Rating: 
Summary: Black gay life in the age of AIDS
Review: "The Day Eazy-E Died," the novel by James Earl Hardy, brings to life the issues faced by African-American gay men living in an age where AIDS has had such a devastating impact. The story is told in the first-person by Raheim Rivers, a Black gay man who is starting to hit it big as an actor and model."Eazy-E," which takes place in 1995, deals with many issues: AIDS and the anxiety over HIV testing; gay love between African-American men; gay fatherhood; images of black men in the media; attitudes about homosexuality and AIDS in the Black community; and the sociological impact of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. In a broader sense, it deals with such universal issues as family ties, honesty and personal fidelity. The book is flavored with a lot of African-American pop-culture references: Al Sharpton, the documentary "Hoop Dreams," the film "Malcolm X," the TV series "Living Single," etc. Hardy has an intriguing way of rendering African-American vernacular speech; thus he joins a long list of literary artists who have taken on this challenge. He presents a rich assortment of characters. According to the acknowledgment section of the book, "Eazy-E" is "yet another chapter" in the lives of the book's characters (i.e. the book is part of a series). I haven't read Hardy's other books, and at times I felt that "Eazy-E" seemed to rely too heavily on the assumption that the reader was already familiar with the characters' back stories. So it might be better to read Hardy's previous novels before jumping into "Eazy-E." Still, for an attentive reader this might work as a stand-alone book.
Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK IS SOMETHING ELSE!!
Review: A GAY LOVE STORY.
You just shivered-didn't you?
Now how 'bout this...a touching gay,love story.
That's what James Earl Hardy's "The day Eazy E Died" is. I previously heard of Hardy from his aclaimed "B Boy Blues"
series.Everybody that read them-was to put it lightly-was
BLOWN AWAY.Whoa,that's how gay men get down?,everyone(including me) was asking themselves.
So come here comes "The Day Eazy E Died",another book in the
afore-mentioned "B-Boy Blues" troligy.I heard about this book-
in depth-on BET's "Oh Drama",on which the soft-spoken Hardy
guested on a show about gay,Black men.
So I decided to read it and boy was I blown away!
WHOA! I never read a book about two gay men so in love with
each other-physically(oh,this book has some really steamy gay
love scenes in it) and even more-mentally(there was times that
I thought a relationship between a man and a woman going on).
I really thank this book for opening up my eyes.
As a hetrosexual young male,I really was informed about something:
YOUNG MEN ARE HAVING SEX-WITH EACH OTHER!
That really needs to wake people up and allow them to open up
their mind.I did.
Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK IS SOMETHING ELSE!!
Review: A GAY LOVE STORY.
You just shivered-didn't you?
Now how 'bout this...a touching gay,love story.
That's what James Earl Hardy's "The day Eazy E Died" is. I previously heard of Hardy from his aclaimed "B Boy Blues"
series.Everybody that read them-was to put it lightly-was
BLOWN AWAY.Whoa,that's how gay men get down?,everyone(including me) was asking themselves.
So come here comes "The Day Eazy E Died",another book in the
afore-mentioned "B-Boy Blues" troligy.I heard about this book-
in depth-on BET's "Oh Drama",on which the soft-spoken Hardy
guested on a show about gay,Black men.
So I decided to read it and boy was I blown away!
WHOA! I never read a book about two gay men so in love with
each other-physically(oh,this book has some really steamy gay
love scenes in it) and even more-mentally(there was times that
I thought a relationship between a man and a woman going on).
I really thank this book for opening up my eyes.
As a hetrosexual young male,I really was informed about something:
YOUNG MEN ARE HAVING SEX-WITH EACH OTHER!
That really needs to wake people up and allow them to open up
their mind.I did.
