Product Description
Paris Minton doesn't want any trouble. He minds his used bookstore and his own business. But in 1950s Los Angeles, sometimes trouble finds him, no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. When the nephew of the wealthiest woman in L.A. is missing and wanted for murder, she has to get involved-no matter if she can't stand him.What will her church think?She hires Jefferson T. Hill, a former sheriff of Dawson, Texas, and a tough customer, to track him down and prove his innocence.When Hill goes missing too, she tricks his friend Fearless Jones and Paris Minton into picking up the case. Paris steps inside the world of the black bourgeoisie, and it turns out to be filled with deceit and corruption. It takes everything he has just to stay alive through a case filled with twists and turns and dead ends like he never imagined. Written with the voice and vision that have made Walter Mosley one of the most entertaining writers in America, Fear Itself marks the return of a master at the top of his form. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Great mystery with an authentic background
This works both as engrossing mystery with a pair of engaging characters. Paris and Fearless are as engaging a pair as Mosley's Easy Rawlins and Mouse.The highlight of the story for me is the reaction of bookdealer Paris upon discovering a family journal dating from the days of slavery, the "McGuffin" of the mystery.This is indeed a worthy sequel to FEARLESS JONES.

Not so simple
Paris Minton is a simple man living a simple life.A black man in LA, owner of a bookstore, he keeps to himself for the most part, unless he's tied up with his best friend Tristan "Fearless" Jones.One night Fearless knocks on his door, when Paris hears, the knock he hears trouble.Though his friend lives as his name says, Paris is a polar opposite.On this particular night, Fearless tells his Paris that a woman, Leora and her child Son need help finding her husband Kit Mitchell, the "watermelon man", whom Fearless has worked for.Fearless is a principled man and cannot say no to a woman with a crying child. He lets his friend know that he needs his help in finding this man. Little do either of them know that finding Kit Mitchell, will be the least of their worries.A little mentioned murder a woman named Minna Wexler becomes part of a string of murders that Paris and Fearless happen upon.

Through police harassments, attempts on their lives, dealings with the white elite (Maestro Wexler), the black elite (Winifred Fine) and a series of lowlifes, crazies and down on their luck folks leads them in directions that they had not though of before.Both intelligent in seemingly different ways, the team of Fearless Jones and Paris Minton get way more than they bargain for but working together are able to get through an increasing difficult task.

In this Fearless Jones mystery, Walter Moseley shows why he is one of the great writers of our time.The stories he tells of friendship and the trouble that comes with it are timeless.He shows us, in the case of Fearless and Paris that two heads are better than one.

Rhapsody in Noir (Continued)
Fear Itself wonderfully lives up to the superb quality of Fearless Jones, which began this series. If you haven't read Fearless Jones, I recommend reading that book first.

Fearless Jones is the finest new mystery I have read in decades. Its qualities place it alongside classics like The Maltese Falcon, while its deep exploration of human nature causes it to transcend the mystery genre. The story's subtle psychology reminds me of an ancient Greek drama. This book represents a new peak in the imagination and the writing of the immensely talented Mr. Walter Mosley. You have a rare treat in store. Start this book early in the day. You probably won't want to put it down.

Like the frozen expressions on Greek tragedians' masks, Fearless Jones considers three kinds of human motivation: The self-interested satisfaction of the senses; the rational mind assembling the pieces of a puzzle; and good character that comes the heart. The narration builds from the rational mind and conveys all of the classic elements of the best noir mysteries. Mosley's point is that good character will naturally triumph because of the finer emotions and responses it will evoke in others. I suspect that you will agree with him, and feel uplifted by this tale despite the plot's pathway through many dark alleys of depravity.

Few writers can take you inside the mind and body of the characters like Mr. Mosley. In both Fearless Jones and Fear Itself, you will think and feel along with Paris Minton, the owner of a used bookstore in Watts in the mid-1950s. Minton is a largely self-educated black man from Louisiana who came to California to find libraries that were open to all. His store's books are discards from local libraries. He has achieved a fragile kind of peaceful life, living and working in his bookstore (and reading when there are no customers, which is often).

His friend, Fearless Jones, is the archetype of the medieval knight errant . . . always looking to do a good deed. In Fear Itself, Fearless (Tristan) Jones wakes Paris up in the middle of the night because Fearless has promised to help a woman Fearless had never met before, Leora Hartman, who was holding the hand of a three year-old who was crying his eyes out. A World War II hero, the two met when Minton spontaneously bought Jones a drink during the post-war celebration. "He appreciated my generosity and gave me a lifetime of friendship for a single shot of scotch." As you can see, Mr. Mosley writes like an angel.

The book revolves around a missing farmer from Wayne, Texas, Kit Mitchell, who has been hiring Fearless to distribute his watermelons. The mystery soon adds more missing people and items, and other people who want to pay Paris and Fearless to find whatever is missing. However, people are more willing to pay than to describe what they are supposed to be looking for. Whatever it is, it's dynamite!

The story reminds me The Big Sleep in a positive way.

No review of this book would be complete without observing that Mr. Mosley again demonstrates an unbelievable ability for capturing the black experience in Southern California in the post-war period. He has an equally uncanny skill for weaving a personalized view of that vulnerable, hopeful footing into the fabric of the overall society during those years. I think that Fear Itself is his most imaginative work in this regard. He adds richness to black heritage in an unforgettable and intriguing way. As much as I enjoyed the story, these heritage elements overshadowed the mystery completely.

After you finish reading the book, I suggest that think back to the many moments of spontaneous kindness in the story. How did you feel when you read them? How would you feel if someone behaved in this way towards you? When was the last time that you offered the fullness of your heart's purest motives to a stranger or near-stranger? How would you feel if you did so more often? Who are you? Who could you be? Who do you want to be?

Live beyond your fears and your desires . . . and be free!

New Characters, Familiar Entertainment!
While I enjoyed the Easy books, I prefer the new characters of the Fearless Jones books.I purchased this book on unabridged audio while on a business trip, and soon lost all bearings on the road.Don Cheadle is a masterful reader, combining the many voices seamlessly on CD.The audio quality is superb.We are taken through many eccentric characters, including Paris Minton, the first.Fearless Jones, his best friend and co-conspirator in his adventures, is a man expertly skilled in the art of survival in racist Los Angeles in 1955.I won't divulge the plot, but their adventures take them into the world of black wealth and white criminals.It is Mr. Moseley's mix of humor-Paris's self-professed weaknesses-with a labyrinthine plot that kept me listening for the many hours required.In the couple of months since I purchased the book I have listened to it again, simply for the pleasure of Mr. Cheadle's voice.I have since purchased his third Fearless Jones mystery on CD and am awaiting shipment on the first.

Fearless II
This is Walter Mosley's second Fearless Jones novel. Somehow I missed the first. The premise of the book is that the narrator is a bookstore owner from Watts named Paris Minton. Tristan "Fearless" Jones is his friend and sometime partner. The current book is set in mid-50s Los Angeles, the setting that made Mosley his reputation with the Easy Rawlins series. Fear Itself is apparently Mosley's path back to where he enjoys setting his stories the most: pre-Civil Rights movement LA.

In Fear Itself, Paris is awakened in the middle of the night, first by Fearless, then by a mysterious man looking for Fearless. Paris is suspicious of white guys banging on his door at three in the morning, so he lies and says he doesn't know where Fearless is. Soon, the two men are on the hunt for various people among the black neighborhoods of LA, tripping over dead bodies of rich white people, and getting shot at by that mysterious fellow, who's apparently pretty homicidal. The plot of this story has more twists and turns than a plate of spaghetti, but it's all good fun and the characters are entertaining.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, and would recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
No more excuses. "Let the lawn get shaggy and the paint peel from the walls," bestselling novelist Walter Mosley advises. Anyone can write a novel now, and in this essential book of tips, practical advice, and wisdom, Walter Mosley promises that the writer-in-waiting can finish it in one year. Mosley tells how to:
- Create a daily writing regimen to fit any writer's needs--and how to stick to it.
- Determine the narrative voice that's right for every writer's style.
- Get past those first challenging sentences and into the heart of a story.


Intended as both inspiration and instruction, THIS YEAR YOU WRITE YOUR NOVEL provides the tools to turn out a first draft painlessly and then revise it into something finer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

The Year of Living Dangerously
I was conducting research in a small library recently when I stumbled upon this book on the craft of writing. Over the years, I've read numerous books on novel writing and eventually published three mysteries, utilizing the techniques I gleaned from these books. But finding a craft book by another mystery writer was a real treat. I sat down and read it and then later purchased a copy for my home library.

This book lays it out for the novice, or professional who is just looking for a little refresher training or motivation, and succinctly delivers the core of how to complete a novel in a year. This is on my top 5 list for delivering the best advice you can get from a real champion. Without exception, I would highly recommend this book. And, if you're interested in screenwriting, you may also benefit from Bill Johnson's non-fiction craft book, "A Story is a Promise", which delves into the craft as well as the emotional connection that we expect stories to fulfill that Mr. Mosley also touches on. Mr Mosley provides an easy no nonsense approach at how a book gets written, and how anyone with a strong desire can accomplish the task.

Doc Macomber, Author -- "The Killer Coin", "Wolf's Remedy", "Snip"

Helpful easy instruction
I purchased "This Year You Write Your Novel" by Walter Mosley and like the title the book is easy to understand and very informative. As talented and successful a writer Mr. Mosley is he doesn't weigh down the book with heavy instruction, difficult to understand vocabulary and iron clad rules. He gives the writer freedom to do it their way but with tips on how to make the writing process run smoother. It's a thin book but has what you need to get going on your novel, in fact the first few chapters will be the only ones you need until your first draft is done. I like Walter Mosley's teaching style, he gives great examples for what he is writing about and you don't feel like you're being talked down to. I recommend this book, it changed my approach to writing in the most positive way.This Year You Write Your Novel

A Must Read For Writers!
My sister recommended this book and I got it.Excellent!The author shares very simple, yet practical, and absolutely necessary things struggling writers must do to get their task completed - and completed well.Very inspiring and empowering!

Short and sweet
This may be a small book but it is packed with information on the various aspects of fiction writing - theme, plot, dialogue...you know the drill and even if you don't, you'll soon get the hang of it. Walter Mosley not only knows his stuff, he's willing to share it with you,the reader, with lots of examples to illustrate his knowledge on what works. If this doesn't motivate you to put pen to paper, nothing will.

Same old same old...
"This Year You Write Your Novel" is better suited to middle-school creative writing classes than to serious would-be authors. There's nothing new or interesting here -- just the same, tired old advice we've heard countless times. We KNOW it's important to write every day... and seriously, does Mosley think a person who aspires to write a novel hasn't familiarized him/herself with the various points of view? If you need to review the basics, it may be worth a try, but if you're looking for some new ideas you can really sink your teeth into, try Robert Olan Butler's "From Where You Dream". Bottom line: I'm glad I borrowed this from the library -- even at Amazon's low price, I'd have felt ripped off. ... Read more

Product Description
Life Out of Context begins as a powerful, brooding and humorously honest examination of Mosley’s own sense of cultural dislocation as an African American writer. But due to a series of serendipitous events — the screening of a documentary about Africa, an encounter with Harry Belafonte and Hugh Masakela — Mosley, rather like the protagonist in one of his mystery novels, has a series of epiphanies on the role of a black intellectual in America. He asks: What can we do to fight injustice, poverty, exploitation, and racism? What is globalization doing to us? Through these late night meditations, Mosley attempts to transcend his earlier feelings of living a "life out of context" and seeks instead to find a political context. He ends with a call to arms, proposing that African Americans have to break their historic ties with the Democrat Party, and form a party of their own ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

You sure don't have to be African American to get value from this book
I may be the only reviewer so far who isn't African-American, but this is a book that should be of interest to anyone politically minded to read.Sure, I can't quite agree with every idea presented here, but that doesn't make any difference This isn't a call to action as much as it is a sharing of one's thought processes in seeking solutions to a social problem and to injustice arising from our American political system.It is an encouragement to the reader to do his or her own musing on the issues.I quite respect Walter Mosley who is mainly thought of as a crime novelist and his novels have a lot of philosophical and political thought in them.It's good to see a non-fiction book from him which gives such a personal look at his thought processes.

