Viper's Dream

Name: Viper's Dream
Brand: Dreamscape Media
Availability: InStock
Author: Jake Lamar
ISBN: 9781666646771

Author: Jake Lamar

Narrator: Leon Nixon

Unabridged: 6 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Published: 09/19/2023

Categories: Fiction, African American & Black Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Suspense & Thriller

Synopsis

Harlem, 1936. Clyde “The Viper” Morton boards a train from Alabama to Harlem to chase his dreams of being a jazz musician. When his talent fails him, he becomes caught up in the dangerous underbelly of Harlem’s drug trade, leaving him to decide what he's willing to give up and what he wants to fight for. A heartbreaking and fast-paced story charged with suspense, this stark look at Viper’s Black American experience uses its snappy, provocative narrative voice and endless plot twists to offer up a stunningly original, achingly beautiful listen about one man’s dreams of making it big and finding love in a world that wants to keep him down.

About Jake Lamar

Jake Lamar is the acclaimed author of several novels, essays, reviews, and short stories, as well as a memoir. Born in 1961, he grew up in the Bronx. After graduating from Harvard University, he spent six years writing for Time magazine. He has lived in Paris since 1993 and teaches creative writing at one of France's top universities, Sciences Po.

About Leon Nixon

Leon Nixon is a Los Angeles based voice actor who has narrated audiobook titles in a wide range of genres, including crime, mystery, science fiction, romance, and nonfiction. Classically trained as an actor and improviser, he can also be found performing on stage.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Dona's on April 09, 2023

Thank you to the author Jake Lamar, publishers Crooked Lane Books, and as always NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of VIPER'S DREAM. Viper is an aspiring musician in 1940s Harlem, still needing to pay the rent while he waits for his big break. He starts selling marijuana to his friends, eventual......more

Goodreads review by Tom on February 26, 2023

What a treat this is for fans of classic noir. Written with the highly stylised verve of the pulp legends of the past, it tells the story of Clyde 'Viper' Morton, a country boy who arrives in Harlem in 1936 with a trumpet and a dream... Only to find his true destiny lies with Sweet Mary Jane. We foll......more

Goodreads review by Maria on March 06, 2023

Novel set in 1940s to 1960s Harlem about an aspiring jazz musician, Viper. Realising he won't make it on the NY Jazz scene his life takes a turn when he meets some unsavory characters. Interesting plot with some good characters involving American history, drugs and murder - all centered around a lov......more

Goodreads review by Stitching on February 23, 2023

This story has really good bones, unfortunately I felt that I never got enough of Viper's inner life to get invested in him as a character or on his love for Harlem after he initially fell in love with it to get invested in the setting. I saw the things he did but it all felt clinical and it only ra......more