• No Beast So Fierce

  • By: Edward Bunker
  • Narrated by: Ray Chase
  • Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (104 ratings)

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No Beast So Fierce  By  cover art

No Beast So Fierce

By: Edward Bunker
Narrated by: Ray Chase
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Publisher's summary

After eight years spent locked up, Max has gotten very good at being a prisoner. He knows the guards, the inmates, and how to survive. But the parole board has decided that he has sufficiently reformed, and it's time for him to say good-bye. When Max reaches the outside world, he finds that freedom doesn't make anything easier.

Based on his own experiences in prison, Edward Bunker first drafted No Beast So Fierce in the 1950s, while incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison. He spent the next two decades in and out of jail, writing essays for various magazines and working on the novel, which was finally published in 1973. Eighteen months later, the book was used as evidence that he was fit to leave jail. He received parole, and spent the rest of his life a free man.

©1975 Edward Bunker (P)2012 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Integrity, craftsmanship, and moral passion...an artist with a unique and compelling voice." (William Styron)
"The best first-person crime novel I have ever read." (Quentin Tarantino)
"Quite simply, one of the great crime novels of the past 30 years." (James Ellroy)

What listeners say about No Beast So Fierce

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    4 out of 5 stars

Not what I was expecting

From the description I thought this was a book about what it was like to be in prison. It was not it did depict the criminal mind with a poetic perception and intelligence. The author is gifted and extremely messed up. I did enjoy the book and hung on every word even though it wasn’t what I was looking for.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyed!

eh narrator could have been better, but overall Great book. Highly recommended for people struggling to understand the life of an someone releasing from prison.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't put it down!

I usually don't write reviews but was so impressed with this novel I felt compelled to do so. Gripping plot, interesting characters, very well written. After listening, I did research on the author (pretty interesting as well) and found out he wrote several other books of which Audible offers NONE😢

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I want more Books by this author!

I love the author and story! The narrator was just ok. His voices for the other characters sounded too much a like.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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This is a waste of time

Disgusting story. Spend your time with a book that adds meaning to your life. This trash.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Did not want to like this book

I did not want to like this book. The hero (anti-hero) is ruthless and despicable. But the author pulls me in and I want to know was going to do next. Nice job.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Crime story from the criminal's perspective

A stunning portrait of a character who is both sympathetic and horrible. There is a lyrical quality to Bunker's language, which is oddly set against the subject matter.

The pace of the story is a bit droning, though I think this is consistent with the life of the main character - weeks of loneliness, boredom, and monotony punctuated by seconds of violence and terror.

This book has given me a lot to think about, which is suppose is a mark of a powerful story.

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