A NEW PHILOSOPHY
Mosley has done it again.Life Out of Context is a book that not only will allow you to see things differently but forces you to.THe content is straight to the point and the way he lays it out there you have no choice but to read fast and then go back.I read this book in the book sotre for days and then realized I was done.It is a piece that will change the way you put your thoughts together, it has made he see the light.

The Authentic Black Man
I have a new addiction. I am hung up on the African writer Kola Boof.I guess because I am a black woman, I relate so much more to the urgency and wisdom in Boof's political views mixed with her command of our ancestor's cultures and her defiant love for blackness itself, until I was not as impressed with Walter Mosley's new book as my husband was, but still, I thought "LIFE OUT OF CONTEXT" was very good.I don't regret buying it.

To the contrary, I think this book is much better than some other friends have said it was.

Mosely, who is biracial, speaks of a world view for colored peoples and is concerned with all races.He doesn't resonate with me as powerfully as Kola Boof does, because I still don't think we have saved black people yet let alone the whole earth, but this book shows how intelligent he is and that his heart is in the right place.I agreed totally with his idea of a Black political party.It's long overdue.

If you want to read a true masterpiece that every black human being should wrap their brains around, however, then you should read Kola Boof's autobiography "Diary of a Lost Girl".She has an essay in that book called "The Authentic Black Man" that only an African woman could have written.

My husband and I live by it!

It's a Letter to U.S. Citizens We Need to Hear
Does it ramble in some places? Yes. Does it propose some things that kinda scare me? Yes. Does it come up with brilliant, new and wholly-thought-out ways to change the world? No. Now, let's ask ourselves what it was meant to do...

It was meant to walk a reader through the mental steps it takes to lift themselves out of seeing their entire lives in the context of only their own navels. It's not intended to show people exactly how to change the world. It's intended to show people how to think about themselves as agents of change...and changes that could happen TODAY. Sadly, that type of cover description doesn't sell books. So, I'm sure there will be people complaining about how it doesn't deliver on its promises. Well, welcome to the world of book-selling. Now, get over it.

Get over it and read this book. It's been a huge factor in my being able to finally see where I fit in as a citizen of this world...not just a participant in my life. Read it. Let it scare you and then pull back. Let it make you say, "DUH!" and then surprise you by the next sentence's depth and insight. If it were a man, I'd recommend you kiss him just so you can know what it's like. Yeah, it's that good. If you let it in. ... Read more

Product Description
When his cousin Ulysses S. Grant IV comes knocking, Paris Minton would rather keep the door shut, because "Useless" is a snake who brings bad luck wherever he goes.But trouble always finds an open window, and soon there's a man murdered on his bookshop floor, evidence of blackmail is discovered, and Useless has vanished.To get out of this mess, Paris turns to his solid-hearted but quick-fisted friend Fearless Jones.Traversing the complex landscape of 1950s Los Angeles, where a wrong look can get a black man killed, Paris and Fearless find deperate women, secret lives--and more than one dead body. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Not quite great, but darn good
This series is amust for those who enjoy "hard boiled" detective thrillers. This third outing isn't as notable for the mystery plot as it is for a deeper look at fear itself and the degree to which it can be as much a virtue as a fault. If this series continues, it will easily rival the author's better known Easy Rawlins novels.

Disappointed
I found myself more interested in the portrayal of racism in 50's LA than in the plot of the book. Or maybe that was the plot.

I too found myself wishing Useless dead and Three Hearts crying at the funeral while Fearless and Paris comforted her. Alas, Useless got the love of his Mommy and the love of the "boundless beauty" known as Angel/Monique Dubois, while Paris Minton beds three women in this one novel.

All in all, I couldn't tell if this book wanted to be a history lesson, a murder mystery, or an orgy.

Mosley wearing thin, for me anyway...
I should start this out by saying that I read Devil in a Blue Dress when it came out in paperback, and consider it one of the best first detective novels in recent memory. Only Dennis Lehane's A Drink Before the War compares, really, in my mind. So I've been a bit disappointed to see how far Mosley has wandered away from what he started out writing. Various stand-alone novels have emerged (I've only read one, and while it was interesting it wasn't really my cup of tea) and he seems determined to start a new series of books every few years. With Easy Rawlins on the back burner, Socrates Fortlow comes to the fore, then Paris Minton and now Leonid McGill. I haven't read the McGill books, don't know if I will. I'm guessing that Mosley, a California native who's now a New Yorker, feels he should write about his adopted hometown. Fair enough.

Meanwhile, he's got this series following the adventures of Paris Minton. Paris isn't like Easy Rawlins in one large aspect--Easy's much more comfortable with violence than Paris is. Paris wants to run his used bookstore in South Central Los Angeles, and quietly live his life, but he's friends with Fearless Jones, a sort of combination of Easy and his homicidal friend Mouse. Whenever Fearless gets pulled over by the cops, he wants to kill them all and go on with his business: after all, the cops are just there to harass and intimidate him, and as his nickname implies, he's not easily intimidated.

When Devil in a Blue Dress came out, and the series continued, I was looking forward to watching Easy as he confronted and then accepted the way the world changed around him, as the discrimination of the '50s changed into the fearful '60s, and then transformed further into the '70s, '80s, and '90s, where grudging tolerance slowly changed into at least limited acceptance, and then further morphed in the last decade to the point where we are now, with a black president.

Mosley seems uncomfortable with this, however. The Rawlins series seemingly stalled in the mid-60's, with Easy and Mouse still grimly confronting an all-white police force, and Mosley turned to other characters and series. Fortlow spent 20 years in jail for killing his woman and her new boyfriend. Paris Minton and Fearless Jones are from the era of the early, or maybe the middle, Easy Rawlins books, the mid-'50's. It's as if that's where Mosley, as a novelist, is most comfortable: the era when the races were divided, whites were almost inevitably racist, and black criminals were more or less acceptable members of society, because white racism pushed them into a life of crime.

So this time around Paris and Fearless are asked by Paris's aunt to find her son, Ulysses S. Grant IV. Though he bears the name of a president (and I believe there's a white namesake who was a soldier) he shares something else with the original President Grant: the nickname "Useless". President Grant shed it in childhood, but Paris's cousin retains it, mostly because he's a small-time criminal, and completely unreliable personally. One of the difficulties with this book, in my opinion, is that I didn't really like any of the characters, other than Paris (kind of) and Fearless (more or less). Useless is an annoying character, the sort you hope gets killed off as soon as possible, and his mother, Paris's aunt, is one of those people you just hate. She's portrayed by Mosley as a mostly good woman, who can give anyone she wishes the "evil eye", which leads to a swift death. However, she won't see anything bad in her son, and whenever one of his criminal schemes entangles one of his friends, she simply moves all of the blame to the friends, and absolves her son. Paris comes in for much of this as the book goes along, and it gets very annoying.

There were several aspects to this story that just annoyed me, at this point. For instance, I'm tired of Mosley's protagonist being a sexual triathlete who beds a woman every 75 pages or so, with a staggering success rate (no woman apparently ever turns away a black man, or at least one of Mosley's characters). When Paris tells you, at one point, that he is "well-endowed", I just sort of shrugged and said to my self, "Of course he is, he's the protagonist in a Mosley novel; they're all well-endowed." By the end I had to fight to keep awake.

I will say that the book is pretty short, and Mosley introduces a few interesting characters. One is Whisper, another black private eye who helps Fearless and Paris on their search for Paris's cousin. That aside, though, well-turned prose and snappy dialog don't make up for a lack of anything unique or new in a plot, or characters. I was really pretty disappointed by this book, and hope Mosley returns to form in the near future.

Loved This Book!!
This is a great book!!I love Walter MOsley.This was actually a present for my mother.It took some false starts and a while to finally find this book in large print.She loves it!!!

Book
Arrived in good condition, unfortunately my error - this was the wrong book ordered.I returned this item. ... Read more

Product Description
Walter Mosley delivers at last the compelling master work everyone's been waiting for--a novel so intriguing, so soulful, so unstoppably dramatic that it will rank among the classic mysteries of our time.
At the height of the riots that cripple LA in the summer of 1965, a white man is pulled from his car by a mob and escapes into a nearby apartment building. Soon afterward, a red-headed woman known as Little Scarlet is found dead in that apartment building--and the fleeing man is the obvious suspect. The police ask Easy Rawlins to investigate. What he finds is a killer whose rage, like that which burned the city for weeks, is intrinsically woven around race and passion. Rawlins's hunt for the killer will reveal a new city emerging from the ashes--and a new life for Easy and his friends.
Mosley's lean and muscular vernacular captures the heat and the rhythm of Los Angeles' heart, where danger is the common currency of everyday life.Amazon.com Review
Los Angeles, 1965, right after the Watts Riots, six summer days of racial violence--burning, looting, and killing--that followed the routine arrest of a black motorist for drunken driving. Although custodian and unlicensed PI Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins stayed safely inside during the turmoil, as an African-American male he understands all too well what it was about. "It's hot and people are mad," he explains in Walter Mosley's Little Scarlet. "They’ve been mad since they were babies." Even with the rioting finally cooled, police remain on edge. So when a mid-30s, redheaded black woman named Nola Payne--aka "Little Scarlet"--turns up dead in her apartment, strangled and shot and showing signs of recent sexual contact, the cops are reluctant to storm L.A.'s minority community, looking for her murderer,especially since the culprit may well be an injured white man Payne had sheltered, and who's now disappeared. Instead, they ask Easy to see what he can find out about this crime.

The case forces Rawlins to address the ethnic tribulations of 1960s America, in microcosm, and his own discomfort with discrimination, in particular.

I spent my whole early life at the back of buses and in the segregated balconies at theaters. I had been arrested for walking in the wrong part of town and threatened for looking a man in the eye. And when I went to war to fight for freedom, I found myself in a segregated army, treated with less respect than they treated German POWs. I had seen people who looked like me jeered on TV and in the movies. I had had enough and I wasn't about to turn back, even though I wanted to.

But Easy can't tackle this investigation alone; assisting him are the casually homicidal Raymond "Mouse" Alexander, as well as a dogged white detective and a fetching younger woman, who threatens to overturn the settled life Easy has been working toward all these years. Nor can Rawlins wrap the case up easily. Harassed and attacked for his inquiries, he eventually connects Payne's slaying to a homeless man, allegedly responsible for killing as many as 21 black women, all of whom had the bad judgment to hook up with white men.

Little Scarlet, the eighth Rawlins novel (after Bad Boy Brawly Brown), is unusual for Mosley, because it focuses as much on the credible mechanics of crime-solving as it does on the exposition of character and the exploration of L.A.'s mid-20th-century black culture. Combined with the author's vigorous prose and prowess with dialogue, Easy's promotion to serious sleuth promises great things for what was already a standout series. --J. Kingston Pierce ... Read more

Customer Reviews (53)

Little Scarlet, Walter Mosley.
Excellent--As with all his novels he makes them come alive in characters and location.Easy Rawlins stands out as a good man who really gets a bad reputation without deserving it.Walter Mosely should make the top of the list of authors to read.

