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A review by captlychee
The Warriors by Sol Yurick
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.