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The Whyte Python World Tour
It’s Los Angeles, 1986, and metal rules the world. For aspiring drummer Rikki Thunder, life is good - even if he is sleeping in a condemned paint store and playing with a band that’s going nowhere.
But when he gets a shot to join L.A.’s hottest up-and-coming band, Whyte Python, Rikki’s young life turns up to 11. Soon he has a hit single scorching up the charts, and the new love of his life in the audience. Rikki couldn’t ask for anything more.
But good fortune can be deceiving. With the Cold War breathing its last gasps and American music blasting through the Iron Curtain, a youth revolution is taking hold - and a hair band is unknowingly playing host to the final battle for the hearts and minds of the Eastern Bloc.
Rikki Thunder soon realizes there is a deeper web of influence propelling Whyte Python, and the stakes for his mission - to spread peace, love, and epic shredding across the globe - are far more dangerous than he could ever imagine.
But when he gets a shot to join L.A.’s hottest up-and-coming band, Whyte Python, Rikki’s young life turns up to 11. Soon he has a hit single scorching up the charts, and the new love of his life in the audience. Rikki couldn’t ask for anything more.
But good fortune can be deceiving. With the Cold War breathing its last gasps and American music blasting through the Iron Curtain, a youth revolution is taking hold - and a hair band is unknowingly playing host to the final battle for the hearts and minds of the Eastern Bloc.
Rikki Thunder soon realizes there is a deeper web of influence propelling Whyte Python, and the stakes for his mission - to spread peace, love, and epic shredding across the globe - are far more dangerous than he could ever imagine.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published June 24, 2025
43 people are currently reading
8346 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 24, 2025
4.5 stars. The funniest book that I have read in a long while. Just loved it.
February 22, 2025
This a big dumb 80s action movie packed into a book. That’s one of the highest praises I can think of. An incredible premise that the CIA is using a hair metal band as a psy-op to destabilize Eastern Europe during the Cold War totally pays off. The characters are lovable (Buck Sweet, everyone!), the music will melt your face, the jokes are funny, the hair is big, and there are enough twists and turns to satisfy a spy thriller fan too. I could see this being an awesome movie or graphic novel.
June 23, 2025
I loved this book from page 1 because it grabs one's attention and does not let go. It is a truly unique and fun story that begins with a lonely young man who survived a horrible foster-home childhood through his love of music.
Now it's the rock and roll bar era on Southern California's Sunset Strip and protagonist Rikki is barely getting by as a member of one of the many mediocre garage bands. However, just as one is enjoying the struggles and raucous tales of low-budget partying of Rikki and his friends... voila! Some incredible twists and turns and you are into quite a thriller. Author conveys characters' emotions in a way that really made me feel as if I were a part of all the action.
Making this plot even better, the book touches upon some real CIA maneuvers that are a mini history lesson. (Some generations of readers may have to do some googling to verify what was going on.) When I first read this book, I made the comment that I was certain that would have a film adaptation, whether in theaters or a television series. The other day I finally read the author's Acknowledgments page and learned that the film rights adaptation process had already been done.
Of course you can find detailed summaries and very detailed reviews of this book, but it is time to resist. Let yourself be surprised by the developments in Rikki's life!! I received an ARC thanks to BookBrowse.com and the Knopf Doubleday Group of Penguin Random House. All opinions are my own, and I am happy to give this book 5 stars since I feel lucky to have received such a whopper of a tale!
June 23, 2025
A deliberately gullible satire (think Golden Retriever energy) but quippy take on sex, drugs, and rock & roll… and Cold War espionage. It’s very Dude-Bro coded, in a flippant way, BUT doesn’t fall into the cliched male author trap. The women are smart, involved, woven into the thick of the plot, and thankfully described with an equal 80s glam rock filter like the men. A woman may look like Tawny Kitaen in a White Snake music video but never do her boobs boob boobily through these pages. Rock on!
It’s a wild, fun, and ridiculous ride to the top of musical fame while being roped into a subversive CIA scheme. Our hero, Rikki Thunder, is a fish out of water in many ways and the chuckles are plenty. There are a lot of close characters to side-eye, the band members in particular with their almost caricature-like personalities, until we get toward the end and realize that the author has built a surprising number of layers to nearly everyone. They’re amusing layers but the depth is snuck in there.
And it’s an intricate plot, there is a lot going on and a lot of characters. The amazing Wil Wheaton narrates the audiobook and excels (as I’m sure you’d expect) with the tone of this story, but I sometimes wanted to switch to a physical copy. With the article add-ins and occasional dossier file and just sheer number of names to keep straight, I think I would have followed along better by eye.
Overall, it’s an entertaining read, (very) occasionally slow, but with an action-packed third act. Definitely recommend giving it a try.
* I received a free early audiobook from the publisher
It’s a wild, fun, and ridiculous ride to the top of musical fame while being roped into a subversive CIA scheme. Our hero, Rikki Thunder, is a fish out of water in many ways and the chuckles are plenty. There are a lot of close characters to side-eye, the band members in particular with their almost caricature-like personalities, until we get toward the end and realize that the author has built a surprising number of layers to nearly everyone. They’re amusing layers but the depth is snuck in there.
