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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 I’m not the best one to review this book because I’m not big on mob crime books. And I get that verbiage like “she don’t care” is necessary to be true to the characters but it was freaking driving me nuts the entire book. I love Don Winslow though, and if you do like this genre, you’ll love the book.
slow-paced
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
Great start to the trilogy. I wish the book was longer; storylines seemed rushed.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you're a regular reader of my reviews, you know the drill... I read this one as we saw Don Winslow at the Santa Fe Literary Festival and his final U.S. stop of his book tour for 'City of Fire'... and potentially his last book tour stop EVER as Winslow has announced his retirement from writing in favor of political activism/saving democracy... tho not sure he's totally going the right way about it, as even us self-professed libtards have had to stop following him on Twitter out of sheer exhaustion of his feed... but alas, do not worry Winslow is not quite retired from publishing books as he has already completed the City on Fire trilogy, with the final two books being realeased in 2023 and 2024.
Ok, enough of all the set-up... what did I think of this book? Not what I was expecting that is for sure. Had this preconception that it would be this serious, dense, and complex book of the Italian and Irish mob in Rhode Island (yes, Rhode Island) and what I got was a very breezy and, at times, cartoon-ish (stereotypical) tale of the Morettis, Murphys, and Ryans. If you have seen or read any mob story ('Sopranos' immediately jumps to my mind), there's really not too much new or unexpected here in a somewhat repetitive cycle of "hits" and paybacks in what is a re-imaginging of Homer's Illiad (don't worry, knowledge of the Greek tale is not necessary, which was/is a good thing for me as I only have a cursory knowledge of it).
While this all sound I didn't like it very much, that's not totally the case it was quite entertaining and a page turner for sure. Granted the large cast of characters was a bit confusing at times, but it's not much of a spoiler to say the numbers do dwindle over time ... and the lead character of Danny Ryan turns into an anti-hero you can get behind. I am sure I will continue the series and hope to get around to the Cartel/'Power of the Dog' trilogy (bought that book early in the pandemic, but unsurprisingly never quite got around to it). Overall, this one lands at an unofficial 3.5 stars for me, but a goodwill bump up to a Goodreads 4 stars as I truly enjoyed Winslow at the lit festival and do very much hope he succeeds in saving democracy!
Ok, enough of all the set-up... what did I think of this book? Not what I was expecting that is for sure. Had this preconception that it would be this serious, dense, and complex book of the Italian and Irish mob in Rhode Island (yes, Rhode Island) and what I got was a very breezy and, at times, cartoon-ish (stereotypical) tale of the Morettis, Murphys, and Ryans. If you have seen or read any mob story ('Sopranos' immediately jumps to my mind), there's really not too much new or unexpected here in a somewhat repetitive cycle of "hits" and paybacks in what is a re-imaginging of Homer's Illiad (don't worry, knowledge of the Greek tale is not necessary, which was/is a good thing for me as I only have a cursory knowledge of it).
While this all sound I didn't like it very much, that's not totally the case it was quite entertaining and a page turner for sure. Granted the large cast of characters was a bit confusing at times, but it's not much of a spoiler to say the numbers do dwindle over time ... and the lead character of Danny Ryan turns into an anti-hero you can get behind. I am sure I will continue the series and hope to get around to the Cartel/'Power of the Dog' trilogy (bought that book early in the pandemic, but unsurprisingly never quite got around to it). Overall, this one lands at an unofficial 3.5 stars for me, but a goodwill bump up to a Goodreads 4 stars as I truly enjoyed Winslow at the lit festival and do very much hope he succeeds in saving democracy!
Primera parte de tres. Danny Ryan es un mando intermedio de la mafia de Providence, Rhode Island. La vida es apacible en mundo mafia porque los irlandeses y los italianos han llegado a un statu quo que les permite convivir con un reparto adecuado de los negocios de la ciudad. Pero todo va a cambiar...
Me ha entretenido mucho, pero no me ha impresionado como lo hizo la trilogía de la droga en México. Winslow construye un mundo muy bien descrito y armado, pero le falta alma a la novela. O a lo mejor es que yo le exijo demasiado porque después de lo que ya he leído suyo quiero que todo lo demás me vuele la cabeza.
Leeré la segunda parte, por supuesto.
Me ha entretenido mucho, pero no me ha impresionado como lo hizo la trilogía de la droga en México. Winslow construye un mundo muy bien descrito y armado, pero le falta alma a la novela. O a lo mejor es que yo le exijo demasiado porque después de lo que ya he leído suyo quiero que todo lo demás me vuele la cabeza.
Leeré la segunda parte, por supuesto.