Steel Toes: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: STEEL TOES KICKS A@*!
Review: "Steel Toes" is the continuing saga of Bobby Prine, the young criminal whom Eddie Little introduced us to in his first novel, "Another Day in Paradise." This sequel opens with Bobby, now 18 years old, having failed at escaping from a gladiator camp in the midwest. But Bobby's got heart, he won't give up. He fights his way through a race riot and finally scales the walls with a couple homeboys. Bobby and his boys hit the road in a souped-up Hemi Cuda and from then on the story is non-stop action. Bobby goes from an Indiana militia compound, to hanging with junkbond salesman in New York, to the criminal underworld of Boston. He hooks up with Syd and Billy Bones, two great characters from his first novel, and gets back to business. Cashing bogus checks, doing burglaries, packing heat, shooting dope and falling in love. Eddie Little has done it again, writing a crime novel that is not only entertaining, but deep. The characters and description is great, you can tell Eddie Little has tread the rough ground of which he writes. Bad Bobby Prine is better than any "recurring" character I've ever followed in other crime novels. I'm waiting for a 3rd installment, this dude keeps you on edge, I could follow bad Bobby for volumes.

Rating:
Summary: Eddie Does it Again
Review: "Steel Toes" rocks. This sequel to "Another Day in Paradise" starts off with Bobby Prine, dopefeind and convicted felon, surviving a race riot and escaping a gladiator camp in Indiana (circa 1975). Bobby hits the road in a hemi cuda, along with a couple new crime partners and gets back to business - drugs, sex, violence and crime. This book spans from prison, to an Indiana militia compound, to New York's nightlife, to Boston's criminal underworld. Told from Bad Bobby's POV - brutal, funny, scared, hard on himself and others, Bobby pulls no punches. One of the best scenes is when a college chick that Bobby is falling for takes him to the ballet - and he actually digs it. This ain't no cheesy crime fiction, this recurring character moves, sounds and acts like a bonafide life born-to-lose anti-hero. I'm sure major chunks of prose and most of the cast hail from Eddie Little's real life experiences - They're too good not to have. I'm hoping for a third installment of Bad Bobby, like Vachss's Burke, this is one character I could follow for volumes.

Rating:
Summary: STEEL TOES KICKS A@*!
Review: "Steel Toes" is the continuing saga of Bobby Prine, the young criminal whom Eddie Little introduced us to in his first novel, "Another Day in Paradise." This sequel opens with Bobby, now 18 years old, having failed at escaping from a gladiator camp in the midwest. But Bobby's got heart, he won't give up. He fights his way through a race riot and finally scales the walls with a couple homeboys. Bobby and his boys hit the road in a souped-up Hemi Cuda and from then on the story is non-stop action. Bobby goes from an Indiana militia compound, to hanging with junkbond salesman in New York, to the criminal underworld of Boston. He hooks up with Syd and Billy Bones, two great characters from his first novel, and gets back to business. Cashing bogus checks, doing burglaries, packing heat, shooting dope and falling in love. Eddie Little has done it again, writing a crime novel that is not only entertaining, but deep. The characters and description is great, you can tell Eddie Little has tread the rough ground of which he writes. Bad Bobby Prine is better than any "recurring" character I've ever followed in other crime novels. I'm waiting for a 3rd installment, this dude keeps you on edge, I could follow bad Bobby for volumes.

Rating:
Summary: STEEL TOES KICKS "BUTT!"
Review: "Steel Toes" rocks. This sequel to "Another Day in Paradise" starts off with Bobby Prine, dopefeind and convicted felon, surviving a race riot and escaping a gladiator camp in Indiana (circa 1975). Bobby hits the road in a hemi cuda, along with a couple new crime partners and gets back to business - drugs, sex, violence and crime. This book spans from prison, to an Indiana militia compound, to New York's nightlife, to Boston's criminal underworld. Told from Bad Bobby's POV - brutal, funny, scared, hard on himself and others, Bobby pulls no punches. One of the best scenes is when a college chick that Bobby is falling for takes him to the ballet - and he actually digs it. This ain't no cheesy crime fiction, this recurring character moves, sounds and acts like a bonafide life born-to-lose anti-hero. I'm sure major chunks of prose and most of the cast hail from Eddie Little's real life experiences - They're too good not to have. I'm hoping for a third installment of Bad Bobby, like Vachss's Burke, this is one character I could follow for volumes.