And it’s an intricate plot, there is a lot going on and a lot of characters. The amazing Wil Wheaton narrates the audiobook and excels (as I’m sure you’d expect) with the tone of this story, but I sometimes wanted to switch to a physical copy. With the article add-ins and occasional dossier file and just sheer number of names to keep straight, I think I would have followed along better by eye.
Overall, it’s an entertaining read, (very) occasionally slow, but with an action-packed third act. Definitely recommend giving it a try.
* I received a free early audiobook from the publisher
June 23, 2025
Can I offer you some nice escapism in this trying time?
Easily the best book I've read this year.
Full review to follow once the library post is up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC!
Easily the best book I've read this year.
Full review to follow once the library post is up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC!
June 30, 2025
4.5 ⭐️ ridiculous & I loved it.
April 30, 2025
4.5 cans of hair spray rounded up
I knew I needed to write this review, so I only had like, 7 beers and 2 shots.
What a fun romp through the mid to late eighties, hair metal, rock n roll excess, and cold war spy stuff! Rikki Thunder is a drummer for a go-nowhere hair metal band in LA when he meets the coolest groupie who helps him join the biggest up and coming band. Things that seem too good to be true often are, and it turns out she works for the CIA , who are trying to ignite revolution in Eastern Bloc countries through western music, specifically hair metal. I grew up with hair metal, so this book was right up my alley. It's mostly a lighthearted comedy with some action thrown in, but there are some heavy emotions tackled here and there (with humor, of course). My only real complaint is the way time progresses in the book. We think a few months have passed and suddenly Rikki says something like, "It was our first time at home in my bed in over a year." But it's a minor quibble. Rikki is a lovable quasi doofus and you can't help but cheer him on. Did anyone else sing the Whyte Python anthem, "Tonight, for Tomorrow" in their head when reading the lyrics?
If you dig this kinda thing, go check out the Whyte Python website!
Fun fact: "Still of the Night" by Whitesnake is my karaoke jam.
Devil horns in the air to NetGalley, Doubleday Books, and Travis Kennedy for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I knew I needed to write this review, so I only had like, 7 beers and 2 shots.
What a fun romp through the mid to late eighties, hair metal, rock n roll excess, and cold war spy stuff! Rikki Thunder is a drummer for a go-nowhere hair metal band in LA when he meets the coolest groupie who helps him join the biggest up and coming band. Things that seem too good to be true often are, and it turns out she works for the CIA , who are trying to ignite revolution in Eastern Bloc countries through western music, specifically hair metal. I grew up with hair metal, so this book was right up my alley. It's mostly a lighthearted comedy with some action thrown in, but there are some heavy emotions tackled here and there (with humor, of course). My only real complaint is the way time progresses in the book. We think a few months have passed and suddenly Rikki says something like, "It was our first time at home in my bed in over a year." But it's a minor quibble. Rikki is a lovable quasi doofus and you can't help but cheer him on. Did anyone else sing the Whyte Python anthem, "Tonight, for Tomorrow" in their head when reading the lyrics?
If you dig this kinda thing, go check out the Whyte Python website!
Fun fact: "Still of the Night" by Whitesnake is my karaoke jam.
Devil horns in the air to NetGalley, Doubleday Books, and Travis Kennedy for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 25, 2024
This was such a fun and wild ride with Whyte Python. The unique personalities of all of the characters made them incredibly entertaining as they all tried to accomplish different things. Money, fame, redemption… the life of a rockstar/CIA agent. Where can I buy tickets to the next world tour?
Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC!
Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC!
March 23, 2025
Wow! What a hilariously irreverent but fun thriller about a heavy metal band in the late 1980s being recruited by the CIA to “topple the Eastern Bloc [through] the power of rock.” Strange and weird premise but it works! The author has created a great character in Richard Henderson aka “Rikki Thunder”. He’s a sweet guy who’s just looking for love and acceptance but on a dead end course with his current band, Qyksand, when he’s unwittingly recruited by Tawny Spice (undercover CIA operative, Amanda Price) to replace the drummer of the up-and-coming Whyte Python, a glam-pop band, and who eventually gets the band on a “youth corrupting” world tour of Soviet bloc countries. The humor is tongue-in-check as the band is a group of misfits as are the CIA operatives - think the Apple series, Slow Horses, if you’ve seen it, with its MI15 misfits and you get the idea of the humor! I laughed so many times but there is also a seriousness to the story in how Rikki grows up and how he gains acceptance with his new band. The Whyte Python band has some crazy characters whom you grow to love. I really enjoyed this ARC from Penguin Books. I highly recommend it.
May 31, 2025
The problem is quite possibly me. Maybe the stars are aligned wrong. Or the rain is making me cranky. Whatever the issue, I’m just not connecting with this book.
I love music, and obviously I love books. So what’s the problem? Well, this reads much like a teenage boy’s fantasy. I think. I don’t know for sure, since I’ve never been a teenage boy. But I’ve raised teenage boys, which gives me some insight. Probably.
Anyway…
The vibe is very much YA, despite these band members being in their early to late twenties. The humor is stoner teenage boy stuff. The “romance” is teenage boy stuff. The plot is far-fetched.
The story is… silly? Yes, sorry, that’s what I’m going with.
And maybe it’s supposed to be. Again, I don’t know. It’s just not working for me. I’m setting the book aside for now. Maybe I’ll come back to it one day, when I’m over-caffeinated and it’s sunny on mars.
