And Winslow fulfils those ambitions fantastically well, with a stylistic swagger and bucketloads of empathy to go with a scintillating, perfectly executed crime-novel plot. It is actually a considerably more ambitious book than Savages, seeking to map out not only the history of Savages' weird love triangle, but also to cast a panoramic eye over the whole history of the drug trade in California from the 1960s onwards. With the adaptation of Don Winslow's 2010 novel Savages hitting the big screen next month, this is a perfect time to publish The Kings of Cool – a brilliant, hypnotic novel that takes Savages' wonderful trio of characters Ben, Chom and O (for Ophelia), and delves into their pasts to find out how they came to be marijuana dealers in Laguna Beach, Southern California.īut The Kings of Cool is so much more than a mere backstory. The result is a book that will echo in your mind and heart long after you've turned the last page.If Oliver Stone makes a movie out of one of your books, it's probably quite an astute move to write a prequel. It is filled with Winslow's trademark talents - complex characters, sharp dialogue, blistering social commentary - that have earned him an obsessive following. I cannot imagine how he manages to age his characters as the plot develops. Its a caper tale that kept me happy from the start on. Fast-paced, provocative, and wickedly funny, The Kings of Cool is a spellbinding love story for our times from a master novelist at the height of his powers. This time the waifs a male,but the Professors every bit the taskmaster. A series of breakneck twists and turns puts the two generations on a collision course, culminating in a stunning showdown that will force Ben, Chon, and O to choose between their real families and their loyalty to one another. As the trio at the center of the book does battle with a cabal of drug dealers and crooked cops, they come to learn that their future is inextricably linked with their parents' history.

Spanning from 1960s Southern California to the recent past, The Kings of Cool is a breathtakingly original saga of family in all its forms - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, friends and lovers.

Now, in this high-octane prequel, Winslow reaches back in time to tell the story of how Ben, Chon, and O became the people they are. Among the most celebrated thrillers in recent memory - and now a major motion picture directed by Academy Award - winning filmmaker Oliver Stone - Savages was picked as a best book of the year by Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly, Janet Maslin in The New York Times, and Sarah Weinman in the Los Angeles Times. In Savages, Don Winslow introduced Ben and Chon, twenty-something best friends who risk everything to save the girl they both love, O.

Don winslow kings of cool