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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 stars. I liked how much it talked about Providence, but books about the mob are clearly not for me. I thought the premise that started the whole mob war was ridiculous, and there was way too much violence for my taste. I found one of the main characters to be redeeming, but no one else. Very curious to see how this becomes a trilogy. Definitely a quick read though!
I never read a Don Winslow's book before, I had no expectations and was attracted by the blurb.
I got more than I bargained, in a positive way, as Don Winslow is a master storyteller and this story kept hooked.
There's something epic, there's action, there's great characters. And a fascinating plot, a sort of Iliade retelling in the world of Irish and Italian gangs.
I loved it, loved every page, the way he writes and how the apparently simple style of writing hides multiple layers.
i will surely read other books by this author, this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I got more than I bargained, in a positive way, as Don Winslow is a master storyteller and this story kept hooked.
There's something epic, there's action, there's great characters. And a fascinating plot, a sort of Iliade retelling in the world of Irish and Italian gangs.
I loved it, loved every page, the way he writes and how the apparently simple style of writing hides multiple layers.
i will surely read other books by this author, this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I’m a sucker for books with a strong sense of time and place—books that pull you in completely. This is a modern mob-style retelling of the Iliad (though you don’t have to know anything about the Iliad to enjoy it) and it was so evocative. I loved every minute.
This is a tough book for me to review. I gave it five stars. I loved it. I can't wait to read the sequels. And yet I feel like I have to start with the big negative first.
This book isn't the Border trilogy. If this had been by a different author I wouldn't even think to compare the two trilogies, but this is Don Winslow and City on Fire isn't as good a book as Power of the Dog. Where PotD used the real world Mexican drug war as inspiration this book follows the more basic Illiad. It just didn't feel as deep. Somehow I feel that we're only skimming the surface of a better book that could have been written.
The book is excellent though. It has an interesting dynamic with two minor mob bosses going to war over minor events that keep getting further out of hand. I enjoyed the setting in Rhode Island of all places, away from the bigger mob families in Boston or New York. It made everything that happened seem even more pointless. These guys are actually pretty small potatoes in the crime world, yet they blow up a good thing because of big egos.
Don Winslow writes these types of epic style crime novels so well. The chapters are short and snappy and something happens frequently to keep the story going. And it's not all mobsters and violence in the story, there's more normal family concerns adding to the stress of the characters too. You have to read a Don Winslow book quickly to remember all the many characters but with the way he writes you'll probably want to anyway.
So anyway, this is just the first book of the series. I'm hoping that the next two are better than this one, but if they're similar, they'll at least be worth the time.
This book isn't the Border trilogy. If this had been by a different author I wouldn't even think to compare the two trilogies, but this is Don Winslow and City on Fire isn't as good a book as Power of the Dog. Where PotD used the real world Mexican drug war as inspiration this book follows the more basic Illiad. It just didn't feel as deep. Somehow I feel that we're only skimming the surface of a better book that could have been written.
The book is excellent though. It has an interesting dynamic with two minor mob bosses going to war over minor events that keep getting further out of hand. I enjoyed the setting in Rhode Island of all places, away from the bigger mob families in Boston or New York. It made everything that happened seem even more pointless. These guys are actually pretty small potatoes in the crime world, yet they blow up a good thing because of big egos.
Don Winslow writes these types of epic style crime novels so well. The chapters are short and snappy and something happens frequently to keep the story going. And it's not all mobsters and violence in the story, there's more normal family concerns adding to the stress of the characters too. You have to read a Don Winslow book quickly to remember all the many characters but with the way he writes you'll probably want to anyway.
So anyway, this is just the first book of the series. I'm hoping that the next two are better than this one, but if they're similar, they'll at least be worth the time.
It's not that I didn't like the book, but after all of the amazing reviews on Twitter, I expected more. It was a little hard to get into because of the colloquial language - my English major brain rebelled at phrases like "he don't like to go".
If you liked The Godfather, you will really like this book - the first in a trilogy according to the author. A story that follows the Murphy crime family in Rhode Island in their quest to hold their territory against the Moretti family. Danny Ryan, the son-in-law of the head of the clan, John Murphy, is the hero of the story, trying to hold the family together, increase his stature, and make a living to support his own nuclear family. His mother, who deserted the family early in Danny's life, comes back to try to reconnect and uses her considerable connections to try to ease Danny's life.
Trigger warning: There is a lot (and I mean a lot) of graphic violence.
If you liked The Godfather, you will really like this book - the first in a trilogy according to the author. A story that follows the Murphy crime family in Rhode Island in their quest to hold their territory against the Moretti family. Danny Ryan, the son-in-law of the head of the clan, John Murphy, is the hero of the story, trying to hold the family together, increase his stature, and make a living to support his own nuclear family. His mother, who deserted the family early in Danny's life, comes back to try to reconnect and uses her considerable connections to try to ease Danny's life.
Trigger warning: There is a lot (and I mean a lot) of graphic violence.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There was probably (I hope, as I like his other books about the drug wars) a point to describing the women as he did but when the story reached the stripper I gave up. It was like I picked up a book from the 1960-80s. A "free" sexual woman.
Fast, gritty story about warring mafia factions in Rhode Island, and what it means to be redeemed when there is already blood on your hands.
4 even. Very excited to read the rest of the series, as it's setting things up well with great characters, but the choppy writing style and vast cast makes for a tougher read than it needs to be.