Rating:
Summary: Eddie Does it Again
Review: "Steel Toes" rocks. This sequel to "Another Day in Paradise" starts off with Bobby Prine, dopefeind and convicted felon, surviving a race riot and escaping a gladiator camp in Indiana (circa 1975). Bobby hits the road in a hemi cuda, along with a couple new crime partners and gets back to business - drugs, sex, violence and crime. This book spans from prison, to an Indiana militia compound, to New York's nightlife, to Boston's criminal underworld. Told from Bad Bobby's POV - brutal, funny, scared, hard on himself and others, Bobby pulls no punches. One of the best scenes is when a college chick that Bobby is falling for takes him to the ballet - and he actually digs it. This ain't no cheesy crime fiction, this recurring character moves, sounds and acts like a bonafide life born-to-lose anti-hero. I'm sure major chunks of prose and most of the cast hail from Eddie Little's real life experiences - They're too good not to have. I'm hoping for a third installment of Bad Bobby, like Vachss's Burke, this is one character I could follow for volumes.

Rating:
Summary: Writing at its Best
Review: After reading Eddie's first novel, Another Day in Paradise, I was eager to sample Steel Toes. The book which is driven by a running theme of addiction caused me as the reader to become addicted to the writing. I found the writing to be even more developed than in the first novel and steeped with amazingly descriptive imagery. The plot kept me perched on the edge of my seat and drew me directly into the middle of the chaos. This is a wonderful novel that I insist everyone read.

Rating:
Summary: Writing at its Best
Review: After reading Eddie's first novel, Another Day in Paradise, I was eager to sample Steel Toes. The book which is driven by a running theme of addiction caused me as the reader to become addicted to the writing. I found the writing to be even more developed than in the first novel and steeped with amazingly descriptive imagery. The plot kept me perched on the edge of my seat and drew me directly into the middle of the chaos. This is a wonderful novel that I insist everyone read.

Rating:
Summary: Steel Toes
Review: I got to tell you that this is the first book I ever read by a white boy that really tell's it the way it is, in the joint and on the streets. He's as good as Iceberg or Cody even, just telling the other side of the real deal. For anyone thats in the life you'll feel it all. Squares and lames won't get the realness.

Rating:
Summary: Steel Toes showcases Little's development
Review: If you liked Another Day in Paradise, then Steel Toes is a must-read. Eddie Little is a modern day Beat writer who takes on gritty reality and serves it up raw. This guy writes from the heart, his tales are gripping, intense, and they take one into an underworld that few have experienced. I found the characters in this novel more developed and more real than in the first novel; particularly enthralling is the portrayal of the hit men in Steel Toes. As homicidal maniacs who profit from their sickness, the hit men come to life as real people, carrying the weight of the sickness but also capable of human emotions, love, friendship, while still you know in the back of your head that they make their living by taking the lives of others. An awesome experience to look inside their lives and that of the other characters in Steel Toes. I've no doubt that Eddie Little shaped these characters from real-life acquaintances, the characters are too compelling, too deep to have been concocted from his imagination. My only complaint is that Eddie Little can't write novels as fast as I can read them!

Rating:
Summary: a riveting read
Review: Mr. Little is possibly one of the finest literary stylists I've ever had the pleasure of reading, his characters pull at your heart strings, that is if you've ever experienced heartbreak.
i highly recommend reading this book. by the way this is the second book by Little that i have read, the other one was also excellent, called "another day in Paradise" It reminds me of the writing of Elmore Leonard, mixed with Ed Bunker.