Well, the claustrophobia of it, being stuck in a seeming no-win situation against overwhelming odds. Parker in survival mode, being pushed to the limits of his ingenuity, patience, and physical abilities. I mean the physical ordeal alone was grueling - the cold, the wet, the hunger, the strains of action and inaction. It was brutal.
The immediate predecessor to this one, "Deadly Edge" is Parker vs. a couple of Manson-esque hippies. Gee, who's gonna win that match-up? It's always a foregone conclusion that Parker is going to somehow get out of his predicaments. But this time, I really couldn't see how he was going to make it, and that ratcheted up the tension for me.
The 'one man against many' thing is a common trope in all sorts of action fiction & movies. This book made it come alive for me and made me believe that if anyone could do it, it's Parker.
"Slayground" does have an element of more obvious or self-conscious cleverness to it. The Parker variant of the ol' locked-room mystery. But Westlake really sold it to me. He kept it down & dirty and human. Parker just scrapes by on smarts and brass balls. This is one of my faves of the series.
Tom Armstrong
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "J.C. Hocking" <jchocking@...> wrote:
>
> Actually one of my least favorite Parkers.
> I mean, it's good, really good, because it's Westlake and Parker, but to my mind
> it couldn't match the better efforts in the series.
> What made it work so well for you?
>
> John
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: tomarmstrongmusic <tom@...>
> To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Mon, August 30, 2010 2:00:56 PM
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Slayground
>
>
> Got the latest batch of Parker reprints, tore through "Deadly Edge" and then got
> to "Slayground". Wow. I don't even...I mean this book...it's...
>
> It's the ultimate expression of something. I don't know what exactly, but it's
> the most...it's the epitome of...
>
> I'm just speechless, with my tongue hanging out. I found that book to be
> incredible. What were other readers reactions to this thing?
>
> Tom Armstrong
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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