Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Black Buck

I wanted to like this more than I did; but the book didn’t end up working completely for me.

It’s definitely funny (100% helped by listening to the audiobook, the narrator did a fantastic job),and has some important themes on race especially in corporate America (this part worked for me as a black mixed race woman in corporate America, the micro and macro aggressions really hit for me).

I think, though, the story lost its way after the middle. The ending didn’t sit well with me, the final having a mix of “it really be your own people sometimes” felt out of place for me with the overall goal and themes of this book.

But this is a debut, so I will 100% be picking up this author’s future work, because the comedic writing alone is spot on for me.

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david_brent's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

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

2.75

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suzyvee's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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moriahleigh's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.75

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thenovelmaura's review

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dark funny medium-paced

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

3.0

This book had an excellent narrator and as someone who works in tech, I appreciated its satirical take on toxic, racist startup and sales culture. It was painful to listen to at times, which is what makes it so cutting and effective.

On the flip side, the narrative itself was really drawn out (I wasn't always sure where the story was going or why I was still listening to it) and then Darren's character development pretty much came out of nowhere. He never really seemed to learn his lesson; just woke up one day and decided to change. I think this book is great in the sense that it could (and probably already has) kickstart conversations about the lack of diversity and accountability in the tech space, but it did lack the finesse to really drive those points home.

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acoffeeandagoodbook's review against another edition

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challenging funny 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

5.0

Holy shit, this book. Black Buck is not at all what I expected, in the best possible way. At first, I wasn't sure it was for me, but as soon as Buck crossed the threshold of start-up tech company, Sumwun, I was sucked in.

Anyone who's worked in a ridiculous start-up will recognise Sumwun. The almost cult-like atmosphere, the chaos, the firm belief that what you're doing is somehow different and special, when really, all these companies are pretty much the same. For Buck, this insidious creep of corporate bullshit is accompanied by an atmosphere of casual racism, that he is forced to excuse if wants to get ahead. The running joke throughout the novel of white people telling Buck he looks exactly like a different famous black man is both smart and funny, and does a brilliant job of showing the daily drip of the racism from his colleagues.

The pace rattles along, and I really struggled to put the book down. In fact, I ended up blasting through it in a day. As Buck inevitably begins to become enamoured by the cult of Sumwun, the money, and his charismatic boss, I almost felt like I was watching a car crash in slow motion. You know the fall is coming, but there's nothing you can do to stop it.

And when the fall comes...wow. As the novel draws to a close, things ramp up to an unhinged level. The turns the story takes towards the end are not so much plot twists and hard swerves into a completely different place. Some of these twists and turns did stretch my credulousness a little, but the novel is satirical, so it's no surprise that it's over the top in places.

This book is smart, funny, and fast-paced. It's a hell of a read.

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faythd's review

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adventurous tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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