Kill Whitey

Kill Whitey is a quick, fun read featuring blue-collar heroes, Russian mobsters, strippers, and a terminator like antagonist. Keene moves the action at a break neck pace spending little time developing some of the background and side characters. However, he does a marvelous job of mapping out the setting and its effects on the people. Keene gets into the mindset of those surrounded by empty factories and the despair that generates within a population reliant on those long gone jobs. I think the book is a commentary on post-industrial America if he intended or not. I believe there are better Keene books, but this is an enjoyable, quick read that's definitely worth your time.

This book is different from what you think on multiple layers. To start with, the title. No, KILL WHITEY does not refer to what you might think. (It is an awesome title though!) Instead Whitey is a Russian mobster who runs a strip club and several less-than-legitimate business in Pennsylvania. He earned the nickname due to his white hair: face, hair, eyebrows. The reason to kill him is that one of the strippers, Sondra, wants him dead. Why? Because she asked Larry Gibson, the story's main protagonist, to do so. Her reason was that she is pregnant, Whitey wants the baby dead and she wants it to live. However, after falling in love with her Larry only needs the barest of reasons to do so. The problem is that Whitey doesn't kill as easy as show more most people do.

Getting back to why the book is different than you might think, the events that unfold aren't quite what you would expect. I don't want to ruin it for you but the usual cliches are not followed. Plus Whitey has more depth to him than you would think. Some of the characters are a bit flat (my only complaint) but the action and pacing of the story are so quick that you barely notice. It's no wonder why Keene dedicated the book to Tom Piccirilli; it very easily falls into the same type of book that Piccirilli would write. If you like either of the authors, give the other a try. You won't be sorry. show less

One of Keene's worst. The book is plagued by severe "stupid hero" syndrome, as the protagonist's actions seem less designed to escape than to prolong the story to novel-length.

Keene does manage to keep the action moving along well enough, and his descriptions of physical combat show a rare gift that has never featured much in Keene's other works, but Whitey's numerous regenerations drag out to the point where one is more anxious for the end of the book than for the resolution of the plot.

Recommended for Keene's fans, although only for his writing. Keene is at his best when he's at his most apocalyptic, and Kill Whitey is simply too pedestrian for Keene’s talent to shine. General horror fans looking at Keene should start with The show more Rising; if you’re not looking for a zombie apocalypse, Ghoul is a better show of his abilities with a singular supernatural horror. show less

This book rocks!!!! It is visceral, violent, and grabs you from page one. I couldn't put it. Read this book.