Reviews

The Border by Don Winslow

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jeff_clutterbuck's review against another edition

3.0

The second and third books in the trilogy didn’t quite reach the heights of of the first, but they were still satisfactory. By Border, I think a lot of the tricks Winslow had utilized previously become easier to identify. No character is safe, except for one glaring exception. And to be frank, the Dennison wish fulfillment storyline didn’t work for me.

asequeirosm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

adamclane99's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

slider9499's review against another edition

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5.0

Simply one of the best books I have read in the past 20 years. No doubt about it. This is the best book in the trilogy. And that's saying something!

lil_legge's review against another edition

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5.0

I expected to be disappointed by this book because I didn't think it would be possible for Winslow to finish this trilogy in a way that did the first two books justice. Even with that in mind, my expectations were high, I was not disappointed.
This could be the best series I've ever read.

tomfairfax's review against another edition

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4.0

Like the previous two books in the trilogy it is an adept intermingling of deeply researched real world events - generally shocking episodes from Mexico - with well-rounded believable fictional characters. The narrative style is fast moving achieved by significant use of short single-sentence paragraphs that at times become annoyingly noticeable. There is sufficient verbal recounting of key events from the previous books that a new reader would not feel adrift, but don't read the final chapters if you want to read the previous books. I felt the ending was less credible than those of the previous books but it did not lessen the overall experience. A lot of the less positive reviews here are because of people's perceptions that it has a political agenda, and it does which is that the situation in Mexico is ultimately the fault of the people of the USA. It points out that building a wall to keep poor people out won't stop the flow of drugs into the US or the laundering of drug money through the US Financial system. Is that a criticism of the guy promoting the Wall idea? Yes. Winslow shows many reasons why and how US citizens facilitate the drug trade whether as users or pushers and the consequences this creates for ordinary people in whatever country. It's polemical and well done. The geographical border is less a feature than the border between rich and poor and the personal / moral borders that the main characters create and cross. 4.5 stars.