I really enjoyed this book!
This is the first Walter Mosley book I have read (I listened to it on CD) and I was delighted to discover what a good writer he is. I plan to read the rest of the books in this series as well as some of his other books.

There were so many things to like about the book: the dialog, the story, the characterization...and I especially liked the tone of the book--not dark or too stressful. It was enjoyable to listen to...and the reader did a magnificent job!

A portrayal of both inner and outer torment
These Easy Rawlins books are great because of their complexity while still being entertaining reading.Of the various basic conflicts a story can be based on, Mosley integrates at least three...man vs man, man vs (human) nature, and man vs himself.The larger story of Easy Rawlins is told in the entirety of the series and is best read starting with DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS and continuing with each volume including SIX EASY PIECES which relates some important landmarks in Easy's life including the beginning of trouble with Bonnie, the resurrection of Mouse, and the introduction of Harold who's an important character in this novel.Very highly recommended as are all the Easy Rawlins books.

Little Scarlet
This is one of my favorite authors.I really enjoyed reading this novel and can't wait until the next one comes out.

Excellent book!

He can do no wrong..
I started reading Walter Mosley in 1994.I think that becoming a new mother slowed me down from reading my favorite Easy Rawlins mysteries until recently.I have collected all the Walter Mosley I could find and have re-started with Little Scarlet.This book reminds me of why I started reading Mr. Mosley in the first place and want to kick myself for not keeping up.. lol.To me, Walter Mosley can do no wrong (well.. except for Blue Light.. haha).I'm a loyal fan and want a plate of anything/everything he's serving up. ... Read more

Product Description
Projecting a near-future United States in which justice is blind in at least one eye and the ranks of the disenchanted have swollen to dangerous levels, Mosely offers nine interconnected stories whose characters appear and reappear in each others' lives. For all its denizens, from technocrats to terrorists, celebs to crooks, "Futureland" is an all-American nightmare just waiting to happen.Amazon.com Review
Futureland is bestselling mystery author Walter Mosley's first science fiction book since Blue Light, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Futureland's nine linked stories will provide an accessible and intelligent introduction to written science fiction for mystery or mainstream fiction fans who do not normally read the genre.

Experienced science fiction readers, however, may be less than satisfied with Futureland. Reading it, you might decide Mr. Mosley grew up reading SF, respects the genre, and still watches SF movies, but has read little SF written during or after the New Wave of the 1960s. However,something more may be going on here than a genre newcomer making beginning-SF-writer mistakes. Mr. Mosley may be deliberately, and craftily, creating SF accessible to his large non-SF readership and to others who are strangers to this genre.

Some have labeled Futureland cyberpunk, and it does present a dark, infotech-saturated, corporation-controlled future; but it is in fact an inversion of cyberpunk. Instead of that subgenre's cliche of cool, cutting-edge, street-smart, but not very believable outlaws who out-hack and outwit powerful multinational corporations, this Dante-esque collection presents outlaws and outcasts who may be street-wise, but who have little chance of overcoming the corporations and governments that control, and sometimes take, their lives. Like shockingly few other SF works, Futureland directly examines the lives of the working and the nonworking classes, the poor and the marginalized, the criminal and the criminalized. In other words, Futureland is set in a world quite alien to many veteran SF readers, and is therefore a book they should try. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Race remains an issue in this future world
Hard-core science fiction seems to be written mostly by white men, and issues involving people of color usually focus on those who are green-skinned, or off-world, or strangers in a strange land. It's therefore refreshing to see a collection of stories that looks at race relations on Mother Earth in a future that is technically color-blind, but in actuality keeps the oppressed down both figuratively and literally.

In Mosley's Futureland, there are whole segments of society that never see the light of day because they aren't wage-earners; in his welfare state, private property is unheard of, non-working stiffs sleep in stacked barrack-style accommodations, eat the same food day in and day out, and live at the lowest levels of society, literally. Once you fall off the working cycle, it becomes nearly impossible to break back into the world of the employed.

Mosley brings together wonderfully diverse characters who are all people of color -- a brilliant child prodigy whose intelligence eventually leads to imprisonment; a female fighter whose male match-ups leave the Billy Jean King/Bobby Riggs "Battle of the Sexes" in the dust; a private eye whose sleuthing abilities are enhanced by a real 'private eye' - a synthesized false orb with computing powers and access to invaluable information; and a revolutionary who infiltrates the private island of a powerful overlord in hopes of forcing reform, but instead finds himself abandoning his own cause. Their stories are memorable, their motivations credible, and their struggle against a class-driven society are noteworthy in that they echo the struggles of contemporary society.

This is not science fiction for the diehard SF fan, but a thoughtful grouping of interlocking stories that examines color, status, power, subjugation, and resistance through the lens of a future that could evolve from our own present. It's worth a look.

Excellent...The Type of Scifi I want to read!
Walter Moseley's "Futureland" was excellent.This is the type of scifi I want to read.I enjoy stories about how societies fall apart and implode.This is the only type of scifi that I enjoy.But according to the other reviewers here "Futureland" is not scifi because it deals with social issues. If you want to read about "post-apocolyptic"(sp?) America then I highly recommend it.For all of the racists out there (see other reviews), who are "tired of reading about Blacks" I say don't buy the book if you don't want it.

Don't worry its only nine stories...
I just finished reading Futureland by Walter Mosley and it was a decent addition to the Mosley line.I think that Mosley is much better at writing mystery novels (i.e. The Easy Rawlins Novels) but I have to respect an author that is not afraid to cross genres.At first I was confused and put off by the first couple stories but as I continued to read and catch the cross-over aspect along with the underlying theme of continued racial genocide by radical groups I couldn't put it down.I also noticed that the author addresses issues related to stagnated creativity, destroyed individuality, and social reform which can result from a highly technologically advanced world that doesn't bother to ask the question; "Is this advance morally correct?"When you read this book be patient, I'm sure that by the end of the last page you'll ask yourself some of the same questions.This Sci-Fi book is not so much about the action as its about the question.

I like a little rage with my sci-fi
One of the best storytellers around, Mosley presents characters that burn.He chose to write a book of interconnected stories so that the protagonist of each story blends into the supporting cast of the others, making the collection even more enjoyable.This is a kindness to the reader, because one story isn't enough time spent with stellar dudes like Ptolemy Bent and Folio Johnson.

sad and bleak future that would've been better...
if the 'blacks good, whitey bad' simplistic racism didn't get in the way. you see it starting already today, not black and white but with the growing underclass - blacks & whites, workers not just giving up their rights at the workplace door but beyond (smoke, high cholesterol, you won't be hired, home visits, etc.? ), govt telling you more and more what to do, less and less autonomy...and less ability to fight back. hey, die from being tasered, and its basically your fault. a vision of the future? ... Read more

Product Description
Easy Rawlins is out of the investigation business and as far away from crime as a black man can be in 1960s Los Angeles. But living around desperate men means life gets complicated sometimes. When an old friend gets in enough trouble to ask for Easy's help, he finds he can't refuse.
Young Brawly Brown has traded in his family for The Clan of the First Men, a group rejecting white leadership, history, and laws--and they're dangerous. Brown's mom, Alva, needs to know her baby's okay, and Easy promises to find him. His first day on the case Easy gets harassed by the cops and comes face to face with a corpse. Before he knows it he is on a short list of murder suspects and in the middle of a frenzied police raid on a Clan of the First Men rally. The only thing he discovers about Brawly Brown is that he's the kind of trouble most folks try to avoid. It takes everything Easy has just to stay alive as he explores a world filled with promises, betrayals, and predators like he never imagined.
BAD BOY BRAWLY BROWN is the masterful crime novel that Walter Mosley's legions of fans have been waiting for. Written with the voice and vision that have made Walter Mosley one of the most important writers in America, this book marks the return of a master at the top of his form.Amazon.com Review
Racial tensions and America's civil rights movement have previously figured into Walter Mosley's series about sometimes-sleuth Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins. But Bad Boy Brawly Brown turns what had been a background element into compelling surface tension. The year is 1964, and though Easy seems settled into honest work as a Los Angeles custodian, he's having other problems--notably, his adopted son's wish to quit school and lingering remorse over the death (in A Little Yellow Dog) of his homicidal crony, Raymond "Mouse" Alexander. Yet he remains willing to do "favors" for folks in need. So, when Alva Torres comes to him, worried that her son, Brawly Brown, will get into trouble running with black revolutionaries, Easy agrees to find the young man and "somehow ... get him back home." His first day on the job, however, Rawlins stumbles across Alva's ex-husband--murdered--and he's soon dodging police, trying to connect a black activist's demise to a weapons cache, and exposing years of betrayal that have made Brawly an ideal pawn in disastrous plans.

Mosley's portrayal of L.A.'s mid-20th-century racial divide is far from simplistic, with winners and sinners on both sides. He also does a better-than-usual job here of plot pacing, with less need to rush a solution at the end. But it is Easy Rawlins's evolution that's most intriguing in Brawly Brown. A man determined to curb his violent and distrustful tendencies, Easy finds himself, at 44, having finally come to peace with his life, just when the peace around him is at such tremendous risk. --J. Kingston Pierce ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Bad Boy Brawly Brown by Walter Mosely
I love Mosely's books, especially Easy Rawlins.This was an attention keeper, as usual.Not my most favorite Rawlins but I have recommended it to my friends and other Mosely fans several times.Mosely Books are always worth the time and money.

A superb mystery; a vivid portrayal of the racial tension of the mid sixties
As a Caucasian living near L.A. in the 60's, I was totaly unaware of the importance of what was happening in the area.Therefore, I'm very grateful for this series which gives the Black perspective of that era in such an entertaining way.

Once again
Once again, every time I pick up a Walter Mosley book, everything else I do in my life is what I do around reading the book, or what I have to do in order to eat - so that I can read the book.

Haunting, Fascinating Easy
It's been years since I've read an Easy Rawlings novel and I haven't a clue why. Walter Mosley manages to create one of the most interesting and fascinating characters in modern mysteries today. The series have become atmospheric time pieces that sear into the heart of what it is to be black in America, this time in the turbulant sixties. Mouse dead, Easy has become domesticated, living with his girlfriend Bonnie and his children Feather and Jesus. Asked by his freind John to find a missing boy, Brawly Brown, Easy takes up the task and finds himself in water much deeper than he could of ever imagined. Told with his characteristic direct and honest prose, it's another great book to savor in one of the best series out there.

