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Killing Castro
Five Americans a bounty hunter, a murderer on the run, a vengeful college kid, a professional thug, and a bank clerk dying of cancerwill split $100,000 if they can sneak into Cuba and assassinate Fidel Castro.
204 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
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November 26, 2016
Five Americans are hired to go to Cuba and assassinate Fidel Castro, the survivors splitting $100,000. Two of the five join revolutionaries in the hills, two hole up and build a bomb, and the last rents a hotel room overlooking the site of one of Fidel's speeches. Can any of them get the job done?
While Killing Castro isn't my favorite of Lawrence Block's Hard Case books, it's also not the worst. Some of the characters are a little thin but each one is fairly reallistic. There's also a little smut, not surprising since Block wrote a lot of that kind of thing back in the day.
The best parts of Killing Castro? Watching Block develop as a writer and experiment with different techniques. I enjoyed the way he shifted viewpoints between characters and I also liked the way he paralleled the events in the story with an account of Fidel Castro's rise to power.
All in all, an easy read and an entertaining way to spend a few hours reading.
While Killing Castro isn't my favorite of Lawrence Block's Hard Case books, it's also not the worst. Some of the characters are a little thin but each one is fairly reallistic. There's also a little smut, not surprising since Block wrote a lot of that kind of thing back in the day.
The best parts of Killing Castro? Watching Block develop as a writer and experiment with different techniques. I enjoyed the way he shifted viewpoints between characters and I also liked the way he paralleled the events in the story with an account of Fidel Castro's rise to power.
All in all, an easy read and an entertaining way to spend a few hours reading.
November 26, 2016
*gasp* Lawrence Block called it in 1961!
I'm assuming that this was thrown together as a dime-store novel in '61 to capitalize on Castro and Cuba paranoia, but Block's talent gave it some real depth. It's like a snapshot of the country's mood of that time between the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban missile crisis.
The story was more cynical than I was expecting. The anti-communism vibe that America had then definitely comes through, but I like that all the characters are in in it for personal reasons and have no patience for the political aspect of killing Castro.
It was an ambitious structure, too. Breaking away to the different stories of the would-be killers and then putting biographical chapters about Castro was a unique approach.
I'm assuming that this was thrown together as a dime-store novel in '61 to capitalize on Castro and Cuba paranoia, but Block's talent gave it some real depth. It's like a snapshot of the country's mood of that time between the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban missile crisis.
The story was more cynical than I was expecting. The anti-communism vibe that America had then definitely comes through, but I like that all the characters are in in it for personal reasons and have no patience for the political aspect of killing Castro.
It was an ambitious structure, too. Breaking away to the different stories of the would-be killers and then putting biographical chapters about Castro was a unique approach.
February 2, 2018
In early 1961 Lawrence Block was approached by a paperback house to write a book about a group of American’s who set out to assassinate Castro. The rationale was a simple one: the editor behind the request believed that an assassination attempt could just succeed in the near future and he wanted a book ready to put on the shelves immediately should this fortuitous (for him) event occur. At this stage in his career LB used to bash out novels under various pseudonyms, so it was some years before this book was attributed to him. He confesses that he’d never been to Cuba and got all the background information he used from the local library.
So what’s it like? Well I’ve read a lot of Block’s books and the quality of the early stuff varies significantly. This one is better than some but nothing like the quality of some of his later work – e.g. the Matt Scudder series or the Bernie Rhodenbarr books. The structure is that chapters introducing the would be assassins and detailing their endeavour alternate with background sections on Castro’s rise to the top of his particular tree. The Americans are an interesting enough group of individuals and the whole thing jogs along pretty well. There are some good action scenes and the tension is well maintained as the group wrestle with their own particular motivations for getting involved in this enterprise. And I did actually learn a bit about the country and about Castro!
It’s not a book I’d recommend everyone to rush out and buy but for fans of LB and for anyone who enjoys a bit of hardboiled action it’s a short read that I think will probably keep you entertained.
So what’s it like? Well I’ve read a lot of Block’s books and the quality of the early stuff varies significantly. This one is better than some but nothing like the quality of some of his later work – e.g. the Matt Scudder series or the Bernie Rhodenbarr books. The structure is that chapters introducing the would be assassins and detailing their endeavour alternate with background sections on Castro’s rise to the top of his particular tree. The Americans are an interesting enough group of individuals and the whole thing jogs along pretty well. There are some good action scenes and the tension is well maintained as the group wrestle with their own particular motivations for getting involved in this enterprise. And I did actually learn a bit about the country and about Castro!
It’s not a book I’d recommend everyone to rush out and buy but for fans of LB and for anyone who enjoys a bit of hardboiled action it’s a short read that I think will probably keep you entertained.
October 30, 2011
Dig. Some geeks are offered a twenty thousand to kill the Beard. No Tiger Kab. No Hair. No Hoover. No Company or the Mob. No Vampire.
Five geeks.
Twenty each for killed the Beard.
Sigh. No matter how much I try I can't make this book into a lost chapter of American Tabloid, but there was always that bit of Ellroy dancing in the back of my mind while reading this to keep me more entertained than I probably should have been by this curio of a book.
(separate paragraph James Ellroy parenthetical aside: I'm sure everyone knows that there biopic coming out starring Leonardo DiCaprio about J. Edgar Hoover. I just found this out the other night while watching TV with commercials, something I rarely get to indulge in and as a result I miss a great chunk of pop-culture. Anyway, (you see where this is going right?) if I were a Hollywood person, or just someone with millions of dollars to waste I think I would hire Leonardo DiCaprio to star in a film adaptation of James Ellroy's USA trilogy. He would take on the roles of all the historical characters in the story, he's already done Howard Hughes and now J. Edgar, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get him to be both Kennedy brothers, it might be more of a stretch to get him to play Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and say Paul Robeson, but I think it's the kind of challenge Leonardo DiCaprio would be able to handle. Other actors would play the 'main characters' of the story, the fictional FBI agents, strong men, and CIA spooks, but in the background it would be all Leo. It's probably for the best I don't have the resources to make something this stupid actually happen (nevermind the controversy that would explode around having DiCaprio playing MLK)).
