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Rating:  - Desperation and lack of opportunity leads to greed
Goines scores an interesting tale of a criminal mastermind in the Midwest who builds an empire through business saavy and absolute power. The settings are vivid through his descriptive and detailed style, and the characters are gritty, realistic people with no options and trying to make a buck and remove themselves from harm's way.
The backdrop is mostly Detroit (with a bit of Chicago), so as a native Detroiter I found that very accurate and interesting. The protagonist is a classic anti-hero along the lines of a Tony Soprano...love him one minute, despise him the next. I think fans of the Mafia genre would find this a compelling read.
Rating:  - NOT CRAZY ABOUT IT
WELL THIS IS MY FIRST TIME READING A BOOK BY DONALD GOINES - I DONT THINK I WILL TRY ANOTHER ONE. I LIKE WHERE THE STORY WAS COMING FROM AND WHERE IT WAS GOING, BUT IT JUST DID NOT HOLD MY INTEREST. IT WENT FROM BORING TO CONFUSING TO MEANLESS IN EACH CHAPTER. I DONT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK - IT WAS A WASTE OF TIME, I COULDN'T EVEN FINISH READING IT.
Rating:  - Shrug my shoulders...
This is the third book that I've ever read by Donald Goines and now I'm confused about whether I like him as an author or not. This book was really hard for me to get into after Prince got out of jail. Then when the Cougars came in, I was all over it. Then when Ruby got all Queen Bee, I was bored again. It was just one big roller coaster of emotions. I'm still going to read another one, because I didn't like his first one, thought the second one was great...so I figure there's a pattern there too!
Rating:  - Very strong piece
This guy seemed to be ahead of his time. This was the first book I've read from Goines, but it won't be the last. He had a way of making the story so vivid, so real; he had a way of just bringing it to life and putting you right in the middle of the action. His characters in this story(the main ones) all had their own traits, and Prince and Ruby surely were the mad couple if there ever was one. The thing most impressive about it to me was he tied in actual events along with his story. The riots in Detroit, along with Black nationalist issues were key then, and he tied all of it in with what he was bringing to the table.
Rating: - Another Donald Goines Classic!!!
this book is great. it tells the story of prince, an inner city youth forced to rise from common street crimanal to commander and cheif in one of the most ruthless crime organizations in 1970s detroit. filled with truley detailed and discriptive writing about street life. this book portrays the risks it sometimes takes to gain respect and importance. a must read for any fan of crime novels, black or white. goines has struck gold again.
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