Savages

A Novel

By: Don Winslow

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Part-time environmentalist and philanthropist Ben and his ex-mercenary buddy Chon run an independent Laguna Beach–based marijuana operation, reaping significant profits from an established clientele. But they may have come up against something that they can't handle---the Mexican Baja Cartel wants in, and saying no is unacceptable. When they refuse to back down, the cartel kidnaps Ophelia, the boys' playmate and confidante. O's abduction sets off a dizzying array of ingenious negotiations and gripping plot twists that will captivate listeners eager to learn the costs of freedom and the price of an amazing high.

©2010 Samburu, Inc. (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A spellbinding, tour de force that is utterly impossible to put down. Savages is, bar none, the finest novel I have read in years." (Christopher Reich, author of Rules of Deception)

Hard-Core ... Not For Everyone But Really Good!

First things first, this is not a book for the faint-hearted or the easily offended. I listened to it on audio when I was walking my dogs and there were times when I felt myself blushing from what I was listening to … ON MY HEADPHONES! I kept thinking “If people only knew what I was listening to now, they’d be shocked.” This is some hard-core, graphic writing … and hearing it read out loud makes it seem even more so. (By the way, Michael Kramer has the perfect voice for the material … with a kind of WTF/seen it all, done it all attitude.) The basic story deals with a love triangle between two pot dealers and their girl and what happens when they run awry of a Mexican drug cartel and the girl gets kidnapped. The writing—despite its bluntness and graphic descriptions—was good and often very funny. But this is by no means a “feel good” book. And if people in SoCal are really like the characters in this book, then I’m staying the hell away.

J says 3.5

Really enjoyed the characters. They were well developed. Very easy to listen to. The story was a crazy, wild ride and will keep your attention. The narrator really pulled you in and made the story good.

Excellent story...

...with some of the cleverist dialogue I've ever heard. The narration by Michael Kramer was also great, with just the right inflection for whatever passage he was reading.

Raunchy, filthy story, sure to offend everyone!

I say that headline in a good way. It is a rough cut story, brutal and not pretty. The title sums it up. Savages.

Take a nice quiet little town like Laguna Beach, add a pair of drug dealers who grow their own strains of premium weed, toss in a sex nympho who shares the two dealers, and a Mexican drug cartel led by a very strong character woman... You get Savages.

This story is not for those folks offended by straight talk, by blunt talk, by raunchy sex, murder or people who are getting high. It is not for people who cannot handle trash talk against John Wayne, Republicans, Democrats, the government in general.

Michael Kramer reads this story as if it were written just for him to read. His rich deep voice gives the characters life.

good book not so good narration

Hard to deal with the sing song monotone narration but still Winslow shines. Read this after The Kings of Cool. Enjoyable story....

Disappointed

This is the fourth book I have read by Don Winslow. I had loved all the others. This is crude and vulgar with a little story. Disappointed.

amazing writing

this book is an ode to style. Not to say that substance is lacking although the characters are not particularly credible. But oh the style. In the same vein perhaps as James Ellroy and almost in the same league. That's high praise...

Goon Where the Wind Don't Blow so Strange!

I derive a sick pleasure watching my bipolar friends and family freak fully out at the state of affairs. Depending on which way they swing it's either the best of times or the worst of times. I'm just sitting over here like nothing is ever going to change and we're all going to die. The coral reef is missing but their is an over abundance of glyphosate along with cancer. Despite the 80's my moms even made it to the ripe old age of 49 which a million years ago was ancient. Anywho, once again I was wrong and despite Hollywood's ruination of all things good Winslow is still batting a 1.000. In this old sailor's humble opinion, Savages was truly amazing but now like a damn liberal even I'm depressed. I thought I had one more Winslow piece to go only to find out it was a German version of one I've already read. Thanks Trump.

One of my all time favorite listens!!

If you could sum up Savages in three words, what would they be?

A brilliant story

What other book might you compare Savages to and why?

I really can't think of anything else to compare it to. Winslow is one of a kind and I think this is his best, better than Dawn Patrol. Better than Power of the dog. I only wish it was longer. I really found his one word chapters interesting and amusing.

What does Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Michael Kramer is the perfect actor for this story. The way he read it portrayed the personalities of the characters perfectly. I've listened to it three times.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Savage!

A super fan of Don Winslow since I saw the movie Savages I didn't read this book right away but I wanted to see what else the author had. I started with Power of the Dog then The Cartel, The Winter of Frankie Machine, Dawn Patrol, California Fire and Life and Gentleman's Hour. After reading and absolutely LOVING all of those I finally decided to see how different the book was from the film and read(listened to) Savages. It was naturally more in depth than the film with a cooler ending. Compared to all the previous Winslow books I've read, Savages is almost Don's"Y.A." novel, if Y.A. novels had lots of graphic sex, drug use and violence of course. Meaning just that the other books seemed more adult in their characters and plots. Savages is more a young person's type of story, I would have sworn this book was the end all/be all had I read it as a late teen/early 20 something. It reads like most of my life back then actually and reading it reminds me of how lucky I am to have made it to 37yrs old. If you like sex, drugs and "Iraq and Roll" type Cartel-gangster s**t you're gonna F**k'n Love Savages!!!