Anyway the book. This originally was written by Lawrence Block using a one-off pen name in 1961. This makes it pre-Cuban Missile Crisis, and could have been written pre-Bay of Pigs, but I'd need to know what month Block wrote this to know for sure (it was probably post-Bay of Pigs, I think there is a reference to the 'blunder' in the book, but it could have been a different fuck up). The book isn't great, but it's not bad either. The particulars in the plot are a little weird. Why would these five people have been chosen to kill Castro? Who would hire a terminally ill bank clerk from some bumfuck nowhere town with no military experience? Where would the Cuban exiles even find such a person? How would such a person put himself out there to be found? I don't know. I didn't try to think of some of the particulars about how each person could have found themselves in the position they are in here. Thinking too much would have only caused me to get unduly confused.
Every other chapter is a fairly dry historical account of Castro's rise to power. One reviewer called it a book report or school paper on Castro, and that is sort of what it feels like. I want to give the book the benefit of the doubt and say that these chapters were necessary when the book came out, but that makes makes me assume readers in the very early sixties were morons when it came to current events. I think they are actually just page filler.
I recommend reading this book as a missing chapter of American Tabloid, and do your own stylistic edits to the text. It makes for a better experience.
Five geeks.
Twenty each for killed the Beard.
Sigh. No matter how much I try I can't make this book into a lost chapter of American Tabloid, but there was always that bit of Ellroy dancing in the back of my mind while reading this to keep me more entertained than I probably should have been by this curio of a book.
(separate paragraph James Ellroy parenthetical aside: I'm sure everyone knows that there biopic coming out starring Leonardo DiCaprio about J. Edgar Hoover. I just found this out the other night while watching TV with commercials, something I rarely get to indulge in and as a result I miss a great chunk of pop-culture. Anyway, (you see where this is going right?) if I were a Hollywood person, or just someone with millions of dollars to waste I think I would hire Leonardo DiCaprio to star in a film adaptation of James Ellroy's USA trilogy. He would take on the roles of all the historical characters in the story, he's already done Howard Hughes and now J. Edgar, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get him to be both Kennedy brothers, it might be more of a stretch to get him to play Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and say Paul Robeson, but I think it's the kind of challenge Leonardo DiCaprio would be able to handle. Other actors would play the 'main characters' of the story, the fictional FBI agents, strong men, and CIA spooks, but in the background it would be all Leo. It's probably for the best I don't have the resources to make something this stupid actually happen (nevermind the controversy that would explode around having DiCaprio playing MLK)).
Anyway the book. This originally was written by Lawrence Block using a one-off pen name in 1961. This makes it pre-Cuban Missile Crisis, and could have been written pre-Bay of Pigs, but I'd need to know what month Block wrote this to know for sure (it was probably post-Bay of Pigs, I think there is a reference to the 'blunder' in the book, but it could have been a different fuck up). The book isn't great, but it's not bad either. The particulars in the plot are a little weird. Why would these five people have been chosen to kill Castro? Who would hire a terminally ill bank clerk from some bumfuck nowhere town with no military experience? Where would the Cuban exiles even find such a person? How would such a person put himself out there to be found? I don't know. I didn't try to think of some of the particulars about how each person could have found themselves in the position they are in here. Thinking too much would have only caused me to get unduly confused.
Every other chapter is a fairly dry historical account of Castro's rise to power. One reviewer called it a book report or school paper on Castro, and that is sort of what it feels like. I want to give the book the benefit of the doubt and say that these chapters were necessary when the book came out, but that makes makes me assume readers in the very early sixties were morons when it came to current events. I think they are actually just page filler.
I recommend reading this book as a missing chapter of American Tabloid, and do your own stylistic edits to the text. It makes for a better experience.
February 11, 2020
Written in 1961, when Castro's takeover of Cuba was on everyone's mind, the story still holds up well fifty years later. Five men are recruited with one goal --assassinating Fidel Castro. It is never made clear whether the force behind the recruitment is a band of Cuban rebels or the CIA, but it doesn't matter. One of them is on the run after executing his girlfriend and her lover. He caught them in the act and pulled out his knife and acted. One is out to avenge his brother who was shot on Castro's orders. One is dying of cancer. The other two are tough hard types useful in this kind of thing. They are dropped into
Cuba in various ways. Well-told and well-executed. Their voices and characters ring true. And, yes, the woman in fatigues on the paperback cover plays an important role in the story. This is a first rate book.
Cuba in various ways. Well-told and well-executed. Their voices and characters ring true. And, yes, the woman in fatigues on the paperback cover plays an important role in the story. This is a first rate book.
May 16, 2021
I can't say that this is a bd book, but it is an early book by the detective novelist Lawrence Block, the author of the Matthew Scudder series I think is so great. I have been reading these quick, stand-alone books that I think of largely as practice for a young writer. It is my least favorite of his early books t📚 hat include Grifter's Game, all of which have been rereleased as part of the Hard Case Crimes series. I can see why they included Block's early books, in that they are early but good. I see them as a young writer trying out different things: Con men, contract killers, card sharps, and so on. Developing hs chops, seeing what it is he wants to do.
This one was published in 1961, before the Cuban Missile Crisis, and it contains political commentary I have seen nowhere else in Block's work, work that, compared to Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana, is slight, as one would expect. Block basically says that Castro did a good thing in that he led an insurrection to overthrow a brutal dictator, Batista, did some good things, and then lost his way and became a ruthless dictator himself. It is not the point of this review to debate that point, but just to say that Block spends a bit of time on the history of Cuba in this one, and it's interesting in its being uniquely political.
