What a mistake that would've been. From the prose, to the story, to the characters to the ending. All of those elements blend together to create an intriguing and fast paced thrill-ride. Also, I've yet to experience an ending that had my heart pounding as quickly as this one. Where did this author come from? I've never heard of him before reviews started popping up on Good Reads declaring this novel an instant-classic.
I definitely need to get my hands on more of his material and soon; he's that damn good forgive me, I appear to be thinking out loud. In closing, Winslow has written one of my favorite passages I've ever read. Here is that passage: We reinvented ourselves every day, remade our culture, locked ourselves in gated communities, we ate healthy food, we gave up smoking, we lifted our faces while avoiding the sun, we had our skin peeled, our lines removed, our fat sucked away like our unwanted babies, we defied aging and death. We made gods of wealth and health.
A religion of narcissism. In the end, we worshiped only ourselves. In the end, it wasn't enough. View all 10 comments.
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Mar 28, James Thane rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Don Winslow scores again with Savages. Two Laguna Beach buddies, Ben and Chon, operate a top-of-the-line marijuana business. Ben is a laid-back environmentalist and philanthropist; Chon is an ex-Navy Seal and former mercenary.
They grow their own product, which is much desired, and they have a loyal and exclusive clientele. Both Ben and Chon are in love with the beautiful Ophelia, a spoiled local rich girl who loves both of them in return. There have been occasional minor threats to the business Don Winslow scores again with Savages.
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There have been occasional minor threats to the business, but they have been quickly dealt with by Chon. Now, though, a Mexican cartel has decided to take over Ben and Chon's operation and the Mexicans also insist that Ben and Chon continue to grow the product for them, effectively becoming the cartel's employees. When Ben and Chon refuse, the cartel kidnaps Ophelia, insisting that they will hold her captive until Ben and Chon agree to the cartel's "offer.
Ben and Chon, determined to rescue Ophelia and to preserve their independence, declare war on the cartel. Winslow who wrote perhaps the best fictional account of the drug trade ever published, the classic The Power of the Dog , is in great form. As usual, he captures brilliantly the Southern California lifestyle while at the same time skewering the misadventure that is the "war" on drugs.
This is not a book for the faint of heart, but for anyone who might not yet have discovered Winslow, it's a great place to start. Aug 06, LMM rated it did not like it Shelves: What's with the hype? This book was a snooze. A totally played out story line which was unbelievable BTW , with recycled storytelling, featuring snappy, hipster dialog that tries SOOOOOO hard to have pop cultural significance in the vain attempts of being ingratiated into thos What's with the hype? A totally played out story line which was unbelievable BTW , with recycled storytelling, featuring snappy, hipster dialog that tries SOOOOOO hard to have pop cultural significance in the vain attempts of being ingratiated into those too-cool-for-school kidsters everyday lexicon.
This was such a blatant suck up to prove how down he is, I kept picturing Winslow skulking at the back of the class going, "oh! The characters were 2-dimensional. I completely understand why Winslow kept having to remind the audience that the title of the book was called Savages because really There was nothing Savage about it. Like I said, not only does this book have a been there and done that feel Jul 11, Anthony Chavez rated it really liked it. When the Baja Cartel wants them to do business for them, and they decline, the downward spiral begins.
Explicitly violent, explicitly sexual and explicitly It was a radicalized and ripping rush of a read through the southern California drug culture that succeeds on the strength of "savage" characters on both sides of the California-Mexico border. His partner, Ben, champion of third world causes, is the product of a liberal up-bringing by a pair of psychologist parents. Forming a neat little love triangle is dyed and tattooed "O," the spoiled offspring of the stereotypical SoCal diva who jumps from husband-to-husband while flitting from the latest pop culture answer to self-actualization to the next with ADD-like precision.
So life is sweet for the drug-trade made multimillionaires - until the feared BC Baja Cartel proposes a business deal - via a web video of seven heads separated from their bodies hanging from meat hooks. Chon prefers to fight while "peaceful" Ben would rather run, but when Baja raises the stakes, both boys are sucked into a wild and fiendishly brutal ride worthy of the title.