Rating:
Summary: Short, sweet, and to the point --
Review: As a HUGE fan of James Earl Hardy and his "B-Boy" series (am still searching for my own Raheim), I was excited to hear that a fourth book was finally released. Having just finished it, it's really nice to see that JEH is so into these characters' heads that Raheim, Mitchell, Li'l Brotha Man, Sunshine, et al jump off the page as if you'd just read their last story yesterday. This book deals with Raheim, from his point of view, when AIDS hits a bit too close to home when he learns from his friend Angel that the rapper Eazy-E is HIV-positive. This freaks Raheim out, as he has never been tested for the virus, but told Mitchell (his one-and-only for nearly two years) early on in their relationship that he had not only been tested, but was negative. Raheim gets the test done, and the rest of this short novel is about what goes on in Raheim's life and head while he nervously awaits the results. Featuring Hardy's usual great writing that involves you in the characters and in the relationship of Pooquie and Little Bit in particular, "The Day Eazy-E Died" is funny, touching, and a worthy entry in the series (yes, I now eagerly await #5!). I admitted a resistance to reading the book at first -- another AIDS story? -- but Hardy makes it fresh and engrossing to read without being preachy (well, not TOO preachy, in some scenes). My only real complaint about this book is minimal; it's too short. It's almost like Hardy didn't really have so much a plot as a premise, and that premise gets stretched out for 178 pages. The other novels seem more well-rounded, more like complete stories, than this one. But that's a small complaint, really, as the characters and relationships -- and damnit, yes, the genuine LOVE that these two men have for each other -- make the book real and full of life. And it's intriguing to learn more about Raheim, and how his mind works, how he is inside; from the beginning, he has never been as "out there" as Little Bit with his feelings or his homosexuality, so being able to hear his thoughts and see how he's developed since falling in love with Mitchell makes for good story alone. Note to Hardy: for book 5, please come up with more of a plotline, more of a story worthy of these great characters and their love for one another, or just retire the series at its peak and start something new. It's been a heck of a great ride so far! And I still keep hoping to find my own Raheim someday, so thanks for the encouragement by keeping him real, and real sweet.
Rating:
Summary: Short, sweet, and to the point --
Review: As a HUGE fan of James Earl Hardy and his "B-Boy" series (am still searching for my own Raheim), I was excited to hear that a fourth book was finally released. Having just finished it, it's really nice to see that JEH is so into these characters' heads that Raheim, Mitchell, Li'l Brotha Man, Sunshine, et al jump off the page as if you'd just read their last story yesterday. This book deals with Raheim, from his point of view, when AIDS hits a bit too close to home when he learns from his friend Angel that the rapper Eazy-E is HIV-positive. This freaks Raheim out, as he has never been tested for the virus, but told Mitchell (his one-and-only for nearly two years) early on in their relationship that he had not only been tested, but was negative. Raheim gets the test done, and the rest of this short novel is about what goes on in Raheim's life and head while he nervously awaits the results. Featuring Hardy's usual great writing that involves you in the characters and in the relationship of Pooquie and Little Bit in particular, "The Day Eazy-E Died" is funny, touching, and a worthy entry in the series (yes, I now eagerly await #5!). I admitted a resistance to reading the book at first -- another AIDS story? -- but Hardy makes it fresh and engrossing to read without being preachy (well, not TOO preachy, in some scenes). My only real complaint about this book is minimal; it's too short. It's almost like Hardy didn't really have so much a plot as a premise, and that premise gets stretched out for 178 pages. The other novels seem more well-rounded, more like complete stories, than this one. But that's a small complaint, really, as the characters and relationships -- and damnit, yes, the genuine LOVE that these two men have for each other -- make the book real and full of life. And it's intriguing to learn more about Raheim, and how his mind works, how he is inside; from the beginning, he has never been as "out there" as Little Bit with his feelings or his homosexuality, so being able to hear his thoughts and see how he's developed since falling in love with Mitchell makes for good story alone. Note to Hardy: for book 5, please come up with more of a plotline, more of a story worthy of these great characters and their love for one another, or just retire the series at its peak and start something new. It's been a heck of a great ride so far! And I still keep hoping to find my own Raheim someday, so thanks for the encouragement by keeping him real, and real sweet.