No spoiler alert needed here to say that the five guys being paid $20K a piece to kill Castro fail; one survives and another, a guy who attempts to rape a woman, is killed by that woman (though I have to say there is more sex and generally brutal sexual behavior in these early, young man books than in the later, Scudder books, and for me that is a good thing, because it is generally distracting).
I thought it was okay, well-written but forgettable, and it made me take Our Man in Havana off the shelf to look at again.
This one was published in 1961, before the Cuban Missile Crisis, and it contains political commentary I have seen nowhere else in Block's work, work that, compared to Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana, is slight, as one would expect. Block basically says that Castro did a good thing in that he led an insurrection to overthrow a brutal dictator, Batista, did some good things, and then lost his way and became a ruthless dictator himself. It is not the point of this review to debate that point, but just to say that Block spends a bit of time on the history of Cuba in this one, and it's interesting in its being uniquely political.
No spoiler alert needed here to say that the five guys being paid $20K a piece to kill Castro fail; one survives and another, a guy who attempts to rape a woman, is killed by that woman (though I have to say there is more sex and generally brutal sexual behavior in these early, young man books than in the later, Scudder books, and for me that is a good thing, because it is generally distracting).
I thought it was okay, well-written but forgettable, and it made me take Our Man in Havana off the shelf to look at again.
September 11, 2012
Despite only clocking in at around 200 pages in length, this tight thriller, about a group of five would-be assassins sent to kill Fidel Castro in the early 1960s, gives each assassin's point-of-view as they prepare for the task at hand -- each with their own individual motivations and using different methods -- as well as interspersing that with true biographical information about Castro and his rise to power. Not the pinnacle of Block's much-lauded work, but an impressive accomplishment considering he did it as work-for-hire under a pseudonym from a second-rate publisher that handed him the title, plot, and a $1,500 check and probably didn't care what the finished product looked like.
February 11, 2020
Read over the course of a bus journey between Edinburgh and Glasgow and back again. Very enjoyable and easy read although a lot of sex and violence (pretty much a given for LB books) if you don't like too much of that. Story of 5 assassins sent to Kill Castro interspersed with some interesting history about Castro. Had forgotten how much I enjoy LB books after getting to the end of all the Scudder and Kemper ones a few years ago.
July 27, 2015
After recently watching A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES (my favorite movie so far this year), I've been itching to read a Lawrence Block novel. I chose KILLING CASTRO because I've also been on a Hard Case Crime kick lately, and it's the kind of book you have to either get your hands on quickly or risk going out of print. Plus, it looks good on my shelf next to my Bill O'Reilly books, and it'll tide me over until KILLING PATTON finally makes its way into the bargain bin.
Block wrote KILLING CASTRO on a commission, paid by a publisher who was gambling on Castro being assassinated in real life, in which case sales of the book would have skyrocketed once the public came to regard it as being prescient and topical. Unfortunately for the publisher, the assassination never occurred, and the book was quickly buried and forgotten, only to be resurrected some fifty-odd years later by Hard Case Crime.
KILLING CASTRO isn't what I'd call a classic by any stretch, but Block successfully managed to make it into something more than the soulless cash grab it was originally intended to be. Most impressive is the quality of Block's prose, especially considering he was in his mid-20's when he wrote this, had never been to Cuba, and was working under a tight deadline. Like Stephen King, Block just happens to be one of those intensely gifted writers who can crank out a very readable novel in the time it takes me to write a letter to my parents.
My big issue with KILLING CASTRO has to do with what I saw as a couple of gaping plot holes. Block does a good job of explaining the motivations of the potential assassins, but we never really know why these particular guys were selected for the job in the first place. With one exception, they really don't seem qualified. Another thing that doesn't make sense is that the assassins are all told to split up, making it inevitable that they will get in each other's way. Further adding to the mess is the fact that all of them are to be paid regardless of who ultimately manages to take Castro out. As long as Castro dies, it doesn't matter who contributed what--they all get paid equally. Instead of a SMOKIN' ACES scenario in which all the killers are in a race with each other to be the first to reach their target, the assassins in KILLING CASTRO are given incentive to simply hole up and wait for someone else to do the dirty work. The biggest surprise in the book is how many of the assassins simply throw in the towel because completing their mission just isn't worth the effort.
KILLING CASTRO isn't a novel that I'd highly recommend, but I certainly found it pleasant enough for wiling away a long train ride.
Block wrote KILLING CASTRO on a commission, paid by a publisher who was gambling on Castro being assassinated in real life, in which case sales of the book would have skyrocketed once the public came to regard it as being prescient and topical. Unfortunately for the publisher, the assassination never occurred, and the book was quickly buried and forgotten, only to be resurrected some fifty-odd years later by Hard Case Crime.
KILLING CASTRO isn't what I'd call a classic by any stretch, but Block successfully managed to make it into something more than the soulless cash grab it was originally intended to be. Most impressive is the quality of Block's prose, especially considering he was in his mid-20's when he wrote this, had never been to Cuba, and was working under a tight deadline. Like Stephen King, Block just happens to be one of those intensely gifted writers who can crank out a very readable novel in the time it takes me to write a letter to my parents.
My big issue with KILLING CASTRO has to do with what I saw as a couple of gaping plot holes. Block does a good job of explaining the motivations of the potential assassins, but we never really know why these particular guys were selected for the job in the first place. With one exception, they really don't seem qualified. Another thing that doesn't make sense is that the assassins are all told to split up, making it inevitable that they will get in each other's way. Further adding to the mess is the fact that all of them are to be paid regardless of who ultimately manages to take Castro out. As long as Castro dies, it doesn't matter who contributed what--they all get paid equally. Instead of a SMOKIN' ACES scenario in which all the killers are in a race with each other to be the first to reach their target, the assassins in KILLING CASTRO are given incentive to simply hole up and wait for someone else to do the dirty work. The biggest surprise in the book is how many of the assassins simply throw in the towel because completing their mission just isn't worth the effort.
