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Invincible
Jake Billings is usually cool under pressure, but when two stick-up kids rob his record store, Jake opens fire on them, landing him in prison. Five days in, he receives an anonymous letter telling him that his days are numbered. But before he can find out who’s behind the threats, Jake is stabbed and ends up in a coma.
When he wakes in a hospital bed two years later, things have His prison sentence has been commuted, his girlfriend is fiercely independent, and his side piece has gotten out of the street life altogether. But one thing Jake’s enemy still wants him dead and is powerful enough to track him down no matter where he hides.
On the run, and with rumors circulating about a powerful, phantomlike gang called the 300 Crew, Jake will need to rely on his Trust no one—not the law, not his girl, not the street cats he helped out years ago, not even his own blood.
When he wakes in a hospital bed two years later, things have His prison sentence has been commuted, his girlfriend is fiercely independent, and his side piece has gotten out of the street life altogether. But one thing Jake’s enemy still wants him dead and is powerful enough to track him down no matter where he hides.
On the run, and with rumors circulating about a powerful, phantomlike gang called the 300 Crew, Jake will need to rely on his Trust no one—not the law, not his girl, not the street cats he helped out years ago, not even his own blood.
- GenresFiction
225 pages, Paperback
First published May 26, 2010
11 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 17, 2010
Trapped in a web of deceit
I will start out by saying I was a lot Leary of reading this book by a rapper who is adding "author" to the resume. I will follow up by saying I was pleasantly surprised by the story line. The characters… the turn of events were surprisingly unexpected. While some I knew, others were very much a shock.
We meet Jake who is doing time in the infamous jail at Rikers Island. When he receives a death note he can't pin point where it comes from as he has done lots of dirt in the past. His girlfriend Kim has decided while she loves him she is not doing this bid with him so at this point if it wasn't for bad luck he would have no luck at all. When he gets into a jail house fight he ends up in a coma, when he wakes up 2 years later with limited memory the death threat is still there and now he can trust no one - friend or foe.
With the multitude of characters I loved the fact that none were useless and all are worthy of honorable mention. Author and I don't mind calling him that, author Styles P sums up the story and ties up all the loose ins. For those that don't know he wrote this story on his sidekick and he has since upgraded to a blackberry. I look forward to reading the story he's now writing on his blackberry.
SiStar Tea
ARC Book Club Inc.
5 star rating
I will start out by saying I was a lot Leary of reading this book by a rapper who is adding "author" to the resume. I will follow up by saying I was pleasantly surprised by the story line. The characters… the turn of events were surprisingly unexpected. While some I knew, others were very much a shock.
We meet Jake who is doing time in the infamous jail at Rikers Island. When he receives a death note he can't pin point where it comes from as he has done lots of dirt in the past. His girlfriend Kim has decided while she loves him she is not doing this bid with him so at this point if it wasn't for bad luck he would have no luck at all. When he gets into a jail house fight he ends up in a coma, when he wakes up 2 years later with limited memory the death threat is still there and now he can trust no one - friend or foe.
With the multitude of characters I loved the fact that none were useless and all are worthy of honorable mention. Author and I don't mind calling him that, author Styles P sums up the story and ties up all the loose ins. For those that don't know he wrote this story on his sidekick and he has since upgraded to a blackberry. I look forward to reading the story he's now writing on his blackberry.
SiStar Tea
ARC Book Club Inc.
5 star rating
May 27, 2012
I'd been planning on reading this for awhile and I finally had it mailed to me two weeks or so ago. It worked out that I could read it right away so I started.
Invincible isn't a bad book. It's unrealistic but a lot of urban fiction is. That part didn't really get to much too much even though I prefer my fiction as realistic as possible usually.
There are some small details that would really have helped the story flow better - the use of more contractions, less exclamation points in character conversations, more slang, etc. I haven't met many street thugs who will speak the following sentence as such, "I will go with you later." To have that one sentence flow better, in a book like this, would be, "I'll go with you later." That one contraction helps immensely. (That sentence isn't take directly from the book.)
There were a few times that I was beginning to get confused but that didn't last long and was usually explained fairly well.
All in all I can say I think Styles P can tell a story. An editor should have caught the things I noticed and it would have turned this into a 4 or 4.5 star book for me.
Invincible isn't a bad book. It's unrealistic but a lot of urban fiction is. That part didn't really get to much too much even though I prefer my fiction as realistic as possible usually.
There are some small details that would really have helped the story flow better - the use of more contractions, less exclamation points in character conversations, more slang, etc. I haven't met many street thugs who will speak the following sentence as such, "I will go with you later." To have that one sentence flow better, in a book like this, would be, "I'll go with you later." That one contraction helps immensely. (That sentence isn't take directly from the book.)
There were a few times that I was beginning to get confused but that didn't last long and was usually explained fairly well.
All in all I can say I think Styles P can tell a story. An editor should have caught the things I noticed and it would have turned this into a 4 or 4.5 star book for me.
June 21, 2011
This book was a good read...I read it in only one day!! shocked by some things...ending was sad..but overall good read!
September 16, 2024
Invincible by David Styles, better known by his rap name of Styles P., is his freshman novel debut. Although he is a lot more chill nowadays, I’ve followed his rap career for some time and back then, he claimed to be the hardest rapper out and in the rap game, that’s not a title anyone can just claim without either repercussions (hopefully via music only) or without support from your peers. Known for his hardcore street lyrics and rhymes, I was very curious to see how his years as a rapper would transform into the longer form of a novel instead of just a two to three minute song. To be honest, I was quite impressed. However, it was easy for me to spot some of the awkwardness in this debut novel.
