Official Review: Sin City Retribution by Rick Hart

[Poppy Drear]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sin City Retribution" by Rick Hart.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Sin City Retribution by Rick Hart uses a series of interconnected short stories to convey the experience of being a member of a motorcycle club. It's based heavily on the author's personal experience, and its style would be best described as slice-of-life. It certainly has no shortage of action, though - being a member of a biker club is notoriously dangerous, and Hart's life in the book is no exception. He takes readers along on a journey full of crashes, heartbreak, and more than his fair share of fights, all conveyed with a stunning amount of polish and heart.

The most striking thing about this book is how well it balances off-putting elements with genuinely heartwarming ones. The atmosphere of the club itself toes the line between a cult and a genuine found family. Members support each other at great cost to themselves but are still so terrified of appearing weak that Hart can't even let the club members know he has a cold. In the book, he often acts disproportionately violent towards people who he feels disrespected him, and he exhibits very little self-control. This is tempered by a genuine love of his fellow club members and a passion for riding motorcycles that make him hard to dislike, despite his wildly impulsive actions, making his character truly fascinating.

I cannot emphasize enough how thoroughly immersive this book's writing style is. It's simultaneously punchy and expressive, with details provided carefully and effectively to paint a stunning picture throughout the book. Many authors write about events they've experienced and people they've met, but the way Hart brings characters and settings to life speaks to a real passion for storytelling that is hard to come by in these kinds of books. The short story format allows Hart to focus on only the events that were most significant to him, and he does a great job of conveying his emotions to the reader in every scene. Narrative flow isn't sacrificed, though; the continuity and cast of characters, as well as a consistent timeline with only occasional flashbacks, make the story easy to follow.

It's also worth noting that many parts of this book are rather intense - Hart has an awful temper, so readers who are easily frightened by angry, violent men will want to avoid reading this. It was also a bit confusing to me that many of Hart's most unreasonable reactions, like running a truck off the road at over 80 miles per hour, were among his most celebrated. Ultimately, though, this seems like an attempt not to break fiction by acknowledging the foolhardiness of such actions, something that Hart in the book surely would never do.

Overall, for its vivid writing style and impressive storytelling, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I was able to find a handful of grammatical errors, but they were mostly just minor quotation mark issues and weren't too distracting. Fans of the motorcycle club lifestyle should certainly pick this one up, but it's still worth reading even if your interest in the topic is only marginal. It was a fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable read with vivid characters and settings, and I'll be looking out for the author's future work.

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Sin City Retribution
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Like ViziVoir's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

Thanks for the wonderful review. This isn't something I would normally read, but your review piqued my interest!

[Meg98]

Great review! This seems like a very unique story, and your comments about the author's writing style certainly are promising. I am very intrigued, and will be checking this one out! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Cheers:)

[Rachel Lea]

I know very little about the biker club life and culture, so I think this book would be quite the eye-opener for me. Great review!

[Nisha Ward]

The biker lifestyle is a sub-culture onto itself, so it's interesting that the author managed to capture it in a such a way that it works on the page. I don't know that we're supposed to question the logic of Hart's actions, but that's just me, though I think moral judgement is up to the reader. This is an excellent review, thank you.

[kandscreeley]

I love a book that I can really get involved in; something I can sink my teeth into. It sounds like this definitely does that, but I'm not really interested in motorcycles or motorcycle gangs. Therefore, I'm not sure I would truly enjoy this one. I did appreciate your review, though. Thanks!

[Ivana Tomaš]

The concept and subject itself of this book seems very interesting!
Taking into consideration that the book is about motorcycles, I'm really intrigued!
Very good review, thank you!

[Scarlet Nicoll]

Many authors write about events they've experienced and people they've met, but the way Hart brings characters and settings to life speaks to a real passion for storytelling that is hard to come by in these kinds of books.

If so, then this is a story worth while reading. Thank you for this candid account!

[Uinto]

Seems like the book provides some insights into the inner workings of a motorcycle club beyond a bunch of aging, leather clad guys commanding some big machines for motorbikes. But I wonder where the fun is if an individual would even fear not to come across as weak in the eyes of the others. Thanks for the review.

[Derrol]

Thanks to the reviewer,it sounds great the way the main character,Rick ,was convinced by his club member to like riding motorcycles,I dislike motorcycles too but I won't hestitate to know the way it happened.