KILLING CASTRO isn't a novel that I'd highly recommend, but I certainly found it pleasant enough for wiling away a long train ride.
March 10, 2020
Pretty good story of an unlikely group of assassins brought together to kill Castro. What really sold it for me, though, is how "grindhouse" it feels. People being blown to bits, being castrated, being riddled with lead while spraying everyone around with machine gun fire in a desperate last stand. This would really have made a great 70s B-movie (or maybe a modern Tarantino flick).
January 22, 2012
Presented with the opportunity to make $20,000 each, 5 Americans barter/bribe/sneak their way into Cuba with the intention of assassinating Fidel Castro. Fleeing a murder rap in the US, Turner, the first of the ragtag group of assassins introduced showed the most promise with an intriguing back-story and harden facade - had Block focused on Turner as the primary character - 'Killing Castro' wouldn't have felt as light as it did while distributing page time amongst the 4 other characters all with similar goals. Complementing the plot is Castro's rise to power - this served as a nice and informative break from the brutality of the murderous plight while providing perspective to the cause.
Typically there was murder, deceit, and gorilla warfare with minor elements of back-story thrown in for good measure. For my liking there just wasn't enough to the 5 characters central to the assassination to enable any sort of complexity and reasoning behind their enlistment. That said, the progression of the story wasn't as I had predicted with all characters taking rather unique paths. Overall, 'Killing Castro' is a simplistic linear plot driven story whose title sums up the pretense and whose delivery didn't deviate from the core theme. Enjoyable and light - ideal for a quick no brainer form of escapism - 3 stars.
Typically there was murder, deceit, and gorilla warfare with minor elements of back-story thrown in for good measure. For my liking there just wasn't enough to the 5 characters central to the assassination to enable any sort of complexity and reasoning behind their enlistment. That said, the progression of the story wasn't as I had predicted with all characters taking rather unique paths. Overall, 'Killing Castro' is a simplistic linear plot driven story whose title sums up the pretense and whose delivery didn't deviate from the core theme. Enjoyable and light - ideal for a quick no brainer form of escapism - 3 stars.
July 2, 2010
With Killing Castro, originally published in 1961 under a pseudonym, Block opts for a style thoroughly unlike his own but has trouble sustaining the false authorship. First off, the book is two-thirds story and one-third college term paper on Castro's rise to power, which may have been interesting at the time but reads as unnecessary historical malingering today.
This is an ensemble piece so the POV keeps shifting. Unlike Michener’s The Drifters where the opening chapters detail individual characters that come together in an ensemble finish, Killing Castro is the opposite, meeting the group up front with each going their separate ways, the stories separated by a Castro history lessons, which, without spoiling it, get a factual thrashing leading to a thoroughly unsatisfying conclusion.
The audio presentation borders on annoying, with the reader doing his best Rod Serling inflection throughout; introducing Twilight Zone episodes is one thing, but four hours straight? It’s a bit much.
This is an ensemble piece so the POV keeps shifting. Unlike Michener’s The Drifters where the opening chapters detail individual characters that come together in an ensemble finish, Killing Castro is the opposite, meeting the group up front with each going their separate ways, the stories separated by a Castro history lessons, which, without spoiling it, get a factual thrashing leading to a thoroughly unsatisfying conclusion.
The audio presentation borders on annoying, with the reader doing his best Rod Serling inflection throughout; introducing Twilight Zone episodes is one thing, but four hours straight? It’s a bit much.
June 9, 2012
Actually 2.5 stars. Published the year before the Cuban Missile crisis, the then current political events playing out in this story were very interesting and that part read more like a historical mystery. I’ll also admit that noir is not my favorite genre so while I cannot say Killing Castro was a terrific mystery it was an intriguing look at an era fast fading from memory.
June 7, 2024
I've enjoyed several Hard Case crime books previously (notably Stephen King's 'Later' and books by Donald Westlake) as fun, mindless, palette cleansers. Many of these books, like this one, are reprinted from their original date of publishing back in the 50s or 60s. Most can be forgiven for being "of their time," however this one should have stayed in the past.
June 10, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 218 (of 250)
Hook=3 Stars: Here, one might think the title is the hook. But it isn't (see plot discussion below). Still, the title is enough to grab one's attention.
Pace=2: Oddly, at only 56,260 words, this book feels a bit slow. The plot isn't linear, and some authors can pull off non-linear plots beautifully, but Block doesn't make a good effort, as he doesn't need to (see plot discussion).
Plot=2: We have a plan to assassinate Castro, who has just taken over Cuba via revolution against the Batista rulers. (This is fiction, and I don't know much about Cuban history, I certainly should, and would like to visit Cuba now that Americans can) And we have a team of five assassins who change in personal directions during the course of the novel. But both of these "plots' simply serves as segues between sex scenes* which consists of rape, visits to whore houses, and a few scenes of good lovin'. But, to get a book that is basically one of sex on mainstream book shelves, this "Hard Crime" (a yellow insignia on the upper part of the spine of the book**) book costumes itself as a crime thriller. Now, books often look like something they are not (you can't judge a book by its cover***) but the sex scenes veer toward torture porn here and do not offer pleasant reading (and I have no problems with hot, good lovin', explicit scenes done well between consensual adults).
Characters=3: Good history of Castro's rise to power, and a pretty good study of how five men participating in the planning and execution of a crime go through phases of doubt, see deceit all around them, and question whether the money they are being paid is worth it, and of course question whether the attempt for a money grab is worth going to prison for the rest of their lives. But upon closing the book, I couldn't recall any names other than Castro.