“When it comes to being locked up, sometimes I wake up happy that I’m locked up because if I was free someone would probably be getting killed right now.” - Clips
I can’t lie. I read almost 40% of the book in the first sitting. The story of Jake Billings along with the constant paranoia he has to deal with at every corner and every minute is insane. The pacing of the story is fast, so something is always happening. Jake is always planning and making moves to ensure that he stays alive long enough to discover who wants him dead. The fact that he cannot trust anymore makes his paranoia that much more claustrophobic. Be prepared to expect a lot of violence in this novel. In addition, the n**** word will also be used a lot.
Some things are hard to kill and sometimes it’s just not your time. There are men who have been in war for years and come home untouched. Then you have those who die the first time they step on the battlefield. A strong will and strong spirit is hard to break! - Frank
So I don’t have many issues with the novel except for one major point. A lot of the dialogue, especially with the villains and with Phil specifically, sounded very corny. I just couldn’t picture someone with his profile talking like that. I believe it may also be attributed to the overuse of the exclamation marks in the dialogue. For this reason alone, it made some of the characters themselves a bit unbelievable. As I mentioned earlier, this can likely be attributed to his first novel being published. If he decides to write future novels, I’m thinking his writing would be more polished. Being that this novel came out in 2010, and I don’t see any other having been published since then, this is unlikely to happen now.
Being that Styles P. is also one of my favorite rappers, I had to leave a couple of his more memorable lines:
“Bust my gun at the sun just to sit in the shade”
“Don’t you ever get talk of killin me, word to Allah, I squeeze the burner in your face till it turn to tar, what!”
“When it comes to being locked up, sometimes I wake up happy that I’m locked up because if I was free someone would probably be getting killed right now.” - Clips
I can’t lie. I read almost 40% of the book in the first sitting. The story of Jake Billings along with the constant paranoia he has to deal with at every corner and every minute is insane. The pacing of the story is fast, so something is always happening. Jake is always planning and making moves to ensure that he stays alive long enough to discover who wants him dead. The fact that he cannot trust anymore makes his paranoia that much more claustrophobic. Be prepared to expect a lot of violence in this novel. In addition, the n**** word will also be used a lot.
Some things are hard to kill and sometimes it’s just not your time. There are men who have been in war for years and come home untouched. Then you have those who die the first time they step on the battlefield. A strong will and strong spirit is hard to break! - Frank
So I don’t have many issues with the novel except for one major point. A lot of the dialogue, especially with the villains and with Phil specifically, sounded very corny. I just couldn’t picture someone with his profile talking like that. I believe it may also be attributed to the overuse of the exclamation marks in the dialogue. For this reason alone, it made some of the characters themselves a bit unbelievable. As I mentioned earlier, this can likely be attributed to his first novel being published. If he decides to write future novels, I’m thinking his writing would be more polished. Being that this novel came out in 2010, and I don’t see any other having been published since then, this is unlikely to happen now.
Being that Styles P. is also one of my favorite rappers, I had to leave a couple of his more memorable lines:
“Bust my gun at the sun just to sit in the shade”
“Don’t you ever get talk of killin me, word to Allah, I squeeze the burner in your face till it turn to tar, what!”
April 8, 2024
A very good read. I'm an avid fan of his music but I was a little sceptical when I saw he had written a book. It was a pleasant surprise. I read this several years ago, its been on my book shelf since and I remember the storyline like it was the other day. Well thought out, though slightly unrealistic in some parts. But what fiction isn't? Great rapper, great author. Recommended.
February 7, 2021
Jake is a great character. Arrested and while he’s in prison someone tries to kill him. Jake is trying to figure out who’s got the hit out on him. Turns out to be his uncle.......
Good book by one of my fav emcees, S.P. The Ghost
Good book by one of my fav emcees, S.P. The Ghost
March 16, 2023
Big fan of styles p love the book couldn't put it down
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2012
I loved the book. It was not graphic, not a lot of swearing. Good plot. Mystery so to speak. The ending left me hanging. I think there maybe a second part? I went to a book signing and met Styles P. I am not a rap, but he has shown me that he can write! Please do more!
I read the book in one day! It kept me that interested.
I read the book in one day! It kept me that interested.
February 10, 2014
This book is effortless, and so good at what it does. It draws you in so quickly and you ride with the characters every step of the way trying to imagine what else could go wrong for the main characters. There is no letting up with this book, ever page is dripping with juice and makes you want to take a stab at the life of a man on the run from, well EVERYBODY
May 6, 2015
Styles P knows how to create an interesting story line. Authentically street, I never saw a phony moment in the book. The omniscient narrator sounding like a street dude through me off a little bit (not used to that), but I guess it makes sense. The brother effectively diversified his artistry with this book. Pinero the Novelist!
February 23, 2011
Final Rating 4.5 Stars
June 13, 2011
When I found out Styles P wrote a book I wanted to read it, wondering if it would be good. Now that I've finished the book it was insane I loved it definitely a good read.
August 23, 2011
Good Read
January 5, 2013
It was a good book kinda had doubts at first cause i dont like to read many of these rap artists books i was always disappointed in the past but. styles prove me otherwise great read.
Read
August 21, 2013A hot debut novel from a underrated MC
August 27, 2017
Enjoyed P reading the audibles verison himself!
March 13, 2018
This book was written by Style P.
A rapper.
On a Blackberry Sidekick!
And, it will still blow your mind away. The book reads like a film. Highly recommended.
A rapper.
On a Blackberry Sidekick!
And, it will still blow your mind away. The book reads like a film. Highly recommended.
November 4, 2019
I didn't think I would like this but...WOW!
October 28, 2011
This novel was action packed. It felt like I was looking @ a movie. Good read, I so enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews