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Don Winslow

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Savages: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Don Winslow (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Cartel, The Force, and The Border

A New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Chicago Sun-Times Favorite Book of the Year

“A revelation…This is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on autoload.” —Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

“Startling…Stylish…Mega-cool.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Ben, Chon, and O are twentysomething best friends living the dream in Southern California. Together they have made a small fortune producing premium grade marijuana, a product so potent that the Mexican Baja Cartel demands a cut. When Ben and Chon refuse to back down, the cartel kidnaps O, igniting a dizzying array of high-octane negotiations and stunning plot twists as they risk everything to free her. The result is a provocative, sexy, and darkly engrossing thrill ride, an ultracontemporary love story that will leave you breathless.

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Savages
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372 pages
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English
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Simon & Schuster
Publication date

June 25, 2010
File size

2489 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Spare, clipped expository prose and hip, spot-on dialogue propel this visceral crime novel from Winslow (The Dawn Patrol). The future is looking good for Laguna Beach, Calif., marijuana growers Ben and Chon, until they receive an ominous e-mail from the Baja Cartel. Attached is a photograph showing the decapitated bodies of other independent drug dealers. The message is clear: sell your product through us or else. Ben and Chon try to resist, but matters escalate after cartel thugs abduct Ophelia, the guys' beautiful young playmate and accomplice, and hold her for a cool million ransom. Meanwhile, Elena "La Reina" Sanchez Lauter, the leader of the Baja Cartel, must deal with rival drug gangs and potential overthrow from within. Ben and Chon propose a trade that Elena can't refuse, setting the stage for the violent and utterly satisfying ending. Winslow's encyclopedic knowledge of the border drug trade lends authenticity.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Ben and Chon are two Americans running a lucrative marijuana operation out of ritzy Laguna Beach, California. Their business is buzzing along nicely until members of the Mexican Baja Cartel decide they want a piece of the action. Ben, a charitable, environmentally conscious Berkeley grad, doesn’t want any trouble. Former Navy Seal Chon prefers peace as well but not if it means giving up primo weed. When Ben and Chon resist the Mexicans’ demands, the cartel kidnaps “O” (short for Ophelia), the boys’ close confidante and frequent bedroom playmate. Ben and Chon conjure clever schemes to outwit their adversaries and win back O, using everything from improvised explosive devices to Letterman and Leno masks. Edgar nominee and Shamus winner Winslow, who first evoked the violent world of the Mexican drug cartels in the best-selling narco-thriller Power of the Dog (2005), dispenses short chapters that drive his plot breathlessly forward. He also serves up plenty of savage wit. After Ben dons a Gerald Ford disguise for one of the pair’s heists, he smacks his head against the car door, quipping, “I’m a method hijacker.” Riddled with bullets and splattered with blood, Savages is not for the squeamish, but it’s a must for Winslow fans. --Allison Block

Review

“A wickedly funny and smart novel.”
—Janet Evanovich

“The finest novel I have read in years.”
—Christopher Reich

“Pure kamikaze. . .mega cool. . .ferocious.”
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“The stakes are extreme. . . . This is the story of love’s costs—and the acceptance of whatever that cost entails.”
—Randy Michael Signor, Chicago Sun Times

“Savages is the book of my generation . . . nothing short of revolutionary.”
—Brendan Leonard, January Magazine

“A revelation . . . Every bit as savage as its title . . . This is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on autoload.” —Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

"Savages will jolt Mr. Winslow into a different league...[his] most boisterously stylish crime book, his gutsiest and most startling bid for attention....full of wild card moves....its wisecracks are so sharp, its characters so mega cool and its storytelling so ferocious that the risks pay off, thanks especially to Mr. Winslow's no prisoners sense of humor....The Winslow effect is to fuse the grave and the playful, the body blow and the joke, the nightmare and the pipe dream." —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“Winslow’s marvelous, adrenaline juiced roller coaster of a novel . . . is both a departure and a culmination, pyrotechnic braggadocio and deep meditation on contemporary American culture.”
—Sarah Weinman, Los Angeles Times

“Savages is Don Winslow’s best book yet—a wickedly funny and smart novel, with a ripped from the headlines story that gets your pulse racing as the action unfolds. Razor sharp plot twists, a cast of ruthless antiheroes, and of course, Winslow’s superb, adrenaline fueled prose make this scorching, drug infused thriller an addictive and entertaining read.” —Janet Evanovich

“The stakes are extreme. . . . This is the story of love’s costs—and the acceptance of whatever that cost entails.” —Randy Michael Signor, Chicago Sun Times

