[Dragaera] Missing pages in The Book of Dragon

[Michael Wojcik]

On 2012-04-12 17:57, Jerry Friedman wrote:
>> From: Scott Schultz <scott at cjhunter.com>
>>> Was that Robert Parker?
>>
>> It was at least a quote from the TV show. I haven't read the novels and
>> can't vouch for it being a quote from any of them.
> 
> It's in /Early Autumn/, says Google Books.

Yes, and variations appear in several of the other Spenser novels, if
memory serves. It's one of the character's catchphrases.

I expected more people to get the reference. To be honest, I assumed
Kenneth Gorelick's "Spencer" was a typo. (And for those who've only seen
the TV version, I'll note that it's actually titled "Spenser: For Hire"...)

The "like the poet" bit is part of Spenser's literary-knowledge leitmotif
too, like his habit of quoting lines of poetry. (Parker was a lit professor
at Northeastern before he became a professional novelist.)

> Vlad's self-parodying style seems a little different somehow.

I agree. Spenser is much more comfortable with his past and his limitations
than Vlad is with his. Vlad's more sincerely self-critical and reflective.
Spenser's a classic code hero: his confidence in his code of behavior is
pretty much unshakable, and when he questions himself it's generally about
how to perform that code. Vlad evolves much more as a character over the
course of the novels, challenging his beliefs and his concept of himself in
light of events.

-- 
Michael Wojcik
Micro Focus
Rhetoric & Writing, Michigan State University