I have not yet seen anyone write Southern California quite like Winslow here.
Masters and Savages: A Novel - James M. Dawsey - Google Книги
Winslow isn't here to preach but, excepting some misplaced Oliver Stone-like political rants, but to entertain. He succeeds beautifully in spinning a bare-knuckled, blistered-pace drama of crime, suspense, and passion that explodes in a climax fitting of the carnage and emotion that precedes it. Don Winslow is an under-appreciated writer - a talented and consistent storyteller with a very unique style, backed by the authority that only comes from living the life of what you write.
Fast and furious, yet paradoxically poignant. Savages has a panache, I have heard the style here is different then his other books, but as I read it I felt that it was the mark of a writer finding his style. I see how someone could find it irritating, such as his frequent use of acronyms; however, I love the acronyms, switching to script form, nickname etymology, and other devices Winslow used for this story. The reason why the book didn't get 5 stars is because I still had some issues with it.
Sometimes the writing appeared a bit elementary. I realize that some books are supposed to be a simple perspective style, but with all the visual writing and the almost chapters in an only page book, I almost felt like it was meant to be a movie, with each chapter being a new scene. It is a gritty, violent romance, sure to leave you hating and loving the book at the same time.
Younger folks might rate most of this book as a 4 star book liking the language more than I did. The charac Younger folks might rate most of this book as a 4 star book liking the language more than I did. The characters were well sketched out well, very believable, as was the situation. Not only didn't it make any sense to me, I don't think it could have happened that way. Once that was done, taking one himself wasn't a huge leap.
I'd think mainlining it would take a few seconds to run them into no where. The doc had given him a few hits to manage his own pain. Jan 26, Josh rated it it was amazing Shelves: The Baja Cartel want Ben and Chon to grow exclusively for them, so much so that they send a rather confronting video to Chon for his viewing pleasure. One could say Ben, Chon, and O have got themselves over their heads… And so starts a non stop thrill ride of drugs, sex, violence, and big business cartel warfare.
O is unique, funny, and deeply in love with her boys, both of The Baja Cartel want Ben and Chon to grow exclusively for them, so much so that they send a rather confronting video to Chon for his viewing pleasure. O is unique, funny, and deeply in love with her boys, both of whom freely share her heart and bed.
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She's the innocent victim of the Baja Cartels greed and thirst for expansion. Winslow is really onto a winner with this semi odd couple - one a violent and take charge through violence, the other, a negotiator with a Zen-like outlook on life. As for the story, Winslow doesn't miss a beat. There's enough back-story to make the characters feel real while the action clocks breakneck speed. I love the approach Ben and Chon take to raise enough money to meet the cartels requirements.
It's a blood romp through California sun, shine and drug warfare. My original take was much less comprehensive but remains true: Great characters, fast moving story and non stop action. The Bruen-like prose was well executed - Winslow has adopted this style and made it his own. Jan This review appears on my blog along with my thoughts on the movie adaptation: Jul 25, Karina Halle rated it it was amazing.
Off to buy every single book Winslow has written. Review to come in August. This comes adorned with so many over-the-top raves and blurbs that you'd be forgiven for thinking that the novel is unlikely to live up to the hype. And you'd be unsurprised to discover that you're right. This is a speedy read, and it is pretty much gripping once it gets going, and it does have funny bits, but something is lost: It's just awf This comes adorned with so many over-the-top raves and blurbs that you'd be forgiven for thinking that the novel is unlikely to live up to the hype.
It's just awfully thin, is all. The telegraphic, faux-blank-verse-y style of the writing, with lots of lines that break in the middle, I suppose to mimic how the prose hits, and hits, and hits the reader— makes for blazingly fast reading like a movie script, yes, and there are pages in script form mixed in with the prose here as well, though to what end its hard to say. Though once you slow down, there are lots of easy-to-punch holes in the plot.
