Western

This fifth book in a series of westerns started by Robert B. Parker featuring Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. This one was written by Robert Knott, it is his first novel. Robert Knott, along with Ed Harris adapted the first in this series, "Appaloosa" into a screenplay and movie. Robert Knott is not the first author to pick up one of Parker's series and continue it with another book but I do think he has done the best job of knowing the characters he has written about. I suppose that having had a hand in writing the screenplay for Appaloosa gave him some insight into the Cole and Hitch characters. I enjoyed this book very much, it's good to read a well written, action packed and quick paced western and that is what this novel is. I think Mr. Parker would have been proud of Knott's handling of the continuing adventures of Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. ( )

Robert Knott takes on the series and ends up overwriting it a bit - as pretty much anyone else who tried to emulate Parker's style.

After saving Appaloosa for a second time in the last book, Virgil Cole is now a territory marshal (with Hitch as his deputy). That does not change what they are doing except that they get some additional duties and they don't need to find someone to hire them before they step in to help with something. When we catch up with our heroes they are coming back from delivering some wanted men to the authorities in Mexico. The plan had been to ride back but after Virgil gets a note from back home, they decide to hasten and catch the train back.

And that is the time when some not very lucky bad guys decide to rob the train. As it turns out, the governor of Texas is on the same train, with a lot of money and with his complete family and the whole act of robbing the train was to mask the fact that the robbers knew about the money. What they did not plan on was Cole and Hitch who decimate their numbers... but not fast enough to stop them from splitting the train and getting away with some hostages. And the chase is on.

The novel is full of details about the trains of the era - as far as I can say, these were correct enough. Add Indians, abandoned mines and backstories of criminals and the story kinda works - a bit overwritten, a bit too Hollywood-y but decent enough.

What falls a bit flat are Cole and Hitch - Cole talks too much at the wrong times, the dialogs between them does not always work as it should. Knott tried - if you close your eyes to the irregularities, it sounds almost as it should but it is an imitation and not the real thing and it shows. And as the story is very different from the first 4, there is an attempt to use the dialog to tie the books - but it just does not fit the much more wordy narration we are getting.

As for that note that sent our heroes on the train - Virgil finally shares its content with Hitch and if you do not laugh at his deadpan delivery, you are not paying attention. Of course it is Ally - she managed to get in her usual ways... in a worse way than usual. It will be interesting to see what happens when Cole gets back home to Appaloosa.

It is a nice story and not a bad continuation of the story - it should even out with the next book. I was glad to meet Cole and Hitch again. And I really hope that Knott finds the middle ground between his own style and Parker's - Atkins showed everyone that it can be done - we do not need an imitation of Parker, there are many ways to continue a series. ( )

Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse was an entertaining western novel about a train robbery gone awry. It features U. S. Marshal Virgil Cole and his deputy sidekick Everett Hitch, who narrates the story. Apparently, this is part of a series featuring these two characters, as indicated by their past history with the villains. It's an entertaining, fast-paced story with plenty of action. However, unlike L'Amour stories, there is no obligatory fistfight, and the gun battles are kept to a minimum as Cole and Hitch rely on superior strategy, tactics and the threat of violence more than actual brutality. The map on the inside covers of the book comes in handy to follow the action over the course of the story. The laconic dialogue between our heroes is pure gold. The author has done his homework about train technology of the era. The story is named for the old locomotive that Virgil and Everett use to get ahead of the villains who are holding two girls for ransom. Could one of them be a potential romantic interest? And do our heroes valiantly ride off into the sunset after saving the day? ( )

Robert Knott was the lucky fellow chosen to continue the Cole/ Hitch western book series, upon the death of Robert B. Parker, the author who invented it. Knott had never written a book before, and his only relevant experience was his co-production of the 2008 film Appaloosa, which had been taken loosely from Parker's first contribution to the series. As with other such series continuations, this book's cover bears Robert B. Parker's name in huge letters 4x as large as the actual author. Thus, many prospective readers have been fooled into thinking they were getting a book by Parker himself, rather than a cheap imitation.

Knott tries to follow Parker's style, with dubious results. The two characters are barely distinguishable in action or dialogue; in fact their conversations commonly consist of monosyllabic one to four word responses. (Responses like "Is" "Did" and "Nope" abound in page after page). Thus, there's no depth, no revelation, and no character development. He also copies Parker's approach of having very short chapters of 2-3 pages each. As a result, the book's 368 pages (rendered in large print with large margins) and contains 113 chapters. To ensure their brevity, the chapter breaks are placed at arbitrary points in the text -- often occurring in the middle of the action.

The plot is readily summarized. As territorial marshals, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are recruited to help guard a train carrying the governor of Texas and his family along with a hoard of money. A large pack of ruthless bandits take the train and separate it into sections -- letting them grab the money and kidnap the governor's daughters for ransom. Cole and Hitch have an enormous challenge in safeguarding the money, rescuing the daughters and reuniting them with their family. To the author's credit, he seems to have learned quite a bit about railroad travel in the old West, Details of his knowledge include specifics about the newfangled Westinghouse air brakes and the means by which railway cars were coupled. These aspects lend the story a certain realism. On the other hand, the love interest could hardly be more minimal. Cole gets word (despite being out in the wilderness) that his lady back home is running around being promiscuous with men. As for Hitch, several pages after a minor interaction between Hitch and the governor's daughter Emma, Virgil Cole remarks that he could tell that "feelings had sprung up "between the two of them. No matter; nothing comes of it.

This book would likely have elicited no attention if not for Parker's name. Overall, I found it a disappointment, even given Parker's low standards; clearly his style is not so easy to adopt as one's own. Yet Ironhorse has gained as many or more Amazon reviews as Parker's books of the series, most of whom has ranked it highly. I've generously awarded it with 1.5 stars, and am inclined to wonder about the reading experience and taste of readers who have given it high ratings. ( )