*Thanks to Doubleday Books (#DoubledayPartner) for the free copy!*
I love music, and obviously I love books. So what’s the problem? Well, this reads much like a teenage boy’s fantasy. I think. I don’t know for sure, since I’ve never been a teenage boy. But I’ve raised teenage boys, which gives me some insight. Probably.
Anyway…
The vibe is very much YA, despite these band members being in their early to late twenties. The humor is stoner teenage boy stuff. The “romance” is teenage boy stuff. The plot is far-fetched.
The story is… silly? Yes, sorry, that’s what I’m going with.
And maybe it’s supposed to be. Again, I don’t know. It’s just not working for me. I’m setting the book aside for now. Maybe I’ll come back to it one day, when I’m over-caffeinated and it’s sunny on mars.
*Thanks to Doubleday Books (#DoubledayPartner) for the free copy!*
June 24, 2025
This novel set in the 1980s in the works of glam rock/hair metal bands. It’s centered around a young drummer who goes by the name Rikki Thunder. He’s the drummer for a not so famous band, and then he gets the opportunity to audition for a band called Whyte Python that is about to hit the big time. That alone would be a great premise, but things get even crazier when spy stuff starts happening because the CIA hopes to end communism with rock music. And I’ll say no more about the plot because it will be more fun to discover for yourself.
This book was such a blast to read! It’s fun and funny, satirical but also smart. There is a unique plot, great action but also real heart, and some very memorable characters. One of those books that just unfolds in your brain like you’re watching a movie - and how fun that it’s already been optioned! A great debut novel, and I look forward to seeing what Travis Kennedy writes in the future!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for both a physical and e-ARC.
This book was such a blast to read! It’s fun and funny, satirical but also smart. There is a unique plot, great action but also real heart, and some very memorable characters. One of those books that just unfolds in your brain like you’re watching a movie - and how fun that it’s already been optioned! A great debut novel, and I look forward to seeing what Travis Kennedy writes in the future!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for both a physical and e-ARC.
April 7, 2025
The Whyte Python World Tour was a fun trip. It is so difficult in this world of many, many books to come across an uplifting and original novel like this. The writing was descriptive, the characters jumped off the pages. Reading this book was just like watching a movie in my head. I really felt like I knew the characters. Rikki Thunder is an amazing narrator!
I think any reader would have get a kick out of this book, outlandish and yet believable at the same time. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fun read, anyone who is interested in music, especially 80s rock, and anyone who likes memorable characters with heart. I hope my book club will choose to join me on the Whyte Python World Tour, I think they will love it!
Thanks to Bookbrowse and Doubleday for my ARC.
I think any reader would have get a kick out of this book, outlandish and yet believable at the same time. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fun read, anyone who is interested in music, especially 80s rock, and anyone who likes memorable characters with heart. I hope my book club will choose to join me on the Whyte Python World Tour, I think they will love it!
Thanks to Bookbrowse and Doubleday for my ARC.
April 26, 2025
Rikki Thunder is just another rocker scraping by in LA until he's discovered by a gorgeous and mysterious woman, and she's got plans for him... BIG plans, involving the CIA, a rising revolution, and up-and-coming glam metal band Whyte Python. Every once in awhile, one comes across a book that seems like it was tailor-made for them, and The Whyte Python World Tour feels like it was written for me. I was cracking up and enjoying all the subtle references and parodies of the 1980's glam scene, and had SO much fun with this book! Regardless of whether or not you like 80's rock music, The Whyte Python World Tour is a hilariously outrageous ride from start to finish!
April 29, 2025
More YA simple than I’d hoped, an ‘80s, bro-and-I-was-like-dude stoner comedy when I’d rather the singer/lyricist be a gritty if ironic voice. It’s like Totally Kyle from the Amanda Show plus Russian spy infiltrating though that doesn’t start soon enough for me to stick around for the denude style.
Songs are cute and the foster care backstory
sweet but the pace isn’t doing it for me on top of the cliche MTV movie/doc moments. It’s not Motle Crue or GnR rowdy. There’s a love story with a blonde rock mag groupie girl.
To give an example of the humor, a band member asks for more drugs when captured by the sleeper cell, then air-guitars while looking at the clouds.
Songs are cute and the foster care backstory
sweet but the pace isn’t doing it for me on top of the cliche MTV movie/doc moments. It’s not Motle Crue or GnR rowdy. There’s a love story with a blonde rock mag groupie girl.
To give an example of the humor, a band member asks for more drugs when captured by the sleeper cell, then air-guitars while looking at the clouds.
April 22, 2025
This is a brilliantly fun book. Highly recommend if you want a thrillingly fun and enjoyable ride through the Cold War. Looking forward to seeing it published!
May 13, 2025
I received an advance copy of this book for free from the Penguin Random House booth at Emerald City Comic Con. Thanks to PRH for being there.
I wasn't sure quite what to expect from this book. It could've gone in a lot of directions (including crass and offputting), but I was pleased to see that it went in the direction of a satirical romp that would probably make a pretty good movie that would take a lot of people who grew up listening to music like Whyte Python's glow with nostalgia.
I always liked listening to this kind of music (Def Leppard and Poison and all of those guys were on my MTV when I was waiting for Madonna videos to come on), although the lifestyle that went with it was sort off putting even when I was that age (booze, drugs, disposable women... even then it didn't seem that fun, but then I wasn't a twentysomething LA rock band), so I had enough knowledge of the time and the lifestyle to get all the references the author made about the rock music. And I really enjoy James Bond style spy thrillers so the book's CIA spy game parts also appealed.