And ultimately the style is also kind of annoying, and achieves any effects by skipping past those other things that a fuller style achieves: A passable read for a long plane ride, but that's about all. I immediately threw it in the resale box on getting home. Dec 31, Kyle Pennekamp rated it did not like it.
Read a lot of good reviews of this, heard Oliver Stone was adapting it, made some best-of-crime-fiction year-end lists And I don't get it. I will say that pages were good, insofar as things actually happened. The rest of it Don Winslow inserts his or the narrator's voice between the reader and the character, as a character of its own. But that character is indistinct. That character thinks he is incredibly clever and funny.
And after he makes a funny, clever comment, h Read a lot of good reviews of this, heard Oliver Stone was adapting it, made some best-of-crime-fiction year-end lists And after he makes a funny, clever comment, he takes pains to explain to you why it was clever and funny. What he doesn't seem to realize is that if it has to be explained, it's neither funny nor clever. The world is great: Hydro so great they come into competition with a Mexican cartel in SoCal.
But the two dudes are not much more than that. One is a Iraq vet who likes violence. The other is the peaceful one. Mostly so he can be different than his partner. If this set up had just been written straightforwardly, with unaffected prose It was really the style of the writing mixed with the shallowness of the characters that got me. You can skip it. View all 4 comments. I found Savages because of the movie trailer for Oliver Stone's adaptation of this book.
My philosophy is that the book is always better than the movie. The book is quick-witted and hilarious but its also about an escalation of a drug war. From the very first page I was hooked. I can say this with all honesty I dare you to put it down after the first page. It's such a intriguing intro that wills you to read more. Then its a snowball down the mountain and before you know it you've finished it.
It I found Savages because of the movie trailer for Oliver Stone's adaptation of this book. It's probably the first book I spent more time laughing, at it, than actually reading the book. This isn't a PC book but when you're talking about drugs and kidnapping PC really does fall by the waist-side. Don Winslow 's Savages is instantly one of my favorites.
It will be interesting to see how Oliver Stone handles this novel. It starts with a two-word chapter. One of the words is an obscenity. That ratio of obscenities to non- pretty much holds up for the rest of the book. What do you expect in a story about some Orange County yuppies who dabble in the drug trade until the BC gets all real with them? Some feelings get hurt. Not really, but, well, yeah, kinda he does. Flipping through the book you notice a lot of white.
Not white like white people white, although there It starts with a two-word chapter. Not white like white people white, although there are some of those too.
White as in pages that aren't filled with words. That's due to some of the short chapters, like the one that opens the book. Also there's a lot of unnecessary carriage returns which seems to be part of the author's Uber-hip style that sounds like a guy who moved from New York and absorbed himself in the SoCal culture instead of just sitting around complaining about how the pizza and bagels here aren't the same as they are back home only that really is the author's story, but it's unclear about the pizza and bagels part. So you don't want to like it because it's, you know, trying too hard except for one thing: So you like it in spite of the Look-at-me-ma prose.
Now you're looking to get your hands on the prequel. And you might even watch the Oliver Stone movie adaptation. Jun 23, Cristobo De rated it did not like it. Don, what have you done? The more time I have to reflect, the more I like this novel. My brother loaned it to me to read on a plane, and I definitely recommend reading it in a context where you can take two hours and just fly through the whole thing at one go. I do not, on the other hand, recommend reading it in a setting where you sit inches from strangers who may read over your shoulder and judge you for all the language and graphic sex and violence.
Because yes, the language, sex, and violence are all over the top, b The more time I have to reflect, the more I like this novel. Because yes, the language, sex, and violence are all over the top, but in the context of the novel as a whole, they have to be. The story is about two male friends Ben and Chon and their shared girlfriend O , and how their lives change when a Mexican cartel decides to take over their highly profitable marijuana business. Much torture and witty social commentary ensue I particularly love O's dreams of what her life will be like when this ordeal ends: Many aspects of Southern California life are lovingly skewered, providing some great laughs between the cringe-worthy scenes.
