Customer Reviews

Black Dogs: The Possibly True Story of Classic Rock's Greatest Robbery

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a Zeppelin fan, I bought this on a whim and loved it. The characters remind me of every rock burnout I knew and are very cartoon-ish and fun. The plot twists bring even more wild characters into the fold, including Boogie, a safe-cracker with a funk band called the New York Giants, and Backwoods Billy, a born-again biker who leads the Holy Ghosts Christian motorcycle gang. If you like the twists and turns of heist movies like Ocean's 11, Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, then you'll dig this!

I picked this book up and wasn't sure I would even like it, but the idea behind it really intrigued me.
I have to say, this author is so creative... not just the writing, but the very idea to take a little tidbit about Led Zeppelin being robbed and turning it into great book.
I couldn't put it down and finished it in two days. It's not even a book I would normally pick up, but I'm so glad I did.

It was actually the cover that caught my eye. I know, don't judge a book by its cover, but in this case it worked out great.
I had never heard of the robbery, and being a Zeppelin fan, I had to read this. I completed it on a flight, layover, flight. Total time was about 5-6 hours. I literally couldn't put the book down. I was reading it on the jetway.
This book has to be made into a movie - for the soundtrack alone. The songs referenced in the book are classics.
Great for Black Sabbath fans too.

The $203,000 in cash stolen from Led Zeppelin at the Drake Hotel in New York has never been recovered, nor have any arrests been made in conjunction with the heist.

But finally, 36 years later, Patrick Sullivan has claimed responsibility.

Too bad he's a fictional character made up by Jason Buhrmester, for his book, "Black Dogs: The Possibly True Story of Classic Rock's Greatest Robbery."

And before you go blaming Buhrmester, keep in mind he wasn't born until a month after the robbery. Jason swears his story is fiction, but O.J. says his book is hypothetical too. Encounters with the Led Zeppelin entourage back in 1973 described in "Black Dogs" come across as likely interactions. It is a fiction based on the mysterious robbery of $203,000 from Led Zeppelin at the Drake Hotel in New York at the end of the band's North American tour in July 1973.

To answer the question of how this robbery might have been conducted, Jason introduces us to a fictional group of bumbling criminals led by one slightly more thoughtful mastermind. This ragtag group swindles its way near Led Zeppelin on two occasions in pursuit of treasure. In doing so, they are caught up with several other circles with their own goals and their own self interest. It's a funny and clever story about a bunch of people you hope you'll never meet -- except, of course, for Jimmy Page, who's in the book.

This book is well written, interesting, and fun to read. I was wishing it would keep going. The story was well researched - making the story seem so much more real while you read. The characters are people we all know. Awesome book.

I am a huge classic rock and Zeppelin fan but didn't know about the robbery so as soon as I heard about Black Dogs I had to read it! I was sucked in from the very first page and thought the characters and plot were really clever, and I literally laughed out loud at some of the dialogue. Like the other reviews said, rock fans will LOVE this book but I think that anyone who likes a good caper and is looking for a fun, quick read will really like it too. (I recommended it to my younger brother who hasn't read a book in years and he couldn't put it down.) Bottom line: this book rocked and my only complaint is that it reminded me that I was born too late to really enjoy the '70s!

I have to agree with the previous writer. This small (241 pp) book is an exciting tale of teenage losers looking for a quick buck in the early 70s. We have probably known some of these people whether in Baltimore or Central Illinois (where I knew quite a few that would have probably have fit in with this bunch). This very quick read (read it in one day) is a page turner; it just keeps you wanting to find out what is going to happen to Patrick, Alex, Frenchy, Keith, and that scumbag Danny. Very much worth the money and time spent. Buhrmester - please write something as good very soon!

My biggest problem with "Black Dogs" is that the characters are exactly the same on the first page as they are on the last page. Despite everything that happens during the course of the novel, there is absolutely no growth of any kind for any of the characters. I'm not saying you need "Atlas Shrugged"-type insight here, but at least a little thought and reflection would be nice.

The cast of characters is more than a tad cliche and recycled. The 70s black guy who plays in a funk band. The slightly overweight redneck who can't stay out of trouble or jail. The tag-along girls who are really just there to bring some "hot chicks" into the story. The biker who can't decide if God or guns are more important. The boss at work who is just a total jerk. I could guess what all the characters were going to do pages before they actually did it.

As for the plot, it was amateurish. "There's a safe that nobody can get open!" "Let's rob rich people, they'll never guess it was us!" "Let's get a lot of untrustworthy people on board, only because we really need them!" So many of the plot twists were predictable and contrived. I was bored within the first fifty pages. You can tell when the author is trying to spice things up, too: "What if I had a biker gang get in a fight with circus folk!" So stupid that I actually rolled my eyes while it was happening.

If not for the topics of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, the author would have had very little to talk about. With characters flatter than steamrolled pancakes and a harebrained plot that a third grader could come up with, it's a nice break when Robert Plant and Jimmy Page stroll down the hallway. But, alas, even the Golden Gods of rock and roll can not save this by-the-numbers crime novel.

Like reading a novel adaptation of "Ocean's Eleven", only the Eleven are trying desperatley to rob a 7-11 with a Nerf gun. A fun read for awhile, but half way through you'll be wishing it was a bit more of a challenge to read.

I love this book! It was a fun, fast read. Every scene not only paced out my imagination, but had a soundtrack going through my head. I couldn't put it down until the last page.

I swept right through it and didn't want it to end! The characters are real, the visuals are vivid, you can really picture it all. It got me excited to check out the music, and the humor is fantastic. I really can't wait to read Buhrmester's next novel. Don't take too long man! I better read this one again.