Place=2: Dark rooms, dark alleys, clandestine meetings, steamy hot jungles, outdoor sex, etc., are indeed portrayed nicely, but any of these sets could be about anywhere. And for the grand finale, Castro's assassination attempt of an Havana town square: I would have liked to know what that town square looked like.
Summary: Remember those who say/said they subscribed to Playboy for the articles? Well, that same same set of people say they read books like "Killing Castro" for a history lesson. But in "Killing Castro", S-E-X front and center, S-E-X is the plot. Please note the armed, muscled woman on the cover. Not for a second did I believe that anyone would even try to rape her: she looks tougher than any of the men portrayed in the book. But they do. Overall rating: 2.4 (For those of you who know me, I rate books on the low side in general because to me, there are very few 4 and 5 star books to be read, and I like to make sure there is a firm delineation between what I really liked and what I didn't care much for.)
* How about that alliteration?
**It's absolutely worth it to be on the lookout for these small "Hard Case" paperbacks at the library and they are easy to see on the shelves, as 1/5th of the upper spine of the book contains this brands icon in definitive yellow with a black pistol and red "sparks".
***But sometimes, you can judge a book by its cover. Like this one.
BOOK 218 (of 250)
Hook=3 Stars: Here, one might think the title is the hook. But it isn't (see plot discussion below). Still, the title is enough to grab one's attention.
Pace=2: Oddly, at only 56,260 words, this book feels a bit slow. The plot isn't linear, and some authors can pull off non-linear plots beautifully, but Block doesn't make a good effort, as he doesn't need to (see plot discussion).
Plot=2: We have a plan to assassinate Castro, who has just taken over Cuba via revolution against the Batista rulers. (This is fiction, and I don't know much about Cuban history, I certainly should, and would like to visit Cuba now that Americans can) And we have a team of five assassins who change in personal directions during the course of the novel. But both of these "plots' simply serves as segues between sex scenes* which consists of rape, visits to whore houses, and a few scenes of good lovin'. But, to get a book that is basically one of sex on mainstream book shelves, this "Hard Crime" (a yellow insignia on the upper part of the spine of the book**) book costumes itself as a crime thriller. Now, books often look like something they are not (you can't judge a book by its cover***) but the sex scenes veer toward torture porn here and do not offer pleasant reading (and I have no problems with hot, good lovin', explicit scenes done well between consensual adults).
Characters=3: Good history of Castro's rise to power, and a pretty good study of how five men participating in the planning and execution of a crime go through phases of doubt, see deceit all around them, and question whether the money they are being paid is worth it, and of course question whether the attempt for a money grab is worth going to prison for the rest of their lives. But upon closing the book, I couldn't recall any names other than Castro.
Place=2: Dark rooms, dark alleys, clandestine meetings, steamy hot jungles, outdoor sex, etc., are indeed portrayed nicely, but any of these sets could be about anywhere. And for the grand finale, Castro's assassination attempt of an Havana town square: I would have liked to know what that town square looked like.
Summary: Remember those who say/said they subscribed to Playboy for the articles? Well, that same same set of people say they read books like "Killing Castro" for a history lesson. But in "Killing Castro", S-E-X front and center, S-E-X is the plot. Please note the armed, muscled woman on the cover. Not for a second did I believe that anyone would even try to rape her: she looks tougher than any of the men portrayed in the book. But they do. Overall rating: 2.4 (For those of you who know me, I rate books on the low side in general because to me, there are very few 4 and 5 star books to be read, and I like to make sure there is a firm delineation between what I really liked and what I didn't care much for.)
* How about that alliteration?
**It's absolutely worth it to be on the lookout for these small "Hard Case" paperbacks at the library and they are easy to see on the shelves, as 1/5th of the upper spine of the book contains this brands icon in definitive yellow with a black pistol and red "sparks".
***But sometimes, you can judge a book by its cover. Like this one.
July 18, 2009
Early in his career, Lawrence Block wrote tons of books under various house and pen names. He can be very pissy about them, refusing to acknowledge or sign them, even claiming he can't remember writing them.
The logical assumption is that they proably suck. Which is fine. There isn't a writer worth reading doesn't regret at least some of the dumb prose they put to paper in their 20s. At the rate Block reportedly wrote, there is probably a veritable dung heap of paperbacks best left in the past. So be it
When Hard Case reprinted two of Block's previously unacknowledged A DIET OF TREACLE and GOOD AT CARDS, I was shocked that both were actually quite good. Not Block at his best, but solid additions to his bibliography that hold their own.
So I had high hopes for this one. And was I disappointed! A diverse group of 5 men get roped into a plot to kill Castro. Each shoots and/or fornicates their way through Cuba enroute to their various rendevous with Castro and destiny without generating a whole lot of excitement. It's not bad, just a notch or two below the high minimum Block has led us to expect.
I have now cancelled my plan to plunge into the dung heap.
The logical assumption is that they proably suck. Which is fine. There isn't a writer worth reading doesn't regret at least some of the dumb prose they put to paper in their 20s. At the rate Block reportedly wrote, there is probably a veritable dung heap of paperbacks best left in the past. So be it
When Hard Case reprinted two of Block's previously unacknowledged A DIET OF TREACLE and GOOD AT CARDS, I was shocked that both were actually quite good. Not Block at his best, but solid additions to his bibliography that hold their own.
So I had high hopes for this one. And was I disappointed! A diverse group of 5 men get roped into a plot to kill Castro. Each shoots and/or fornicates their way through Cuba enroute to their various rendevous with Castro and destiny without generating a whole lot of excitement. It's not bad, just a notch or two below the high minimum Block has led us to expect.
I have now cancelled my plan to plunge into the dung heap.
