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It was with mixed feelings that I picked up 'No Quarter', the last book completed by Robert Asprin before his untimely death last May, at age 61. I have been a fan of Asprin's work since 1977, when I discovered 'The Cold Cash War'. He quickly became one of the few authors for whom I would search for something new every time I went into a bookstore. So, reading 'No Quarter' would be more than simply reading a new book by a favored author; it would also be my "good-bye" to him. The question, at that point, was would this be his valedictory, like Spencer Tracy in 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?', or his ultimate embarrassment, like Peter Sellers in 'The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu'. Let me say right here that this is a book which he can be proud of.
As with most of Asprin's work over the last decade or so, 'No Quarter' was a collaborative writing effort. Eric Del Carlo and Teresa Patterson were his "partners in crime", as it were. I feel that is an appropriate way to describe their partnership because, unlike anything else written by Aspirin (that I know of), 'No Quarter' has no fantasy or science fiction elements in it. Set in New Orleans's famous French Quarter (Asprin's home for many, many years), it is a straight murder mystery (as a friend of mine put it "a hard-boiled mystery served over Easy"). Now, more books than I would care to count are set in New Orleans, both fiction and non-fiction, including "insider" books written, like this one, by residents of the French Quarter. With this specific work, however, I think that Asprin gave us a literary first. As with his creation of 'Thieves' World', the first "shared universe" specifically created for multiple authors to write within, Asprin has, for the first time (to my knowledge) set a book with no science fiction or fantasy elements in a world that he had first created for the setting of a fantasy series.
With his two books in his 'Dragon's series' (his last two books written before 'No Quarter' AND, interestingly enough, his first two books written in a LONG time without any co-authors), Asprin created the French Quarter settings which he then also used as the setting for 'No Quarter'. Minor characters from the background of the 'Dragon's series' also appear in 'No Quarter', including that of Maestro (a character Asprin based on himself) moving from a walk-on role in the Dragon's books to a lead role in 'No Quarter'. While we can't really know what Asprin had planned, if he had any ideas of intertwining the two, I do believe that this is the first time a non-genre (science fiction / fantasy / horror) book has shared a universe with a genre universe.
As for the book itself, I found it to be a very satisfying read. It uses first-person narrative structure, except that the narrative switches back and forth between two of the three main characters in succeeding chapters. The characters are very well developed and the mystery is compelling. The insider's view of The Quarter, of the places that only those who live there know, gives us a setting that is both familiar and unknown. The mystery itself gives you everything you need to know to work out whodunit, while, at the same time, keeping you from recognizing many of the clues so that the ending is surprising enough to reward the reader. I think that 'No Quarter' would be a worthy Edgar Award nominee.
Now, there are things that could have been done in 'No Quarter' which, in my opinion, would have made it even better than it is. For one thing, a map of Asprin's French Quarter would have been helpful for visual learners like me. I had difficulty following where locations were in relation other locations. I hope that the publishers will do a hardback commemorative edition (especially if it is nominated for or wins any significant awards) and include a map in it. As hardbacks are my preferred binding, I would definitely buy another copy of this for my collection. For another thing, the third main character in the book, Alex, was female character with an interesting background and perspective, but we never get to hear any of the story in her voice, as we do with the two male leads (Maestro and Bone). Finally, the books gives enough detail and interesting characters that it could easily have been an on-going series. It read to me as if it was the first of several books. While I hope that Del Carlo and Patterson will continue to work together to better explore this fascinating little corner of the world for us, Asprin's voice would not, of course, be part of it, although I think that his spirit would be.
Now, to end with positives, let me say a few things which might be of interest to bibliophiles, like me. This book is the first publication for a new publishing house, Dark Star Books. I have read many books, from publishers large and small, new and old, with which the aesthetic of the books themselves were an annoying distraction... bad bindings, pages which fall out, type too small (or large), etc. This book has none of those drawbacks. Published as a trade size soft cover, the binding is excellent, the spine didn't break as I read it, and the type used was a very good size and style for an older reader, such as me, who has trouble with small print now-a-days. The cover itself is glossy and feels good in the hand, and the original illustration, by Nathan Smith, wraps around to encompass front, side and back to give you a work of art that might be suitable for framing and hanging on the wall. As a trade size book, the pages are large enough to make the book easy to read without either trying to cram too much on each page to simply save a few pennies for the publisher or too few to make the book seem like it is larger than it really is.
All in all, I am very happy with this book and am looking forward to reading more from Dark Star.