Same great characters....same formulaic approach
walter mosley does it again. here we have a story about Easy Rawlins getting mixed up in the same sort of messes he should have left alone a long time ago. as usual. and he gets played by white cops. as usual. and he somehow lucks into a big pile of dough. as usual. it's the same stuff we've read before, but it works. as usual.

easy gets a call from his friend john. john and his wife alva think that alva's son brawly is mixed up in some bad stuff and all john wants easy to do is find alva's son, see if he's okay and ask him to come back home. simple story, right? not if walter mosley's writing it.

what we end up getting is completely different from what we bargained for. brawly, a temperamental, mixed up twenty-something who still has some growing up to do, is all wrapped up in some militant revolutionary group that seems to want to mirror the black panthers. or is he? well, easy needs to find out before the white cops and brawly's most unlikely black confidants do him in. and easy gets himself into a world of crap. as usual. but this time he doesn't have his boy mouse to watch his back. i didn't read the previous novel, but apparently mouse is dead. at least that's the story.

and it's a convoluted story at that. i love the easy rawlins mysteries, but it's often very tough to remember all the characters and what roles they play in the scheme of things. mosley does that pretty often. and in my book, that's not a good thing. it seems like his approach consists of "if i throw in a bunch of characters, i can make the story extremely difficult to figure out until the end AND i can make 300 pages!" actually, i would much rather just be fooled with a fantastic tale than be confused by a whirlwind of people flashing in front of my face. it's that sort of thing that keeps me from giving him five stars.

on the other hand, i absolutely LOVE the way he makes his protagonist grow with the passage of time. mosley gives us easy at his janitorial job and shows us him interacting with coworkers, etc. easy has given up drinking, has pledged himself to one woman - bonnie, does the best he can to act like a good father to the troubled jesus and the adoringly smart feather. there is even an amusing side story about him trying to and failing to quit smoking. and he's a good friend to old staples like mofass and john - who have also grown in their own right.

i also love mosley's writing style. it's in your face and perfectly indicative of the black man's burden. he writes like he knows what he is talking about, no doubt having seen it all in his own real life. it really hurts that hollywood won't make more easy rawlins films because we're talking about one of the best characters in the history of the written word.

... Read more

Product Description
Ptolemy Bent--"Popo"--is different. At an age when most babies are cooing "Mama, " Popo was speaking in complete sentences. He was reading college textbooks when he was still too young for nursery school. Popo may just be the smartest human being on Earth. And he spends all his time listening to the radio . . . to white noise that comes drifting down from the sky like stardust. Chill Bent is a two-time loser with a hair-trigger temper. After the death of Popo's mother, the ex-con assumes responsibility for his nephew, vowing to protect the boy from a government eager to strip away his African-American heritage and exploit his genius like a natural resource. Together, Popo and Chill are about to embark on an extraordinary journey into the farthest reaches of the mind and the soul . . . a journey you will never forget.

In this stunning new speculative fiction short story by the bestselling author of Blue Light, part of an interconnected collection of stories called Futureland, a young African-American genius searches for God with the tools of cutting-edge science. Look for the complete volume of Futureland, available now.


... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Seriously short but Good
It would've help if I knew it was seriously short. I keep checking my kindle to ensure the book downloaded properly. Walter Mosley is a great writer and I enjoyed but way 2 short!!!!!

VERY disappointed!?!
This SHORT story- yes, they needed to make that clear- was excellent! But 2 short and poorly developed. Wonderful idea- just not fleshed out.

Whispers in the Dark
This book is great.Mosley is a true American master who can write any genre of book he wishes.it would serve you well to read anything that Mosley writes... yes, he is that good. ... Read more

Product Description
Walter Mosley, "one of crime fiction's brightest stars" (People), returns to mysteries at last-with a dazzling new thriller set in the deadly back alleys of 1950s L.A.... Bookshop owner Paris Minton is minding his own business when a brief encounter with a beautiful stranger gets him beaten, shot at, robbed, and then burned out of store and home. Paris needs help but his secret weapon-brave, reckless WWII hero Fearless Jones-is in jail. Vowing to dish out some heavy justice, Paris plots to get Jones back on the street. But when these two men come together, they'll find themselves trapped in a bewildering vortex of sex, money, and murder-and a dicey endgame that's littered with dangerous players...Amazon.com Review
Penzler Pick, June2001: Those of us who have been waiting for Walter Mosley to returnto mystery writing--and there are many of us--have cause to rejoice. Notonly has Mosley written a mystery, he is introducing a new character whocould turn out to be as popular as Easy Rawlins.

Fearless Jones has a lot in common with Easy, but he also has somecharacteristics reminiscent of Socrates Fortlow, the "hero" of Always Outnumbered, AlwaysOutgunned. When the story begins, the reader is transported to theLos Angeles of the 1950s, a dangerous place and time for a black man. ButParis Minton seems to have beaten the odds. He owns a moderately successfuland very satisfying business--a used book store. He spends the time he'snot in the store scouring libraries for discarded books and selling them injust enough quantity to be independent and happy. Yes, he is visited on aregular basis by members of the LAPD who want him to prove to them that hedid not steal the books, but that is a small price to pay forindependence.

Minton's peaceful life is interrupted one day when a beautiful woman walksinto his store and asks for the Reverend William Grove. In no time flat,Paris has been beaten into unconsciousness by a man following her and hasbeen rewarded by the woman with sex. The lovely Elana Love is obviouslytrouble, but Paris jumps in feet first and, as a consequence, his store isburned to the ground. It is obviously time to call in Fearless Jones, a manwell named. Jones is afraid of nothing, but there is a little matter to betaken care of before he can help. He's in jail and Paris must raise bail toget him out. Once he does that, the pair embark on a wild ride through LosAngeles on behalf of Elana Love. As always, Mosley depicts the hard-boiledL.A. in a powerful and distinctive way, and we can only hope that this isthe first of a series. --Otto Penzler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (54)

Part "Easy" and part "Mouse"
Actually, Paris Minton is the central character, but that name wouldn't make as intriguing a title.Be that as it may, Fearless is one more great Walter Mosley character fit to stand alongside Easy Rawlins and Socrates Fortlow.And the story here is among the best penned by Mosley, with hisevocation of 50's L.A. and population of living, breathing characters.

Read everything Walter Mosely has written
As my title indicates, I'm a big fan of Mr. Mosely's writing.I discovered his books about a month ago, and have been devouring them one after another since my initial discovery.The only other time a writer has had such an impact on me was several years ago when I first discovered James Ellroy.

Fearless Jones is a dynamite read.You will stay up past your bedtime because you want to stay with the characters......all of Walter Mosely's books are this tantalizing.He is just a great storyteller, writing from a unique perspective, and I cannot recommend him highly enough.

My First by Walter Mosley
First I would like it to be mentioned that this is my first introduction to Walter Mosley's work.I found this book to be pretty good, but not great.The characters are great, and the plot is intriguing, but the story had quite a lot of details that began to get confusing to me.All in all, I will definitely read more from Mr. Mosley, and I'm anxious to read the next novel in this series.Don't get discouraged, the writing is great.Maybe just not quite what I was expecting.Happy Reading!

Great set-up, lackluster intrigue
The premise for Walter Mosley's "Fearless Jones" is certainly a doozy. After reading the back cover I was sucked right in and eagerly began to read. You see, Paris Minton is minding his own business reading in his used book store when the beautiful and mysterious Elana Love (a classic femme fatale) walks in and changes everything. Within minutes of her arrival Paris has been brutally beaten by a thug who shows up looking for her, and in the ensuing chaos he is chased, shot at, seduced by Ms. Love, and loses his beloved store to arson. When Elana makes off with his money and his car, Paris becomes determined to find out what she was mixed up in and to exact revenge. To do this he must first bail his best buddy, Fearless Jones, out of jail to make use of his talents in such matters.

Great set-up, right? Unfortunately the execution is quite lacking, and ironically I thought that the plot took its big dive the moment Fearless himself showed up. So much importance is placed on Fearless' charisma and nobility to further the plot, but he just isn't as magnetic as Mosley seems to think he is. His partnership with Paris doesn't help matters much because the two of them stall the novel's action completely at alternating points, going about their investigation with all of the urgency of two men running errands. The two of them keep taking time outs to do ... not much, actually. Fearless hooks up with an old girlfriend, Paris seemingly falls for a damaged waitress (although ultimately it is hard to believe that he really feels anything for her at all), Fearless takes on a new pet in a dog that the two encounter, and more, but none of it has anything to do with the plot. One wishes that Mosley had streamlined these elements and kept better control of the plot --which gets way out of hand by the end. By the time Nazi war criminals and the Israeli government get involved you'll have a headache and wish that Mosley had simply stuck to the extortion, corrupt police, and creepy church thugs that he had started the book out with. I had never read a book by Mosley before, and perhaps I should have stuck with one of the Easy Rawlins series for a first experience. I think that I still will give one a try someday -- but not until I've had enough time to get rid of the bad taste in my mouth that "Fearless Jones" has left me with.

Is Murder and Mayhem Supposed to be this Funny
This is my introduction to Walter Mosley, (whose Easy Rawlins is a favorite of my daughter) and I am very impressed by his manner of writing people who seem real, but are in totally bizarre situations.Mosley does a great job in evoking 1950s LA at a time when the place of anyone who wasn't a WASP, was in their place.(As an aside, Mosley only makes two mistakes in his timeline...the proper name for African-Americans at this time was colored, I don't think even blacks calls themselves Blacks;and the use of the word pig to designate a cop didn't appear until the late sixties, at this time blacks called cops Ofays.)

Now this is really not a story about Fearless (who real name is Tristan), but about his friend Paris.Paris wants nothing more than to run his used book store.But like most people in a noir book, what he wants and what he gets are two totally different things.The story begins when he gets involved with a good looking woman who acts like a damsel-in-distress, but she's more like a black widow (no pun intended).Gee, and she has a big bad boyfriend named Leon, who likes to beat up people, especially those that mess with his girlfriend.

Summary of the story is that he and his friend Milo (an ex-lawyer) get Fearless out of jail, they then run into arson for hire, murder for hire, murder for money, ex-Nazi war criminals, Israeli spies, illegal war bootie, crooked religious confidence men, and some other stuff.In the end, everything comes out alright (except of course for the dead people) and Paris gets another store.

You know Paris, I think this is the beginning of a wonderful series. Can't wait for the next installment. ... Read more

Product Description
When Cordell Carmel catches his long-term girlfriend with another man - the thick-necked chauvinist Johnny Fry - something profound happens to him. Overnight Cordell's calm life dissolves. Finding himself prey both to thoughts of murder and an insatiable libido, he begins a dark sexual odyssey in search of retribution and gratification, leading him deep into the erotic heart of New York City. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Porn
I've been a fan of Mosley's previous books, especially the Easy Rawlins series, but this book is nothing but pure porn and with little literary value.Did he recently have a stroke that affected his rational brain? I'm most definitely not a prude, but I got tired of the back-to-back, overly graphic, gratuitous sex scenes before a quarter way through - there was little else going on.(That's where I put the book down, and didn't finish it.)
If you are a fan of hard porn, then you'll probably like this book.However, I'm going to recommend our librarian keeps this one under the counter and available only for those over 21, and with a label warning about it's contents.

Mosley channels Camus

Walter Mosley uses first-person narrative (which perfectly conveys the urgency of his character, Cordell Carmel),as he explores Carmel's lonely existence, a fact he is bludgeoned with after discovering his long-time girlfriend's infidelity."I was angry at Jo and Johnny," he says at one point, "but the real source of pain for me was that I had never known how empty and unfulfilled my life was."In response, Carmel goes off on a sexual odyssey, discovering dark territories of his mind he never knew existed.But there is no joy in the sex he experiences -- and this is not an erotic book.His encounters are not romantic, struggles for power, angry and animalistic.It is a psychological study, highlighting responses to rejection, to male competition, to abuse, and needs unfilled -- as seen through an intensely focused lens, underscoring the powerful role sex can play in lives that are unraveling.Carmel is adrift, preoccupied with death and destruction, looking for salvation, but as in Camus' world of The Stranger, finds only himself.

Mosley has taken his blows in reviews, and for those reading only at the surface of this novel, that may be understood.But dig deeper into Carmel's revelation of loneliness and fear, and you will discover the core of his 'sexistential novel', if you dare.This is a bold and provocative work.

Killing Jonny Fry
Oh may word what an amazing book. All I can say is just read it you will not be regret it in the least.