I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about the book until the plot really kicks in about 175 pages in. It begins with Rikki Thunder playing drums for a lower tier metal band in West Hollywood, hustling to try to get 30 people into the venue to watch them every night so the owner will keep booking them. He meets Tawny, a woman who seems to be genetically engineered to be his ideal fantasy girl, and she changes his life, eventually getting him an audition with Whyte Python a huge band on the cusp of making it huge.
The book lets us know that Tawny is a CIA agent who is recruiting Rikki as an asset as part of a CIA operation to use Whyte Python to spread a revolutionary message throughout the Eastern Bloc and help the US win the Cold War. Once Tawny reveals the plan to Rikki and Whyte Python goes on their World Tour, the book fulfills its potential.
It's a fun story, a pretty decent satire of late 80s hair metal culture and the way that the Cold War led to some ridiculous operations. The villains are all straight out of 80s spy movies (especially the general in charge of the opposition), and the plot movies right along.
Rikki is a decent dude and while he's not terribly bright, he commits himself to the mission once he gets it. He's a good character to follow and I rooted for him because he was such a good guy (in the best sense of the word).
I appreciated that the book didn't make Tawny into a stereotypical manipulative harpy. She genuinely likes Rikki, believes in his talent and believes in his ability to get the mission done. I enjoyed the bits from her POV as much as the ones from Rikki's.
This book isn't some literary masterpiece, but it's not trying to be. It achieves exactly what it's going for, which is being a fun spy satire and a love letter to a particular moment in time.
I'm not sure exactly how it will hit for someone who didn't live through this period in time. I think anyone could enjoy this book, but I think you'd get more out of it if you lived through this particular moment, right at the end of the Cold War, when hair metal bands were everywhere and unbelievably popular and their music actually was part of what was stirring up the kids in those Eastern Bloc countries to try to do something about the oppressive regimes.
The only thing that I really wasn't a huge fan of was the whole "women being treated as disposable objects" thing. I understand that it was part of the rock band culture, with groupies, and women crawling all over rock stars at concerns, but it was my least favorite part of the book. A lot of those groupies had a great time and went home with fun stories, but a lot of dark shit happened too and i wasn't sure how I felt about the book's depiction which was essentially "everyone knows why they're here and they don't want anything more than this and they're fine with you sleeping with them when everyone involved is impaired and you not caring what their names are or whether you'll ever see them again". It's fine for this book, where all the rock stars are good dudes with no bad intentions, but it wasn't my favorite thing. Luckily there's less of that once the World Tour sections of the book start.
I wasn't sure quite what to expect from this book. It could've gone in a lot of directions (including crass and offputting), but I was pleased to see that it went in the direction of a satirical romp that would probably make a pretty good movie that would take a lot of people who grew up listening to music like Whyte Python's glow with nostalgia.
I always liked listening to this kind of music (Def Leppard and Poison and all of those guys were on my MTV when I was waiting for Madonna videos to come on), although the lifestyle that went with it was sort off putting even when I was that age (booze, drugs, disposable women... even then it didn't seem that fun, but then I wasn't a twentysomething LA rock band), so I had enough knowledge of the time and the lifestyle to get all the references the author made about the rock music. And I really enjoy James Bond style spy thrillers so the book's CIA spy game parts also appealed.
I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about the book until the plot really kicks in about 175 pages in. It begins with Rikki Thunder playing drums for a lower tier metal band in West Hollywood, hustling to try to get 30 people into the venue to watch them every night so the owner will keep booking them. He meets Tawny, a woman who seems to be genetically engineered to be his ideal fantasy girl, and she changes his life, eventually getting him an audition with Whyte Python a huge band on the cusp of making it huge.
The book lets us know that Tawny is a CIA agent who is recruiting Rikki as an asset as part of a CIA operation to use Whyte Python to spread a revolutionary message throughout the Eastern Bloc and help the US win the Cold War. Once Tawny reveals the plan to Rikki and Whyte Python goes on their World Tour, the book fulfills its potential.
It's a fun story, a pretty decent satire of late 80s hair metal culture and the way that the Cold War led to some ridiculous operations. The villains are all straight out of 80s spy movies (especially the general in charge of the opposition), and the plot movies right along.
Rikki is a decent dude and while he's not terribly bright, he commits himself to the mission once he gets it. He's a good character to follow and I rooted for him because he was such a good guy (in the best sense of the word).
I appreciated that the book didn't make Tawny into a stereotypical manipulative harpy. She genuinely likes Rikki, believes in his talent and believes in his ability to get the mission done. I enjoyed the bits from her POV as much as the ones from Rikki's.
This book isn't some literary masterpiece, but it's not trying to be. It achieves exactly what it's going for, which is being a fun spy satire and a love letter to a particular moment in time.
I'm not sure exactly how it will hit for someone who didn't live through this period in time. I think anyone could enjoy this book, but I think you'd get more out of it if you lived through this particular moment, right at the end of the Cold War, when hair metal bands were everywhere and unbelievably popular and their music actually was part of what was stirring up the kids in those Eastern Bloc countries to try to do something about the oppressive regimes.
