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ellipsis914's review against another edition
1.0
Extremely weird prose describing content that is too graphic even for me.
kirabind's review against another edition
5.0
It’s long been my policy to try and read a book before I see the movie adaptation, and book No. 1 in this week’s bonanza, Don Winslow’s Savages, is exactly why. I haven’t seen the movie yet—and at this point will probably have to wait until it shows up on HBO—but there’s no way, just absolutely no way, that it’s as good as the book. And I don’t say that from a mean-spirited Blake-Lively-hating place; it’s just that the book is a) really good and b) a really good book.
FULL REVIEW]
FULL REVIEW]
meme_ontherocks's review against another edition
4.0
It's a quick read....fun. You don't really need to use your brain too much which is what I needed. The movie comes out soon but I have to say that I don't see Blake Lively playing the lead but she could surprise me.
People are troubled by the "white people=good, mexicans=bad" but in my opinion nobody comes out looking that great. Besides just because something is based in fact that may be detrimental to a group of people, does that mean no one can ever say anything about it? Good or bad?
People are troubled by the "white people=good, mexicans=bad" but in my opinion nobody comes out looking that great. Besides just because something is based in fact that may be detrimental to a group of people, does that mean no one can ever say anything about it? Good or bad?
catchinthrills's review against another edition
2.0
Now this one, I almost quit about halfway though. I had a hard time following the many characters and plot. Once it got about half way, the characters stopped being introduced and described and the story began to go together more fluidly.
The chapters aren’t exactly chapters ( as there are over 200) and the book isn’t always written in sentences.
There’s lots of Spanish words randomly thrown in with no translation, only context clues. Even with taking 4 years of Spanish in high school and trying to learn more of the language through Babble a year ago, there were some terms even context clues couldn’t help me figure out.
The plot itself was lack-luster and really could have been any book about a drug cartel; nothing special here.
The chapters aren’t exactly chapters ( as there are over 200) and the book isn’t always written in sentences.
There’s lots of Spanish words randomly thrown in with no translation, only context clues. Even with taking 4 years of Spanish in high school and trying to learn more of the language through Babble a year ago, there were some terms even context clues couldn’t help me figure out.
The plot itself was lack-luster and really could have been any book about a drug cartel; nothing special here.
pageandspinner's review against another edition
4.0
Great read. The movie in comparison was absolutely terrible, I couldn't even watch it. This book though is a great interesting read.
gula's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
cade's review against another edition
3.0
This reads like some of his other drug war books (e.g. Power of the Dog) with many equivalent characters and plot points, but it feels like this one was written to be sold for movie rights. In the same way that "the book is always better," his other books are better than this one.
samhouston23's review against another edition
5.0
I admit that I’m a latecomer to Don Winslow’s fiction, with 2015’s The Cartel being the first of Winslow’s books I read - and Savages, from 2010, being just the second. I’ve been told that Savages, although it was Winslow’s thirteenth crime novel, is considered his breakthrough novel, the one that moved him to a whole new level of success than could be claimed for any of his previous books. Savages is so good that I find this easy to believe even without having read any of the dozen books that precede it.
Savages is about three twenty-something friends who are living the good life in Southern California. Chon, Ben, and O have the money and the leisure time to do the things they want to do, and to avoid those things they don’t want to do. And they owe it all to the high quality marijuana product that Ben developed from the seed that Chon brought back from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. O, on the other hand, lives at home with her mother and what has turned into a long, steady stream of stepfathers – all of whom have been wealthy enough to allow O and her mother never to have to worry about how their abused credit cards are ever going to be paid off.
The product sold by Chon and Ben is so good that it almost sells itself to what has become a cult following that calls itself “The Church of the Lighter Day Saints.” Now the money steadily rolls in, Chon only occasionally has to apply strong-arm tactics, and Ben has time to travel the world spending his money in those places it will do the most good. But the good times can’t last forever, and when the Mexican Baja Cartel comes calling, those days may be over for good.
