Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Doubleday Books, and author Travis Kennedy for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Having lived my early adult life in the 1980s and on the fringes of the music business, this book intrigued me from the start. I’m glad I requested it, as it is hilarious and poignant at the same time. If you’re the type of person who struggles with 21st-century values not being present in different times, Whyte Python World Tour probably isn’t for you. There’s a lot of misogyny, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. That’s the way it was back then, though, as I can say from experience. If you can see the humor beyond some of that, you will enjoy this book.

“Rikki Thunder” is a Los Angeles-based drummer with his own band, eking out a living when he meets a groupie named Tawny Spice. He falls head over heels for her, and she helps his band gain attention in the club scene. There’s more to Tawny than meets the eye, though, and she has big plans for Rikki.

When the drummer for Whyte Python breaks both his arms, the newly-signed to a recording contract group is desperate. They hold auditions, but Tawny fixes it so that Rikki is the only one who shows up. He’s immediately accepted as one of them because he is quite talented and leaves his former band for promises of fame and fortune.

However, there’s more going on. This is the late 1980s, and the Cold War was beginning to look like it would end. Whyte Python is at the center of a plot to encourage countries behind the Iron Curtain to free themselves from Communist Soviet control, not that the members know what’s going on. They are just four young men who like to play heavy metal music. They ride the wave of machinations that lead them to a world tour, which is being used to stir up civil unrest in Communist countries.

If this sounds far-fetched, it probably isn’t. Rock music was one of the cultural things that connected teenagers and young adults around the world. In Communist countries, they were starved for this. Many bands started performing in these countries in the 1980s, including but not limited to Billy Joel, Elton John, the Scorpions, and Bruce Springsteen. How much a certain 3-letter US Government agency was involved in these events is likely exaggerated.

There is the expected sex and drugs in Whyte Python World Tour. It was around the music industry at the time, and the details in the book are fairly accurate. What makes it all work is the character of Rikki Thunder. He’s easy to feel empathy for. He was orphaned as a child and bounced through a series of abusive foster homes until he discovered music. He has a strong moral compass, even as he’s doing things that are on the wrong side of the law. He truly loves Tawny in the beginning and tries to do right by her. Even when everything he thinks he knows crumbles around him, he takes the time to think things through rather than lashing out. He’s a good guy, basically, at a time when the rules of the 21st century didn’t apply. He thinks he’s the outsider most of the time, and this is something he has to work through as well, even within the band.

His fellow bandmates in Whyte Python are hysterical as well. From the lead singer who worries Rikki is trying to usurp him to the drug-addled bass player, they are all sympathetic, even as I laughed at their antics. In the end, Rikki learns that there are people he can trust and depend on, something he didn’t have growing up. It’s nice to see the evolution of all of them, but particularly Rikki.

If you can view the late 1980s with a sense of humor, or remember what those days were like, I think you’ll enjoy this humorous book with a touch of Cold-War spy thriller. The characters are really what make the story, and the author has d9one a great job with them. Whyte Python World Tour is a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.