The only thing that I really wasn't a huge fan of was the whole "women being treated as disposable objects" thing. I understand that it was part of the rock band culture, with groupies, and women crawling all over rock stars at concerns, but it was my least favorite part of the book. A lot of those groupies had a great time and went home with fun stories, but a lot of dark shit happened too and i wasn't sure how I felt about the book's depiction which was essentially "everyone knows why they're here and they don't want anything more than this and they're fine with you sleeping with them when everyone involved is impaired and you not caring what their names are or whether you'll ever see them again". It's fine for this book, where all the rock stars are good dudes with no bad intentions, but it wasn't my favorite thing. Luckily there's less of that once the World Tour sections of the book start.
May 26, 2025
I love 80s movies. That should be obvious, considering the Die Hard reference in my blog name, but it's relevant. The Whyte Python World Tour is an 80s movie in book form. It's got everything you could want: spies, the Cold War, a metal band, and an enigmatic hero with a ridiculous name. Rikki Thunder is a fantastic drummer in a mediocre band. He loves music, but he's not going to make it unless something changes. Luckily, he gets the chance to audition for Whyte Python, the hottest band around. The band is set to hit the big time, and Rikki is about to join them—all thanks to his new girlfriend. Of course, what Rikki doesn't know is that Whyte Python is being used as a pawn in a secret game to help end the Cold War. Will Rikki accept his fate and help bring revolution to the Iron Curtain?
The best thing about this book is how it embraces the genre. It's silly and ridiculous in the most engaging way. This feels like an 80s action movie and hits all the right notes. All of the characters and plots are over the top. It sort of reads like a film script, but in a really good way. This would make a really fun movie, but that's not to say it isn't a good book. I was captivated by the plot and enjoyed seeing how it all played out. It was always clear how things were going to turn out, but that's not a problem. It's meant to follow the tropes of the genre, so we're set up for double agents and big surprises. The joy isn't in figuring it out, but in watching it all unfold. The story is enough to keep you hooked.
In my opinion, the book takes a bit too long to set up the premise. There's a lot of time at the beginning of the novel where things progress very slowly. However, it does speed up once Rikki joins the band, and from there, the momentum doesn't stop. The excitement only builds, and we get to experience all of the fun. This is a book all about the plot, and there isn't a great deal of room for character study or growth. But it's not that kind of book. It's a book that's committed to having fun, and it absolutely nails it. I knew I'd love this book, and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I've had. It always worries me when a book is so heavily connected to pop culture, but I think it works perfectly here. Travis Kennedy includes just enough references and in-jokes without being overly reliant. It grounds the story in reality without trying too hard.
The Whyte Python World Tour works so well because it refuses to take itself too seriously. It knows what it's trying to do, and it does it so well. I think it's safe to say that this isn't a literary masterpiece, but not everything needs to be. You'll find better-written books and better stories, but this is one that will stick with you. I can't wait to see what Travis Kennedy writes next.
The best thing about this book is how it embraces the genre. It's silly and ridiculous in the most engaging way. This feels like an 80s action movie and hits all the right notes. All of the characters and plots are over the top. It sort of reads like a film script, but in a really good way. This would make a really fun movie, but that's not to say it isn't a good book. I was captivated by the plot and enjoyed seeing how it all played out. It was always clear how things were going to turn out, but that's not a problem. It's meant to follow the tropes of the genre, so we're set up for double agents and big surprises. The joy isn't in figuring it out, but in watching it all unfold. The story is enough to keep you hooked.
In my opinion, the book takes a bit too long to set up the premise. There's a lot of time at the beginning of the novel where things progress very slowly. However, it does speed up once Rikki joins the band, and from there, the momentum doesn't stop. The excitement only builds, and we get to experience all of the fun. This is a book all about the plot, and there isn't a great deal of room for character study or growth. But it's not that kind of book. It's a book that's committed to having fun, and it absolutely nails it. I knew I'd love this book, and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I've had. It always worries me when a book is so heavily connected to pop culture, but I think it works perfectly here. Travis Kennedy includes just enough references and in-jokes without being overly reliant. It grounds the story in reality without trying too hard.
The Whyte Python World Tour works so well because it refuses to take itself too seriously. It knows what it's trying to do, and it does it so well. I think it's safe to say that this isn't a literary masterpiece, but not everything needs to be. You'll find better-written books and better stories, but this is one that will stick with you. I can't wait to see what Travis Kennedy writes next.
May 5, 2025
Rikki Thunder is the superstar drummer for the world famous glam-metal band Whyte Python. He's also secretly working as a CIA asset in a Cold War operation to bring down the Berlin Wall.
How does Rikki arrive in these circumstances fit for an 80s action movie fanboy fantasy? He was an orphan who was neglected at home and bullied at school, so he's (naturally) a formidable fighter without having exercised or played sports at any point in his life. His frustration with life as a youth led him to use music as an outlet for his anger and creative energy. Through sheer desire and practice time, he becomes one of the best drummers in the world. Next, he scores a bombshell girlfriend (who is infatuated with him at first sight) and deserts his former bandmates to try out for the more successful metal band, which welcomes the replacement drummer with open arms.