July 5, 2017
This book is more interesting as a glimpse into the world of the early 1960s than it is as a thriller. It is like going back and reading Mickey Spillane or the Bond books from the 1950s, not so much for the story but for the time in which they are set. There are many interesting points of reference and glimpses into the thinking during the time between Castro's takeover and the Cuban Missel Crisis.
The five would-be assassins and the Cuban counter-revolutionaries they encounter are interesting. I would have enjoyed the book more had it explored those relationships in greater depth, or if it had just focused on two or three characters instead of the Baker's dozen it follows.
Still, I would likely have given the story 3 stars had it not been for the ambiguous ending. I think those type of endings were in vogue among certain writers during this time frame, but it just didn't set well with me.
The five would-be assassins and the Cuban counter-revolutionaries they encounter are interesting. I would have enjoyed the book more had it explored those relationships in greater depth, or if it had just focused on two or three characters instead of the Baker's dozen it follows.
Still, I would likely have given the story 3 stars had it not been for the ambiguous ending. I think those type of endings were in vogue among certain writers during this time frame, but it just didn't set well with me.
June 15, 2010
This book is a strange hybrid. In the main, it is the story of five men hired to assassinate Fidel Castro for a pot of $100,000. It does not matter who kills Castro or how; if Castro is killed, whichever of the assassins make it back to Miami will split the money. Their story is intercut with a narrative of Fidel Castro's rise to power, though this primer of Cuban history is more or less irrelevant to the main plot of the book--Castro's story contributes to the word count more than anything else. The book's biggest failing, however, comes in its last few pages. Until the end, the story of the five assassins is told with competence. At the end, however, Lawrence Block makes a choice in narrative perspective that seems designed to dampen the drama of the novel's climax as much as possible.
August 3, 2012
A load of early Sixties hokum about a ragtag group of mercenaries uglier than The A-Team paid to go to Cuba to kill Castro. I don't believe for a second Mr. Block was serious when he wrote this Argosy Magazine trash but it's amazing how many wack-jobs take this crap seriously.
June 9, 2009
Definitely an early work. Very pulp. very early sixties erotic (which isn't very erotic at all. Even the good sex seems violent.) And of course, a fantasy, since the ending ignores history.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2017
I enjoyed this book much more than I though I would! Basically, the title says it all - "they" are out to kill Castro, in two teams of two, and one solo. The chapters switch off - the story about the attempt, and the history behind Castro's rise to power. The story was much better than the history, but the history gives it all context. The crazy thing to me is that this book was written not long after Castro took power, and before the Cuban missile crisis! What did Lawrence Block know? Weird...
August 7, 2017
RPL
For its time, not a bad book. Given Block's other works, this is clearly an early one. Was surprised by how the story ends.
For its time, not a bad book. Given Block's other works, this is clearly an early one. Was surprised by how the story ends.
December 10, 2021
It’s 1961 and Fidel Castro, having recently gained power, is a polarizing figure to say the least. A handful of Americans has been hired to sneak into the island nation and assassinate Castro in exchange for a small fortune.
Published by Hard Case Crime in 2008, Killing Castro had originally been written under a pseudonym (Lee Duncan) in an era when Lawrence Block had been churning out books on a monthly, sometimes weekly basis.
While I’m a big fan of Hard Case Crime and the work they do, not everything they put out knocks my socks off. This one from early in Block’s career is about as forgettable as it gets. The book definitely has its fair share of sex and violence, like you expect from Hard Case, but Killing Castro really shows how far Block has come as a writer.
That being said, this book isn’t pretending to be anything it’s not. Block wasn’t looking to tackle communism in the form of a drug store paperback. If you’re looking for a quick and violent read, this should do the trick.
Published by Hard Case Crime in 2008, Killing Castro had originally been written under a pseudonym (Lee Duncan) in an era when Lawrence Block had been churning out books on a monthly, sometimes weekly basis.
While I’m a big fan of Hard Case Crime and the work they do, not everything they put out knocks my socks off. This one from early in Block’s career is about as forgettable as it gets. The book definitely has its fair share of sex and violence, like you expect from Hard Case, but Killing Castro really shows how far Block has come as a writer.
That being said, this book isn’t pretending to be anything it’s not. Block wasn’t looking to tackle communism in the form of a drug store paperback. If you’re looking for a quick and violent read, this should do the trick.
January 4, 2011
I was going to make a joke about this book not being a representative chip off the old (Lawrence) "Block," but I have changed my mind. As I am in a mind for mangled platitudes, I will say instead that the book did not fall far from the tree, and then it slid down the hill, fell into the stream, got washed into the river which carried it out to sea and it finally ended up in Havana.
Lawrence Block is a great crime writer. He creates well crafted characters, has a fabulous sense of humor (at least in his Bernie Rhodenbarr books), and weaves great tales that conclude with satisfying endings. None of that was apparent in this book, however.
Killing Castro begins with a somewhat Elmore Leonard-like beginning--not a bad thing by any means--in which we are introduced to not one, but five Americans heading to Cuba in a bid to assassinate Fidel Castro. Two of the Americans are big bruisers. Two are small guys you would never expect. One is a professional killer.
I was a third of the way through the book before I realized we were following all five guys, seeing the story unfold through each man's eyes and not following a single storyline. That would not have been bad had I understood from the beginning.
The characters were interesting enough. You had the hitman who falls in love with a Cuban girl, the bank teller who's dying of cancer, the hot-head on the run for a murder, the thug with no morals, and the student avenging a death in the family. These characters felt more like a supporting cast in need of a typically strong Lawrence Block protagonist, but that protagonist never showed. Neither did Mr. Block's great sense of humor.
And the ending? Well, this book ends (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!> in a The Lady or the Tiger sort of way. Sometimes non-endings work. This one most certainly did not work for me.
