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No Love Lost
Derrik 'Infinite' and Jermaine 'Blaze' against their mothers wishes and struggles fall victim to a life of crime and self-destruction. This is a work of fiction, but the events in this story take place just as they would in real life. There is no entertainment in the reality that these two young men and their friends are willing to gamble with their lives to obtain riches.
168 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2007
13 people want to read
About the author
Therone Shellman
28 books16 followersJust released Black American Vision.
In Black American Vision, Therone Shellman presents an unapologetic Black American viewpoint on issues such as illegal immigration, labor reform, the restoration of Black Americans, Black education reform, law enforcement and criminal justice reform, and the future of Black politics.
Too often, the voices of Black Americans are drowned out by those who are seeking to misunderstand them on purpose, those who are benefiting from their struggles and sacrifices, and others who are utilizing them to progress their causes, not as allies, but as undercover competitors.
Therone Shellman sets the record straight in showing Black Americans have their own interests, views and don't need anyone attaching them to issues that don't align with the progress of Black American objectives.
My works are said to be thought provoking, and I love to enable readers to think outside the box. I'm not a conformist to general ideas in regards to politics, psychology and life in general.
In Black American Vision, Therone Shellman presents an unapologetic Black American viewpoint on issues such as illegal immigration, labor reform, the restoration of Black Americans, Black education reform, law enforcement and criminal justice reform, and the future of Black politics.
Too often, the voices of Black Americans are drowned out by those who are seeking to misunderstand them on purpose, those who are benefiting from their struggles and sacrifices, and others who are utilizing them to progress their causes, not as allies, but as undercover competitors.
Therone Shellman sets the record straight in showing Black Americans have their own interests, views and don't need anyone attaching them to issues that don't align with the progress of Black American objectives.
My works are said to be thought provoking, and I love to enable readers to think outside the box. I'm not a conformist to general ideas in regards to politics, psychology and life in general.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 30, 2012
Therone Shellman's No Love Lost is more than your average hood-centric novel. This novel goes beneath the surface of street life and shows all facets of what happens when people are in the "game". Most urban fiction novels cover the drugs, the dealers and the money, clothes and cars. Those aspects are present in this novel, yet No Love Lost actually does nothing to glorify the wrong doings of drug dealers and gangsters. It also does not vilify the police officers who sometimes work with the very criminals they are sworn to keep in check. No Love Lost shows the drug game in its totality, no holds barred.
Cousins Derrick and Jermaine are like two peas in a pod. Their close bond isn't broken by Derrick's 6 month stint in Juvenile Detention. Derrick comes back a changed young man, but not in the way that his mother would have expected. Derrick's friend Supreme rubbed off on him. Now a 5 Percenter, Derrick no longer eats pork and now wants to be called Infinite. That part of his new identity doesn't bother his mother nearly as much as his affinity for criminal endeavors.
Although he lived in a home with two caring parents, Jermaine chose the streets. Rolling with his cousin Infinite (Derrick) and Supreme, he sells marijuana on the block to make money. They wanted Jermaine to sell a little, save his money and go to college to get his education. Jermaine was addicted to the money and slowly persuades Supreme and Infinite to put him onto the next level stuff they were into.
It doesn't take long for Infinite and Supreme to see if Jermaine is down by law. His first time out with the crew to do some dirt solidifies his ability make it happen when the pressure is on. The trio jack a weed dealer at a truck stop and end up having to let the guns clap to get the job done. The unexpected turn of events leave the weed dealer dead and Jermaine with nick name for the streets, "Blaze". His frazzled nerves instantly calms when he counts all the cash procured from the murderous turn of events.
Infinite and Blaze continue on without Supreme, who attempts to live straight and enlist in the army. They hook up with a group known as M-P-R (Money Power Respect) to form a criminal enterprise. Infinite and Blaze rob M-P-R's competition and turns the drugs over to M-P-R to flip and share the profits.
All hood things must come to an end. M-P-R's operations gets shut down after the police are tipped off by Boom after he's jacked by Infinite and Blaze. The streets loves no one and the outcome is always the same, you die or go to jail. Therone Shellman's skills as an author makes getting there for his characters very interesting and truthful.
Teenage street soldiers, loyal girlfriends and a caring police officer are mixed in with kidnappings, sergeants having extra-marital affairs with reporters and snitching relatives. No Love Lost is one of the most realistic portrayals of inner-city struggles that I've read. Kudos.
What did you like best about this book?