If this all sounds trite and superficial, that's because it is. Kennedy presents the book as a humorous adventure for adults who are nostalgic for the 80s, but instead, he delivers a Young Adult novel set in the 80s with a Cliff's Notes plot populated by one-dimensional characters. The romantic elements inspire eye-rolling, the action strains suspension of disbelief and the attempts at a unifying message or theme are so uninspiring, they're almost nihilistic. The Whyte Python World Tour is not the place to look for insights about 80s culture or how it influenced our collective perception of music, justice and heroism--it's not satire.
It's less like the classic action films full of one-liners that we discuss with friends and more like the 85-minute runtime guilty-pleasure music montage movies that we put on in the background during workouts. Some chapters in this book are literally written montage sequences with fragments of narrative in paragraphs separated by ellipses and other chapters are comprised completely of corny song lyrics.
Kennedy blasts Whyte Python at his readers in true metal style--fast, gritty and visceral. The conclusion of the novel is satisfying enough, but it's difficult to find any resonance in the harmony of these static, superficial characters. Hints that Rikki could be called upon for future covert ops were disappointing to this reader, but to the right rock n' roll fan, this might be a fun ryde (see what I did there?).
A totally metal thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC.
How does Rikki arrive in these circumstances fit for an 80s action movie fanboy fantasy? He was an orphan who was neglected at home and bullied at school, so he's (naturally) a formidable fighter without having exercised or played sports at any point in his life. His frustration with life as a youth led him to use music as an outlet for his anger and creative energy. Through sheer desire and practice time, he becomes one of the best drummers in the world. Next, he scores a bombshell girlfriend (who is infatuated with him at first sight) and deserts his former bandmates to try out for the more successful metal band, which welcomes the replacement drummer with open arms.
If this all sounds trite and superficial, that's because it is. Kennedy presents the book as a humorous adventure for adults who are nostalgic for the 80s, but instead, he delivers a Young Adult novel set in the 80s with a Cliff's Notes plot populated by one-dimensional characters. The romantic elements inspire eye-rolling, the action strains suspension of disbelief and the attempts at a unifying message or theme are so uninspiring, they're almost nihilistic. The Whyte Python World Tour is not the place to look for insights about 80s culture or how it influenced our collective perception of music, justice and heroism--it's not satire.
It's less like the classic action films full of one-liners that we discuss with friends and more like the 85-minute runtime guilty-pleasure music montage movies that we put on in the background during workouts. Some chapters in this book are literally written montage sequences with fragments of narrative in paragraphs separated by ellipses and other chapters are comprised completely of corny song lyrics.
Kennedy blasts Whyte Python at his readers in true metal style--fast, gritty and visceral. The conclusion of the novel is satisfying enough, but it's difficult to find any resonance in the harmony of these static, superficial characters. Hints that Rikki could be called upon for future covert ops were disappointing to this reader, but to the right rock n' roll fan, this might be a fun ryde (see what I did there?).
A totally metal thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC.
June 8, 2025
The Whyte Python World Tour by Travis Kennedy is a very highly recommended novel that blends tales of an 80's hair metal band with a Cold War PSYOP. This entertaining, fun book really is on a "satirical knife-edge between high-suspense and head-banging hilarity."
In 1986 Drummer Rikki Thunder (Richard Henderson) met his girlfriend Tawny Spice while putting out flyers for his band in Los Angeles. She soon manages to get him on as a drummer for the up and coming band Whyte Python. Rikki is thrilled to join the members of Whyte Python - lead singer, Davy Bones, shredding guitarist, Buck Sweet, and bassist, Spencer Dooley. The the band's success takes off. They have a hit single and are selling out clubs. Their album soars on the charts and they go on tour. He has a beautiful girlfriend. Life is good.
What he doesn't know is that Tawny Spice is actually Amanda Price, an undercover CIA agent with Project Facemelt. The goal is to propel Whyte Python to fame and get them to tour in eastern bloc countries behind the Iron Curtain. The mission is to inspire a youth revolution through American music. Rikki Thunder is thrust into the role of drummer and international spy as the band spreads "peace, love, and epic shredding across the globe."
Honestly, it was surprising how much I enjoyed this headbanging, shredding comedy. And yes, it is mainly a comedy, but there are some suspenseful and serious scenes too. The plot unfolds through the point-of-view of Rikki and Tawny. Readers should take note that the action is a little slow to take off but once it does it is definitely worth the wait. Expect a lot of name dropping of bands from the 80s.
The Whyte Python World Tour would make an excellent retro 80s rock 'n' roll movie. Thanks to Doubleday for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
In 1986 Drummer Rikki Thunder (Richard Henderson) met his girlfriend Tawny Spice while putting out flyers for his band in Los Angeles. She soon manages to get him on as a drummer for the up and coming band Whyte Python. Rikki is thrilled to join the members of Whyte Python - lead singer, Davy Bones, shredding guitarist, Buck Sweet, and bassist, Spencer Dooley. The the band's success takes off. They have a hit single and are selling out clubs. Their album soars on the charts and they go on tour. He has a beautiful girlfriend. Life is good.
What he doesn't know is that Tawny Spice is actually Amanda Price, an undercover CIA agent with Project Facemelt. The goal is to propel Whyte Python to fame and get them to tour in eastern bloc countries behind the Iron Curtain. The mission is to inspire a youth revolution through American music. Rikki Thunder is thrust into the role of drummer and international spy as the band spreads "peace, love, and epic shredding across the globe."
