Country: USA
Genre: Crime
Pages: 320
Synopsis:
Ben, Chon and O. are back. Well, kinda. This happens a few years before the evens of SAVAGES. It's the intergenerational story of the drug trade in southern California. The story of Ben, Chon, O....and their parents, who have been elbow deep into the game for many generations. There are inevitable things in life and the events of SAVAGES couldn't have been avoided. That is, in a nutshell, what THE KINGS OF COOL is about.
It's an age-old debate, not to be rehashed here, but basically- Ben believes that to answer violence with violence only begets more violence, while Chon believes that to answer violence with nonviolence only begets more violence, his evidence being the entire history of humanity.
Oddly enough, they both believe in karma - what does around comes around - except with Chon it comes around in a freaking hurry and usually with ill intent.
I said it last week, following up on SAVAGES (the novel) is like following up Louis C.K in a comedy show. It's 1) Very unlikely and 2) Almost impossible to pull off without having projectiles thrown at you. Nonetheless, the courageous Don Winslow had more adventures in store for his iconic characters and released prequel THE KINGS OF COOL. If anybody could seize the glory of SAVAGES again, it's the man who wrote the damn story. The SoCal setting is incredibly rich, so it could work. It's a mythic place in the collective consciousness, so giving it a vanish of grit and violence and there are suddenly a thousand new stories to be told. Did Ben, Chon and O. had more stories in them? Hard to say. THE KINGS OF COOL is a good novel, but it's pale in comparison to SAVAGES.
What made SAVAGES such a killer novel, is that it was a TER-RI-FIC character-driven story who also happened to have a great plot. All the storytelling elements converged to create pure greatness. The characters are still there and still kicking ass. It's a pleasure to meet Ben, Chon and O. again, like they were old friends you hadn't seen in years. Their wits are still there, they are still funny and they are climbing their way up the drug market ladder. After fifty pages, I wanted to cuddle my book and raise a statue to Don Winslow for having lightning strike twice. Unfortunately, it kinda goes downhill from there. It doesn't crash and burn, but it never reaches the same heights at SAVAGES did. It doesn't come close.
Why is that so?
There is a fairly easy explanation to the issues of THE KINGS OF COOL. You may think I'm unfair for playing the comparison game, but I don't think I am. Here's my point. The protagonists of SAVAGES were meticulously crafted through over a hundred pages of character development. They are precise, sharply defined, alive. The parents timeline caused me problem, because they go through multiple decades over half a novel, as the kids go through a novel and a half and only a few years. John, Stan, Diane, Doc and cie. are good characters, but they can only look pale in comparisons to the three greats protagonists Don Winslow crafted with so much love. I found myself not caring too much about the parents timeline and anticipating the next time Chon will raise hell or that O. would square off with Paqu. *
* There is a scene, by the way, where Ben square off with Paqu, which had me laughing out loud.
What made SAVAGES such a killer novel, is that it was a TER-RI-FIC character-driven story who also happened to have a great plot. All the storytelling elements converged to create pure greatness. The characters are still there and still kicking ass. It's a pleasure to meet Ben, Chon and O. again, like they were old friends you hadn't seen in years. Their wits are still there, they are still funny and they are climbing their way up the drug market ladder. After fifty pages, I wanted to cuddle my book and raise a statue to Don Winslow for having lightning strike twice. Unfortunately, it kinda goes downhill from there. It doesn't crash and burn, but it never reaches the same heights at SAVAGES did. It doesn't come close.
Why is that so?
There is a fairly easy explanation to the issues of THE KINGS OF COOL. You may think I'm unfair for playing the comparison game, but I don't think I am. Here's my point. The protagonists of SAVAGES were meticulously crafted through over a hundred pages of character development. They are precise, sharply defined, alive. The parents timeline caused me problem, because they go through multiple decades over half a novel, as the kids go through a novel and a half and only a few years. John, Stan, Diane, Doc and cie. are good characters, but they can only look pale in comparisons to the three greats protagonists Don Winslow crafted with so much love. I found myself not caring too much about the parents timeline and anticipating the next time Chon will raise hell or that O. would square off with Paqu. *
"You want a taco?" Doc asks.
"You want some acid?" Diane replies.
Cue the 2001 theme.
This is a moment.
The seminal mind-fuck that gives birth to
the group that will become known as
The Association.
Despite the issues, THE KINGS OF COOL is an overall good novel. The dual timeline failed to got me involved emotionally with the parents, but it created an interesting, almost surreal feeling that the events of SAVAGES were predestined. That Ben, Chon and O.'s destiny was inescapable. It feels forced at times (like having the cartel characters from SAVAGES. What is that if not asking for comparison?), but overall, it worked just fine. The actions of the parents, shaped the lives of their children. It happens all the time in real life, but narrating it through an epic, two novel long stories gives a tremendous sense of scope to something unfortunately so familiar.
THE KINGS OF COOL was a lot of fun, but it quenched my thirst for Ben, Chon and O. for a while. I'm not expecting any further novels with them as protagonists. I wouldn't be surprised to see short stories featuring them someday (it would be great), but they need to rest a little before having new long adventures, if Don Winslow has any in store for them. THE KINGS OF COOL can't escape the fatality of comparison. Not only it follows up SAVAGES (one of my favorite novels read this year), but it features also the same characters. It's a good complement to his song of Californian violence, but it doesn't equal it in any way. If you liked SAVAGES, reading THE KINGS OF COOL is a no-brainer. But if you didn't read SAVAGES, well, read it first and then decide if you want to read THE KINGS OF COOL. My guess is that you will. It's how one gets into Don Winslow.
THREE STARS
THE KINGS OF COOL was a lot of fun, but it quenched my thirst for Ben, Chon and O. for a while. I'm not expecting any further novels with them as protagonists. I wouldn't be surprised to see short stories featuring them someday (it would be great), but they need to rest a little before having new long adventures, if Don Winslow has any in store for them. THE KINGS OF COOL can't escape the fatality of comparison. Not only it follows up SAVAGES (one of my favorite novels read this year), but it features also the same characters. It's a good complement to his song of Californian violence, but it doesn't equal it in any way. If you liked SAVAGES, reading THE KINGS OF COOL is a no-brainer. But if you didn't read SAVAGES, well, read it first and then decide if you want to read THE KINGS OF COOL. My guess is that you will. It's how one gets into Don Winslow.
THREE STARS
* There is a scene, by the way, where Ben square off with Paqu, which had me laughing out loud.