Between the confusion in the beginning and the disappointment at the end, I often found myself entertained.
I'm still giving this book three stars. It still has Lawrence Block's fingerprints all over it. It has his DNA. Let me tell you, any book with Lawrence Block's DNA in it is not going to be all bad.
Lawrence Block is a great crime writer. He creates well crafted characters, has a fabulous sense of humor (at least in his Bernie Rhodenbarr books), and weaves great tales that conclude with satisfying endings. None of that was apparent in this book, however.
Killing Castro begins with a somewhat Elmore Leonard-like beginning--not a bad thing by any means--in which we are introduced to not one, but five Americans heading to Cuba in a bid to assassinate Fidel Castro. Two of the Americans are big bruisers. Two are small guys you would never expect. One is a professional killer.
I was a third of the way through the book before I realized we were following all five guys, seeing the story unfold through each man's eyes and not following a single storyline. That would not have been bad had I understood from the beginning.
The characters were interesting enough. You had the hitman who falls in love with a Cuban girl, the bank teller who's dying of cancer, the hot-head on the run for a murder, the thug with no morals, and the student avenging a death in the family. These characters felt more like a supporting cast in need of a typically strong Lawrence Block protagonist, but that protagonist never showed. Neither did Mr. Block's great sense of humor.
And the ending? Well, this book ends (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!> in a The Lady or the Tiger sort of way. Sometimes non-endings work. This one most certainly did not work for me.
Between the confusion in the beginning and the disappointment at the end, I often found myself entertained.
I'm still giving this book three stars. It still has Lawrence Block's fingerprints all over it. It has his DNA. Let me tell you, any book with Lawrence Block's DNA in it is not going to be all bad.
November 30, 2014
Five men, each with their own motives and reasoning, are hired by Cuban expatriates and rebels to kill Fidel Castro. If any one of them succeeds, all the survivors are paid $20,000. The whole plot resides on a shoe-string budget—some of the would-be killers have to get into Cuba on their own power and dime—as well as the assumption that any of the five will be able to do the dirty deed. That thin premise builds up a tense two-hundred page story.
As each of the characters’ motives are revealed, and as they change over the days they spend waiting for Castro to pass by, the thriller starts to amp up. Some of the characters have personal problems—one is simply burned out, another is dying, and most of them are completely inexperienced. Motives and goals shift, and with so much on the line, the book really gets the blood flowing around the halfway point, wrapping up in a crescendo of action as all the killers’ varied plans are enacted. It’s a nice combination of characters, some unsavory, others naïve; they have a little depth to them, but only one does much development.
Instead, it’s interesting to see each of their plots pan out—or fail trying. Inter-party conflict, the lack of proper planning and training, and sheer dumb luck all conspire against these would-be assassins. The multi-angled, web-like plot is the novel’s strength: all these diverse characters, intertwined and criss-crossing in their endeavors to assassinate Fidel Castro.
The novel is a simple potboiler designed around news headlines of its time. It’s a decent fast-paced '60s thriller, though it still manages to humanize and develop the characters, making it an enjoyable read. Like most of the Hard Case books, it made a good read over a couple of days, and was definitely entertaining, if brief. I enjoyed it; better yet, it introduced me to the novels of Lawrence Block. (Which is, honestly, one of the big reasons I read Hard Case Crime: to be introduced to major authors.)
Full review (and other Hard Case reviews) found here.
As each of the characters’ motives are revealed, and as they change over the days they spend waiting for Castro to pass by, the thriller starts to amp up. Some of the characters have personal problems—one is simply burned out, another is dying, and most of them are completely inexperienced. Motives and goals shift, and with so much on the line, the book really gets the blood flowing around the halfway point, wrapping up in a crescendo of action as all the killers’ varied plans are enacted. It’s a nice combination of characters, some unsavory, others naïve; they have a little depth to them, but only one does much development.
Instead, it’s interesting to see each of their plots pan out—or fail trying. Inter-party conflict, the lack of proper planning and training, and sheer dumb luck all conspire against these would-be assassins. The multi-angled, web-like plot is the novel’s strength: all these diverse characters, intertwined and criss-crossing in their endeavors to assassinate Fidel Castro.
The novel is a simple potboiler designed around news headlines of its time. It’s a decent fast-paced '60s thriller, though it still manages to humanize and develop the characters, making it an enjoyable read. Like most of the Hard Case books, it made a good read over a couple of days, and was definitely entertaining, if brief. I enjoyed it; better yet, it introduced me to the novels of Lawrence Block. (Which is, honestly, one of the big reasons I read Hard Case Crime: to be introduced to major authors.)
Full review (and other Hard Case reviews) found here.
July 31, 2013
I picked this book up expecting it to detail the 638 ways that the CIA has attempted to assassinate Castro (�If avoiding assassination was an Olympic Sport, I�d be a gold medalist�), though it�s actually a fiction story about a hypothetical what could have happened on one of those attempts. Still, just based on the subject matter, I couldn�t put it down and breezed through quickly somewhere between flying over Hawaii and Fiji. A highly plausible story written ~20years ago that really develops well the different characters sent on this mission. And some great quotes that really capture well the reality of the situation: �He�s a bastard and a son-of-a-bitch. But Batista was just as big a bastard. The average Joe didn�t eat steak and still doesn�t. They�ve got wholesale executions and no democracy and it�s easy to find a lot of reasons to put Castro down. But you get back to the average Joe and he doesn�t care about these reasons. He�s more interested in eating better and being pushed around less. And all the things he finds wrong he can sit back and blame the Yankees for them, because that�s what Loudmouth Castro tells him, over and over again, ad nauseum.. The average Joe is still on Castro�s side or, at least, not definitely against him.� True 20+years ago, and true today� not a bad descriptor of Chavez either.
