indeed by throwing Spenser into a domestic case in which a wife is questioning the traditional gender roles she has been living and husband who is trying his hardest to live by his own predetermined gender roles Parker provides fruitful ground for examining Spenser’s own views on relationships.
This distracts from detective/crime novel aspects of Promised Land pushing those aspects to the background in favor of something more closely resembling a character study. In addition, I believe this marks the first introduction of Hawk into the series providing for a broadening of Spenser’s background and past; aiding in the creation of a more dynamic character and (one might hope) hooking readers into future volumes. While the plot was certainly exciting I found the examination of Spenser’s relationship and philosophy more fascinating then the novel’s main plot thread. Susan, and the secondary characters throughout the novel, serve as foils; means to both question and illuminate Spenser himself and, in the end, bring him into a more direct focus for the reader.
As mentioned the novel spends a great deal of time examining traditional gender roles and Spenser’s own opinions thereof. On the topic of marriage and people I think Spenser is fairly concise (though he elaborates later on) and clear when he first speaks to the MIA wife:
Sanctity of marriage is an abstraction, Mrs. Shepard. I don’t deal in those. I deal in what it is fashionable to call people. Bodies. Your basic human being. I don’t give a goddamn about the sanctity of marriage. But I occasionally worry about whether people are happy.
It is that last line I think that forms the foundation of Spenser’s actions throughout the course of Promised Land. It is a fairly noble purpose and one that doesn’t always earn Spenser a lot of friends. While the quote above marks the first time in the novel that I recall Spenser explicitly describing himself much of the novel is spend in dialogues that, while relevant to the novels plot, seem explicitly written to set the guidelines or template by which we can define Spenser. Mrs. Shepard points out Spenser’s innate character later in the novel:
You reek of machismo, and yet you are a very caring person. You have all these muscles and yet you read all those books. You’re sarcastic and a wise guy and you make fun of everything and yet you were really afraid I’d say no a little while ago and two people you don’t even like all that much would get into trouble.
A not-so-typical tough guy with heart, brains, and brawn. It’s a fairly concise and accurate definition but one that ignores many of the subtleties that are reflected in Spenser’s conversations with Susan. While these dialogues, and Spenser’s own musings, can occasionally come off as somewhat preachy they are by and large elegantly done and make for some compelling reading.
Promised Land is an excellent read well deserving of it 1977 Edgar Award win. Not only doesn’t it prevent a thrilling crime element it is a prim example of the subtly and nuance that is possible in detective fiction. The discussion of gender roles, marriage, and relationships were, especially for the seventies, topical given the prevalence of the Women’s Liberation Movement during that decade and even today remain fascinating. This was my Spenser novel and, if you’ve never tried a Spenser novel before, Promised Land might be a place to start.