Competition among the Mexican cartels has grown so bloody and out of control that the head of the Baja Cartel has decided to cushion her losses in Mexico by moving her operation north across the California border. When she demands that Ben and Chon give up their marketing operation and sell their product directly to her instead, negotiations do not go at all well. Ben and Chon refuse to play by the cartel’s new rules set, but when the Mexicans kidnap O and threaten to behead her if the boys don’t agree to the deal, all bets are off. The Mexican drug war has officially come to Southern California – and Chon and Ben are in the middle of it.
Stylistically, Savages is a hard book to describe. It is dark, violent, and sexy just the way one would expect a crime fiction novel featuring the Mexican drug cartels to be. But it is also a hilarious and touching love story (albeit one involving two men and one woman) that makes it easy to forget just how much trouble the novel’s main characters are really in. Ben, Chon, and O, for lots of reasons (some good, some not so good) are going to stick in readers’ minds for a long time. And the good news is that in 2012 Winslow published a prequel to Savages called The Kings of Cool, so readers of Savages will be able to spend even more time with them.
Savages is about three twenty-something friends who are living the good life in Southern California. Chon, Ben, and O have the money and the leisure time to do the things they want to do, and to avoid those things they don’t want to do. And they owe it all to the high quality marijuana product that Ben developed from the seed that Chon brought back from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. O, on the other hand, lives at home with her mother and what has turned into a long, steady stream of stepfathers – all of whom have been wealthy enough to allow O and her mother never to have to worry about how their abused credit cards are ever going to be paid off.
The product sold by Chon and Ben is so good that it almost sells itself to what has become a cult following that calls itself “The Church of the Lighter Day Saints.” Now the money steadily rolls in, Chon only occasionally has to apply strong-arm tactics, and Ben has time to travel the world spending his money in those places it will do the most good. But the good times can’t last forever, and when the Mexican Baja Cartel comes calling, those days may be over for good.
Competition among the Mexican cartels has grown so bloody and out of control that the head of the Baja Cartel has decided to cushion her losses in Mexico by moving her operation north across the California border. When she demands that Ben and Chon give up their marketing operation and sell their product directly to her instead, negotiations do not go at all well. Ben and Chon refuse to play by the cartel’s new rules set, but when the Mexicans kidnap O and threaten to behead her if the boys don’t agree to the deal, all bets are off. The Mexican drug war has officially come to Southern California – and Chon and Ben are in the middle of it.
Stylistically, Savages is a hard book to describe. It is dark, violent, and sexy just the way one would expect a crime fiction novel featuring the Mexican drug cartels to be. But it is also a hilarious and touching love story (albeit one involving two men and one woman) that makes it easy to forget just how much trouble the novel’s main characters are really in. Ben, Chon, and O, for lots of reasons (some good, some not so good) are going to stick in readers’ minds for a long time. And the good news is that in 2012 Winslow published a prequel to Savages called The Kings of Cool, so readers of Savages will be able to spend even more time with them.
thelocalhippiereads's review against another edition
3.0
This book definitely wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. I really wish I could rate it four stars but I just wasnt feeling Winslow's writing style. Although it's very close to how I speak on the daily. It just didn't flow like I would have wanted, not to mention the actual story didn't kick off until.......... maybe 200 pages into the novel or a little less. Just a very slow read. BUT I will say it was very funny and witty at times but even that isn't enough for me to rate this book higher than a 3. Not really interested in reading more of his work.
sarahmaida's review against another edition
2.0
I actually liked the story (except for the cheesy ending) but this might actually be the worst writing I've ever read. The author seems to have a really lousy grasp of the English language and grammar and character development is awful. The female characters in particular were painfully shallow and unrealistic. The sex scenes the author included (unnecessarily because they added nothing to the plot) were absurd and I felt like I was reading Penthouse Forum.