Honestly, it was surprising how much I enjoyed this headbanging, shredding comedy. And yes, it is mainly a comedy, but there are some suspenseful and serious scenes too. The plot unfolds through the point-of-view of Rikki and Tawny. Readers should take note that the action is a little slow to take off but once it does it is definitely worth the wait. Expect a lot of name dropping of bands from the 80s.
The Whyte Python World Tour would make an excellent retro 80s rock 'n' roll movie. Thanks to Doubleday for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
June 30, 2025
Rikki Thunder, twenty-two-year-old drummer for the scorching new ’80s metal band Whyte Python, is about to have it all: absurd wealth, global fame, and a dream girlfriend. But an unwitting role as an international spy? That was definitely not part of the plan.
This is truly one of the most 80s things out there today. I enjoyed this novel. Is it quirky…absolutely! Is it far fetched…definitely! But did it take me back in time…undoubtedly! All the music and band references took this GenXer down memory lane.
Then there is the action! Y’all this book is more action packed than I expected. There were places I was on the edge of my seat wondering if Rikki Thunder was going to come out alive!
Then there is the humor! I laughed out loud quite a few times. Honestly! There is one place in this book where Rikki says “A map!” And in the context of the situation…I literally busted out laughing and I am still laughing! Reminded me of some stupid 80s movies. And with the right actor, this book would make a great movie
Wil Wheaton….OMG! He is fantastic as the narrator. He nailed every quip and made the 80s music come alive.
Need an all around good story…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
And for the record, when I was trying to find a background photo for this cover…I just couldn’t do a snake..nope nada!! Gives me the shivers!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
This is truly one of the most 80s things out there today. I enjoyed this novel. Is it quirky…absolutely! Is it far fetched…definitely! But did it take me back in time…undoubtedly! All the music and band references took this GenXer down memory lane.
Then there is the action! Y’all this book is more action packed than I expected. There were places I was on the edge of my seat wondering if Rikki Thunder was going to come out alive!
Then there is the humor! I laughed out loud quite a few times. Honestly! There is one place in this book where Rikki says “A map!” And in the context of the situation…I literally busted out laughing and I am still laughing! Reminded me of some stupid 80s movies. And with the right actor, this book would make a great movie
Wil Wheaton….OMG! He is fantastic as the narrator. He nailed every quip and made the 80s music come alive.
Need an all around good story…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
And for the record, when I was trying to find a background photo for this cover…I just couldn’t do a snake..nope nada!! Gives me the shivers!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
June 30, 2025
For anyone who lived through the 1980s and ‘90s and lived for music, MTV, and carried a lighter instead of a phone to concerts, you will love this book! Anyone who loves music, mayhem, and mystery will find this hilarious and a great escape read.
Rikki Thunder, a drummer 🥁 who has finally made it into the popular ’80s metal band Whyte Python, is living his dream life. He’s on top of the world. It’s parties every night, he’s got a beautiful girl, and the band is climbing up the charts.
However, things are not always what they seem.
The band is going on a world tour but gets caught being “recruited” by the CIA to help blast the youth revolution in the Eastern Bloc (the vestiges of the Cold War). It sounds cool to use music to unite the world 🤘, but it proves not to be all fun and games.
This was a totally nostalgic read for me; it was highly entertaining and all about rock & roll. I understand this is being developed into a Paramount Pictures feature, and I can easily see why.
🎧The audiobook is narrated by Wil Wheaton, who does a fantastic job with Rikki Thunder and his bandmates. I’m curious how many times he lost his voice with all the screaming he had to do - that’s the rock & roll life.
Thank you @wunderkindspr and @kennedywriting for this gifted book. Thank you @PRHaudio for the gifted audiobook. #PRHAinfluencer #PRHAudioPartner
Rikki Thunder, a drummer 🥁 who has finally made it into the popular ’80s metal band Whyte Python, is living his dream life. He’s on top of the world. It’s parties every night, he’s got a beautiful girl, and the band is climbing up the charts.
However, things are not always what they seem.
The band is going on a world tour but gets caught being “recruited” by the CIA to help blast the youth revolution in the Eastern Bloc (the vestiges of the Cold War). It sounds cool to use music to unite the world 🤘, but it proves not to be all fun and games.
This was a totally nostalgic read for me; it was highly entertaining and all about rock & roll. I understand this is being developed into a Paramount Pictures feature, and I can easily see why.
🎧The audiobook is narrated by Wil Wheaton, who does a fantastic job with Rikki Thunder and his bandmates. I’m curious how many times he lost his voice with all the screaming he had to do - that’s the rock & roll life.
Thank you @wunderkindspr and @kennedywriting for this gifted book. Thank you @PRHaudio for the gifted audiobook. #PRHAinfluencer #PRHAudioPartner
June 29, 2025
Set in the late 1980's, The Whyte Python World Tour is a wild ride! It is also a very unique idea, the CIA infiltrates a Heavy Metal Rock band to help further resistance in Eastern Europe to Communism. Rikki Thunder (not his real name) is a drummer lucky enough to join an up and coming band, he is unaware at the time that his girlfriend is manipulating things behind the scenes to get him noticed and into the band.
The culture, including not only the music but the drugs, booze and girls is based on reality, rock band reality, not most of ours. There is so much humor in the writing with events not only on the US tour but prominently on the Eastern European Tour. It is also a great spy thriller with intrigue and double crossing along with some pretty impressive physical moves.
