Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Blacktop Wasteland

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

65 reviews

green_mm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This novel is among the apex of modern works of literary fiction. It will come to be understood as a window into a distinct experience within American culture, and for this, it will become a classic that is referred back to in the same way books considered classics today are revisited. Cosby constructs a vivid depiction of people and places dismissed by time and circumstance, leaving readers with an eery feeling of familiarity with those very characters and settings. I was so engrossed by the plot that I turned the last page fully expecting the story to continue, only to be shocked that there was no more left to read. Although some elements were perhaps fantastical at times, this novel never departed from reality in emotions portrayed, decisions made, or cards dealt. This is an enduring tale.

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rjohns5's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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josie2k's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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mplsmysteryreader's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A gritty authentically southern crime novel.

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is a family man that is living on the straight and narrow after extricating himself from a life of crime. When bad luck starts piling against him Bug gambles with his future and takes on one last heist in order to save his business and secure his family’s future.

What I love about S.A. Cosby:
-His protagonists are always smooth and deliberate. He features male protagonists that are underestimated but end up proving they have brains and brawn.
-In an interview Cosby stated that he writes thrillers as a way to tackle heavy themes of poverty and racism in a more palatable manor which reaches a wider range of audience compared to if he were to right straight literary fiction.
-He blocks out each scene, so the reader is able to visualize the action; car chases, bank robberies, shoot outs, fight scenes

If you are a fan of Hell or High Water or Sons of Anarchy Blacktop Wasteland book is a good segue into literary hardboiled crime fiction

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rei_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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rwgabbard's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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jhbandcats's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

SA Cosby is an extraordinary writer. I can be sitting in my living room reading a book with my body but my mind is completely in the story with the characters, feeling the adrenaline and the tension and the terror. Nothing in my life is remotely like the plots of his books but he makes me feel like I’m there.

The first couple of chapters ease the reader in slowly. You learn about the main character, his problems, his love for family, his violent history. By a third of the way in, you’re trapped - there’s no way you’re getting out of this book without reading it to the end. The first action sequence is mind-bogglingly good and it just gets better and better.

Cosby writes action that doesn’t let up. Everything is clear not just in terms of plot but in logistics. I fear I’m not articulating how bowled over I was by this book.

If you strip away the action and mystery, what’s left is an aching diatribe on the state of the Black man in white America. It’s a scathing rebuke.

Truly fabulous book. I hope Cosby keeps writing and writing and writing. He’s a literary treasure.

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