Review of Natural Born Gangster: The Legend of Chris Bell
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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Natural Born Gangster: The Legend of Chris Bell" by C J H Moore.]
In the conventional world, leaders simply inspire to win people’s cooperation. However, as I discovered in C. J. H. Moore’s novel, Natural Born Gangster: The Legend of Chris Bell, this adage doesn’t hold in the underworld. As Teddy, one of the minor characters in the novel, swears, he’d lead himself if they didn’t have a leader. And because of the “creed,” which is practiced by all and sundry in the underworld, the best inspiring message would simply fall on deaf ears if the bearer of the news couldn’t fight. So, with the stakes so high, how did a thirteen-year-old boy get to lead a bunch of hardcore and bloodthirsty criminals?
Chris Leon Bell was born to Mabel Lee Bell in 1969 at the Cook County Hospital in Markham near Chicago. At the age of nine years, Chris joined the Good Guys Wear Black (GGWB) karate outfit. Around the same time, his friend, Vincent Carter, gave him the name Red Dragon after he saw him fight. Still, on the epithet, there was the added fact that his hair turned red in winter. As a ghetto boy, Chris couldn’t escape the influence of the two main gangs in Chicago at that time, namely the Disciples, and the Vice Lords. Within no time, Chris joined the Insane Vice Lords (IVL). And as part of his initiation rites, he hunted Walter Burkes, his long-time school bully, and beat the living daylights out of him.
I enjoyed reading this novel because I learned a lot about the criminal underworld, in terms of who rules it and where and how they conduct their business. Moore effectively panders to the reader by contrasting the workings of the criminal mind to that of the incorrupt intellect. In the former category, you have all the feuding criminal elements spewing a lot of blood and hate, as they fight endless turf wars for influence or revenge. In the latter group, on the other hand, you have the supposedly good guys, like the FBI, CIA, the marines, and even the special forces. I say “supposedly” because, as the story unfolds, you’ll wonder just who the criminal element is.
I also found the historical black narrative refreshing. Chris, as a growing black youth, was mentored on black history by characters going by the names of Old Man Madi and Minister Monroe. His mother, Mabel, on the flip side, was instrumental in instilling a strong work ethic in the young Chris. As one character in the novel observes (Mrs. Barbara Weinstein), as a kid, Chris “…knew more about hairdressing and cosmetology than his mom.” I think all these realities were instrumental in nurturing Chris’s leadership qualities ahead of time.
In summary, I found nothing to dislike in this novel, as even the editing errors were few and insufficient to penalize the author. I, accordingly, rate the novel 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to someone looking for something frightening (due to the gore and violence) and, at the same time, thoughtful (a lot of sobering moments on the ongoing war on drugs). Besides, if you are okay with jumping into the underworld head first, it’s an excellent choice for your next crime thriller. At the same time, it may come out as distasteful to someone averse to extreme curse words and obscenities in their novel.
******
Natural Born Gangster: The Legend of Chris Bell
View: on Bookshelves |
In the conventional world, leaders simply inspire to win people’s cooperation. However, as I discovered in C. J. H. Moore’s novel, Natural Born Gangster: The Legend of Chris Bell, this adage doesn’t hold in the underworld. As Teddy, one of the minor characters in the novel, swears, he’d lead himself if they didn’t have a leader. And because of the “creed,” which is practiced by all and sundry in the underworld, the best inspiring message would simply fall on deaf ears if the bearer of the news couldn’t fight. So, with the stakes so high, how did a thirteen-year-old boy get to lead a bunch of hardcore and bloodthirsty criminals?
Chris Leon Bell was born to Mabel Lee Bell in 1969 at the Cook County Hospital in Markham near Chicago. At the age of nine years, Chris joined the Good Guys Wear Black (GGWB) karate outfit. Around the same time, his friend, Vincent Carter, gave him the name Red Dragon after he saw him fight. Still, on the epithet, there was the added fact that his hair turned red in winter. As a ghetto boy, Chris couldn’t escape the influence of the two main gangs in Chicago at that time, namely the Disciples, and the Vice Lords. Within no time, Chris joined the Insane Vice Lords (IVL). And as part of his initiation rites, he hunted Walter Burkes, his long-time school bully, and beat the living daylights out of him.
I enjoyed reading this novel because I learned a lot about the criminal underworld, in terms of who rules it and where and how they conduct their business. Moore effectively panders to the reader by contrasting the workings of the criminal mind to that of the incorrupt intellect. In the former category, you have all the feuding criminal elements spewing a lot of blood and hate, as they fight endless turf wars for influence or revenge. In the latter group, on the other hand, you have the supposedly good guys, like the FBI, CIA, the marines, and even the special forces. I say “supposedly” because, as the story unfolds, you’ll wonder just who the criminal element is.
I also found the historical black narrative refreshing. Chris, as a growing black youth, was mentored on black history by characters going by the names of Old Man Madi and Minister Monroe. His mother, Mabel, on the flip side, was instrumental in instilling a strong work ethic in the young Chris. As one character in the novel observes (Mrs. Barbara Weinstein), as a kid, Chris “…knew more about hairdressing and cosmetology than his mom.” I think all these realities were instrumental in nurturing Chris’s leadership qualities ahead of time.
In summary, I found nothing to dislike in this novel, as even the editing errors were few and insufficient to penalize the author. I, accordingly, rate the novel 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to someone looking for something frightening (due to the gore and violence) and, at the same time, thoughtful (a lot of sobering moments on the ongoing war on drugs). Besides, if you are okay with jumping into the underworld head first, it’s an excellent choice for your next crime thriller. At the same time, it may come out as distasteful to someone averse to extreme curse words and obscenities in their novel.
******
Natural Born Gangster: The Legend of Chris Bell
View: on Bookshelves |
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