I really enjoyed the balance that Therone Shellman offered his readers. Every character had a story that needed one. For instance Sergeant Ronald Aldoe is more than a hardened police officer without feelings. When he confides in his mistress/star reporter Carla Simmons the toll the streets have taken on him, you really get to see another side of Aldoe. The cop duo of Frank and Speedy is another powerful aspect of the book. Officer "Speedy" got the name because of his track star speed with on-foot pursuits. His hatred for black people is perfectly juxtaposed by Frank's attitude of sympathy and compassion. It's rare that you get an officer that's halfway understanding of the why some people get into the type of trouble you can find in the hood.
I also enjoyed some of the plot twists. The killer white girl was a total surprise. You have to read it to understand.
The book cover was another positive point for No Love Lost. I get tired of seeing poorly composed renditions of Master P covers from back in the 90s. You remember the shiny diamond-encrusted letters, the dollars falling from the sky, the Benz on dubs...ridiculousness. Oh, I almost forgot the scantily clad female.
No Love Lost had a decent book cover that didn't attempt to exploit what you get from videos.
What did you dislike about this book?
I didn't like the grammatical error. Usually you can let a couple slide. There were enough in this book to take away from the flow of the story. Like the Derrick/Infinite narrative. Derrick got the name Infinite when he went to juvie and got hooked up with the 5 Percenters. Cool.
A couple of pages later, Infinite and his cousin Jermaine are about to his up a weed dealer for a lick. Therone Shellman uses Derrick and Infinite in a sentence where he should have used Jermain and Infinite. It took me two minutes to figure out what was going on. I had to go back to the beginning of the book to figure out who was who and what was what.
I also didn't like the fact that twin brothers Hassan and Rassan took on the god body names of Knowledge and Knowledge-Knowledge. There were a couple of sentences that got confusing when they were referenced within the same sentence.
How can the author improve this book?
Get a professional editor, and this book will be all good.
Cousins Derrick and Jermaine are like two peas in a pod. Their close bond isn't broken by Derrick's 6 month stint in Juvenile Detention. Derrick comes back a changed young man, but not in the way that his mother would have expected. Derrick's friend Supreme rubbed off on him. Now a 5 Percenter, Derrick no longer eats pork and now wants to be called Infinite. That part of his new identity doesn't bother his mother nearly as much as his affinity for criminal endeavors.
Although he lived in a home with two caring parents, Jermaine chose the streets. Rolling with his cousin Infinite (Derrick) and Supreme, he sells marijuana on the block to make money. They wanted Jermaine to sell a little, save his money and go to college to get his education. Jermaine was addicted to the money and slowly persuades Supreme and Infinite to put him onto the next level stuff they were into.
It doesn't take long for Infinite and Supreme to see if Jermaine is down by law. His first time out with the crew to do some dirt solidifies his ability make it happen when the pressure is on. The trio jack a weed dealer at a truck stop and end up having to let the guns clap to get the job done. The unexpected turn of events leave the weed dealer dead and Jermaine with nick name for the streets, "Blaze". His frazzled nerves instantly calms when he counts all the cash procured from the murderous turn of events.
Infinite and Blaze continue on without Supreme, who attempts to live straight and enlist in the army. They hook up with a group known as M-P-R (Money Power Respect) to form a criminal enterprise. Infinite and Blaze rob M-P-R's competition and turns the drugs over to M-P-R to flip and share the profits.
All hood things must come to an end. M-P-R's operations gets shut down after the police are tipped off by Boom after he's jacked by Infinite and Blaze. The streets loves no one and the outcome is always the same, you die or go to jail. Therone Shellman's skills as an author makes getting there for his characters very interesting and truthful.
Teenage street soldiers, loyal girlfriends and a caring police officer are mixed in with kidnappings, sergeants having extra-marital affairs with reporters and snitching relatives. No Love Lost is one of the most realistic portrayals of inner-city struggles that I've read. Kudos.
What did you like best about this book?
I really enjoyed the balance that Therone Shellman offered his readers. Every character had a story that needed one. For instance Sergeant Ronald Aldoe is more than a hardened police officer without feelings. When he confides in his mistress/star reporter Carla Simmons the toll the streets have taken on him, you really get to see another side of Aldoe. The cop duo of Frank and Speedy is another powerful aspect of the book. Officer "Speedy" got the name because of his track star speed with on-foot pursuits. His hatred for black people is perfectly juxtaposed by Frank's attitude of sympathy and compassion. It's rare that you get an officer that's halfway understanding of the why some people get into the type of trouble you can find in the hood.
