Customer Reviews

The Day Eazy-E Died (A B-Boy Blues Novel #4)

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

 

 

A GAY LOVE STORY.
You just shivered-didn't you?
Now how 'bout this...a touching gay,love story.
That's what James Earl Hardy's "The day Eazy E Died" is.

I previously heard of Hardy from his aclaimed "B Boy Blues"
series.Everybody that read them-was to put it lightly-was
BLOWN AWAY.Whoa,that's how gay men get down?,everyone(including me) was asking themselves.
So come here comes "The Day Eazy E Died",another book in the
afore-mentioned "B-Boy Blues" troligy.I heard about this book-
in depth-on BET's "Oh Drama",on which the soft-spoken Hardy
guested on a show about gay,Black men.
So I decided to read it and boy was I blown away!
WHOA! I never read a book about two gay men so in love with
each other-physically(oh,this book has some really steamy gay
love scenes in it) and even more-mentally(there was times that
I thought a relationship between a man and a woman going on).

I really thank this book for opening up my eyes.
As a hetrosexual young male,I really was informed about something:
YOUNG MEN ARE HAVING SEX-WITH EACH OTHER!
That really needs to wake people up and allow them to open up
their mind.I did.

After waiting nearly 4 yrs since the last saga, I was hoping for more character development and progression. While I understand that this is supposed to be a snapshot during a particular period of time in the lives of Raheim and Mitchell, I didn't feel a "connection" to the characters !!! I found the ending to be a bit too convenient,as though the author ran out of time and had to rush to the publisher and simply tied things up but left things somewhat open to lead the reader to believe that there will be another installment,and I'm certain there will be !!! I enjoyed "B-Boy Blues" and it's follow up "2nd Time Around"when they were released,,and was hoping that Mr.Hardy was going to take us through a journey that he would develop his two major characters more fully !!! I found Mitchell to be a bit too self righteous and when it's discovered that he had an indiscretion and another situation (you'll know if/when you read the book),it totally contradicted his stance on issues on which he seems to always have an opinion. My overall thought of this book is that it could have been "jooder",but if you want something lightweight for your summer reading list,this definitely fits into that category !!! I tried hard to get into this book,but it left me disappointed and wanting more !!!

I was looking forward to this book so tough, I HOUNDED the mail room, trying to find out if they got a package for me from Amazon.com! Anyway, I got the book and read it in less than 24 hours. I guess you can call it a novella, because it's very short. But I was glad to see that Raheim and Mitchell were doing alright in their relationship. And I definitely appreciated the detailed encounter Raheim had in Cali (just like good sex, James Earl Hardy wrote it raw and rhythmic). I really wanted more story told, but I guess I'll have to wait until the next book. Hopefully the next one will be from Mitchell's point of view. Or, the author will bless us with a whole new freaky, fascinating story to tell. We'll see...

This book was a let down. There is a severe lack of character development, and the character interaction is too bland. Mr. Hardy has spoiled us with the previous three books in the series but this book seems to have been written hastily.

I looked forward to reading this book because I so enjoyed the other three books but this book was not nearly as good as the first three. I don't know why James wrote this book it was a counterpoint to this otherwise brilliant success. I hope that Mr. Hardy just had a bad day I hope this is not the kind of work he plans to continue to produce if it is he has lost a fan.

It's been four years since the release of If Only For One Nite. Was the four years I had to wait for another book worth it? You bet it was! Once again, JEH pulls it off. It can't be easy writing a book with an AIDS theme that's funny but he came up with the right mix of biting social commentary and hysterical humor (those scenes with the racist clerk and in the barbershop are classics!). And, as with every B-Boy book, there's something to cry about (I won't spoil it for folks). We sure do need a story like this right now, with those frightening AIDS figures floating around. I'm glad JEH decided to show a brutha like Raheim getting the test done (too many thugz think it can't happen to them). More than anything, you can feel the love Raheim has for Mitchell; he's grown a lot since B-Boy Blues. And with all this talk about the "down-low," it's so jood to have a depiction of SGL bruthaz in a committed relationship. And I wanna know who that gay rapper in the story is! It's a short but sweet read, one that will leave you thinking hard about your own past loves and lovers and if you yourself should get tested. And given some of the revelations (I literally fell out of bed on one of them!), I'm pretty sure this won't be the last we hear of Pooquie & Little Bit (at least I hope not). Thanks, JEH, for giving the bruthaz yet another story we claim as our own.

This novel was one of my better reads of 2001. In it Hardy tells the continuing tale of a young supermodel who is moved to take an AIDS test after finding out that one of his favorite rappers, Easy E has the dreaded disease. We are taken through two weeks in Raheim Rivers life, from the time he takes the test, till he gets his results. We are able to peep the nervousness one may go thru as they wait for what could be a death sentence, or a second chance at life, and in the process, given a beautiful look into the life of a positive, bright, talented gay black male, and his lover.

One of the most enjoying things I found in this novel was the beautiful interaction between Raheim and his 6 year old son, and the good relationship he has with his son's mother, without the baby drama problem.

All in all, the positivity in this book is what made it enjoyable. I must say though, that the build up to finding out whether or not Raheim was HIV positive or negative, and the climax, when the reader does find out, was like lighting a firecracker, waiting for an explosion of some sort, whether it be with the emotions that he would go through as he gets his results, or his reaction when he does, was somewhat lacking. I was left with yes, my question of pos or neg answered, but I didn't feel a climax emotionally from it.

Although I'm rating this book a 5, I believe if I could, I would take .5 from that and rate it 4.5 because of that lukewarm ending, but all in all, this was a great novel. I look forward to reading Hardy's next one.

JDaniels/The Nubian Chronicles--

Thought this book was going to be about Easy-E, not gay relationships. I purchased this book for my son to use for a book report and he was not able to use it.

JEH - Man oh man you make a sistah think. You know how I came about reading your books and I'm waiting on the 5th one.
You keep up the great work, we need this voice to be heard, what ever the outcome.

I am in love with the characters and feel for them.

If B-Boys Blues and next time around weren't handed to me I might have missed a blessing. I can't remember which books of the series I voted on they all get 5's. This one was harder to read but I couldn't put it down. Peace and Jood Love! Be Blessed

I was so disappointed to read this book. I would have given it negative stars if possible!!! I have been a fan of James Earl Hardy's B-Boy Series up until this poor excuse for literature. This was honestly the worst reading I have ever read. From start to finish, this book was horrible. The writing is terrible, the story line is weak, the plot doesn't exist, there is no climax at all. I couldn't wait to finish reading the book because it was so dull, but I kept reading in hopes of there being a blockbuster ending which could make my reading efforts not have been in vain- boy was I wrong, the ending was worse than the beginning! I wonder how it got published. This book was filled with poorly written propaganda about AIDS and AIDS testing, hardly giving the fight against AIDS justice. What Hardy did with this story line was a joke. This book could have been summed up in half of a chapter of his last book rather than have it be painfully drawn out into a train wreck of a book. There was so much potential to engulf us into yet another exciting tail of the lives of Pookie and Little Bit. What a let down. Hardy barley scratches the surface of the characters and leaves us not wanting to read anymore. If all Hardy wanted to accomplish was to preach the importance of protecting against AIDS and testing for AIDS, he should have published a pamphlet for the health department instead of deflating the good story line of the B-Boy series. This book was not worth the money or the read!