Mosley is Genius
It may be different from his past works but still great regardless.It is a tale of self discovery.It poses the question do we really know ourselves.Great book by a great writer.

This is an excellent book that keeps you interested until the very end.
This book has strong sexual content and is sometimes a bit too graphic, but it is an excellent piece of literature. ... Read more

Product Description
New York Times bestselling author Walter Mosley introduces an "astonishing character" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) in this acclaimed collection of entwined tales. Meet Socrates Fortlow, a tough ex-con seeking truth and redemption in South Central Los Angeles -- and finding the miracle of survival.

"I either committed a crime or had a crime done to me every day I was in jail. Once you go to prison you belong there." Socrates Fortlow has done his time: twenty-seven years for murder and rape, acts forged by his huge, rock-breaking hands. Now, he has come home to a new kind of prison: two battered rooms in an abandoned building in Watts. Working for the Bounty supermarket, and moving perilously close to invisibility, it is Socrates who throws a lifeline to a drowning man: young Darryl, whose shaky path is already bloodstained and fearsome. In a place of violence and hopelessness, Socrates offers up his own battle-scarred wisdom that can turn the world around.Amazon.com Review
In this cycle of 14 bittersweet stories, Walter Mosley breaks out of the genre--if not the setting--of his bestselling Easy Rawlins detective novels. Only eight years after serving out a prison sentence for murder, Socrates Fortlow lives in a tiny, two-room Watts apartment, where he cooks on a hot plate, scavenges for bottles, drinks, and wrestles with his demons. Struggling to control a seemingly boundless rage--as well as the power of his massive "rock-breaking" hands--Socrates must find a way to live an honorable life as a black man on the margins of a white world, atask which takes every ounce of self-control he has.

Easy Rawlins fans might initially find themselves disappointed by the absence of a mystery to unravel. But it's a gripping inner drama that unfolds over the pages of these stories, as Socrates comes to grips with the chaos, poverty, and violence around him. He tries to get and keep a job delivering groceries; takes in a young street kid named Darryl, who has his own murder to hide; and helps drive out the neighborhood crack dealer. Throughout, Mosley captures the rhythms of Watts life in prose both musical and hard-edged, resulting in a haunting look at a life bounded by lust, violence, fear, and a ruthlessly unsentimental moral vision. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (62)

A collection of literary short stories depicting the Black experience in 1980's Watts
These aren't mysteries, but certainly should entertain Easy Rawlins fans as well as those unfamiliar with Walter Mosley's writing.Although short stories, there's a continuity and this can easily be read as a novel as the character of Socrates Fortlow,`an ex-con recently released from prison, lives his life in the Watts community.The stories are tough at times and tender at times.The first one introduces us to a young boy, Daryl, who returns in some of the later stories and we get a sense of the growing bond between the two and the attempt of Socrates to be a worthy guide and teacher to the boy.This is a very rewarding reading experience and is worthwhile reading regardless of the reader's ethnic background.

A TREASURE
Mr. Mosley has created a fictional character who has taken on a life of his own.He has given us Socrates Fortlow a man who in one's mind lives beyond the pages of a book.If you buy the paperback and you love books you'll end up buying it in hardcover - hopefully a 1st ed. signed by the author.Enjoy- and learn.

"You stood up for yourself ... that's all a black man could do"
The story begins similar to the Langston Hughes short story "Thank you, Ma'am" (a literary nod that I enjoyed) as a young man attempts to steal from Socrates Fortlow, a clue that sets the tone for the rest of the book.Socrates Fortlow is an ex-con, 8 years out of prison after serving 27 years for rape and murder._Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned_ is the story of Socrate's struggle to forgive himself of what he's done (in and out of prison) and to help other African-Americans in south central LA avoid similar mistakes.

Fortlow is a complex character - he's angry: he sees the good and potential in others, but he can't see the same in himself.He's formidible: his huge hands are nicknamed "rock breakers" for a reason.And he has a remarkable ability to forgive others, yet is unwilling to forgive himself.Through Fortlow, Mosley shows us how important it is to recognize our universal humanity and that ultimately, we are all our brother's keepers.

It is on the surface a light read, the messages subtle as Fortlow humbly goes about his business trying to find work, trying to stay out of trouble and (when he can), acting as mentor, philosopher and role-model for young and old in his neighborhood.Some may miss these nuances, in which case it is still a wonderful picture of one man's struggle to do right by himself.For those who give it a closer read, they will find the way in which Mosley gently shares his message rewarding.Recommended.

Readable, not great, 3 stars
A collection of stories (some are more like character sketches) is just not as compelling as a book with one story would be, but the main character is interesting and the book is well-written and not as bleak as it might be.The author likes his protagonist, and you probably will, too, an ex-con with a strong moral code and no inhibition about expressing it.Made me want to read the author's other books, so it can't be too bad.

Great Book
I really enjoyed this book.Mosley is a great talent and his writing is though provoking and insightful.The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating is because I felt there was something lacking.I wanted to feel like there was some kind of conflict and there wasn't.It was preachy--in a good way- but if given a definite plot or pushed a little more in a definite direction it would have been an amazing book. Even the constant reminder of his rape and murder convictions didn't create enough conflict. His goodness outweighed his crime and eventually with every mention, I got this "haven't we all" feeling.It was as if he was confessing to stepping on ants.Overall though, I would suggest reading it, just because Mosley has an amazing honest voice in his writing and I love the passion he gives his characters. ... Read more

Product Description
Hailed as a masterpiece-the finest work yet by an American novelist of the first rank-The Man in My Basement tells the story of Charles Blakey, a young black man who can't find a job, drinks too much, and, worst of all, stands to lose the beautiful home that has belonged to his family for generations. But Charles's fortunes take an odd turn when a stranger offers nearly $50,000 to rent out Charles's basement-and soon, as the boarder transforms the basement into a prison cell, Charles finds himself drawn into circumstances almost unimaginably bizarre and profoundly unsettling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (72)

A short but not easy read definitely worth your while
This is quite cerebral, and yet infiitely readable.Mosely uses the first portion of the book to get you well acquainted with Charles Blakey, his situation, his thinking, and his failings while developing the strange relationship to be formed with the mysterious Addison Bennet.There is little action, but lots of movement as the reader realizes there's a definite power struggle going on here, and it's difficult to be sure who really is in control.The real meat is in the philosophical discussions between the two characters, but there also is a subtle feeling of suspense as one roots for Charles to find the strength to turn his life around.This is Walter Mosley at his most profound.

Very Intresting Read
This book was very intresting.It kept my attention.It is uneventful in places, and by mid book or so, I predictedthe ending.But the ideas in it are creative and intriguing.It was narrated well too.

Interesting Topic - But
This was a great concept, and Mosley certainly can write, but I wonder if he should have let this one incubate for a while longer.He ended up with 3 stars but was close to 2 until the somewhat satisfying ending.

different but disappointing
This very different story piqued my interest at the start. Charles Blakey's life seems to be going nowhere, with financial problems mounting up. Then, a strange man (Annisten Bennet) appears and offers Blakey a lot of money to stay for a short time in his basement. The mystery behind Bennet, and Blakey's search for himself through his non-slave American roots impelled me to keep listening to this audio-book. Ultimately, I was not satisfied either with Bennet's secret surfacing not the transformation of Blakey as he deals with Bennet and other issues in his life. This unorthodox story was ultimately neither believable not engaging. Even a good reader could not rescue this somewhat disappointing short novel.

Different and Brilliant
I have to say that I'm a recent Mosley reader and I really loved this book the story is very different than anything I have read from Mosley and in my opinionshows how two very different people can be placed into a situation in which they open up their deepest secrets to each other and in the end are redeemed for their sins. A must read!!! ... Read more

Product Description
It is the Summer of Love and Easy Rawlins is contemplating robbing an armored car. It's farther outside the law than Easy has ever traveled, but his daughter, Feather, needs a medical treatment that costs far more than Easy can earn or borrow in time. And his friend, Mouse, tells him it's a cinch.
Then another friend, Saul Lynx, offers him a job that might solve Easy's problem without jail time. He has to track the disappearance of an eccentric, prominent attorney. An assistant, of sorts, the beautiful 'Cinnamon' Cargill is gone as well. Easy can tell there is much more than he is being told...Robert Lee, his new employer, is a suspect in the attorney's disappearance. But his need overcomes all concerns, and he plunges into unfamiliar territory, from the newfound hippie enclaves to a vicious plot that stretches back to the battlefields of Europe.
The New York Times said of Mosley's bestseller, Little Scarlet, "Nobody, but nobody, writes this stuff like Mosley." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (54)

Cinnamon Kiss
First time reading a Mosley book.Way too many characters !!I forgot who was who and had to go back to refresh my memory. Overall, I felt the book is just OK.Not exciting, but it kept my interest.

A from Austin

So... where's the plot?
You'll have to toil hard to find the plot among the pages. I'm not saying that the main story is bad but it could be written in 100 pages or so. The rest of the book is really boring.

Entertaining,
It was the first Walter Mosely book I'd ever read and it was quite the page turner.I truly did enjoy his brand of suspense.

More Mosley
I am a huge Walter Mosley fan and after hearing that he would no longer write Easy Rawlings stories I decided to get all of the books for my collection.Cinnamon Kiss is a great book and since I am from the Bay Area the locales in the story were personal to me.

Not his best, but certainly not his worst
It's hard not to like a novel by Walter Mosley as he is such an awesome writer!There are novels of his I liked better, however you cannot go wrong by reading Cinnamon Kiss.It's like a night of good loving with the chcocolate, without the wine, and the roses.So pick it up, and read it.You can't go wrong!
Lena Arnold, Author
Strong Black Coffee: Poetry and Prose to Enlighten, Encourage, and Entertain Americans of African Descent ... Read more

Product Description
In this sequel to "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned", Socrates Fortlow is back in Watts, trying to leave prison in his past, and confronting the most dangerous emotion of all: hope.Amazon.com Review
Once he had dreamed up the EasyRawlins series, with its colored-coded titles and suave protagonist,Walter Mosley could have coasted for the rest of his life. Instead hedelved into impressionistic fiction (RL's Dream) and sci-fi(Blue Light)--andcame up with his own variant on Ellison's invisible man, a forbiddingex-con named Socrates Fortlow. The author first introduced this inner-cityphilosopher in AlwaysOutnumbered, Always Outgunned, allowing him to vault one ethicalhurdle after another. Now Socrates returns in Walkin' the Dog, stilloperating out of his tiny Watts apartment,still figuring precisely whatto make of his freedom.

Like his dog, Killer--a spirited mutt who's missing his two hindlegs--Socrates has to contend with a number of severe handicaps. Forget thefact that he's a black man in a white society. He's also the fall guy forevery crime committed in the vicinity, a scapegoat of near-biblicalproportions:

The police always came. They came when a grocery store was robbed or achild was mugged. They came for every dead body with questions andinsinuations. Sometimes they took him off to jail. They had searched hishouse and given him a ticket for not having a license for his two-leggeddog. They dropped by on a whim at times just in case he had done somethingthat even they couldn't suspect.

Customer Reviews (34)

A great follow-up to ALWAYS OUTNUMBERED, ALWAYS OUTGUNNED
Again, we meet Socrates Fortlow in a series of short stories which this time are closer to chapters in a novel. There is so much thoughtfulness in this volume as Socrates battles the violence in his nature and seeks some kind of truth as to the Black experience and the Black role in society.The next-to-the-last story is a real study all in itself. While crime is indeed an element in the book, this isn't a true crime novel, but it is as very literary work and one highly recommended.Mosley speaks here to both us Caucasians and to Blacks, and there's much to be gained in reading his works.

