Customer Reviews

Steel Toes

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The late great Eddie Little follows his born-to-lose autobiographical character Bobby Prine to prison and on to further escapades with Syd, Ben, and Billy Bones from Another Day in Paradise. If you liked the former you'll find this a respectable follow-up. Little sketches out his underworld characters, not as fully developed as in Another Day in Paradise, which is the superior book, but still draws you in until you start to care about his adopted family of thieves and junkies. As before, he pulls no punches and makes no excuses for his characters behaviour; it's an unflinching, unapologetic revelation of their world. He demonstrates how their addictions, fears, insecurities, and violent coping mechanisms, constantly undermine their intentions, even their better ones. What I liked about Little's writing was this ability to articulate the root causes of crime and addiction: abuse, ignorance, and the eternal cycle of violence, without his characters being victims of anything other than their own choices. He gets in his licks, makes a few points about thrill seeking and the dangers of addiction, but always with his eyes wide open, and with redemption just out of reach, for Bobby Prine, and it most unfortunately seems, for Eddie Little himself.

No kidding, Eddie's first [Another Day in Paradise] is fantastic. Having said that, I think his latest is even better. The voice is more refined, where it's still all tough, but with more focus. And I found a lot more hope in this one. Rock on, Eddie!

If you liked Another Day in Paradise, then Steel Toes is a must-read. Eddie Little is a modern day Beat writer who takes on gritty reality and serves it up raw. This guy writes from the heart, his tales are gripping, intense, and they take one into an underworld that few have experienced. I found the characters in this novel more developed and more real than in the first novel; particularly enthralling is the portrayal of the hit men in Steel Toes. As homicidal maniacs who profit from their sickness, the hit men come to life as real people, carrying the weight of the sickness but also capable of human emotions, love, friendship, while still you know in the back of your head that they make their living by taking the lives of others. An awesome experience to look inside their lives and that of the other characters in Steel Toes. I've no doubt that Eddie Little shaped these characters from real-life acquaintances, the characters are too compelling, too deep to have been concocted from his imagination. My only complaint is that Eddie Little can't write novels as fast as I can read them!

After reading Eddie's first novel, Another Day in Paradise, I was eager to sample Steel Toes. The book which is driven by a running theme of addiction caused me as the reader to become addicted to the writing. I found the writing to be even more developed than in the first novel and steeped with amazingly descriptive imagery. The plot kept me perched on the edge of my seat and drew me directly into the middle of the chaos. This is a wonderful novel that I insist everyone read.

Another Day in Paradise was so full of agony I couldn't put it down, this book was different. It was almost like it was full of distant hope, a glimmer of a chance. Read the first book, get hooked on the character, then read this one. You will not be disappointed, my only complaint was that it left me hungry for more. Mister Little, if your reading this please give me more. I need it like Bobby needed his "ritual to get right."

Picking up almost immediately at the point that _Another Day In Paradise_ left off, Bobby Prine is killing time in a hard-core Indiana youth facility, trying to avoid the next race riot that will either kill him or send him packing to adult prison. On the razor's edge, he determines that only escape will save him from the fate that awaits him in either correctional facility. With a couple of friends, he does manage to flee... the crew makes their way to New York and then Boston, hooking up with a variety of other crime gangs, some of whom are very dubious partners. Prine's small crew manages to fund themselves through a moderately successful set of crimes, ranging from check-kiting to hijacking.

But a truly big score awaits: a Boston museum is displaying a collection of rare coins that a major collector desperately wants -- and he's willing to pay as much as $600K. Realizing that the competing gangs may double-cross his group, Prine tries to set up a triple-cross. But an increasingly serious drug habit and some girlfriend problems have helped cloud his mind. As the violence escalates, the reader feels just as trapped as Prine: can he survive long enough to realize one final, big score? And clean himself up in the bargain?

Little is straight out of the Eddie Bunker school of crime writers: guys who know exactly what they're talking about and wrap you into a near-psychopathic experience. You'll feel the anger, the addiction, the joy and rgaing pain that Prine experiences. Because this is raw, moving and -- ultimately -- stunning material.

p.s., As I understand it, Little passed away recently (heart attack). What a tragedy... he had so much to offer us. Luckily, we have this book and the previous one - and his memory will live as long as these books are around. And that will be quite some time.

"Steel Toes" is the continuing saga of Bobby Prine, the young criminal whom Eddie Little introduced us to in his first novel, "Another Day in Paradise." This sequel opens with Bobby, now 18 years old, having failed at escaping from a gladiator camp in the midwest. But Bobby's got heart, he won't give up. He fights his way through a race riot and finally scales the walls with a couple homeboys. Bobby and his boys hit the road in a souped-up Hemi Cuda and from then on the story is non-stop action. Bobby goes from an Indiana militia compound, to hanging with junkbond salesman in New York, to the criminal underworld of Boston. He hooks up with Syd and Billy Bones, two great characters from his first novel, and gets back to business. Cashing bogus checks, doing burglaries, packing heat, shooting dope and falling in love. Eddie Little has done it again, writing a crime novel that is not only entertaining, but deep. The characters and description is great, you can tell Eddie Little has tread the rough ground of which he writes. Bad Bobby Prine is better than any "recurring" character I've ever followed in other crime novels. I'm waiting for a 3rd installment, this dude keeps you on edge, I could follow bad Bobby for volumes.

Wow!!! All I can say is wow!! Eddie Little Hits another home run. If you liked Another Day in Paradise, you gotta check this out.

Yep, I know, Another Day in Paradise was slick as hell (while the Larry Clark film version was a certified stinker). That's the sequel, sort of, with Little's alter ego Bobbie breaking out of jail and doing what he does best (hustling, robbing, cheating and dealing, the whole lot).
Mind ya: few novels get to be this good. Steel Toes just reeks of truth, period. Not as good as the first one, that's for sure, but *well* worth your time nonetheless. Stay the hell away from the latest Jeffery Deaver's psycho-killer nonsense and buy this beaut instead.

Steel Toe's is an absolute must read. Little takes you into a world that will scare most of us but does it so skillfully that if you are anything like me you will end up wondering how you would have ended up if your life had been a little bit different, and a whole lot tougher. Imagine a cross between Jim Thompson and William Bouroughs pumped up on steroids and put into this time frame and current hip vernacular. I couldn't put it down after I read the first page. I now know what it feels like to be over the edge, a complete outlaw.