I also enjoyed some of the plot twists. The killer white girl was a total surprise. You have to read it to understand.
The book cover was another positive point for No Love Lost. I get tired of seeing poorly composed renditions of Master P covers from back in the 90s. You remember the shiny diamond-encrusted letters, the dollars falling from the sky, the Benz on dubs...ridiculousness. Oh, I almost forgot the scantily clad female.
No Love Lost had a decent book cover that didn't attempt to exploit what you get from videos.
What did you dislike about this book?
I didn't like the grammatical error. Usually you can let a couple slide. There were enough in this book to take away from the flow of the story. Like the Derrick/Infinite narrative. Derrick got the name Infinite when he went to juvie and got hooked up with the 5 Percenters. Cool.
A couple of pages later, Infinite and his cousin Jermaine are about to his up a weed dealer for a lick. Therone Shellman uses Derrick and Infinite in a sentence where he should have used Jermain and Infinite. It took me two minutes to figure out what was going on. I had to go back to the beginning of the book to figure out who was who and what was what.
I also didn't like the fact that twin brothers Hassan and Rassan took on the god body names of Knowledge and Knowledge-Knowledge. There were a couple of sentences that got confusing when they were referenced within the same sentence.
How can the author improve this book?
Get a professional editor, and this book will be all good.
July 14, 2012
What Side Do You Have Love For??
Jermaine was as happy as everyone else to finally have his mentor and cousin, Derrik, aka Infinite, back. Watching Infinite and his close friend, Supreme, always have money, cars and women, Jermaine couldn't wait to be just like the duo. Being naïve and with his nose wide open, Jermaine knew that they were probably doing something illegal and wanted to get in the mix, and Infinite's return finally opened the door to his well awaited opportunity. Two years later and now officially nicknamed Blaze, the tides are about to get strong and Blaze enters a life that he isn't all to sure that he is ready for.
Money-Power-Respect, thoroughly known as MPR, established their name to the fullest. Organization and trust was not only their most valued law, but having access and making as much money as possible was key. MPR regulated the streets with their keen knowledge of street value and business ethics. Consisting of nine different minds and goals, Blaze enters as the newest and youngest member of the group with only Infinite as his sole supporter.
Detectives and patrolmen alike are banking on the promotions and easy vacations they could possibly have with taking down the notorious crew of MPR. Silently and maliciously waiting for one false move, raids were conducting simultaneously throughout Long Island and surrounding areas. Some of the "Beast" just wanted to have their own faces on the news, while others have a vendetta a mile long. Combing the streets for links and possible informants, the battle and blood bath not only regulates between the police department and MPR but MPR and snitches.
Therone has you on the edge of your seat with each page. This action packed winner might have you wanting to bring out your steel and bring the heat to quite a few characters. Hell, I wanted my nickname to be Explosive for a minute. Therone definitely has a flair for this genre and I hope to read more from him.
Reviewed by: LaDonna
Jermaine was as happy as everyone else to finally have his mentor and cousin, Derrik, aka Infinite, back. Watching Infinite and his close friend, Supreme, always have money, cars and women, Jermaine couldn't wait to be just like the duo. Being naïve and with his nose wide open, Jermaine knew that they were probably doing something illegal and wanted to get in the mix, and Infinite's return finally opened the door to his well awaited opportunity. Two years later and now officially nicknamed Blaze, the tides are about to get strong and Blaze enters a life that he isn't all to sure that he is ready for.
Money-Power-Respect, thoroughly known as MPR, established their name to the fullest. Organization and trust was not only their most valued law, but having access and making as much money as possible was key. MPR regulated the streets with their keen knowledge of street value and business ethics. Consisting of nine different minds and goals, Blaze enters as the newest and youngest member of the group with only Infinite as his sole supporter.
Detectives and patrolmen alike are banking on the promotions and easy vacations they could possibly have with taking down the notorious crew of MPR. Silently and maliciously waiting for one false move, raids were conducting simultaneously throughout Long Island and surrounding areas. Some of the "Beast" just wanted to have their own faces on the news, while others have a vendetta a mile long. Combing the streets for links and possible informants, the battle and blood bath not only regulates between the police department and MPR but MPR and snitches.
Therone has you on the edge of your seat with each page. This action packed winner might have you wanting to bring out your steel and bring the heat to quite a few characters. Hell, I wanted my nickname to be Explosive for a minute. Therone definitely has a flair for this genre and I hope to read more from him.
Reviewed by: LaDonna
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