“Savages is the book of my generation . . . nothing short of revolutionary, a flash grenade into the ineffectual heart of Generation Y. . . . . solidifies Winslow’s reputation as not just one of the best crime writers working today, but one of the best writers, period. Jesus Christ, this book.” —Brendan Leonard, January Magazine

“Winslow is a brilliant stylist, unflinching in detail, and his books jab a fountain pen in the eye of anyone who can read one of his tomes and state with conviction that crime fiction isn't literature.” —Jason Pinter, The Huffington Post

“An ultra lean, stoner thriller….It packs a dynamic plot, sentences dripping with ``baditude'' and a singular way with language….Winslow's writing has the vigor of action painting….[his] command of vernacular is fabulous, his eye for detail sharp….Winslow's insights into drug wars are provocative, his descriptions of marijuana tantalizing.” —Carlo Wolff, The Boston Globe

“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

“A revelation . . . This is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on autoload.” —Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

“Stylish . . . Mega cool . . . Ferocious.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

About the Author

Don Winslow is the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one novels, including City on Fire, The Force, The Cartel, The Kings of Cool, Savages, The Gentlemen’s Hour, The Dawn Patrol, The Winter of Frankie Machine, The Power of the Dog, and The Border. He lives in Southern California. To learn more, follow Don on Twitter @DonWinslow or visit DonWinslow.com.

From AudioFile

When marijuana growers Ben and Chon become known to a ruthless Mexican drug cartel for the exceptional product and their impressive customer base, a courtship begins to lure them to join forces with the cartel. When they refuse, things go bad real fast. Ophelia, their shared love interest, is kidnapped for a million-dollar ransom, and the two propose a dangerous trade to get her back. Narrator Michael Kramer's performance is perfect for the story, which delivers a gritty portrait of the border drug trade of Laguna, California. His narration engages listeners in the nonstop action and depicts credible characters on all sides of the drug wars. SAVAGES is an audio experience that lives up to its name. J.R.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003L785PG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (June 25, 2010)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 25, 2010
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2489 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 372 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #157,353 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #146 in Movie Tie-In Fiction
- #766 in Fiction Urban Life
- #2,904 in Urban Fiction (Kindle Store)

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Don Winslow

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Don Winslow is the author of twenty-one acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including the New York Times bestsellers The Force and The Border, the #1 international bestseller The Cartel, The Power of the Dog, Savages, and The Winter of Frankie Machine. Savages was made into a feature film by three-time Oscar-winning writer-director Oliver Stone. The Power of the Dog, The Cartel and The Border sold to FX in a major multimillion-dollar deal to air as a weekly television series beginning in 2020. A former investigator, antiterrorist trainer and trial consultant, Winslow lives in California and Rhode Island.

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Carole T

Absolutely amazing! A ten-star read.

Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2024

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The writing style has an unbelievable flow. So many messages - witty yet deep.
I believe Don Winslow has a severe case of ADHD and uses it to concoct wild trains of thought - both entertaining and mesmerizing while delivering insightful comments on the variations of values and temperaments of human beings.
This may be one of the few novels I’d consider reading again. I’m planning on seeing the movie even though the ratings weren’t very encouraging. I hope Oliver Stone was able to capture the characters accurately. Might be difficult since the author wrote about their thoughts to convey much of their personalities.
One last thing - just say “no” to getting into the drug dealing business!

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Mark B. Friedman

Pretty decent escapist fare

Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2015

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Pretty decent escapist fare. Concise, powerful prose, and dialog that crackles. Short, hard-hitting chapters. Good story, excellent characterization, full of deadpan humor and well told. For fans of Elmore Leonard's best work in the same genre.

Definitely packs a punch. Speaks volumes about what's wrong with our national drug policy and makes an excellent argument for decriminalizing marijuana possession and cultivation. It got me interested in trying some of the author's other books on the same subject. He wrote a prequel and has lately written two more serious books on the Mexican drug wars that are on my radar now.

The basic story is about the illegal drug trade in Southern California, about two unlikely partners in a successful boutique weed business, raising and selling a premium product, until they attract the fatal attention of one of the Mexican drug cartels.

Not to be confused with the gratuitously violent Oliver Stone movie based on the book, whose tone is quite different . The movie version doesn't do the book justice, could have used a lighter touch than Oliver Stone supplied. The girl is the central character in the movie, not so much in the book (although she does have some of the best lines, like calling her mother PAQU, which stands for Passive Aggressive Queen of the Universe). The backstory and the humor of each of the three main characters is also MIA in the movie version.

One person found this helpful

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Matthew

Savages the book much better than Savages the movie

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2013

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I went into the book with low expectations because I had seen the movie and was disappointed, but I read reviews for the book that said it was awesome. I'm sure its not the first time a book was good and the movie they made based on it was terrible.

