H.N.I.C.

by Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, Steven Savile (Editor)

Overview

Prodigy, from the legendary hip-hop group Mobb Deep, launches Infamous Books with a story of loyalty, vengeance, and greed.

“Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale, H.N.I.C. peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance.” —Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Pappy tries to break out of the game before the head of his crew, Black, gets them all killed. Against his better judgment Pappy agrees to do one last job, but only because it’s the price of his freedom. He knows Black can’t be trusted. He knows his “brother” would rather see him dead than let him walk away. Yet he still agrees to do the job because Black isn’t the only one who can’t be trusted. Sometimes you have to kill for what you want.

Further developing the stark realism and uncompromising streetwise narratives of his lyrics, H.N.I.C. cements Prodigy’s position as one of the foremost chroniclers of contemporary urban life. Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale, H.N.I.C. peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617752360
Publisher:	Akashic Books, Ltd.
Publication date:	07/16/2013
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

ALBERT “PRODIGY” JOHNSON (1974–2017), as one half of the hip-hop phenomenon Mobb Deep, sold millions of albums and recorded with the elite of hip-hop, R&B, and rock. Prodigy was the founder and curator of Infamous Books, and the author of the memoir My Infamous Life and coauthor, with Steven Savile, of H.N.I.C.

STEVEN SAVILE, a multiple finalist for the British Fantasy Award, has written for Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval, Stargate, Warhammer, Sláine, Fireborn, Pathfinder, and other popular game and comic series. He wrote the story for the international best-selling computer game Battlefield 3, which sold over five million copies in its week of release, and served as head writer for the popular online children's game Spineworld. He is coauthor, with Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, of H.N.I.C.

Editorial Reviews

"H.N.I.C. is a quick yet engaging read that kept me flipping the pages to see what would happen next."

best-selling author of Animal K’wan

"H.N.I.C. is written by Prodigy himself and shows the extent to which good rappers can make good storytellers."

Brooklyn Based

"You can tell that a true lyricist created this gritty tale about greed, betrayal, and street romance. The wordplay is dead on. Combine that with the details that give the freshness of immediate experience and you are no longer reading the story, you are suddenly a character in it. This is what good writing does—it puts you right there in the middle of the action. Excellent read. Salute!"
—Miasha, best-selling author of Secret Society

"Prodigy is a proven storyteller and his skills spill over into the literature game effortlessly. This is a five-star read."
—JaQuavis Coleman, best-selling coauthor of the Cartel series

"H.N.I.C. is a quick yet engaging read that kept me flipping the pages to see what would happen next."
—K'wan, best-selling author of Animal

From the Publisher

The urban setting is unnamed but familiar in this brief, bloody tale of wasted lives lived short and hard, the first offering from Akashic’s new Infamous Books imprint. Patrick “Pappy” Carter hopes to score enough money to leave town and use his self-taught computer skills to start a new life. Unpredictable Maurice Black loves only the adrenaline rush of being in control and in danger regardless of risk. Black’s girlfriend, Tonya Deal, operates in a drug-induced fog and suffers whatever treatment Black subjects her to while secretly caring for Carter. Carter’s “last job” with Black and his crew goes bad quickly: a man is killed, and the gang leaves empty-handed. A spiral of violence begins with Black’s insistence on one more job, which Carter is powerless to resist and which will test his love, loyalty, and survival skills. Rapper Johnson (of Mobb Deep) and fantasy writer Savile (The Hollow Earth) only skim the emotional surface of this all-too-common human tragedy. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"In a genre that too often places incorrect ebonics in the mouths of black characters and fails to cross the empathy gap to get into their heads, Savile and Prodigy arrive at a seamless voice that is a refreshing take on crime fiction tropes . . . if tone and texture are what you’re looking for in your hardcore literature . . . H.N.I.C. delivers the goods."

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