Mystery
![Don Winslow - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B00455VVTK.jpg)
City of Dreams: A Novel (City, 2)
Following the epic, ambitious, instant New York Times bestseller City on Fire, "The Godfather for our generation" (Adrian McKinty), comes the dramatic second novel in an epic crime trilogy from Don Winslow, #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cartel trilogy (The Power of the Dog, The Cartel and The Border).
Hollywood.
The city where dreams are made.
On the losing side of a bloody East Coast crime war, Danny Ryan is now on the run. The Mafia, the cops, the FBI all want him dead or in prison. With his little boy, his elderly father and the tattered remnants of his loyal crew of soldiers, he makes the classic American migration to California to start a new life.
A quiet, peaceful existence.
But the Feds track him down and want Danny to do them a favor that could make him a fortune or kill him.
And when Hollywood starts shooting a film based on his former life, Danny demands a piece of the action and begins to rebuild his criminal empire.
Then he falls in love.
With a beautiful movie star who has a dark past of her own.
As their worlds collide in an explosion that could destroy them both, Danny Ryan has to fight for his life in a city where dreams are born.
Or where they go to die.
From the shores of Rhode Island to the deserts of California where bodies disappear, from the power corridors of Washington where the real criminals operate to the fabled movie studios of Hollywood where the real money is made, City of Dreams is a sweeping saga of family, love, revenge, survival and the fierce reality behind the dream.
Hollywood.
The city where dreams are made.
On the losing side of a bloody East Coast crime war, Danny Ryan is now on the run. The Mafia, the cops, the FBI all want him dead or in prison. With his little boy, his elderly father and the tattered remnants of his loyal crew of soldiers, he makes the classic American migration to California to start a new life.
A quiet, peaceful existence.
But the Feds track him down and want Danny to do them a favor that could make him a fortune or kill him.
And when Hollywood starts shooting a film based on his former life, Danny demands a piece of the action and begins to rebuild his criminal empire.
Then he falls in love.
With a beautiful movie star who has a dark past of her own.
As their worlds collide in an explosion that could destroy them both, Danny Ryan has to fight for his life in a city where dreams are born.
Or where they go to die.
From the shores of Rhode Island to the deserts of California where bodies disappear, from the power corridors of Washington where the real criminals operate to the fabled movie studios of Hollywood where the real money is made, City of Dreams is a sweeping saga of family, love, revenge, survival and the fierce reality behind the dream.
Editorial Reviews
"It's a crime classic. Winslow's best book, by far. You won't put it down." - Stephen King
"Don Winslow is one of three living crime writers that I am hopelessly addicted to. City Of Dreams is a mesmerizing coast-to-coast crime epic. Danny Ryan is a good guy, a bad guy, a wonderfully complicated, unforgettable human. City of Dreams is part of a trilogy but you can start anywhere. So go ahead, start." - James Patterson
"The second volume in Winslow's Danny Ryan trilogy delivers on all the promise of its predecessor. . . the Danny Ryan saga draws great power from its consummate portrait of a man whose unshakable humanity imperils him just as it offers the possibility of salvation." - Booklist (starred review)
"With the Danny Ryan trilogy, Winslow seems destined to claim a place beside Mario Puzo's The Godfather on the Mount Rushmore of American crime fiction." - Associated Press
"[City of Dreams]maintains the fierce trajectory of its predecessor, City on Fire. . . . As before with the prodigiously gifted Winslow, we are presented with a cinematic vision in which the moral equivalence of criminal and police organizations is rigorously counterpointed." - Financial Times
"[City of Dreams] will make readers anxious for the final book of the trilogy." - Denver Post
"Winslow has written an organized crime saga that sits somewhere between the intimate and the epic, between Mystic River and The Godfather, and stands with the best in its genre." - Sydney Morning Herald on City on Fire
"A masterwork of mob fiction. . . . City on Fire does for Rhode Island what David Chase's The Sopranos did for New Jersey. . . This novel, the first in a planned trilogy, could well end up in the American-mob canon along with the works of Puzo, Scorsese and Chase." -
"Don Winslow is one of three living crime writers that I am hopelessly addicted to. City Of Dreams is a mesmerizing coast-to-coast crime epic. Danny Ryan is a good guy, a bad guy, a wonderfully complicated, unforgettable human. City of Dreams is part of a trilogy but you can start anywhere. So go ahead, start." - James Patterson
"The second volume in Winslow's Danny Ryan trilogy delivers on all the promise of its predecessor. . . the Danny Ryan saga draws great power from its consummate portrait of a man whose unshakable humanity imperils him just as it offers the possibility of salvation." - Booklist (starred review)
"With the Danny Ryan trilogy, Winslow seems destined to claim a place beside Mario Puzo's The Godfather on the Mount Rushmore of American crime fiction." - Associated Press
"[City of Dreams]maintains the fierce trajectory of its predecessor, City on Fire. . . . As before with the prodigiously gifted Winslow, we are presented with a cinematic vision in which the moral equivalence of criminal and police organizations is rigorously counterpointed." - Financial Times
"[City of Dreams] will make readers anxious for the final book of the trilogy." - Denver Post
"Winslow has written an organized crime saga that sits somewhere between the intimate and the epic, between Mystic River and The Godfather, and stands with the best in its genre." - Sydney Morning Herald on City on Fire
"A masterwork of mob fiction. . . . City on Fire does for Rhode Island what David Chase's The Sopranos did for New Jersey. . . This novel, the first in a planned trilogy, could well end up in the American-mob canon along with the works of Puzo, Scorsese and Chase." -
Readers Top Reviews
A+Acindy
Action-packed and very entertaining until the ending stumbles. Long dream or hallucinatory sequences are always self-indulgent and boring, begging for an editor to advise, “Murder your darlings.” Then (trying to avoid a spoiler here) we have someone behave completely out of character, ignoring his stated intentions, his obvious motivation for monetary compensation, and his reputation with his underlings. This turn was so preposterous that my first reaction was to wonder if it was actually a final hallucination.
William de RhamDa
Overall, I enjoyed this sequel to “City on Fire.” A 300-page crime novel about warring Irish and Italian criminal enterprises and some pretty shady federal agents, it’s well-plotted and moves quickly. I’m not sure how well it works as a stand-alone. In fact, I wrestled with the beginning, trying to remember who was who and what happened in “City on Fire.” Had I not read that (and so thoroughly enjoyed it), I might not have stuck with this one. But stick with it, I did, watching tragedy drive main character Danny Ryan from his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island out to Las Vegas and Hollywood to begin a new life with his very young son. Will he be able to leave his criminal past and find love, happiness, and peace? Or will that past follow him and pull him back into a morass of revenge and destruction? We're given a pretty good sense of what Hollywood and the film industry can be like. Las Vegas, however, is not given as thorough a treatment. If you enjoy novels and movies like “The Godfather,” “Goodfellas,” and “The Departed,” you may very well enjoy “City of Dreams.” But if you haven’t read “City on Fire,” I would start there.
Miguel TonniesWil
As allways very very well written. Quick paced and full fledged 3 dimensional characters. This second book of Winslow's new trilogy is a must read for fans, albeit not being on a par with the Border trilogy ( but then again, the Border is and will allways be a ten star pack of books). Eagerly waiting for the last installment!
