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!

This book/audiobook is so entertaining, funny. I highly recommend it if you need a fantastic escape. Taking place in Los Angeles during the 1980's rock era, this book felt so nostalgic for me. Rikki Thunder is a 22 yr old drummer who has joined the new rock metal band WHYTE PYTHON after being recruited by the CIA (It sounds weird but totally works) and is livin' the life. With his gorgeous girlfriend by his side, Whyte Python is out on a world tour. We get all the chaos and madness of what it's like to be in a rock band and living a life of traveling around the world. Definitely a fun book and I'm so happy I was able to listen to it on audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

What a kooky wild ride this book is! I also appreciated the nostalgic elements, having lived in LA in the 80s myself! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was absolutely nuts. Wasn’t sure about it when I first started reading it….but by the half way mark I just threw my preconceived ideas out the window and had fun with it. Story was unique and genuine. Just a lot of fun.

A heavy metal band in the 1980's is recruited by the CIA to destabilize our enemies with the power of music. It's quirky and funny and doesn't take itself too seriously. You'll root for the lovable characters and enjoy the adventure. You don't need to be a hair metal fan to enjoy this satire, but it help to get all he references. For fans of This is Spinal Tap!

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.

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.

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!

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.

What the heck did I just read?! This book is so hard to describe, it's a fun wackadoo journey that is both nostalgic and fresh! Secret agents? Check. Big classic rock band? Check. Bickering and teamwork? Check!

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.

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.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

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.

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! https://whytepython.com/

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.

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.

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!