I am old enough to have lived through the 80's when things were changing in the East and that made this even more of a fun read for me. I can't wait to see if this is made into a film, it sure has all the makings of one. The only downside for me was some of the chapters that kind of came out of nowhere t give little clues to people. I found them taking me out of the world I was living in.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
The culture, including not only the music but the drugs, booze and girls is based on reality, rock band reality, not most of ours. There is so much humor in the writing with events not only on the US tour but prominently on the Eastern European Tour. It is also a great spy thriller with intrigue and double crossing along with some pretty impressive physical moves.
I am old enough to have lived through the 80's when things were changing in the East and that made this even more of a fun read for me. I can't wait to see if this is made into a film, it sure has all the makings of one. The only downside for me was some of the chapters that kind of came out of nowhere t give little clues to people. I found them taking me out of the world I was living in.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
June 22, 2025
Well this was a surprise. Kennedy takes a bit of truth and spins it up into a chaotic and highly entertaining tale of a plot by a group of CIA officers to use Whyte Python (don't call them a hair band) to stir up change in Eastern Europe. It's narrated by Rikki, who is both naive and wise, the drummer Amanda recruits without his knowing it. There are also songs, snippets of the personality reviews of the band members, and stops with an East German woman working for the cause as well as an East German bad guy who wants to kill Rikki. This is next to impossible to describe but let go and just enjoy it (never mind that CIA would never work this way). The CIA team, btw, is a hoot and will remind you of the Slough Horses. There's a lot of questionable behavior by members of the band but Kennedy captures the attitudes of the bands of the period. It's suspenseful too, especially when it becomes clear someone is working against the band and that they must be rescued. Most important, this has a huge and unexpected heart particularly where Rikki is concerned. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A romp of a read.
June 11, 2025
Drummer Rikki Thunder joins 80's metal band Whyte Python just as they are making it big. As they gear up for a world tour, Rikki learns that his girlfriend Tawny is secretly CIA, and they have been using the band to push their agenda in Communist held countries. They want to use Rikki as they make the new album and, on the tour, to help the CIA promote rebellion. Rikki's not sure he can do it- can he hide this from his hard partying bandmates, deal with his girlfriend who betrayed him, and be a good CIA asset- all without getting caught?
I really liked this book, despite it being slow and a bit confusing in some places. It had moments of humor, rock and rock behavior, and lots of 80's hair band moments. It was fun and I can already think of a few people who would love this book. This would be good for fans of rocker memoirs, spy novels, and general 80's lovers.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.
I really liked this book, despite it being slow and a bit confusing in some places. It had moments of humor, rock and rock behavior, and lots of 80's hair band moments. It was fun and I can already think of a few people who would love this book. This would be good for fans of rocker memoirs, spy novels, and general 80's lovers.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.
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June 14, 2025When I was first given The Whyte Python World Tour, I envisioned that it would be a heavy metal parallel to Taylor Jenkins Reid's "Daisy Jones and the Six," that is a story about the formation of a heavy metal "hair" band - how they form, the epitome of the cliche "sex drugs and rock & roll." There are elements of those in the book and they are outrageous, funny and even poignant. But what if what we saw of these rock stars on the outside is not exactly what was going on? Add in some Espionage and it shifts the whole narrative. To me this was a great twist and made the story even more rich. A fun and suspenseful read.
April 29, 2025
I was awarded a galley copy in a giveaway and am conflicted about giving this a review since I was never the appropriate audience. On my own, I never would have chosen this book! It was surprisingly well-written for a goofy spy romp involving a rock band. I managed to skim through the pages easily as there was little meat there and most everything that happened, once the premise was set up, was predictable. One short chapter involving a drug bust was right out of every TV cop series ever produced. It's an easy breezy read and, if that is what a reader wants, then this is the book for them.
June 29, 2025
Funny and earnest and completely campy, this is the story of Rikki Thunder and the 80s hair metal band, Whyte Python. (And of course there's an extra 'y' in there!) Rikki is a kid with Golden Retriever energy from the foster system who gets saved through music. Through several years of head-banging music + spying + partying he emerges as a strong, kind, intelligent young man. In many ways this is the story of his growth and all his wacky adventures along the way.
The narration by Wil Wheaton was of course :chef's kiss:
The narration by Wil Wheaton was of course :chef's kiss:
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June 30, 2025Inspired by a fascination with 80s hair bands and the conspiracy theory that the CIA wrote Wind of Change for Scorpion, this fictional premise is that an 80s hair band is recruited by the CIA to destabilize Eastern Europe during the Cold War. It’s a satirical romp that makes for highly entertaining summer escapist reading. This is already being made into a movie, which makes complete sense and I can’t wait to see it. The pacing is a little uneven, but if you hang with the slower parts, the payoff is there. This is loads of fun.
May 2, 2025
A bizarre, funny, crass adventure that places a hair band in the 1980s into the world of Cold War revolutions. Similar in tone to The Fall Guy movie -- silly and self-aware. Recommended. Received a complimentary copy of the book as a member of the TLA Lariat committee.
June 26, 2025
If you lived through the 80s, you might especially enjoy this very funny, cold war era tale of a face melting mission. I laughed out loud so many times! it's silly and nostalgic, and I really liked it.
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