3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
*** SPOILER ALERT ***, July 3, 2008
This review is from: Street Vengeance (Paperback)
Bad writers of the world rejoice! If this book can be published, anything can!
I rarely find a book so truly awful that I despair at the state of the publishing industry, but this is one of those books.
The problems with the book are legion and I don't have the time or space to list them all here, but I'll give you a few of the big ones:
The Plot - Brandi's best friend, Q, is justly pulled over by the police for reckless driving under the influence of alcohol. (Note: although he is 17, he is described as having the mental capacity of a 13-year-old, yet he is driving.) He decides to evade the police, then, when finally forced to stop, assaults a police officer. The police fight back and Q is injured to the point of paralysis.
Brandi is incensed by this "assault" on her best friend and decides to get revenge. Her revenge against the LAPD (and how logical is this?) - she decides to start the largest gang in L.A. and eventually expand into the San Gabriel Valley.
Having studied Marshal Arts (Yes, that is the way the author spells Martial Arts), 18-year-old Brandi has the unique capability to kill you with one crushing blow to the wind pipe. Because of this particular skill and her extreme beauty (Note: almost every female in the book is described as extremely beautiful), Brandi's friends Tata, Tangie, Tamika, Shamika, etc., etc., etc. decide to join her gang called, The Conquerers.
Brandi, a great believer in exercise, has her girls exercise daily wearing red leotards and combat boots. What a picture!
Brandi's leadership of The Conquerers begins to spiral out of control as some of her favorite girls are killed by a rival and Brandi is forced to consider whether her need for "righteous" vengeance was really worth it.
Whew...
If the plot were not enough of a problem, the characters are weak, uninteresting and completely unsympathetic. Some characters appear and disappear out of nowhere and bear no relation to the plot at all. I was especially disturbed by the description that although Q was clearly disabled with the mentality of a 13-year-old, the ladies didn't mind because he was just soooooo good looking.
In addition, although the protagonist of the book is Brandi, the point of view is from every single character in the book! Each page is a dizzying array of 5-6 point of view characters and it is rarely clear who is thinking what.
Suprisingly enough, the book is not self published (it's a Kensington imprint) and the author has four other books to her name. I won't be looking for any of her future efforts. This one is to be missed!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Street Vengeance, February 2, 2011
This review is from: Street Vengeance (Paperback)
This was a very good book, unlike the other readers, I read the book on 48 hours. The plot was good and it taught a very good lesson on heartbreak, and the cost of revenge. God is good and he will bring you through any and all obstacle
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