Reviews

The Warriors by Sol Yurick

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maugrim's review

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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

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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.

webslingingadam's review

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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

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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

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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.

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cnidariar3x's review

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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

kimball_hansen's review

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2.0

2.5 stars. An overrated book to go with an overrated movie, I'm glad the film wasn't as crude as the book. I studied up on the movie extensively as it was the theme for last year's SISU IRON. I liked the afterward. Even though he was the author, no one consulted him about the film or even invited him to the premiere. He had to do it all himself.

Darn, I had a good five book streak of 4-5 stars.

tittypete's review

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3.0

The warriors are less awesome than the movie. Nobody is really chasing them. They only encounter one other gang member and the kill him. Then they have a pow wow-esque gang rape of a girl on top of the dead guy. There is no showdown with luther. It’s sadder and grosser than the movie. Meh.

matthewwester's review

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3.0

This book is really hard to rate, especially because I absolutely loved the move that was based on it. The movie has such a unique style, seems to take place in a parallel reality, and has a cool punk attitude that makes you think there can be honorable behavior in that imagined landscape.

The book is more violent than the movie, more based in reality, more demonstrative of what a struggling social worker probably witnessed with gang youth culture in the 60's. The book still has a lot of style but it feels heartbreaking and (intentionally) gross. It's definitely not a bad read, I enjoyed it, but after much consideration I think it lands on a solid 3-star rating for me.

dazed_confused's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No

2.75

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