Rating: 
Summary: Reality Byte
Review: As a rabid fan of JEH's B-boy series I was grateful for this book. However, unlike the previous books JEH attacked this story with an obviously singular intent: to introduce the reality of HIV into the highly sexed B-boy series. The format is set in a semi-diary format as told by Jamaican model, Raheim with each chapter representing a day and time surrounding the death of rapper Easy-E. JEH wrote this like a man fullfilling a contractual obligation: But, not a contract with a publisher; moreover, a contract with a... black audience that has had to deal with the plague of HIV/AIDS wiping out friends and family for over a decade now. As a reader of the entire series I felt grateful for the subject but cheated that JEH introduced HIV at the expense of his previous creative sexual tensions, the angst between Raheim and Lil' Bit, the colorful array of friends that surrounded them, and the depth of exploration of issues from the two main characters. Raheim and Lil' Bit come from different backgrounds and I learn alot witnessing the two of them attack issues from their own perspectives and come to mutual conclusions. In this story Lil' Bit's perspective is completely watered down to nearly non-existent. What about the opinions and thoughts of their friends? The meeting of Raheim and his father in this story is pure award-worthy ARTWORK. As a reader who dates a tall Jamaican brutha on the downlow the overall story dynamics ring true and do provide a look from inside another's skin. The book should be required reading for understanding the battles of rascism, family, disease, and sexuality in the life of men of African descent.
Rating:
Summary: The Review
Review: First off I am a supporter of black writers and more appropriately black gay male writers.
I was introduced to Mr. Hardy as everyone else was with his phenom book, B-Boy Blues.
With the sucess of that book which I loved he wrote additional books in this series.
Please stop Mr. Hardy. It is time to put Erroll "Raheim" Rivers, Mitchell Crawford, Babyface, Gene, Angel, and yes I am missing a character but the point is, stop this series and lets see something original.
Okay back to the book. It was a nice read and one did not necessarily have to read the past (3) books to know what was/is going on.
The book carries itself and that is good for one who was tempted to buy the book solely on the title.
It is small and if you are traveling via train (New York to Washington), plane (red eye from New York to Los Angeles) then by the time you arrive at your destination this book would be finished.
I will continue to support Mr. Hardy but as a fan this series is getting old.
....
Rating:
Summary: Lazy James
Review: I looked forward to reading this book because I so enjoyed the other three books but this book was not nearly as good as the first three. I don't know why James wrote this book it was a counterpoint to this otherwise brilliant success. I hope that Mr. Hardy just had a bad day I hope this is not the kind of work he plans to continue to produce if it is he has lost a fan.
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS THE WORST BOOK EVER!!!
Review: I was so disappointed to read this book. I would have given it negative stars if possible!!! I have been a fan of James Earl Hardy's B-Boy Series up until this poor excuse for literature. This was honestly the worst reading I have ever read. From start to finish, this book was horrible. The writing is terrible, the story line is weak, the plot doesn't exist, there is no climax at all. I couldn't wait to finish reading the book because it was so dull, but I kept reading in hopes of there being a blockbuster ending which could make my reading efforts not have been in vain- boy was I wrong, the ending was worse than the beginning! I wonder how it got published. This book was filled with poorly written propaganda about AIDS and AIDS testing, hardly giving the fight against AIDS justice. What Hardy did with this story line was a joke. This book could have been summed up in half of a chapter of his last book rather than have it be painfully drawn out into a train wreck of a book. There was so much potential to engulf us into yet another exciting tail of the lives of Pookie and Little Bit. What a let down. Hardy barley scratches the surface of the characters and leaves us not wanting to read anymore. If all Hardy wanted to accomplish was to preach the importance of protecting against AIDS and testing for AIDS, he should have published a pamphlet for the health department instead of deflating the good story line of the B-Boy series. This book was not worth the money or the read!
Rating:
Summary: Steady on
Review: In 1995, as rapper Eazy-E succumbds to AIDS, Raheim and Mitchell strive to be true to each other and to themselves. Raheim goes for an HIV test, his son fights racism at school, and his former girlfriend finds a new man. Even though it seems that Hardy had a checklist of issues to go over, this gorgeous love story stands out for its honest portrayals. Since this was the first by Hardy I'd read, I was thoroughly surprised and drawn into the story. The language was a bit challenging for me at first, but it got easier. I'm definitely interested now to read it from the beginning.
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