SOMETIMES EVERYTHING TURNS AROUND
The last line of the book, "One sweet note and sometimes everything turns around" sums up the subplot of this book that makes it so interesting.The book is packed with ironic "turn arounds" such as Killer, the dog "who just wants to make friends", friend Milton who didn't know where the book store was.St. Paul, the undertaker, who, instead of entertaining the dead and silent in his funeral parlor hosts a discussion forum at the mortuary, the Christian who isn't forgiving, and the cops who are frequently represented as the bad guys.The author's play with words and characterization culminates in Socrates, the murdering parolee who takes the lessons of the world to heart, works at Bounty, becomes the guardian of the weak, and challenges the morality and ethics of the street.Socrates is the battleground of the human spirit which knows what should be done but is constantly fighting with inner rage, revenge, and a desire to kill.He only finally reaches inner freedom and a sense of power when he overcomes his urge to kill by passing up a tempting moment and turning to peaceful protest.I found the characters quite satisfying and also grew in my sense of understanding for African Americans who live on the streets, encounter daily crime and personal threat, and create their own justice when it cannot be found in society.This is a good book that is worth the read.I recommend it highly.

A humbling, vivid picture.
Socrates Fortlow is such a powerful character that if there's any fictional character that could make someone wish they were an ex con practically living off the land, this character is it, just for his sheer masculinity and quick wit.

I won't lie.I was led to this book, and Walter Mosely, from the HBO film "Always Outnumbered".Word to the wise...whenever you enjoy a film based on a novel, always read the novel as well, if not every book you can by the author.Like "Wiseguy" to Goodfellas, Mosely's two books on Fortlow serve as a literary and imaginative expansion of a well made film, despite that likely not being the authors' intention.

Great read.

My first,. but not my last
My husband and I enjoyed the audio rendition of this fine book.

Walter Mosely has been highly recommended to me, so I am on a missin to read/listen to more of his books.

A great book should take the reader into a world outside their own, and the world of Socrates Fortlow is not my norm, but I relished every minute lost in this story.Clean, stark writing, fresh and riveting characters...Go for it, you know you want to.

SOCRATES IS A MAN OF CONVICTION
Always Outnumber Outgunned was my first experience with Socrates Fortlow.He is a man of conviction and loyalty.If he is your friend, he is your friend, if he does not like you, he will not deal with you and does not want anything from you.Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had more simplistic, but complex individuals to come into our life?

Socrates is still struggling with his freedom.True to form, Socrates takes in a two legged dog, like he took in the young man in the previous book.He knows that he cannot fix everybody, but he does what he can.

Walter Mosley is one of the best fiction writers of today, I like most of his Easy Rawlins series.Mosley gets it, he writes about what he knows and anytime I read his books, I am there.I grew up in the fifties, so I can hear the music, smell the fish frying, see the cars and clothing.

Mr. Mosley, please write another Socrates, and I would to see Walkin the Dog done on the big screen or HBO like your first Socrates book.

Keep the good work up.My grandson (19) is also a big fan, he likes Fearless. ... Read more

Product Description
It was never proven that Fera Jones was the product of SepFem-G, the outlawed genetics program that came out of the feminist studies program at Smith College. But one thing was absolutely certain: When it came to boxing, Fera Jones floated like a butterfly and stung like a B-1 Bomber. . . .But would her incomparable skills in the ring withstand an onslaught from the outside world? Her father and trainer, Leon, is addicted to Pulse--a gene drug that slowly kills its users. Her boyfriend, Pell Lightner, is fresh from the streets. Lana Lordess, governor of Massachusetts and head of the FemLeague, wants Fera's political endorsement. The Randac Corporation will pay her a billion dollars to plug an amusement park on the Moon. Meanwhile, Travis Zeletski, the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, is waiting for Fera to step into the ring and meet him in the ultimate battle of the sexes: a twelve-round thrilla that will leave only one fighter standing. . . . ... Read more

Product Description

November 1963: Easy's settled into a steady gig as a school custodian. It's a quiet, simple existence -- but a few moments of ecstasy with a sexy teacher will change all that. When the lady vanishes, Easy's stuck with a couple of corpses, the cops on his back, and a little yellow dog who's nobody's best friend. With his not-so-simple past snapping at his heels, and with enemies old and new looking to get even, Easy must kiss his careful little life good-bye -- and step closer to the edge....Amazon.com Review
The saga of Easy Rawlins that began in 1990 with Devil in a Blue Dress, continues in A Little YellowDog. Working as a janitor at Sojourner Truth Junior High School,Easy is asked to care for a small dog owned by the attractive IdabellHolland, a teacher at the school. When Idabell's husband is murdered,Easy finds himself mixed up with a gang of criminals engaged inlooting Los Angeles schools and smuggling heroin from France. Idabelland Easy fall into a sexual liaison, but in the wake of it, Idabell isfound stabbed to death in the passenger seat of Easy's car. While atfirst Easy thinks the murders are a "simple falling out ofthieves," a surprising twist on the level of "The MalteseFalcon" reveals the truth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Underrated Mystery Novel
It's hard to read intriguing books like this with a critical eye. But there are many reasons why I think this is one of the best mystery books ever. Although I haven't gotten to the rest of the books in the series, I'm already in love with the character Easy. He's just such a charismatic character that you can't help but hope he doesn't get into any trouble or danger (although he seems to like going into that kind of stuff). The themes that are embedded in this novel: racial tensity, moral justice, abuse of power, financial problems, and more are what makes this book a classic. Either way, it's a fast read and definitely worth the time.

An essential for those wanting to read the most imoortant modern mysteries
This is one of the greats from the very first sentence (before Chapter One) to the very last line.The dog of the title is much more than just a canine character in a book. Pharoah is no Asta, not by a long shot.There's a symbolism, a link to the innermost souls of the human characters.All that aside, this is Mosely at his best, giving us not only a superbly crafted piece of crime fiction, but a social commentary.The linking with national events taking place at the time ends even more impact to the total.If you haven't yet read this, now is the time.

a little yellow dog
I am a Walter Mosley fan fan I had all his books, but gave away to someone
who wanted to read them; so I started over ordering and to my blessing this was a hardback autographed by Mr Walter Mosley himself, Thank You so
much.

Potent, original, capable, sexually puerile
Having been knocked a bit sideways by RL's Dream I thought I'd give something else of his a go.

This guy can write. Particularly in the final third as the story builds the intensity is gripping. He capably paints a cast of gritty urban characters, and hurls his protagonist `Easy' through Marlowesque investigation, dangerous engagement with cops and crims, beating and final climactic bloody resolution (in LA, no less). Easy is a good balance of resource and vulnerability and has his virtues. In many ways this is a better than average read. Moreover there are distinctively African-American insights.

Where I hesitated to rate this any higher than aBcame from the odd sexual morality. This review in a sense overstates it because it's only a minor aspect of an otherwise solid and occasionally striking book. And I'm really unsure (as an Australian Caucasian) just how to relate this to the significance of the Afro-American context. Is `Easy' meant to be a troubled individual, or is he in some ways meant to be racially emblematic? It feels like Mosley deliberately underpins the book with Negro values that, perhaps, he's happy to have at odds with my own. Or perhaps he wasn't even vaguely trying to write for an audience like me.

OK, what I'm talking about is the way that Easy - in so many ways an in control, mature, far-sighted, sharp, cool guy - seems to be consciously presented as a dumb animal in the opening scene - setting the book up more as soft-porn than a sophisticated crime novel. Easy himself is aware of the incongruity:

I'd been on good behavior for more than two years. I was out of the streets and had my job with the Los Angeles Board of Education. I took care of my kids, cashed my paychecks, stayed away from liquor.
I steered clear of the wrong women too.
Maybe I'd been a little too good. I felt an urge in that classroom, but I wasn't going to make the move.
That's when Idabell Turner kissed me.
Two years of up early and off to work dissolved like a sugar cube under the tap.

It's not merely titillation - but it is, make no mistake, titillation - and even if there's more going on, starting like that is very much a cynical use of voyeurism to get people in early. It just seems such an immature (or different?) view of sex.

Is it just stepping up the flirtations of a Chandler novel: in Farewell, My Lovely Marlowe fairly happily allows himself to play around in the seductive charms of a dangerous woman - is this simply Mosley kicking it up to 90s flirtation (i.e. from a little `foolin' around' to all the romance of instant rutting on a desk)? But I wonder if there's more - if it's simply that teenage thing of presenting a hero who has to show, "Hey, I'm in control, but I'm no prude." He's not writing James Bond farce here, so it's not excusable as daydream absurdity.

I'm skating on very thin ice here - I've got nothing to go on but the pap of the media's presentation of black America (we get plenty of US TV over here) - but is Mosley celebrating this sexual beast as part and parcel of the dormant avatar of the semi-mythical powers of the `streets' - presented here much as a dangerous magical power that can be drawn on but will exact a price. Is he deliberately suggesting that his Negro hero, as a Negro, has latent and at times uncontrollable urges for sex, risk and violence? For a white writer to hint at such animal tendencies would be, I suspect rightly, condemned as libellous racial stereotyping. Again, is this, rather, just something in `Easy', and never meant to be generalised? Sure it's the theme of a million `street' style T & A rap bluster music videos, but I thought Mosley would be somewhere beyond their openly stupid misogyny.

I suspect that Mosley would simply realise that whatever he was saying, I just didn't `get it'.

Whatever, this is one of those well written books that I just can't recommend as highly because I find something too offensive. I mean, it's not as offensive as, say, Fry's The Hippopotamus or Golsdworthy's Wish (again, both gifted writers), but I can't really just ignore the trivialisation of sex; I would have been able to thoroughly enjoy this aspect of the book if instead of sex he had have had Easy merely kiss Idabell (or, later, Bonnie). Moreover, handled well this would have been at least as powerful (and a world less gratuitous). If Easy had have, for example, found himself out of the blue passionately kissing a woman he'd hardly spoken to, when he'd had no other intimate relationship for years and was unsure about commitment, it would be just as valid to continue immediately afterwards:

When I leaned over to kiss her forehead I experienced a feeling that I'd known many times in my life. It was that feeling of elation before I embarked on some kind of risky venture. In the old days it was about the police and criminals and the streets of Watts and South Central LA.
But not this time. Not again. I swallowed hard and gritted my teeth with enough force to crack stone. I'd slipped but I would not fall.

A kiss can mean a lot. It can open up a whole new potentiality in a relationship - and be a risk that a cautious mind might regret having taken. It can also maintain an attractive innocence. I will probably be dismissed by some as being too childish in response to an adult novel. But for Mosley to treat sex like this feels juvenile to me: isn't he old enough to have worked out that commitment and relationship and sex have a bit more going on than this puerile opening daydream?

