Five Days Of Bleeding - Reviews

"Ricardo Cortez Cruz maneuvers through the dark side of life, droppin' pop references galore that stream into the reader's consciousness, creating an ill landscape of surreal horror that's wicked (and amazingly humorous) flipside to our own reality. Beneath the hyperreal texture of each outlandish scenario, Five Days of Bleeding resonates with an urgency rarely found anywhere nowadays, except for Hip-Hop."

-Gabriel Alvarez, senior editor of Rap Pages

"If Grandmaster Flash, Jimi Hendrix, and Jacob Lawrence were to write a novel, you'd have a piece very similar to Ricardo Cortez Cruz's."

-Reggie Osse, The Source

"Cruz is a kind of literary Michael Jordan whose verbal 'moves' combine power, speed, and grace, and whose narrative skills include being able to start a scene one way and then unexpectedly change directions."

-Larry McCaffery, editor of Avant-Pop

"Five Days of Bleeding is urban folktale told in the syncopated rhythms of black-vaudeville patter. Cruz has got his hip-hop chops; but, behind him, you can hear Charlie Mingus plucking on an upright bass. This is a novel to be sung aloud. Pop your fingers, people."

-Darius James, author of Negrophobia