Street Level: An Urban Fairytale [Mass Market Paperback]

Karyn Langhorne (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (June 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006074782X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060747824
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,457,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars My very last urban novel., August 23, 2005

By 

Harriet Bird "Harriet Bird" (Jackson, MS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Level: An Urban Fairytale (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my LAST time buying a so-called urban novel. Is Urban Fiction the bin that publishers throw their trash in these days, hoping to make money on "those stupid black women?" I was drawn to the genre by Sistah Souljah's writing (flawed, but riveting). However, too much in this part of the bookstore is like 'Street Level' - faker than a 3-ounce bottle of malt liquor. If you're going to insult my intelligence, don't ask me to pay for the privilege. And please don't further disrespect me by putting out glowing reviews by people who obviously have not read these books. I'm furious.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Puh-leez! This book is a mess., August 12, 2005

By 

reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Level: An Urban Fairytale (Mass Market Paperback)

I was really disappointed in this book. I read A Personal Matter and found it really well written and moving, so I expected the same quality of writing here. What you got instead was some kind of loony Cinderella story that read like a rough draft. Langhorne, who so wonderfully captured human speech in "A Personal Matter" seems to have spent some time on a remote island since then, because there was not one line of dialogue in the book that didn't sound like something off of a Magnum P.I. rerun. The author set big goals for herself: talking about ghetto life, jail, street gangs and organized crime, psychic phenomena, and a romantic, modern retelling of the Cinderella story. Unfortunately, she failed on every count. There were repeated attempts at indicating that the two main characters were psychic, but the visions and flash-forwards are neither moving nor interesting - they're a lame device to move the silly story along. The author clearly knows absolutely nothing about the 'hood, though she claims to have lived there for a while. In a bubble, I suppose. The heroine is also supposed to have spent 5 years in jail, but never was there anything said about what such a tremendous experience was like. There's also more improbable silliness than grown folks can tolerate (how about a psychic business called "Gangsta Psychic" - even black people will visibly blush with shame at that one), including a love story in which there is no reason for the characters to fall in love. Why? The lead lady has almost no personality and can't seem to figure out how to take care of herself (remember, though - she somehow survived jail and lived openly in the same town where a "powerful" gang was out to get her - reconcile those and you win a prize). The lead guy is just nutty. He's a fabulously wealthy diabetic on death's doorstep because he won't take his insulin for no apparent reason - what a turn on, huh? I had to laugh out loud at "the big love scene" where this dangerously ill diabetic is able to get it going in the bedroom. I won't go on. Suffice it to say, this is a lazy effort resulting in an inexcusably bad read. Skip it!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great, October 1, 2005

By 

Hsi Feng - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Level: An Urban Fairytale (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this one in a science fiction bookstore. Having the fantasy elements be stronger and more consistent would have been cool, but otherwise the book was OK (the review "Puh-leez! This book is a mess" has some good points about why it's not better than OK). Langhorne did a good job of avoiding most fantasy clichés - for example, this is "urban fantasy" without elves all over the place. Unfortunately, the ending was too contrived.