Chapters are short, with sentence fragments often laid out like poetry again, back to O, I particularly love a truly clever wordplay on the concept "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. What elevates this above a standard crime novel, though, beyond the level of wordplay and characterization, is the way Winslow works the theme of savagery through the work.
And the savagery theme makes the violence not gratuitous. The real spine of the work is Ben's hypocrisy: He refuses to admit, though, that even though "It's just pot," selling illegal drugs is a violent endeavor. Although Chon tries to shield his friend from that part of the world, when this novel begins to get more intense and Ben has to change as a character, the change is less of an internal metamorphosis and more of a stripping away his constructed identity to reveal the ugly sides that were hidden there all along.
It is beautiful, it is provocative, and it makes for a fascinating read for anyone who can handle the R-rated elements of the book. I definitely want to read the new prequel. These two words set up the feel of this novel really well. Chon and Ben are weed growers in Laguna Beach, California; their product is top of the range. Ben is the botanist that looks after their marijuana and business; Chon looks after the problems. Then there is O; their girlfriend. When the Baja Cartel takes interest in their product, things are bound to get Savage. This is savage noir, full of quick chapters and in the words of Don Winslow; baditude.
Snappy dialogue, noirish themes and the dark gritty plot is what makes this novel such a thrill to read. But when you mix the quick, straight to the point chapters; you are practically flying through this book at an outrageous speed. Also the DEA turncoat seems to have a much larger role in the movie which turned out rather well simply because this role was played by John Travolta.
The book works well because of the angst and mental back and forth that was conveyed; particularly with Ben. But the movie just goes for the savage violent point and it is gruesome to watch. In the end, read the book; experience the style and wit of Don Winslow, because this was the best part. If you want to see the movie, maybe do it as a way to see what Hollywood does to a movie adaptation; while less tragic, it was more sardonic.
I enjoyed the book but when it came to the movie I think they took it a little too far. But maybe that is just caused by the visual aspects of watching the violence. This review originally appeared on my blog; http: View all 5 comments. Jul 23, Kristijan rated it it was amazing. Postoje i oni koji su pravi prijatelji!!!
Nisam vidio puno knjiga koje na jednoj stranici znaju imati tri poglavlja. Zato, bez ikakve sumnje, petica. Jul 28, Jeffrey rated it it was amazing Shelves: An awesome book with great dialogue written with verve and panache about bad guys and bigger bad guys, who are all savages in the end.
They use specially imported plants from Afghanistan to make the best dope people can buy. Ben,uses the money to finance a variety of green projects around the world. Both guys are involved with Ophelia, or as sh An awesome book with great dialogue written with verve and panache about bad guys and bigger bad guys, who are all savages in the end. Everything is great except the Bali Cartel, run by ruthless Mexican family whose chief muscle is Lado, a murderous ex cop killer, has decided to expand into California because they need to make more money and they are involved in a drug war with another cartel and also with ex members of the Bali Cartel, run by Azul.
Chon thinks that they should fight but Ben says they will just give up the business and go away. Not what the BAli Cartel had in mind.
So they kidnap O and threaten Ben and Chon that if they do not want her headless body back, they will commit to work for the Bali Cartel for 3 years. Ben and Chon do but hatch a plan to buy O back for 20 million. Problem, Ben only has 15 million. Maybe Ben and Chon can rob some drug dealers. The O scenes with her Paqu, Ben and Chon are very amusing. This is not an ode to drug dealers, its a story about bad guys and worse guys and what happens. But its a really good read. May 10, Michael Martz rated it it was amazing. I'm late to the Don Winslow party, but I'm damn happy I finally found it. I'm going through his catalog in reverse order, it seems, and every novel is excellent.