Like I said, I don't suppose I was the audience he was aiming at with that.

just like the other guy said..."too convoluted and unlikely."
"call me fool."

that's what easy rawlins says to us when idabell makes things very informal between them. that is the answer to all the questions you might have about this muddled and somewhat confusingly stupid story about a woman who could have made everything right if not for her love for a little yellow dog. when you read the book and wonder why easy did this and why he did that and how come he didn't do this smart thing or that smart thing, just remember what he tells us early on in the beginning. "call me fool."

two shady twins are dead, one of them found on the grounds of the school easy works for. through some rather unbelievable circumstances, other than because easy is black and the cops are mostly white, easy is a suspect for at least one of the killings. instead of telling the police the truth, which isn't always smart when you're black in the 60's, he lies to them. over and over again. instead of playing dumb, he lies. that's not the smartest move either. so let's just keep going with this story, calling him "fool." this "easy" fable of double homicide turns into something frighteningly worse as the gangsters get meaner, the whites get more evil and the blacks tell worse lies. when idabell asks easy to temporarily care for her "little yellow dog," everything falls to pieces and his nice little model citizen charade goes to crap, literally. before long, easy is about to get killed, about to lose his job, about to go to jail and about to clean up dog feces.

the dog, however, is very funny. he hates easy so much it's crazy. when easy is being beaten up by a bad guy, he sees the dog in the distance and waits for the dog to help out so that he could get a breather. but when the dog attacks him instead, a scene about sheer brutality becomes pretty funny.

with some backstory about several, and i do mean several, key characters, we're off and running with this yellow dog tale that doesn't disappoint nor does it relieve. it's just there. there for the moment, there for the heck of it, but there. in classic mosley fashion, we get a whirlwind of characters that we've mostly forgotten about by page one-hundred, but they return by page two-hundred as important links in this whodunnit chain. you really have to be a fan of these rawlins mysteries to keep up with mainstays like mofass, jewelle, jesus, feather, mouse and jackson. for the most part, these characters never really go away, so as long as you are familiar with the books, the introductions of new characters who are mostly just along for this single story shouldn't be much of a problem. well, usually it's not, but the convoluted plot kept spinning me into a weird place where i didn't know my right from my left, let alone my ups from my downs. not one of walter's better books.

i miss easy the drunk from earlier novels. easy the womanizer, the street runner. now, his words are pretty well-written to compensate for his life changes, but i miss the old easy. he was much more exciting. fool or no, he was right about one thing from the very first page - it was the dog's fault. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Does for age relations what Mosley usually does for racial relations
There are those who claim that Mosley's true place as a writer is outside of the private detective genre, but I admire the Easy Rawlins stories equally with his more open literary contributions.This book especially touches me because I am an older person myself and can so relate with this portrayal of the relationship between an older Black and a younger Caucasian, each with their challenges and each able to relate with each other.If I tried to say more about this book, I would merely cheapen it, so trust me when I say that if you're a thoughtful and sensitive reader, this is a must read for you.

"The earth moving and babies looking from side to side..."
"Pain moved up the old man's hipbone like a plow breaking through hard sod."The old man is Soupspoon Wise, a Delta blues musician who's just been put out on the street in the East Village because he can't pay his rent.Things look dim until a white girl named Kiki from Hogston, Arkansas, who has her own issues, finds him, is outraged that the landlord is evicting an old sick black man, and takes him in.Mosley moves the plot on from there, creating some of his best characters and painting an unforgettable picture of human kindness against all odds.But this ain't sentimental, no sirree.Bluesmen have gritty lives.Soupspoon and his idol Robert Johnson are no exceptions.Robert Johnson's spirit comes so alive in this book you can almost hear him play and it will make you run out and buy his blues recordings if you are so unfortunate as not to own them.

The dialogue and the situations ring as true as the blues themselves.Mosley is an eloquent writer and reading this book, you can feel where some of the musicality of his language originates.Soupspoon undergoes a physical and emotional healing rebirth thanks to the love of Kiki and her friends and plays the blues again, putting people in touch with their own pain and lifting them out of it at the same time, including himself.

This is not a perfect book.As much as I liked it, I think that the reviewer who mentioned the sagging plot about 2/3 of the way through has a good point.When I reread it, I will notice whether or not all this midway character development is really necessary.But it gets five stars from me because there aren't many books I reread and this is one.

The source book Mosley "quotes" on the preface page, "Back Road to the Blues," by Soupspoon Wise, doesn't exist - but this book is convincing enough that I had to search it.Elijah Wald's book on the origins of Robert Johnson's music would be a good read to put this novel in historical perspective.

But I doubt if Elijah Wald's writing can equal this paragraph by Mosley on the blues:
"Robert Johnson with his evil eye looking around the crowd for a woman.His fingers so tight that they could make music without strings.Music in his shoulders and down in his feet.Words that rhyme with the ache in your bones and music so right that it's more like rain than notes; more like a woman's call than need.Not that pretty even stuff that they box in radios and stereos.Not even something that you can catch in a beat.It's the earth moving and babies looking from side to side."

Middle of the Road
This book is just okay.I would give it 2.5 stars if I could, to reflect the true averageness of this book. It starts out well, with colorful characters in desperate circumstances.The parts about Kiki's life, Soupspoon's battle with illness, and his early introduction to the blues lifestyle are interesting and well-told.The story peters out about halfway in, however, and one never really shares or believes in Soupspoon's obsession with his past with RL.The last half of the book seems hurriedly written, and contains some unexpectedly hackneyed story elements--the stuff with Chevette, in particular.(Didn't this same ridiculous male fantasy crop up in that other truly average novel "About Schmidt?")

Original, engaging, confronting
I don't know that I've read anything like this before - the guy has his own very readable style. It starts a bit like the movie `Paris, Texas', where you suddenly are in the middle of seemingly unbelievable people in extreme circumstances, and then over time you realise how credible they are.
 
I don't know how `real' these characters are - everything is always life or death, intense pain and/or emotional climax: is it that Mosley's skipping the bits where `nothing much happened that afternoon', or is he suggesting that this sort of overwhelming life is actually happening constantly? At times it feels like a `Pulp Fiction' style sensory overload fantasy, at others a `serious' character novel.
 
The issues they're facing are not mine, but the stories and characters are engaging (and confronting), and well told. There's some background thriller/suspense - well done too - but this is a million miles from a formula paperback.

Redemption
RL's Dream is a haunting story that will change the way you see your life.Through this book, you will see ways that facing up to your pain can bring redemption.

The book opens as elderly black Jazz musician, Atwater "Soupspoon" Wise, painfully returns to his apartment in lower Manhattan.His respite is brief when the landlord's men evict him for many months of not paying his rent and call Social Services to pick him up to be returned to a homeless shelter.It's cold as Soupspoon lies amidst his few belongings on the sidewalk, and it's getting dark.He's so sick he can barely speak, and has a horrible pain in his hip.He feels death standing over him.

While he's been going through this, one of his neighbors, Ms. Kiki Waters, a young white woman is also painfully coming home after being released from a hospital after being stabbed by a young boy.She is appalled to find Soupspoon on the street, for he is the man whose happiness had just cheered her a few days before the attack on her.Knowing her duty as a human being, she orders the men to move Soupspoon into her apartment along with some of his belongings.

Kiki nurses Soupspoon back to health, but uses methods that leave her life at risk.

In the course of their evolving relationship, each one learns how to turn pain into beauty and goodness.Soupspoon does it by playing and singing the blues.Kiki does it by facing up to and overcoming her fears.

The story is beautifully developed around the memories that Soupspoon and Kiki carry around of their younger days in the South.Soupspoon is frustrated that he cannot reach the heights as a musician that his friend RL Johnson could.Kiki carries intense fear from the abuse she suffered at her father's hands.Both are prisoners of those memories until they take steps to move beyond them.Those steps are their redemption.

To me the most powerful part of the book is the opening.Imagine yourself riding home on the subway full of stitches from a knife attack.Emerging, you see a poor, old man lying on the street who is your neighbor.Would you stop to help?What would you do to help?Chances are that you would not do as much as Kiki does.Yet we are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves.Kiki hasn't known much love, yet she gives all she has to Soupspoon.It's a beautiful story, and shows how beautiful life can be.

If you also love the Blues, this book will reward you with wonderful sketches of what is was like to create that rich music that grew out of pain in the South during the early 20th century. ... Read more

Product Description
Despite the success of his color-coded Easy Rawlins series, WalterMosley dares, with Blue Light, to go where few mystery writers have gone before. The novel is pure(if not simple) science fiction, less evocative of Philip Marlow than Philip K. Dick. It begins during the 1960s, when flashes of extraterrestrial blue light enter the bodies of several Northern Californians. Those struck by the flashes immediately take on superhuman abilities. Mosley's narrator, Chance, is not himself a recipient of the heaven-sent beams, but after a blood transfusion from the leader of the Blues, his consciousness expands. The biracial, suicidal Thucydides scholar becomes a supernal historian of his new, blue-inflected peer group. He dreams of a "far-flung future, when science is not estranged from the soul" and where human beings will see the world with the purified vision of his enlightened brethren. Still, he is powerless in the face of the Gray Man--a vicious incarnation of evil who seems intent on wiping out the entire Blue population. Somber and violent, bizarre and oddly reverent, Blue Light marks a promising new direction for Mosley. What's more, the dangling threads at the end intimate a vast epic to come (Mosley has suggested that a trilogy awaits) and a literary challenge that's anything but Easy. --Patrick O'KelleyAmazon.com Review
Despite the success of his color-coded Easy Rawlins series, Walter Mosley dares, with BlueLight, to go where few mystery writers have gone before. The novel is pure (if not simple) science fiction, lessevocative of Philip Marlow than Philip K. Dick. It begins during the 1960s,when flashes of extraterrestrial blue light enter the bodies of severalNorthern Californians. Those struck by the flashes immediately take onsuperhuman abilities. Mosley's narrator, Chance, is not himself a recipientof the heaven-sent beams, but after a blood transfusion from theleader of the Blues, his consciousness expands. The biracial, suicidalThucydidesscholar becomes a supernal historian of his new,blue-inflected peer group. He dreams of a "far-flung future, when scienceis not estranged from the soul" and where human beings will see the worldwith the purified vision of his enlightened brethren. Still, he ispowerless in the face of the Gray Man--a vicious incarnation of evil whoseems intent on wiping out the entire Blue population. Somber and violent,bizarre and oddly reverent, Blue Light marks a promising newdirection for Mosley. What's more, the dangling threads at the end intimatea vast epic to come (Mosley has suggested that a trilogy awaits) and aliterary challenge that's anything but Easy. --Patrick O'Kelley ... Read more

Customer Reviews (55)

If you haven't read any other Walter Mosley books, DO NOT READ THIS ONE
My biggest fear is that someone who has heard about how great a writer Walter Mosley is will pick up this book as an introduction and that would be a horrible mistake.I know of no author with the skill and perception, and sensitivity displayed by Mosley in his other books.But he just plain didn't do it hereAll I can think is that every author is entitled to a bummer.There is much about sex in this book, and there is much about death.And I will admit, because there are some rave reviews for this book, that I might have missed something.I will say that if you've read several of the author's books, go on and try this one.But please, don't read this until you've read at least a couple of the Easy Rawlins books, and at least one of the Socrates Fortlow books so that you know what Walter Mosley is capable of.

Blinded by the Light
I bought Blue Light blindly and in excitement thinking it was another Easy Rawlins mystery.The color in the title totally threw me off. I couldn't even get myself past the first half.Maybe my pallet was just too ready for more Easy and I never really gave it a chance.I've picked it up again since and just coudln't do it.. lol.I'll leave this one up to you Sci-Fi fans out there.I'll stick to the mysteries and his other novels.Always will be a Walter Mosley fan.

Pure And Entertaining Sci Fi
This was only the second book I have read by Mosley. It has a well thought out story idea and some of the best Science Fiction I have ever read. Mosley's style is unique. He is an artist in this profession as demonstrated by the range of his work. I have read many (hundreds) of science fiction novels. This is some of the best I have ever read and takes Science Fiction in a new direction.

Super Reader
A strange alien presence manifests itself on Earth as a blue light, and infects a small number of people. One of them, just as he was dying. He become the Gray Man, and has a thing for going around and killing these 'Blues' rather violently.

