I've given it four stars, but the star that's missing is the most important one to me...
Let me explain.
There are many components that go together to make a good story and this book does nearly all of them extremely well. The plot is tight, lean and mean. The other characters in the story are entertaining and interesting and comprise the darkest, seediest components of society. The language and prose is so wonderfully straightforward and objective that the story chugs along with effortless ease...
but then there's Parker...
Other people (whose blood will now be boiling and feathers be spitting) praise this character as some sort of idol of the hard-boiled. But frankly he's just an a**-hole. He's an a**-hole with a vendetta against a bunch of other a**-holes who betrayed him and now work for a load of organized crime a**-holes. Sure this makes him edgy and tough and funny, but there was literally no reason for me to want Parker to come out on top. I could not invest in it emotionally. I am not asking for much (I don't want it soppy), but just some sort of moral compass. By the time I had got to the end, for all of Parker's completely unjustifiable actions, I wanted him to die at the end of the story (perhaps taking his own life to give it some sort of Asian revenge thriller vibe).
Unfortunately, this combined with stakes that were not high enough. Parker in all his a**-holishness seemed to be completely detached and isolated in his life. He is also ruthlessly professional and totally in control. The result? We have an unlikable character, who can not be bested and has nothing to lose (but not in a desperation kind of way).
I got to the end asking myself "what was the point of all that?"
Sorry hardcore fans (especially Tfitoby!)
Not for me....
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