Savages is more of 'micro' view, while the other two are more sprawling in scope. Savages' plot is pretty simple. Two SoCal buddies, one an ex-Seal and the other more of a pacifist type, develop a killer strain of marijuana from seeds brought back from an overseas posting by the ex-Seal. A Mexican cartel gets wind and decides they want the action. The two buddies aren't interested, so the cartel decides to exert a little leverage.
The bargaining chip ends up being a young lady who's the shared girlfriend of the buds. There's lots of violence and other action involved, which seems to be a trademark of Winslow's work. It's taken me awhile to appreciate Winslow's writing style. Of the 4 novels I've read, the structure of Savages is the least conventional, with lots of missing punctuation, odd sentence lengths, etc.
Once you get used to it, it's actually sort of refreshing in that he's trying, I think, to match the sort of unpredictable nature of the story.
His dialogue is great and the characters are clearly developed through the book. By the end, you tend to know what each participant will do, which is the mark of a good character writer. Savages is a great novel that'll whet your appetite for more Winslow! I usually don't go for books where the style overshadows the substance, but when a book has this much style it's really hard to resist. Does the book move? Here's a fun tally: Recently on some site, someone had posted a list of "rules" for writers. It was all those Fiction things that are repeated by people that heard the same things from someone else: What leads him to think she is the road to redemption?
There is more to Witfield's past than first meets the eye. And there is more trouble ahead than he can imagine. Read more Read less. Here's how restrictions apply. Mercer University Press July 30, Language: Start reading Masters and Savages: A Novel on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers.
Write a customer review. Showing of 6 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I read a lot of historical novels, I am a history buff. It remains in my Kindle library only partly read. There is just something about the writing style that is not very appealing, it is slow and uneven almost as if the writer is unsure what to do or add next. I will go back to it at so point and see if it improves. This is an excellent piece of historical fiction featuring the transportation of contract laborers from Africa to Brazil during a post-Civil War setting.
I am not particularly interested in the Civil War time period or in naval travel, yet this book held my interest throughout. Through the use of flashbacks, Masters and Savages creates a context that is larger than the events occurring on the boat, which show the motives of Witfield, the main character, and others.
The novel builds to an action-packed climax that actually had my adrenaline rushing. I hope that Dr. Dawsey writes more fiction in the future, because he has real talent. I could not put the book down. A wonderful adventure story. Dawsey's style of writing is superb, and the words just seem to flow. He explores a South that you don't read much about in history books, but is a true South of honor and decay, guilt and redemption. I was surprised by the ending, and you will be too. The book is a real keeper. Starts slow, but finishes with a bang! Though names, locations and tribes are hard to follow at first, once Whitfield's secret is revealed about half way through , its one helluva story.
It sizzles from midpoint on. As in golf, it's not how you drive, it's how you arrive, and this book, in its ending, arrives very, very well. And some good theology in here, too, though not overly done. Who are we, and what do we really beleive, what do we really stand for, those kind of universal questions. Whitfield finds out in the course of this book, and it's fun and enticing to learn along with him. One person found this helpful. Masters and Savages is a novel that will grab you by the throat and not let go.
Set in the period immediately following the Civil War, the drama plays out aboard the clipper ship Isabel which is loaded with a cargo of contracted laborers from Angola destined for new colonies of American emigrants settling in Brazil. The excitement begins as the vessel runs a blockade of British war ships, and the action escalates as conflict, disease, and Mother Nature mark the transit across the Atlantic.
Characters reminiscent of those created by Herman Melville or Jack London violently confront each other and their predicament. The tale is told by a former Confederate officer, Whitfield Stone, son of one of the leaders of the settlement colonies. Obsessed with protecting an 11 year-old girl suffering from Ophthalmia, Whitfield plays a crucial role in the conflict between his former commanding officer and the ship's captain.
As events unfold, Whitfield recalls episodes from his earlier years as a soldier and citizen of his beloved Virginia. Dawsey, a recognized author and scholar of religious studies, has created a gripping account, and along the way he weaves into the narrative fundamental questions about survival, sacrifice, and redemption.