SPOILERS!! THE GLASS RAINBOW ending and plot discussed here

[jimmer]

I not be going on no posse where Kermit is him. Dave got him with the cut-down twelve-gauge.

[penelope]

I not be going on no posse where Kermit is him. Dave got him with the cut-down twelve-gauge.

So, we can expect a discontinuation of the siphoning problem?

There could be other "Kermits" who need to be taken care of.

[DouglasP]

I have been keeping track of Dave's age for several books and am very sensitive to any mention of it. In TGR he is 71 years old. He mentions at one point entering his "eighth decade." He also makes a reference to an event that happened in 1942 when he was a little boy and that he was serving in Viet Nam as an officer in 1966. I have seen enough other references to know that he was born in 1938, that he was in college until about 1960. He was in the Army and then the NOPD for several years before the beginning of Heaven's Prisoners, which took place about 1988, when he rescued Alafair when she was about 5 years old. Alafair turns 25 in 2009 in TGR. So yeah, Dave (as he so often mentions himself) is an old man.

[rnhealer]

I think the ambiguity of the ending here was meant for the reader to use his imagination as to the fate of Dave and Clete. I can't really believe that JL Burke means to end the series and not leave himself the choice of writing another successful Dave Robicheux novel. I admit this is not like any of his other novels where he writes an epilogue to wrap it up. So, we, his loyal fans will have to wait to see how the fate of Dave and company transpire in a future novel. Admittedly it's frustrating, yet I don't feel let down.

[jamesleeburke]

Thanks, R.N. Keep the faith, noble mon.

Best,

Jim

[philipvm]

Two things, Mr. Burke:

First, wanted to thank you, as I was finally able to explain to my wife exactly why I so look forward to your books. We sat side by side at the beach, this weekend, and she was reading something very self-help-y, and I was midway through TGR. When I asked for a few more minutes before taking a walk, she said, "You've been sneaking off to read for two days...is it THAT good?" I flipped back a bit, and read her one of Dave's descriptions of Clete...just a few paragraphs. "Okay," she said, "I get it. That's pretty damned good." That afternoon, she actually recommended TGR to friends who were staying with us. (Imagine what reading a whole chapter might do for her!)

Second, I just wanted to add to the voices who are calling for some more time with Dave, Clete, Alafair, Molly, et al. I was a great fan of Bob Parker and of Donald Westlake, and the last year has been hard, knowing that I'd never see new stuff about Spenser, Parker, Virgil Cole, Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall. All of them, though, are still out there: Parker may not tell me what case Spenser is on, but I can feel him out there, flirting and brawling. Westlake (or George Stark) may not be laying out Parker's latest heist - and getaway - but I think I still see Parker trailing every armored car on the highway. I know there aren't entirely fair comparisons, as Dave's mortality has been a theme through several books, but I wanted to let you know that Dave is a friend that I'm thrilled to see whenever he checks in...and I'll grieve mightily when he checks out.

Mostly, then: thank you. For Dave, for Billy Bob, and for all the wonderful characters and stories you've sent our way. I just bought a copy of "Heaven's Prisoners" for my eldest daughter, who heads off to college in three weeks. Before she gets buried in books she HAS to read, I want her to be reminded of reading for the joy of it.

Best,
Philip

[Fantum]

I read the book while on a cruise in the Meditteranean on my deferred honeymoon. (A second marriage for both of us, and Andrea likes JLB also...another indication we are a good match.) I'm 57, and picked up on the visions of mortality early in the book.

The previous posters have worked over the "is he or isn't he dead?" angle, so I don't need to do that. I suspect JLB knew, even if not to a certainty, when he typed the last word of Rainbow whether Dave and/or Clete are still with us. I can only ask that we not be required to wait two years until the next book (should there be one) to find out.

My real reason for writing is to express my hope that JLB didn't write this book because of any defect in his own health that would cause him to reflect on death and mortality through Dave. It's none of my business, and he certainly doesn't owe me a response. So I'll just close by thanking my favorite author for what could certainly be argued is the best book in a long, distinguished, much-loved series, and wish him and his family the best of health.

Johnny Loper

[jamesleeburke]

Thanks for the nice posts, Mr. Philip and Mr. Loper.

Best wishes,

Jim

[mlerc]

Now other writers are commenting ont TGR. They read the LA Times Review, and one author even read the book. See separate thread if you have not read the review.

Marilyn

Finally--someone else wonders what I was wondering!

From the above review...
The normally depressed detective is not merely feeling a sense of his own
imminent mortality, but he's also given an irrefutable sign that the end is
near — a mystic vision of a 19th-century paddle-wheeler floating down Bayou
Teche, its ancient crew and passengers beckoning him aboard.

There's nothing like a harbinger of death to unsettle a lawman. That goes
double for the reader, prompting a frisson of uneasiness at its first
mention that increases with each sighting. By the time the novel arrives at
Robicheaux's and Purcell's inevitable, inevitably violent final confrontation
with evil, that otherworldly paddle-wheeler is lowering its gangway in
anticipation, and the suspense level is about as high as it gets in popular
fiction.

Does Robicheaux hop aboard for a sail down the River Styx?

Star Lawrence

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Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2010 12:29:37 -0500
From: Pat Browning <browning.pat@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: THE GLASS RAINBOW...pulling a Reacher?

On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 10:42 AM, Star Lawrence <JKelLaw@aol.com> wrote:
> Finally--someone else wonders what I was wondering!
(quoting from LA Times) There's nothing like a harbinger of death to
unsettle a lawman. That goes > double for the reader, prompting a
frisson of uneasiness at its first
> mention that increases with each sighting.... Does Robicheaux hop aboard for a sail down the River Styx? (end quote)


I read the L.A. Times review and found it very upsetting. I'm not
ready to let go of Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell, but maybe JLB is
just tired of putting those two through the wringer. Nobody lives
forever, not even in fiction. I haven't read THE GLASS RAINBOW and now
I'm not sure I want to. I admit it, I'm a wimp when it comes to that
sort of thing.

Pat Browning
--

[KHH]

Having recently finished this supberb novel, I'm reminded of the Annie Wilkes character in Stephen King's Misery. I hope Dave and Clete come back, but unlike Annie Wilkes, I won't act on my frustrations if Mr. Burke decides to end this great series. Just don't retire the pen. I love the vivid descriptions, and the poetic narrative of all your novels!