The Blues become something more than human, and go off to live by themselves in a sort of cult, as well as some others they have partly infected.

It is all kind of pointless, and the end makes you just about want to yell about how bad it is.

Avoid.

Appallingly bad
Walter Mosley, like too many mainstream and mystery writers, appears to believe that "science fiction" means "logic and plausibility get tossed out the window." That the official Amazon.com review compares this book to the work of Philip K. Dick is amazing and wrong-headed; Dick knew how to ground his surrealism in the real world and especially in real human beings. Whatever Mr. Mosley does in his mysteries and mainstream fiction, that's not what he's doing here. ... Read more

Product Description
Soupspoon Wise is dying on the unforgiving streets of New York City, years and worlds away from the Mississippi delta, where he once jammed with blues legend Robert "RL" Johnson. It was an experience that burned indelibly into Soupspoon's soul -- never mind that they said RL's gift came from the Devil himself. Now it's Soupspoon's turn to strike a deal with a stranger. An alcoholic angel of mercy, Kiki Waters isn't much better off than Soupspoon, but she too is a child of the South, and knows its pull. And she is determined to let Soupspoon ride out the final notes of his haunting blues dream, to pour out the remarkable tale of what he's seen, where he's been -- and where he's going.

Winner of the 1996 Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Award in Fiction ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Does for age relations what Mosley usually does for racial relations
There are those who claim that Mosley's true place as a writer is outside of the private detective genre, but I admire the Easy Rawlins stories equally with his more open literary contributions.This book especially touches me because I am an older person myself and can so relate with this portrayal of the relationship between an older Black and a younger Caucasian, each with their challenges and each able to relate with each other.If I tried to say more about this book, I would merely cheapen it, so trust me when I say that if you're a thoughtful and sensitive reader, this is a must read for you.

"The earth moving and babies looking from side to side..."
"Pain moved up the old man's hipbone like a plow breaking through hard sod."The old man is Soupspoon Wise, a Delta blues musician who's just been put out on the street in the East Village because he can't pay his rent.Things look dim until a white girl named Kiki from Hogston, Arkansas, who has her own issues, finds him, is outraged that the landlord is evicting an old sick black man, and takes him in.Mosley moves the plot on from there, creating some of his best characters and painting an unforgettable picture of human kindness against all odds.But this ain't sentimental, no sirree.Bluesmen have gritty lives.Soupspoon and his idol Robert Johnson are no exceptions.Robert Johnson's spirit comes so alive in this book you can almost hear him play and it will make you run out and buy his blues recordings if you are so unfortunate as not to own them.

The dialogue and the situations ring as true as the blues themselves.Mosley is an eloquent writer and reading this book, you can feel where some of the musicality of his language originates.Soupspoon undergoes a physical and emotional healing rebirth thanks to the love of Kiki and her friends and plays the blues again, putting people in touch with their own pain and lifting them out of it at the same time, including himself.

This is not a perfect book.As much as I liked it, I think that the reviewer who mentioned the sagging plot about 2/3 of the way through has a good point.When I reread it, I will notice whether or not all this midway character development is really necessary.But it gets five stars from me because there aren't many books I reread and this is one.

The source book Mosley "quotes" on the preface page, "Back Road to the Blues," by Soupspoon Wise, doesn't exist - but this book is convincing enough that I had to search it.Elijah Wald's book on the origins of Robert Johnson's music would be a good read to put this novel in historical perspective.

But I doubt if Elijah Wald's writing can equal this paragraph by Mosley on the blues:
"Robert Johnson with his evil eye looking around the crowd for a woman.His fingers so tight that they could make music without strings.Music in his shoulders and down in his feet.Words that rhyme with the ache in your bones and music so right that it's more like rain than notes; more like a woman's call than need.Not that pretty even stuff that they box in radios and stereos.Not even something that you can catch in a beat.It's the earth moving and babies looking from side to side."

Middle of the Road
This book is just okay.I would give it 2.5 stars if I could, to reflect the true averageness of this book. It starts out well, with colorful characters in desperate circumstances.The parts about Kiki's life, Soupspoon's battle with illness, and his early introduction to the blues lifestyle are interesting and well-told.The story peters out about halfway in, however, and one never really shares or believes in Soupspoon's obsession with his past with RL.The last half of the book seems hurriedly written, and contains some unexpectedly hackneyed story elements--the stuff with Chevette, in particular.(Didn't this same ridiculous male fantasy crop up in that other truly average novel "About Schmidt?")

Original, engaging, confronting
I don't know that I've read anything like this before - the guy has his own very readable style. It starts a bit like the movie `Paris, Texas', where you suddenly are in the middle of seemingly unbelievable people in extreme circumstances, and then over time you realise how credible they are.
 
I don't know how `real' these characters are - everything is always life or death, intense pain and/or emotional climax: is it that Mosley's skipping the bits where `nothing much happened that afternoon', or is he suggesting that this sort of overwhelming life is actually happening constantly? At times it feels like a `Pulp Fiction' style sensory overload fantasy, at others a `serious' character novel.
 
The issues they're facing are not mine, but the stories and characters are engaging (and confronting), and well told. There's some background thriller/suspense - well done too - but this is a million miles from a formula paperback.

Redemption
RL's Dream is a haunting story that will change the way you see your life.Through this book, you will see ways that facing up to your pain can bring redemption.

The book opens as elderly black Jazz musician, Atwater "Soupspoon" Wise, painfully returns to his apartment in lower Manhattan.His respite is brief when the landlord's men evict him for many months of not paying his rent and call Social Services to pick him up to be returned to a homeless shelter.It's cold as Soupspoon lies amidst his few belongings on the sidewalk, and it's getting dark.He's so sick he can barely speak, and has a horrible pain in his hip.He feels death standing over him.

While he's been going through this, one of his neighbors, Ms. Kiki Waters, a young white woman is also painfully coming home after being released from a hospital after being stabbed by a young boy.She is appalled to find Soupspoon on the street, for he is the man whose happiness had just cheered her a few days before the attack on her.Knowing her duty as a human being, she orders the men to move Soupspoon into her apartment along with some of his belongings.

Kiki nurses Soupspoon back to health, but uses methods that leave her life at risk.

In the course of their evolving relationship, each one learns how to turn pain into beauty and goodness.Soupspoon does it by playing and singing the blues.Kiki does it by facing up to and overcoming her fears.

The story is beautifully developed around the memories that Soupspoon and Kiki carry around of their younger days in the South.Soupspoon is frustrated that he cannot reach the heights as a musician that his friend RL Johnson could.Kiki carries intense fear from the abuse she suffered at her father's hands.Both are prisoners of those memories until they take steps to move beyond them.Those steps are their redemption.

To me the most powerful part of the book is the opening.Imagine yourself riding home on the subway full of stitches from a knife attack.Emerging, you see a poor, old man lying on the street who is your neighbor.Would you stop to help?What would you do to help?Chances are that you would not do as much as Kiki does.Yet we are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves.Kiki hasn't known much love, yet she gives all she has to Soupspoon.It's a beautiful story, and shows how beautiful life can be.

If you also love the Blues, this book will reward you with wonderful sketches of what is was like to create that rich music that grew out of pain in the South during the early 20th century. ... Read more

Product Description
Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs....Amazon.com Review
Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins has few illusions about the world--at least not about the world of a young black veteran in the late 1940s inSouthern California. His stint in the Army didn't do anything to dissuadehim from his belief that justice doesn't come cheap, especially for menlike him. "I thought there might be some justice for a black man if he hadmoney to grease it," Easy says. Fired from his job on the line at an aircraftplant, he's in danger of losing his home, symbol of his tenuous hold on middle class status. That's a good enough reason to accept a white man's offer to pay him for finding a beautiful, mysterious Frenchwoman named Daphne Monet,last seen in the company of a well-known gangster. Easy's search takes thereader to an L.A. few writers have shown us before--the mean streets ofSouth Central, the after-hours joints in dirty basement clubs, the cheaphotels and furnished rooms, the places people go when they don't want to befound. Evocative of a past time, and told in a style that's reminiscent ofHammet and Chandler, yet uniquely his own, Mosley's depiction of aninherently decent man in a violent world of intrigue and corruption rang upbig sales when it was published in 1990 (although the movie version, with DenzelWashington as Easy, never found the audience it deserved). The minorcharacters are deftly and brilliantly developed, especially Mouse, whosaves Easy's life even as he draws him deeper into the mystery of DaphneMonet. Like many of Mosley's characters, Mouse makes a return appearancein the succeeding Easy Rawlins mysteries, such as A Red Death, Black Betty, and White Butterfly, every oneof which is as good as Devil in a Blue Dress, his first. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Customer Reviews (63)

good writing, nasty characters
Yes, Mosely's an excellent writer, and he kept the plot moving.His sparse, clean writing style is perfect for this genre. However, the only character I found remotely sympathetic was Easy, and I even had trouble relating to him.I found the ending rather pat -- all the loose ends tied up a little too neatly to get Easy off the hook.Everyone else in the book was violent, promiscuous, or downright depraved, and a whole bunch of them did Easy's dirty work for him.Maybe the time and place Moseley's writing about really was that bad and I'm too naive to know it, but I'll opt for less brutal fare for my next mystery.

How Easy got going
I'd been advised by another Amazon reviewer to read the Easy Rawlins series, so here I am at the beginning. And now I have that happy glow you get when you discover a very fine writer, and you know there's lots of good reading ahead.

Ezekiel (Easy) Rawlins doesn't like to kill people, but he learned how to do it in the War. He also got used to being around white people. This story opens in 1948.

Easy doesn't know he's destined to become a private investigator. His first case is thrust on him by a scary white man with dead eyes who pays him to find a beautiful young white woman named Daphne Monet. Daphne likes jazz and the company of black people. The white man who wants her found can't go where she goes.

A lot of people die while Easy figures out what's going on. He himself narrowly avoids shooting anyone - or getting killed himself. He has a friend called Mouse who watches his back, which helps. But even Easy has to step softly around Mouse, who carries several guns and has a very short fuse.

There are two unforgettable lovemaking scenes in this book, funny and poignant rather than salacious. And there are many scenes of wonderful dialog between touchy males who just barely avoid going into attack mode. The quality of Mosley's prose is indescribably delicious, even when all hell is breaking loose.

A mixed bag...
I have mixed feelings about this one. The dialogue was very good, the setting was interesting and well-drawn, and the mystery aspect was good, too. The problem is that I never cared what happened to any of the characters because I couldn't connect with any of them. I think that's partly due to the fact that there we so many of them and the novel is only 219 pages long--there just wasn't enough time to get to know them. I felt sympathy for Easy and understood how trapped he was by societal attitudes and his circumstances, but I didn't like him much. I don't think I'll be reading any more of this series.

A Page-Turner That is Perfect for the Beach or Airplane
This mystery is a good page-turner.E.z. Rawlings is a streetwise and intelligent black
man who gets laid off from his factory job in 1940's Los Angeles by his racist boss. He
inadvertently lands a job as a private eye.The book meanders a bit but the writing is
quite good.The book also examines social issues and has very realistic dialogue.I es-
pecially liked the parts that took place in speak-easies.

This is a perfect book for vacation or airplane reading.

Outstanding
I ran into this book by chance at a Salvation Army store. I buy a lot of books there and do not finish many. At twenty-five cents a book, it is not a big gamble. This book is worth the retail price.

As others reviewers will tell you, it is set in the post-war 1940s in black Los Angeles. It rings true and holds your interest. The environment it describes is thankfully gone. So are the "black and tan" clubs that I used to frequent in the 60s, again thankfully gone. ... Read more