The half-Jewish, half-Sicilian nephew of a Mafia Godfather, handsome and shrewd Jed Stevens works his way up in the worlds of show business, aviation, and high-finance and soon must make a choice between family and career. Reprint.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
A novel that wavers between fireball excitement and abysmal vulgarity, that leaves the reader dazed with complexities and a feeling that greater spiritual health might have resulted through never having read it--though zillions will. Robbins is no clearer this time out than he's ever been. The sex-and-cocaine-driven, power-hungry plot begins with such rapid editing and scene-switching that the reader's feet barely get grounded before they're somewhere else: For about a third of the novel it's straight action/adventure on the Amazon; then the byzantine plot becomes Robbins's fettuccine Alfredo, with strands dipping and whipping and doubling back until even the main characters don't know who's on whose side--and even the most unaware reader realizes that Robbins's storytelling is as important as his story. If you can follow it, Robbins has failed. Jed Stevens (formerly Di Stefano) is induced by his Mafia cousin Angelo into a trip up the Amazon that turns out to be a big coca-leaf buy; they are accompanied by beautiful translator Alma, who is immensely proud of her ``Peruvian pussy''--but they are attacked by mestizos, Angelo is eaten by piranhas, and Alma gets Jed out of Peru and back to Manhattan, where Jed's Uncle Rocco (Angelo's father) is top capo and wants Jed to join him in the Mafia except that Jed wants to get into airlines and with a big loan from Uncle Rocco buys fleets of jetliners and rents them out to small countries but then finds himself involved in huge junk-bond deals and more or less legitimate credit scams while Uncle Rocco unsuccessfully tries to retire from the Mafia so that he can die with honor at home in bed rather than by a hail of bullets during a time when lead-filled bodies are falling on every other page and surreal financial deals are clinched by world-hopping satyrs and girls who say, ``Would you like some pussy pie? But just remember, you'll have to lick your fingers, it's very, very juicy.'' Unclean, unclean! -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
PRAISE FOR HAROLD ROBBINS
“Fireball excitement.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS ON THE PIRANHAS “Robbins is a master.” —PLAYBOY “A mile-a-minute page-turner…all the suspense, action, and sex you’d expect from a Harold Robbins novel.” —WILLIAM MARTIN, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LOST CONSTITUTION, ON THE DEVIL TO PAY
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good start but becomes muddled,
This review is from: The Piranhas (Mass Market Paperback)
After a six year absence due to health problems, Harold Robbins returned in 1991 with this novel about Jed Stevens, the nephew of an aging Mafia chieftain and his bid to separate himself from the family business and become a respectable business man in the world of corporate dog eat dog high finance. As a Robbins fan who had concluded that Robbins was no longer writing, I was very happy to buy the book back when it came out, but I was disappointed when I finished reading it. I've read it a couple of times since, and it's still not a favorite of mine though I'm now aware of the health problems Robbins overcame to write this book and I respect him for persevering to write another book rather than retire.The Piranhas opens at a Mafia's chief's funeral as a disturbed man enters St. Patrick's Cathedral and shoot up the coffin. We then flashback to the 1970's as Jed and his cousin Angelo navigate the Amazon River to score a major drug deal. The early part of the novel is told in Robbins' trademark terse, hardboiled style. Unfortunately this is one of Robbins' weakest stories. After a strong start, the story begins to meander, with our protagonist Jed Stevens pretty much missing in action for the Middle section of the book. The final part of the book documents Jed's efforts to help his Uncle retire peacefully from the Mafia world without being murdered by his long time associates. There are some promising plot elements in the book, but the story does not gel. Even the sex scenes lack the classic Robbins raunch. It would be several more years before another Robbins book was published. The last 3 that would come out while he was alive were written by a ghost writer who lacked Robbins' earthy writing style and his ability to write a good sex scene. Fortunately, before he died, Robbins finished work on The Predators, a much more cohesive story and a return to form in terms of writing style, setting, narrative structure, and eroticism. Thank goodness The Piranhas was not Robbins' last completed work.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Piranhas,
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This review is from: Piranhas (Paperback)
Another one from Harold Robbins which keeps you glued to the book untill its over.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Piranhas--A Dangerous Bite!,
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This review is from: The PIRANHAS (Paperback)
The Piranhas is a story that only ole' Harold could write. It is explosive with sex, violence, betrayal, and corrupt Wallstreet dealings. The book, as with most of Robbins' work deals with the issues of power and lust, how a man can achieve them, and how a man reacts when it has it all. The characterization is titanic, as well. Robbins illustrates his characters with all the temptations and emotions a man must face. The Piranhas proves again that Harold Robbins is the best American writer of modern time.
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