There is a lot to unpack here. I have been looking forward to this book ever since Winslow announced he was writing it.
I read The Power of the Dog a few years back and was blown away. Jumped right into The Cartel - same story. Each one so well researched, such a feeling of authenticity and reality, but at the same time so exciting and dramatic. Characters I felt truly invested in. Plot developments that truly surprised and shocked me. And all the while a compelling and enjoyable reading experience. You can’t beat it.
One thing I loved so much about The Cartel was how it built upon TPOTD and incorporated real world developments that made it feel essential and relevant. Hearing Winslow talk about the books, he says something to the effect of feeling done after each one with the war on drugs, but then something new would happen in real life that he felt he had to write about. I really felt that with The Cartel. It wasn’t just a continuation in the normal sense. It wasn’t just another book in the series. More of the same. It was a true evolution of the first book, reflecting the evolution of the war on drugs in real life.
The Border does all of this while bringing everything full circle. Again it’s not just The Cartel pt. 2 - more of what you liked with slightly different plot points. It’s a complete evolution of Art Keller’s journey that again reflects the developments and happenings of the real world. It makes The Border feel urgent, pressing, vital for the times we are living through.
So how does it stack up against the first two? Just as good as a stand-alone experience. It has characters I cared about. Drama. Action. Excitement. Suspense. Thought provoking insights. To summarize, it’s really good.
BUT when taken as a completion of the trilogy it takes on a new significance and joy for me. If you somehow could isolate the merits of each book and compare, everyone will have their favorites for different reasons. The Border is special to me in how it serves as a true finale of the trilogy. It’s tying things off from the first two. Bringing closure. Completing the story. Paying off plot threads and character moments that I’ve been invested in for years. In that sense it’s hard to beat the experience of The Border for me. Because wrapped in it I have the enjoyment of both previous books coming to a beautiful conclusion and climax. If you liked the first two, I can’t see how you wouldn’t love this one. If you liked the first two, honestly you probably don’t need me to tell you any of this.
Having said all of that I would recommend you start at the beginning if you haven’t read the other books. It’s worth the journey, truly. I re-read both books in a couple of weeks in January in anticipation of this release and even on a second reading they are just as good and exciting.
Now to the trump of it all. I suppose this is a very political book. Even though if you’ve read the past two you really should be on board with the fact that the war on drugs is not a partisan issue. Anyway, if you’re a huge Trump fan this book may make you upset. Can’t help you there. I for one was excited to see how Winslow would tie all of that in, and I was not disappointed. All I can say is Winslow does his research, and the picture he paints here is scary for all of us if there is even a sliver of truth to it.
I loved this book. It’s 700+ pages and I think I tore through it in four or five days. I constantly was reading or wishing I could be reading it until I finished. And I’m sure I will be thinking about it for a long time to come.
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About the author
Don Winslow's literary career dies of Trump Derangement overdose
I've been a Don Winslow fan for many years and have read almost everything he's written. That has come to a reluctant but likely lasting end some 400 plus pages or so into "The Border" after the author began showing increasing symptoms of Trump Derangement Syndrome. I finally laid the preachy and morally heavy tome aside when it became sadly obvious that Winslow had become just another addict to the lefty psycho-stimulants that are now epidemic in the blue states in this country, claiming a long endless column of entertainment industry victims. However, as the novel's piously liberal protagonists, Art Keller and his sainted spouse, sanctimoniously instruct us about this nation's drug epidemic, surely it is those who ingest these clearly dangerous beliefs who must bear blame for their own demise. This is most assuredly true with Señor Winslow who does the written equivalent of a quite vigorous and energized Mexican Hat Dance on his literary sombrero as his final act of liberal derangement. Bitter to the end, he goes out insulting me and many other suppliers of the dollars that support his habit, striking out insultingly, as so many addicted to leftist irrationality do, against those who have loved them. Having had to deal with addiction in my own family, I have learned that it is sometimes necessary to practice "tough love" and just say "no," cutting off any further funds to those who've gone off the deep end. So in that spirit, Don, "No...no more of my money will be spent on your writings, no more of my time will be given over to reading your works nor watching any visual depictions adapted from them and I will write no more on this issue of your sorrowfully fatal overdose.
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Top reviews from other countries
- Jeff DurantReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2019
Incredible conclusion
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Armando camposReviewed in Brazil on September 13, 2019
o cara que escreve aquela trilogia sobre os carteis..,dea,fbi ,cia and nsa é de arrepiar.
