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mcbibliotecaria's review against another edition
3.0
This is ugly. And gritty. And violent. And realistic. Yulrick worked as a social worker in inner city New York in the late 60s, when this novel takes place. Its not the anti-hero scenario from the movie, far far removed from it. I remember watching the movie and expecting some things to happen that didn't. For more people to be hurt, especially Mercy. Women in the novel are kept to the background, and are abused and denigrated. The Warriors, or Coney Island Dominators to be exact, are a black gang, not the multicultural mix from the movie. Really these are two different stories. Cyrus is a Puerto Rican named Ismael Rivera who does not own the city with his muay thai trained gang, but rules the city by his manipulation and control of the youth workers assigned to him and other gangs throughout the city. The orphans are called the Boriquen Blazers who have no youth workers or organization.
Its ugly and no one gets a satisfied (or sanitized) ending. But its a perspective few of us have into gang life pre-drug war, where the focus was on camaraderie and small time delinquency. I would recommend it with a grain of salt, because there is no Swan, but a Hector and his band of Dominators who lack morals because they have never been taught any, which make is really hard to read. I would put this on the shelf with Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll.
Its ugly and no one gets a satisfied (or sanitized) ending. But its a perspective few of us have into gang life pre-drug war, where the focus was on camaraderie and small time delinquency. I would recommend it with a grain of salt, because there is no Swan, but a Hector and his band of Dominators who lack morals because they have never been taught any, which make is really hard to read. I would put this on the shelf with Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll.
mercurygrynglash's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
adapostrophe's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
timgrubbs's review against another edition
5.0
Far darker and more violent than the movie…
The Warriors by Sol Yurick is the basis for the well known cult film. There are some notable changes from the source material but the overall plot of a gang trying to make it home to Coney Island remains.
It’s a hot night on the Fourth of July when things kick off and tempers get fired up…
The Dominators are the lead gang in the novel (though they are first referred to as warriors lower case before they are introduced).
The six members (seven when they started) are all named and partially developed…some getting more to do than the characters in the film. The bones of the film story is easily found in the novel such as the great gang meeting (though this had less chance of success than the film version), the failed train trip (due to maintenance and not sabotage), the initial rival gang encounter (the orphans in the movie, the Blazers in the book), a park encounter leading to cops, and eventually reaching “the ocean”.
As a warning there’s quite a bit more sexual violence in this than in the film, including a gang rape, and most of the characters are hardly sympathetic.
The movie plot line of the gang being hunted for being falsely accused isn’t a factor in here…it’s much more realistic with simple feuds as they make their way.
It’s a fairly decent novel that was turned into a generally acceptable adaptation (though with added plot and character layers to make for a more interesting story).
The Warriors by Sol Yurick is the basis for the well known cult film. There are some notable changes from the source material but the overall plot of a gang trying to make it home to Coney Island remains.
It’s a hot night on the Fourth of July when things kick off and tempers get fired up…
The Dominators are the lead gang in the novel (though they are first referred to as warriors lower case before they are introduced).
The six members (seven when they started) are all named and partially developed…some getting more to do than the characters in the film. The bones of the film story is easily found in the novel such as the great gang meeting (though this had less chance of success than the film version), the failed train trip (due to maintenance and not sabotage), the initial rival gang encounter (the orphans in the movie, the Blazers in the book), a park encounter leading to cops, and eventually reaching “the ocean”.
As a warning there’s quite a bit more sexual violence in this than in the film, including a gang rape, and most of the characters are hardly sympathetic.
The movie plot line of the gang being hunted for being falsely accused isn’t a factor in here…it’s much more realistic with simple feuds as they make their way.
It’s a fairly decent novel that was turned into a generally acceptable adaptation (though with added plot and character layers to make for a more interesting story).
maugrim's review
adventurous
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
captlychee's review against another edition
3.0
[a:Danny Peary|121050|Danny Peary|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], in [b:Cult Movies: The Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful|598559|Cult Movies The Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful|Danny Peary|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390343049l/598559._SX50_.jpg|585186] opines that this is one of the worst novels ever written. I wouldn't go that far; it's average, and a little significant based on its original publication date in 1965.
While the novel is not literary—by which I mean that it ha a significant use of langugage—it does make its descriptions clear, and sticks firmly to its basis in [b:Anabasis|20657855|Anabasis (The Persian Expedition)|Xenophon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391115479l/20657855._SY75_.jpg|309998] and incidents in the source material are adapted to 1960's New York. (One interesting bit is where Yurick mentions the Beatles in an off-handed way, which is pretty accurate given the time and place the novel is set.)
Much is made of the ignorance of the gang—the Dominators, not the Warriors—in that they have difficulty finding their way through the subway system, and dealing with complex interactions. There's also more graphic violence, with two rapes and a murder to deal with. Peary makes the point that in the movie, the Warriors are a competent group who can navigate their way through the complexities of getting home through a hostiel environment, whereas in the book Yurick seems to revel in how poor, ingorant and incompetent the Dominators are. It revels in squalor the same way [b:Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl|52206961|Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl|Andrea Lawlor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566272615l/52206961._SX50_SY75_.jpg|57346921] does, so that might be another reason to read it.
This edition contains an afterword by [a:the author|167274|Sol Yurick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1436091993p2/167274.jpg] in which he explains some of these things and talks about his experience with the movie and its popularity. But an ideal companion to this afterword is the Peary work mentioned above.
Recently, I gave [a:Maureen Jennings|212730|Maureen Jennings|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1284750506p2/212730.jpg] two stars for [b:a better-written book|17566596|Cold Snap (Lucy Kincaid, #7)|Allison Brennan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1366923591l/17566596._SY75_.jpg|24502250], but I hold her to a higher standard. I'm prepared to cut this guy a bit of slack.
While the novel is not literary—by which I mean that it ha a significant use of langugage—it does make its descriptions clear, and sticks firmly to its basis in [b:Anabasis|20657855|Anabasis (The Persian Expedition)|Xenophon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391115479l/20657855._SY75_.jpg|309998] and incidents in the source material are adapted to 1960's New York. (One interesting bit is where Yurick mentions the Beatles in an off-handed way, which is pretty accurate given the time and place the novel is set.)
Much is made of the ignorance of the gang—the Dominators, not the Warriors—in that they have difficulty finding their way through the subway system, and dealing with complex interactions. There's also more graphic violence, with two rapes and a murder to deal with. Peary makes the point that in the movie, the Warriors are a competent group who can navigate their way through the complexities of getting home through a hostiel environment, whereas in the book Yurick seems to revel in how poor, ingorant and incompetent the Dominators are. It revels in squalor the same way [b:Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl|52206961|Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl|Andrea Lawlor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566272615l/52206961._SX50_SY75_.jpg|57346921] does, so that might be another reason to read it.
This edition contains an afterword by [a:the author|167274|Sol Yurick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1436091993p2/167274.jpg] in which he explains some of these things and talks about his experience with the movie and its popularity. But an ideal companion to this afterword is the Peary work mentioned above.
Recently, I gave [a:Maureen Jennings|212730|Maureen Jennings|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1284750506p2/212730.jpg] two stars for [b:a better-written book|17566596|Cold Snap (Lucy Kincaid, #7)|Allison Brennan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1366923591l/17566596._SY75_.jpg|24502250], but I hold her to a higher standard. I'm prepared to cut this guy a bit of slack.
webslingingadam's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
czarczajko's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
deathany's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I found it to be a bit slow with random bursts of high action that was usually rape or violence that felt gratuitous. I so rarely say this but the movie was better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
cnidariar3x's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75