Also astutely points out the downsides of dictatorships, as one revolutionary who began in pursuit of noble ideals such as democracy ultimately saw himself as taking such a role himself. �This was the revolution, this was the rising of the people � with Manuel already hungry for power, long before Castro was dead. This was the revolution� In time, Manuel or someone like him, would be the dictator � probably as despotic a one as Castro, perhaps worse.� And� �The switch from traitor to hero is too sudden, the new role too difficult to play properly. There have been exceptions � George Washington in America, for one. But the exceptions are few and far between. It is all too simple for the men who overthrow dictars to step nimly into the dictator�s shoes, all too easy for the liberator to place his own chains upon his nation.� Ahh, so true.
Also astutely points out the downsides of dictatorships, as one revolutionary who began in pursuit of noble ideals such as democracy ultimately saw himself as taking such a role himself. �This was the revolution, this was the rising of the people � with Manuel already hungry for power, long before Castro was dead. This was the revolution� In time, Manuel or someone like him, would be the dictator � probably as despotic a one as Castro, perhaps worse.� And� �The switch from traitor to hero is too sudden, the new role too difficult to play properly. There have been exceptions � George Washington in America, for one. But the exceptions are few and far between. It is all too simple for the men who overthrow dictars to step nimly into the dictator�s shoes, all too easy for the liberator to place his own chains upon his nation.� Ahh, so true.
February 19, 2011
Most Hard Case Crime titles are quick reads, and this one is no exception. The most interesting aspect of the book is its history: written by Block under a psuedonym he never used again (the cover text doesn't tell us what that name was, and I'm too lazy to go find out right now), and out of print for close to 50 years. The book was written after Castro came to power but a year before the Cuban Missle Crisis. Block alternates the fictional story of 5 average Americans hired to sneak into Cuba and kill Castro with chapters that are essentially non-fiction outlining Castro's life and rise to power.
The writing starts out a little rough -- Block seems to have problems with switching between different characters' point of view in the first chapter especially (the jump from Turner's point of view to Fenton's is particularly jarring). Once the characters get to Cuba and are split up, it becomes easier for Block to move between them and even, once, move into the POV of a supporting character.
None of the characters are especially likable, and the female characters (all supporting) fill the roles required of them (emotionally injured victim, nurturing matron, sexpot) without being given any added depth. This is a fine 1960s thriller, plenty of gunplay and intrigue. The ending is a bit of a let-down but really -- you sorta know from the get-go that they're not going to succeed. It's like watching a movie about the Titanic; you can't complain when the ship hits the iceberg and sinks.
Kudos to Hard Case from bringing another out of print book back into print.
The writing starts out a little rough -- Block seems to have problems with switching between different characters' point of view in the first chapter especially (the jump from Turner's point of view to Fenton's is particularly jarring). Once the characters get to Cuba and are split up, it becomes easier for Block to move between them and even, once, move into the POV of a supporting character.
None of the characters are especially likable, and the female characters (all supporting) fill the roles required of them (emotionally injured victim, nurturing matron, sexpot) without being given any added depth. This is a fine 1960s thriller, plenty of gunplay and intrigue. The ending is a bit of a let-down but really -- you sorta know from the get-go that they're not going to succeed. It's like watching a movie about the Titanic; you can't complain when the ship hits the iceberg and sinks.
Kudos to Hard Case from bringing another out of print book back into print.
July 27, 2009
Damn good international-political-crime thriller by the damn good Lawrence Block. Follows a number of important characters through a fairly short book, so it feels much like a series of intertwined novellas. But whatever you call it, I loved it. It's fantastically sleazy, violent as hell and lit up with a twelve-pack of nasty. This is utterly hard-boiled stuff -- bitter and beautiful.
Block wrote this in 1961 and it feels remarkably alive to read it today. It's particularly interesting viewed alongside James Ellroy's American Tabloid, part of which covers the same ground and has a very similar voice. Weirdly, because I rather thought of Ellroy's voice in that book as being unique. Block writes more fluidly, less choppily, but there's a lot of Killing Castro in American Tabloid, which I found way interesting because I love that book.
If you have yet to discover Block, reading this or his Grifter's Game could make you a convert. Two very different books, both among the best in the genre.
Block wrote this in 1961 and it feels remarkably alive to read it today. It's particularly interesting viewed alongside James Ellroy's American Tabloid, part of which covers the same ground and has a very similar voice. Weirdly, because I rather thought of Ellroy's voice in that book as being unique. Block writes more fluidly, less choppily, but there's a lot of Killing Castro in American Tabloid, which I found way interesting because I love that book.
If you have yet to discover Block, reading this or his Grifter's Game could make you a convert. Two very different books, both among the best in the genre.
September 18, 2016
Fascinating and quite strong early block novel. Five men with very different reasons for doing so are all recruited to try to assassinate Castro--this in a book published in 1961, only two years after he took power in Cuba! Killing Castro, though, is really only the hook on which to hang the character study Block engages in of the five men, all of whom (or most of whom, anyway) are transformed in unexpected ways by their involvement in the plot. Block does not stint on the violence or salacious sexuality (only PG-rated, mind you; this is a 1960 non-porn novel, after all) one expects in pupl fiction, but it is distinctly put in the service of some fairly intriguing, if not particularly complex, characterization. amazingly--SPOILER ALERT!--Block ends the book with Castro actually getting assassinated. Perhaps in 1960 it seemed inevitable that Castro would not last long. Regardless, that's an audacious move, even when dealing with the leader of a country widely reviled in the US. Indeed, part of the novel is Block's account of how Castro took power and how doing so changed him (or allowed him to reveal his true colours, perhaps), paralleling Castro to his own protagonists. Castro does not come off terribly well, but Block does not go out of his way to make him a cardboard mosnter, either. Fascinating, and well worth reading for fans of pulp fiction.
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