The synopsis is the same with two Laguna Beach bums named Ben and Chon who work together to develop their own brand of powerful, potent marijuana that they start to sell and make millions and millions with.

Chon and Ben are much more entertaining and enjoyable to read about even while they are arguably less sympathetic in this book. Chon is pretty much a stone cold psychopath. He comes off as barely capable of civil conversation with people that he doesn't care about and he doesn't care about anyone that isn't Ben or O. You say a cross word to him and he is ready to kill on the spot. When the Baja Cartel comes around he is ready to start shooting, starting with the two lawyers that the cartel sends to negotiate a deal with Ben and Chon.

Ben is a pacifist and while he is the brains and head of the operation, he spends most of his time in third world countries working with the charity's he has developed with his drug profits to create. He doesn't seem to understand the seriousness of the threat, though is willing to run away with Chon and O if the Cartel isn't willing to take no for an answer.

But when Ben and Chon decide to run the Baja Cartel sends Lado, the Cartel's California head of operations, kidnaps O and the head of the Cartel, Elena La Rena, famous for chopping off the genitals of her opponents, tells them that they will comply with the deal and sell them their product and in 3 years they have O back. Or pay them $20 million for her back.

Ben and Chon are successful, but not that successful. They are a few mill shy. So they comply while trying to raise the money and how do they decide to raise the money; by ripping off Cartel drug shipments and hijacking the money men in deals and framing the Cartel's enemies or the crime until the raise the necessary cash to save O. Of course, not everything goes according to plan and all hell breaks loose.

The book is great. You get a lot more backstory on Lado and Elena as well as the people involved in Chon and Ben's business. The film also doesn't have a plot where Elena tries to adopt O as a surrogate daughter, that was a creation of the movie. The action scenes are much more brutal and violent than the movie.

It really is a great read, Winslow also writes it from the style as if he was a Laguna Beach stoner. It made me make plans to immediately read The Kings of Cool, the prequel novel Winslow recently wrote.

5 people found this helpful

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Tom Carroll

Different from Winslow’s Other Books

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2023

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This book hooked me about half way through, but it is written differently than the other books I have read by Winslow. He tries to be too cool and cutesy with the vernacular used by the primary threesome (pun intended). The chapters are short and choppy, written almost like journal entries. And of course, there is the obligatory political rant found in most Winslow novels…the price we must pay for otherwise great reading. I wonder if Don Winslow knows that angry political arguments will never sway even a single persons opinion? All of this said, I am a fan of his novels. This one is just in a different format.

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Steve

Takes Awhile

Reviewed in Canada on August 3, 2022

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Took a while to get into it. Mostly because of the writing style. Eventually you get used to it and it worked.

Story is good. Main characters good too. Although they are definitely anti heroes.

Worth time and money.

Kindle Customer

Savages

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2023

Verified Purchase

Brilliant writing. Lots of twists and turns in the plot. Who to trust? Shows how savage drug wars can be.

suvabrata b.

super thriller

Reviewed in India on December 16, 2019

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the movie based on this novel i saw now i read this book really thrilling--- a very very good crime thriller

AMAR SALMI

Savages c'est COOL

Reviewed in France on May 29, 2019

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Ce n'est pas une histoire pour les gens qui cherchent du suspense. Ce Roman c'est d'abord une écriture originale "Des phrases courtes avec des sauts de lignes". Le reste c'est trois personnages inoubliables CHON, BEN ET O "Olivia". On oublie rapidement l'histoire mais jamais les personnages et l'écriture et l'analyse que l'auteur fait de l'époque et surtout d'Olivia et sa relation avec sa mère. J'ai dû lire aussi COOL où l'auteur revient sur le passé de Chon et Ben coté père "Tel père tel fils" Roman écris de la même manière que SAVAGES. Le film c'est juste la partie action du Roman "Drogue et SEX " avec une bonne compression de certains passages comme la mexicaine qui dis à Chon qu'elle allait le tuer puisque ce dernier lui avait manqué du respect mais on voit pas à quel moment Chon lui avait manqué du respect. Vaut mieux voir le Film avant de lire le Roman car une fois le Roman lu, le Film peut devenir un moitié Roman plus compression.

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CARLOS F. GARROCHO R.

EMOCIÓN "A LA DON WINSLOW"...

Reviewed in Mexico on August 7, 2017

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Como todos los libros de Don Winslow, "Savages" combina emoción, dinamismo e informacón sólida sobre el mundo de la justicia, la corrupcióny el crimen.

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