Rat pack

by Shane Stevens

For three black teenagers from New York's ghetto, active participation in the violence of the inner city seems to be their only way of making it in a hostile world.

Genres: Crime

177 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Aka J.W. Rider
was an American author of crime novels. He was born in New York, New York to John and Caroline (Royale) Stevens. His novels include Go Down Dead (1966), Way Uptown in Another World (1971), Dead City (1973), Rat Pack (1974), By Reason of Insanity (1979), and The Anvil Chorus (1985). Stephen King has claimed to being a huge fan, and gave tribute to him in his book "The Dark Half", which features violent crime novels starring a character named 'Alexis Machine,' a reference to a character of the same name from the novel "Dead City." Appropriately Stevens was an intensely private person who avoided the limelight during his lifetime and has left many questions unanswered with his death.

Reviews

[Chad Eagleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once billed as "The American Clockwork Orange", Shane Stevens' novella is a brutal and hard book, but far more humane than Burgess' novel. As slim and sharp as a shiv, Rat Pack encompasses a single night of escalating violence as four troubled youths hunt the streets of New York City for the big score that will free them from their lives of crushing poverty in Harlem's rat-infested tenements.

Like all of his work, this book deserves rediscovery.

[Dragan Nanic · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had this on my to-read list since I read The Dark Half where King recommended it. However it was a huge disappointment. I really could not see anything in it, apart from one scene near the end where the protagonists are struggling to escape from the tunnel. It is quite intense and well paced and contains a detail I am sure King loved.

The book itself was very hard to find (I ran into it by accident browsing online marketplace for used books in Serbia) and for a good reason - there is no need for it at (and it should stay that way). Even if I try to categorize it as pulp it is simply not worth the time. The setup is rooted in prejudices (though author denies it and to be honest, I could not sense insult in it), the protagonists are sketchy at best and situations they face could have come from an adolescent's (wet) dream.

[Eeps · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sophomoric addition to a Shane Stevens collection. He attempts to push the envelope regarding racism and violence but doesn't quite manage it. Decent character development but you won't read this one twice.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gritty, intense night in the lives of four African-American boys. Johnny Apartment, Chester, Wolfie, and Jumper are on the prowl in New York City, looking for a big "score". They are victims of poverty and racism and they want to "take back what has been taken from them". Their night is filled with troubles and violence and their actions do not go unnoticed. But are they the aggressors or the victims? Sort of the nature vs. nature debate, in the big city. A good read, short and wound tightly.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

1975. Four black youths go on a crime-spree in New York City. Awesome gritty detail. I really felt sorry for them and kind of wanted them to get away even though by the end they'd robbed numerous people, stabbed a woman, raped another and finally killed one by accident. It really let you see into their heads, into how they felt they had no decent choices in life. Read it in a few hours.