The Force: A Novel

I found DON WINSLOW later in life. And man, am I glad I did. The good news? My life is richer, my writing is crisper, and my outlook on the craft of being an author is broader. Why? Because with Don, especially in THE FORCE, I have come to realize two major things: First, multiple viewpoints and voices is supremely engaging. Second, there are no rules (anymore), and Don proves that with this book.Now, for my review: This book is good. Not just "entertaining" good, but f'n, hot-as-balls, grab you by the throat, make your palms sweat...good. I don't even recall how I found Don, but I did. And the moment I began hearing the press about THE FORCE, I decided I MUST read it. Then, I learned he was coming to a sweet bookstore in La Jolla, CA, just 20 minutes from where I live, and I thought...I'm going to go see him, and pull the ultimate nerd move and ask for an autograph. It wasn't as much about the signature as it was about looking in his eyes and feeling his truth. I asked a question from the audience, he looked me in the eye, and encouraged me with keen, palpable, and relatable information to follow my dreams and to never give up. I took it to heart and continue to hear his encouragement to this day.This book will challenge you at the beginning, as it's told in a multitude of perspectives. You'll read what's going on, what's about to go on, from the protagonist viewpoint, what's he thinking, and much more. Simply said, it's one helluva ride. I won't tell you what it's about, you can pick that up instantly. I won't give anything away, because who in the hell likes that. All I will do is to tell you to pick it up, start reading, and then I double-dog-dare you to put the friggin' book down...because it's that good. I devoured it in less than a week, trying with all my might, to let it last. You start chewing this steak, wanting to savor all the goodness, but before you know it, you'll be slurping, munching, and devouring it just like I did. And you'll love ever stinking minute of it.And you know what I did next? I started researching all his other books. Come to find out he wrote the book to one of my favorite movies: SAVAGES, a tremendously violent, and not-so-subtle tome on the drug wars and Mexican cartels. Oh, like THE CARTEL, that I'm reading now.In the end, DON WINSLOW is my new #1 favorite author. And I've read and devoured many others. But for some reason, this cat's style is mainline delicious, and I can't wait to see what he'll do next. I just hope that by the time I "get discovered" (like he did), that I'll have the energy, strength and vivid ideas to compete in his world.Well done, Mr. Winslow, you are among the greatest of the greats, in my mind. I'm honored to have met you, and I am eagerly chomping at the bit to finish THE CARTEL, go back and re-experience SAVAGES through your book, and then, just try and stop me from reading your next powerful piece of profound pulp!

Book Review – Don Winslow’s “The Force” starts, not too slowly, but with a good deal of background and setting of the plotline. About a quarter of the way through, I wondered whether that was going to be the whole book, but Wow! This police crime thriller picked up and took off until it hurtles the reader into the explosive conclusion. The writing is simply terrific, putting readers squarely inside NYPD Detective Denny Malone's head and life. Winslow has created a totally believable and up-to-date NYC tale, with a large and well-drawn cast of characters. The Force opens with the main character, NYPD detective sergeant Denny Malone in federal custody, tagged as a dirty cop, a disgrace to his fellow officers and most of all to himself. All that Detective Malone ever wanted was to be a good cop, but now he must find a way to redeem his sins, to make something good after all the bad he did in his 16 years on the job. He was part of ‘The Force’, the most renowned and celebrated task force in the NYPD. Malone and his team were like brothers, family, they were heroes, they were kings among men, and they were all in big trouble now. The story is thrilling, unpredictable and just when the readers think that it’s over, the story kicks you in the face with a steel towed cop boot! The characters are real, lifelike in their humanity, in their faults and especially in their flaws. This is a dark and grim book, the sad story of a good cop doing bad things, the story of a corrupt New York City administration. There are drugs, addicts, weapons, parties, hilariously funny jokes, deeply dramatic side stories, call girls, crimes, executions, car chases, gun fights, bribes, wire taps, indictments, local cops, feds, lawyers, prosecutors, judges, gang bangers, mobsters, and riots that were brought on by agony and hope! Undoubtedly one of the ‘best’ police, crime thrillers that I’ve ever read! An intense tale of the ‘rise-and-fall’ of civic corruption which reads like a mirror image of the gangster movie, “Goodfellas.” It was a slippery slope of rule bending by cops becoming rule breaking and trying to rule ‘Gotham City’. Hard hitting and fascinating read! Simply WoW!

Das zwischenzeitliche ablegen dieses Buches fällt einem schwer, die Handlung ist dermassen dicht und unvorhersehbar!

Once you’re in it, you can’t put it down until you finish it

Un brutal retour à la réalité, après les séries TV aseptisées, pleines de héros

I usually rate a book after I read it for my own purposes as bad, good, very good, or excellent. This one was excellent! Well written and researched. Quite believable. It is about a cop who slips down the slippery slope of corruption and by the time he realizes it, it's too late. His whole world comes crashing down around him. Takes place in New York City and is all about street gangs, drug pushers, the police and corrupt politicians. The best read I have had in a while.

Ho voluto leggerlo in inglese (anche se non è semplicissimo per via dello slang e delle parolacce...) per entrare davvero nell'atmosfera newyorkese della storia. Come sempre Winslow è un maestro nel creare il suo eroe-non eroe: Denny Malone poliziotto irlandese corrotto ma con l'anima pura, è insieme buono e cattivo, eroe e vigliacco.... bellissimo romanzo!