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    Slayground: A Parker Novel
    Slayground: A Parker Novel
    Slayground: A Parker Novel
    Ebook165 pages3 hours

    Slayground: A Parker Novel

    By Richard Stark and Charles Ardai

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    About this ebook

    The hunter becomes prey, as a heist goes sour and Parker finds himself trapped in a shuttered amusement park, besieged by a bevy of local mobsters, in Slayground. There are no exits from Fun Island. Outnumbered and outgunned, Parker can’t afford a single miscalculation. He’s low on bullets and making it out alive is a long shot—but, as anyone who’s crossed his path knows, no one is better at playing higher stakes with shorter odds.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateSep 15, 2010
    ISBN9780226772974
    Slayground: A Parker Novel

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    Reviews for Slayground

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    • 5/5
      The title "Slayground" is a takeoff from the phrase "Amusement Playground." It is the fourteenth Parker novels, following "Deadly Edge" and preceding "Plunder Squad." "Lemons Never Lie" comes between "Slayground" and "Plunder Squad," but that is really one of the four Grofields, not a Parker. "Slayground" is the flip side to the Grofield novel "Blackbird." Parker, Grofield, and another guy pull off an armored car heist and the car flips over in the getaway process. Grofield ends up in the hospital where he is recruited by the CIA in "Blackbird." Parker, however, gets away and hides inside an amusement park, that is shut down for the winter. In front of the park

      as Parker makes his entrance, a pair of hoodlums is busy paying off a pair of cops. After hearing a radio report of the armored car heist, a crack team of professional hoods enter the park to hunt down Parker and the $70,000 he is reportedly carrying with him. There is but one entrance and one exit and the hoods can keep calling in reinforcements while Parker has but one gun and a limited number of bullets.

      This is quite different than most other Parker novels as it really doesn't center around the planning and execution of a heist. This is more like a horror movie with the serial killer chasing the teens around the funhouse, popping out at the oddest moments and creating general havoc Parker-style. It is a solid, quick read that is about as fun to read as any crime novel ever has been. No, the plot is not all that complicated, but it doesn't need to be with Parker ingeniously improvising as he darts from one amusement park ride to another. How many hoods does it take to take down Parker? Gotta wonder.

      Giving this one high marks not on its depth and complexity, but on the absolute amount of fun and enjoyment this was to read.
    • 4/5
      Least favorite of the Parker Series by Richard Stark/Donald Westlake. Well written, but plot had nowhere to go: Parker is trapped inside an amusement park by thugs --- will he escape...well, since there are more books in the series, not very hard to predict the outcome.
    • 4/5
      Most everyone’s consensus favorite as Parker novels go and I can see why. Trapped in a closed-for-the-season amusement park, Parker is hunted by a seemingly endless supply of killers. The environment allows for countless ways to outsmart and outmaneuver his adversaries. Very enjoyable but my favorite of the “classic” Parkers remains The Black Ice Score.
    • 4/5
      Luc Sante wrote, "Some Parker novels are fantastically intricate clockwork mechanisms ("The Hunter", "The Outfit", the seemingly unstoppable "Slayground", the epic "Butcher's Moon")..." This book takes place about 5 years after Joe Sheer's death, which happened in the 6th book, "The Jugger" which I just read a few days ago. Parker's working on his eighth job since then, but still trying to catch up and rebuild from the events in that book.Alan Grofield is in this, another Stark character that I really like! It’s his and Parker’s fifth job together, albeit for just a tiny amount of time. This one goes sour fast, and Parker finds himself trapped with the satchel of loot in an amusement park called Fun Island that has been closed for the offseason! But, they give him too much time, and he is able to “booby-trap the whole damn park against them...”! Then it's a cat-and-mouse game till the end! Don't go into the house of mirrors! Claire, Parker’s gal, is in this too.Good, quick read! Shows how smart Parker is, especially when his back's against the wall! I wonder if he'll ever get that money. Or his revenge on Lozini. Did Stark ever write the 'sequel'?Guess I'll just have to read ALL the Parker novels! Poor me! ;-)
    • 4/5
      Richard Stark was one of the many pseudonyms of Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008), who was a very prolific, and acclaimed, noir crime fiction writer. The Mystery Writers of America bestowed their Grand Master award on Westlake in 1993, and if Slayground is representative of the Westlake’s quality of writing and storylines he certainly deserved the Grand Master award. Slayground: A Parker Novel was first published in 1969 after Stark (Westlake) had published dozens of novels about the tough and determined thief. Parker reconnoitered and planned his thefts very carefully. He also tried to choose his companion thieves very carefully. However, unexpected obstacles or glitches can turn the most carefully planned capers into a test of survival skills even for a consummate professional thief like Parker. Perhaps the trait that made Parker so amazing was his ability to accept those unexpected glitches without panic. He was not someone who was overcome by fear, agony, or self-pity when he found himself in desperate situations. Instead he was able to simply accept his difficult situations and respond analytically to extricate himself from dangerous situations. He was indeed tough (hardboiled), but he didn’t use violence unless it was necessary for a successful heist or to extract himself from dangerous situations. In Slayground, Parker and two accomplices rob over $70,000 from an armored truck, but things go wrong when their escape vehicle crashes on an icy street during their escape. The two accomplices are injured and Parker flees alone on foot with the bag of money. He takes refuge in a closed-for-the-winter amusement park/fun house as a temporary hideout. However, he realizes that four people, including two policemen, saw him entering the park with the bag of money. He also discovers that the park is surrounded by a high fence and a moat on all sides but the front. The only way out is through the front gate. When no police attempt to capture him, he realizes that the men who saw him enter the amusement park intend to probably kill him and take the money for themselves. Unfortunately, the men, including the two policemen, are connected to the mob and they come after him with many reinforcements toting weapons. Parker is alone, cold, hungry, with a gun, but only a few bullets. This story places Parker in a position that seems impossible for him to survive. He realizes that he may not survive, but he steadfastly prepares to face, punish, and eliminate his foes with his wits and whatever resources he can find in the amusement park. He doesn’t hate his enemies, but he does what he knows he must do to survive without any regrets. This is a thrilling, fun, and quick read. I plan to read other Parker novels in the future and I recommend Slayground to any crime-fiction aficionado, especially to those who enjoy the perspective of the criminal. However, don’t expect deep thoughts from Parker because he is not that kind of guy. This edition of Slayground also contains an interesting forward written by Charles Ardai about Westlake and the Parker novels.

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