Outlaws

by Kevin Sampson

It’s getting harder and harder to eke out a dishonest living in Liverpool. Gun law is out of control. Organized gangs are fighting for supremacy in clubland and the lucrative supply of narcotics. Younger, more ruthless gangs are moving in. Ged, Moby and Ratter, three South End villains, are old-fashioned highwaymen with two decades of meticulously planned jobs behind them. But times are tough. It’s Christmas and Ged is planning a job to see the boys through until spring. As usual, he won’t give them any details until the morning of the job. Until then, they have to stay off the street and keep out of trouble.

But Moby loves to go out – girls love him, guys send drinks over – he could live like this forever. And Ratter wants out – he’s invested his loot in the booming property sector. As the heist approaches, Ged needs to summon all his street savvy and killer instinct just to survive.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Contemporary

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Kevin Sampson is the author of seven novels - Awaydays, Powder, Leisure, Outlaws, Clubland, Freshers and most recently, Stars are Stars - and a work of non-fiction, Extra Time. He lives and works in Liverpool.

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for me,would have been 4 if I was not so confused with the dialect, I know I missed a bit in the beginning due to my not being smart enough to follow it. I made many faces throughout reading this book, most I will try to convey here in pictures of adorable animals.



This is a story of 3 blaggers just about to do a big thingy right before Chrimbo and it is told with a Scouse accent. Easy peasy right?



Friggen Scousers I cant understand them at the best of times, so this book was a little um....frustrating at the start. We will start slow.So easy one "blaggers" are thieves, "thingy" is ...well lots of stuff we'll move on,"Chrimbo" is Christmas. Also the word "like" is not used sparingly.



Yeah so our 3 blaggers are Ged,Ratter and Moby Brennan. Moby and Ged are cousins and Ratter is Ged's adopted brother who seems to have many issues that know one else is aware of. The story is told through each of the Brennans points of view. Each character's voice is so distinctive that even if it was not clearly labeled (which it is) you would know who is doing the talking,Ged is calm and controls all with grace, Ratter hates everyone, I mean EVERYONE and Moby loves everyone and has fun at all times.

Moby and Ratter



Right from the start you get what everyone's personality is and the group's dynamic. Once you get past the language barrier your set. Here is an example of one of Moby's thoughts, fun fact at the end of almost everything Moby says he puts in "know where I'm going"

"He'll never tell over the phone,mind you. Tells you fuck all ,our Gerrard,by the way. Para to fuck he is.But suffice to say,we get half the picture by now, know where I'm going.
Can't wait lar.Could use the tank and all too just now to be fair."




Unfortunately no, I did not know where Moby was going but I totally enjoyed the ride. Kevin Sampson is truly gifted in creating this world that has polish and grit, the Brennans come off as so real and I really liked all the colourful characters that were on the sidelines as well.

[Craig Helliwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read powder many years ago and enjoyed it so had high hopes for this. How wrong I was. It's almost unintelligible from the start. The 'scouse' dialog is impossible to understand and each character seems to have about 4 names which makes it very difficult to understand who is being referred to.
There's a basic story running through it that this group of gangsters either live and are loyal to each other, or are trying to stab each other in the back, but there are so many little side stories it's really difficult to follow.
They all come across as quite awful people (as to be expected), but not sure I really needed all the chapters about beating up hookers or football hooliganism to work out they are all nasty pieces of work.

[Maxine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to agree with other reviews here I'm afraid.
"A fast read" My comment is 'yes I read it one sunny afternoon'.
"A confusing story and had difficulty identifying the characters" My comment is 'I'm still not sure how it ended tbh'.

My other comments are
My first read of this author - not sure why I even carried on reading it - was hoping for more?
I doubt I will read any other books by him.

[Samine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I read this book so long ago, I can't even remember when. I do remember that I really enjoyed reading it. Was so into it. And most of all, really loved the reading how people speak. It really rang true for me.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Sampson's "Awaydays", a rite of passage novel featuring football violence and musical obsession. This is so poor in comparison. It feels like a sketchy outline for a British gangster film. The characters are one dimensional caricatures, and the dialogue is insipid.

[J.T. McAndrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good book by Kevin, gangland and clubland Liverpool with lots of intertwining stories, some good parts which made me laugh at myself. enjoyed it.

[Ed Garbett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book though I did enjoy the Liverpool references and the Scouse vernacular

[Ian Mapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem this is. Its been lying on my shelf for months and looks a bit tacky, if the truth is told. But what a surprise, reminding me completely of Niall Griffiths.

This is told completely in the venecular and deals with inter told stories from Ged (honourable old school gangster), Ratter (dodgy back stabber who is moving into politics and the regeneration of liverpool) and moby (muscle, with a taste for strippers and a nagging wife who is trying to organise the communion of their daughter).

Through the anecdotal tales that are told directly to the reader we can see that Ged is planning one last easy heist and has called the team together. They go back years and are practically brothers for ratter is planning his own drug import and trying to frame Ged who he is jealous of and feels has not moved with the times. Moby is just out for a good time.

The tale goes down avenues - there is a trip to london for the football which is hilarious, Moby gets involved in a fight and has to have a "straigtener" and other minor departures.

The story is carried along by the speech patterns and the incredible humour, which has many laugh out loud moments, as different characters give their own interpretation. For instance, moby is made up when the neighbours come out to wish his daughter off on the communion and then you get the neighbors view.

Totally absorbing - funny, interesting and with many observations on the working class - i loved this and instantly ordered another one from the library.

[John Alpha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unrelentingly grim story. Difficult to keep track of the different characters and their relationships. Not enough to seek out other stories by this author even though the tale is based where i grew up.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, but was a little disappointed with the ending. Typical Kevin Sampson ending - ie the story just stops.

When I started reading this I realised that I had already read the sequel to this - Clubland, without realising that Clubland was a sequel. I am now re-reading Clubland (which starts about a week after the end of Outlaws), and the beginning is a lot easier to follow this time.

[Godzilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast read, with an interesting use of multi narrators. The characters are believable and the writing, using scouse dialect, draws you in.

The violence, and there's quite a bit of it, simply reflects the lifestyles involved. There's no room for passengers in this world, the weak will be rooted out and destroyed.

The ending is slightly disappointing, although the follow up book may well expand on the situation...

[Bridgette · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a good book, i found it rather boring.