Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Clunky and repetitive…and name dropping loads of infamous jazz musicians with no back story to any of them didn’t add anything to the book. They were just backdrop. Very cheesy writing, flat characters, stereotypes, terrible dialogue. Total let down of an ending…it was ridiculous. Really disappointing as this had the makings of a good story.
I really liked this story!! An ending I never expected!!
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Police brutality, Alcohol, War
Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Abortion
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Please note - I listened to the audiobook version that is not currently an option on Goodreads.
Great thanks to Dreamscape Media, the American Library Association, and Libro.fm for the ALC.
The prose is interminably dull to the point of being lifeless. Descriptions are bland and repetitive (e.g - Viper "makes sweet love" to his girlfriend, the only way the act is ever described every time it happens). I could never tell if the author was trying to tell a hardboiled crime story or some kind of impressionistic historical fiction, but the lack of conviction towards either end added up to nothingness. There's mentions of many real-life jazz musicians, but they're barely even set dressing and add nothing to the story. The entirety of the second World War passes by in a few paragraphs, adding nothing to any of the characters and seemingly only mentioned as a way for the author to skip ahead six years.
The main character has absolutely no agency to speak of, again, to the point of being lifeless. He simply floats from plot point to plot point. Upon arriving in Harlem to chase his dream of being a jazz musician, That's indicative of the character's entire life as presented in the book. Someone else does something and he just goes along with it. Never does he seem like the "Machiavellian" (another word that gets overused) crime lord that he is said to be. I'm not sure there was a single example of him showing any kind of personal thought at all, in fact.
If this was all the book was, I would have given it 2* and accepted that I just didn't like it. However, in the final chapter there was a "shock" twist ending so pointless, so egregious, that my distaste for the book became disdain.
Dreadful. Just dreadful.
Great thanks to Dreamscape Media, the American Library Association, and Libro.fm for the ALC.
The prose is interminably dull to the point of being lifeless. Descriptions are bland and repetitive (e.g - Viper "makes sweet love" to his girlfriend, the only way the act is ever described every time it happens). I could never tell if the author was trying to tell a hardboiled crime story or some kind of impressionistic historical fiction, but the lack of conviction towards either end added up to nothingness. There's mentions of many real-life jazz musicians, but they're barely even set dressing and add nothing to the story. The entirety of the second World War passes by in a few paragraphs, adding nothing to any of the characters and seemingly only mentioned as a way for the author to skip ahead six years.
The main character has absolutely no agency to speak of, again, to the point of being lifeless. He simply floats from plot point to plot point. Upon arriving in Harlem to chase his dream of being a jazz musician,
Spoiler
he is promptly told he has no talent and... that's it, he instantly gives up on his dream and instead becomes a criminal, because someone else told him to.If this was all the book was, I would have given it 2* and accepted that I just didn't like it. However, in the final chapter there was a "shock" twist ending so pointless, so egregious, that my distaste for the book became disdain.
Spoiler
It is revealed in the final paragraphs of the book that Viper's son from his first relationship, thought to have died in the womb when the girlfriend he abandoned committed suicide... was actually alive, an adult man, and had been acting as Viper's lieutenant for years. This is reveal only as Viper murders the man and, in a preposterous bit of dialogue, the dying man cries out "daddy!" and Viper suddenly realizes that this was his long-dead son? It was offensively bad.Dreadful. Just dreadful.
Jake Lamar definitely reads along the likes of Walter E. Mosely.
Clyde " the Viper" Morton, aspiring musician comes to New York from Alabama, to pursue his dream of being a jazz musician. Arriving in Harlem, 1940s, he is quickly welcomed by "Pork Chop", who politely tells him... " you ain't it boss". And so begins, his life of muscle and "loco" weed dealing.
This has a lot of GREAT twists and turns; enveloping the jazz scene in Harlem from the 1940s to the 1960s. Encompassing some of the greats: Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and a few others. I swear, Ms. Yolanda D. "Yo-Yo", definitely gave me Lena Horne and Billie Holiday vibes. Yo-yo and Viper, definitely has a "thing". The ending kind of bummed me a bit. I wanted them to REALLY be together.. .they sparked like wild fire from the very beginning.
I also like how it delves into the Black heroin epidemic during that time; fact intertwining with fiction, and the strong hold it had on our community. Also shedding light on how Black dealers were focused more on money, that saving each other from that epidemic. A fact, that unfortunately reigns true today.
The title and the cover art were spot on!
All in all a great read. I hope he dose a book TWO on "The Viper".....it could definitely be more written from my point of view. I would jump at the chance to read it!!
Clyde " the Viper" Morton, aspiring musician comes to New York from Alabama, to pursue his dream of being a jazz musician. Arriving in Harlem, 1940s, he is quickly welcomed by "Pork Chop", who politely tells him... " you ain't it boss". And so begins, his life of muscle and "loco" weed dealing.
This has a lot of GREAT twists and turns; enveloping the jazz scene in Harlem from the 1940s to the 1960s. Encompassing some of the greats: Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and a few others. I swear, Ms. Yolanda D. "Yo-Yo", definitely gave me Lena Horne and Billie Holiday vibes. Yo-yo and Viper, definitely has a "thing". The ending kind of bummed me a bit. I wanted them to REALLY be together.. .they sparked like wild fire from the very beginning.
I also like how it delves into the Black heroin epidemic during that time; fact intertwining with fiction, and the strong hold it had on our community. Also shedding light on how Black dealers were focused more on money, that saving each other from that epidemic. A fact, that unfortunately reigns true today.
The title and the cover art were spot on!
All in all a great read. I hope he dose a book TWO on "The Viper".....it could definitely be more written from my point of view. I would jump at the chance to read it!!
I couldn’t put this book down and finished in 24 hours. Loved (and hated) the twists and turns of circumstance in Clyde “The Viper’s” life.
Enjoyed the unique flash back and flash forward style of storytelling that helped me understand Clyde’s psyche the night of the murder.
Enjoyed the unique flash back and flash forward style of storytelling that helped me understand Clyde’s psyche the night of the murder.
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Riveting. Honestly couldn't put it down, it was well written and captivating throughout. It isn't a book I normally read but I was pulled right in