Review: City in Ruins by Don Winslow, performed by Ari Fliakos – Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Entertainment
Yesterday, bestselling and award-winning author Don Winslow released City in Ruins, the conclusion to the Danny Ryan Trilogy and the last book of his illustrious career! What debuted three years ago with City on Fire trilogy, and continued last year with City of Dreams, concludes today with City in Ruins.
I started listening immediately after my pre-order for the audiobook arrived and didn’t stop until the end. I spent all day with my AirPods in my ears, completely absorbed by these characters, their stories, and the world in which they live. Don Winslow is undoubtedly one of the best thriller writers out there and one of my favorite authors. I’ve enjoyed many of his books, including The Cartel, The Force, The Border, The Power of the Dog, California Fire and Life, Savages, and The Dawn Patrol, as audiobooks, and I can’t recommend these terrific stories enough.
This epic saga, portraying the brutal and bloody war between the Irish and Italian mafia in the ’80s and ’90s, is as well-written, captivating, gripping, and visceral as Mr. Winslow’s previous books that I mentioned above and has drawn comparisons from critics to such iconic fiction stories like The Sopranos and The Godfather.
The flawless writing style, the lifelike characters, and the way Mr. Winslow vividly describes every location, action, and series of events ensure that we, as listeners, are treated to another unforgettable story.
Ari Fliakos, a renowned actor, award-winning voiceover artist, and talented narrator, returns to the Danny Ryan saga and exquisitely brings to life the story and the characters of City in Ruins in another stellar performance.
He is just perfect for this story. He reads, he acts, he uses different voices for different characters, and he delights and entertains the listener from beginning to end.
City in Ruins is unputdownable, atmospheric, dramatic, visceral, completely immersive, and extremely entertaining! You can experience this as a standalone novel, but I highly recommend that you pick up the entire trilogy; it’s worth it, and you will get to spend a lot of time with these characters that feel so much alive.
I can’t believe this is the last adventure from Mr. Winslow, and I sincerely hope that he will reconsider bringing us more stories in the future. In case he ever gets to read this review, I just want to say a huge thank you for the entertainment and for the memories!
Starting February 2024, I am giving honorary awards to audiobooks that I enjoy very much, and City in Ruins by Don Winslow, performed by Ari Fliakos, is a fabulous audio production that absolutely deserves to receive the Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Entertainment.
To be considered for these awards, an audiobook needs to seamlessly combine flawless writing and narration in such a way as to elevate the narrative experience to the highest level of immersion and entertainment as humanly possible! These awards celebrate the cooperation between author and narrator and are awarded to them together.
Some of you here may already know that I am totally blind, but everything Mr. Winslow writes and Mr. Fliakos narrates spring to life in 1 million colors in my mind’s eye and that’s why they deserve the highest praise I’m able to give!
Victor Dima
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